Every now and then I once again bring up my brick wall Stoddard.

Heley Stoddard (name spellings vary, and for all I know Heley is a phonetic nickname of some kind) married at Betsey Bates in Amenia, Dutchess County NY. Census records vary as to age and spelling of his name, especially the first name, which has been spelled Heli, Healey, Hely, even Helia. est DOB anywhere from 1798-1802. but ALMOST all census records agree, as well as all local histories- that he was born in NY. Since he was married in Dutchess County, I have concentrated my efforts on finding his birth information there.

There is an Elisha Stoddard in the 1800 census, with what would appear to be a wife and two sons, in Amenia, Dutchess County, NY. He is not there in 1790 and he is not there in 1810. I don't know what Elisha Stoddard this is, but I have serious interest in him as a potential father to my Heley.

Does anyone have information on the Elisha that was in Dutchess County NY, in 1800? Who he was, where he came from, where he went, what children he had, who his wife was?

Does anyone have any clue who my Heley Stoddard was? Could Heley, by some spelling, be a maiden name or other family name? Could it be a nickname for an Eli name of some kind? Elijah, Elias, Elisha, Eli? Has anyone run across any scattered Stoddards in orphan lists, apprentice lists, or anything?

My Stoddard webpage:
http://geocities.com/usmcspencers/stoddard.html

Thanks for your attention to my brickwall.

I know a lot about Elisha Stoddard; however, I do not know positively who his children were. I think it goes like this.

Elisha Stoddard was born in 1757 in Groton, CT; his parents were Moses Stoddard (born 1715) and his mother Mary Mallison (born in 1718/1719) in Ledyard, New London. The family goes directly back to John Stoddard, born abt 1612 in England, coming to New London where he died in 1676. You can access this information easily at http://www.rootsweb.com. This we know for certain.

Because Elisha's parents died (Moses before 1761 and Mary in 1764) when Elisha was young, I believe he went to live with Jeremiah Gifford (born 1708), a distant cousin of Moses Stoddard. There are other reasons why I think this happened but I'll tell you later in the story. In 1776/77, Elisha went to the Revolutionary War and returned to New London in 1780 when he was discharged. I believe he married a "Eunice" in about 1781 but I cannot find any record of her or the marriage. However, in late 1782/January 2, 1783, a Benjamin Stoddard was born in New London. My father told me that Elisha's best friend in the War was named Benjamin Gifford and we believe that Elisha named his son after his friend Benjamin Gifford. I have no proof that Benjamin was Elisha's son (I have been doing research for about a year and my father has been doing research for about 25 years on this issue.) However, Elisha's last name was spelled Stodard, not Stoddard, except in the 1800 census; that's why you can't find him in 1790 or 1810 (it's spelled Stodard). (FYI, in rootsweb.com, everything is spelled Stoddard, so don't be confused.) Benjamin's last name was also spelled Stodard. According to my dad, he was the last person to use Stodard/Stodder. There were four Stoddard families that came to the US and only this branch spelled their name with one "d". The dates match up and the spelling of Stodard matches up. In the 1810 census, there was also a Horras Stodard living near Benjamin in Mayfield, Montgomery, New York and my father and I believe that Horras and Benjamin were brothers. We believe Horras was actually spelled Horace (we believe the census taker spelled it wrong) because in 1804, there is another Horace Stoddard born and we believe this Horrace is Horras' son. My father told me that this Horras Stodard died in the War of 1812 and that is why after 1810 there is no record of him. Now it gets interesting...remember Elisha going to live with Jeremiah Gifford? Per the 1790 census, Jeremiah's next door neighbor was John Sheldon Senter (or Center) who I believe was born in 1755 and Benjamin Stoddard (Elisha's son), married Anna Senter, John's daugher. John Senter was also a Gifford (through his mother) and who was actually a relative of Jeremiah Gifford!!! It's like a small world. That is the main reason why I think Benjamin is Elisha's son...Elisha's foster father was Jeremiah Gifford who's relative, John Senter lived next door who Elisha's son married John's daugher Anna, who Benjamin Stoddard's first son was named Elisha Gifford Stoddard and his first daughter, second child was named Eunice Murray Stoddard. This is why I believe Elisha married a "Eunice" . In about 1795, Jeremiah Gifford, Elisha and John Center moved to New York. Jeremiah died in 1800 in NY and per my dad, John Sheldon Center also died in the war of 1812. My line goes through Elisha Gifford Stoddard...

Regarding your Heley Stoddard, this could have been Horras Stoddard but we know that this Horras married a Sophia Ellis, not a Bates. Another tidbit, my dad and I believe that Elisha married a second time because like you said, there were to young boys in the 1800 cenus and by 1800, Benjamin and Horras, my dad and I believe, were living with John Senter in upper state New York near Albany, not with their father, Elisha, in Amenia. Benjamin married Anna Senter in 1805 and Horras married Sophia Ellis in 1804.

There is no record of Elisha's death; however, I believe he died between 1810 and 1820 because in the 1820 census, there is no record of him. In the 1820 census, Benjamin was living in Lee, Onieda, NY and Elisha had lived in Floyd, Oneida, New York in the 1810 census. I think after Elisha died, Benjamin went to Oneida, NY to get his inheritance because in 1830, Benjamin lived in Salisbury, NY for the rest of his life and purchased land there worth $3,000. Where did he get the money????? We have no record of Elisha's wife, who she was or when she died...

Good luck, hope I helped. Susan

Fascinating! Raises as many questions as it answers, but it is fascinating! Thanks for answering!

I don't know if you noticed, but there is a Sheldon connection too. My Stoddards married into the Sheldon line, in WI. But, I think they had possibly known the family for longer, possibly in Dutchess County, or elsewhere in NY before getting to WI. I have wondered if they were not distant cousins. hmmmm. more questions.

Am researching Stoddard for a friend and am stumped at Moses Stoddard b. May 1715 Norwich, CT who married Mary somebody and had Thomas Stoddard who married Abigail Culver. I am interested in the information in your post because I have been unable to find any documented evidence of the maiden name of Mary who married Moses Stoddard. I've seen it as Mallison too but In the Barbour Collection of Vital Records for Groton where the children are born, there is no record for the marriage of Moses to Mary. Indeed the records for Mary Mallison who seems to be a likely candidate for Mary gets muddled when you look at the records for Mary Mallison in the Barbour Collection. There are 4 entries for Mary Mallison born to Joseph & Elizabeth (Stoddard) Mallison. Mary b. Jan 28, 1719, Mary b. Jan 28, 1721 (possibly a duplicate from another source with the year transcribed wrong) the two more entries for Mary b. Oct. 4, 1725 (these are obviously also duplicates of each other). Usually when the same name is used for a child a few years later, it means that the first one died young. If this is the case, the the surviving Mary Mallison b. Oct. 4 1925 is awfully young to have been married in time to have the children listed to this couple. If you have any documented evidence or whatever that would clear this up, I hope you're willing to share. This is for a lineage society application and they are sticklers for evidence and linkage from one generation to the next. This generation is weak right now, so hoping for some help figuring this out. The bit about Elisha going to Jeremiah Gifford's is of great interest. I can prove the link from him back to Moses Stoddard's parents. So if there's evidence thatElisha did go to live with his cousin, that might help me support the weak generation since that would difinitively link the Moses Stoddard b. 1715 as the same Moses who with Mary had the next generation including Elisha. Gosh I hope you're still active. I see your post is several years old.