Various Background ScenariosOf the
Descendants of Lt. Nicholas Stillwell
Various Background Scenarios
Of the
Descendants of Lt. Nicholas Stillwell
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And Some Myths and Facts of the Stil(l)well line in the Americas Page Index To Stil(l)well Myths and Facts:
Please
Read This
Cooke (Cook) Surname PLEASE NOTE! There is
much discussion, pro and con, of the validity of what's written below I
present this only for your background should you be drawn into a discussion on
the subject. Conclusions are yours alone. See further discussion in
Chris Stillwell's excellent web site, found at: Stillwell "Original name said to have been Cooke (Cook?-WFS). It being said that in Charles 1st time Nicholas, Jasper and John Cooke, brothers were forced to leave England on account of persecution, and fled in disguise to Holland in 1630, where they assumed the surname of Stillwell, their mother being a Still and Wells the family residence. Nicholas seems to have ______ his services to the Queen of Bohemia and served under her. About 1638 all three brothers came to America. John returned to England and ______, and was executed as one of Charles 1st ______. " Here the page turns, and interpretation is more difficult. - WFS "Jasper settled in Connecticut _____Gilford (Guilford?-WFS). Nicholas purchased a farm in 1639. The location is said to be near present 34th Street - New York City. He was a tobacco planter. At one time he commanded a Dutch troop against the Indians. Later he became Magistrate at Gravesend, L. I. And about 1664 settled on Staten Island. His English wife was Abigail Hopton (dau of Robert Hopton, who perhaps (dies) abroad. His second wife was Ann Van Dyke. He died Dec. 28, 1671 at Dover (L. I.). His sons were Richard, Nicholas, William, Thomas, Daniel and Jeremiah. Jeremiah's son Richard had sons Nicholas and Thomas. This Thomas had a son Nicholas born 1705 at Whitehorse (house) NJ, and was the ancestor of the ________ (Hunterdon) Co. Stillwell family, some whom settled in Somerset Co. "
THE STIL(L)WELLS AND THEIR NAME The name of Stillwell or Stilwell is said to have been of local origin and first taken by a man who lived near a "still well", probably in the county of Surrey, England, where many fine springs are found. It is found in the ancient records in the various forms of Styelwelle, Styelwell, Stiellwelle, Stylwell, Styllwell, Stillwelle, Stillewell, Stillwel, Stilwell, and Stillwell, as well as in many others, of which the last two mentioned are the forms most generally accepted today. Most authorities agree that the family originated in the county of Surrey and were early settled in the towns of Farnham, Witley, Thursley, Dorking, and Collopmore or Colletmoor. The earliest records are of one William Stilewell of Farnham in 1324, and in 1332 record is found of Richard Styelwelle, William Styelwell, and Robert Stielwell of Witley. (At this point I skip ahead to follow Nicholas to the Americas. Any one interested in what I have skipped, please contact me for a copy-WFS) Nicholas Stillwell or Stilwell, progenitor of most, if not all, of the families of the name in America, is said to have married one Abigail Hopton in England and had issue by her of two sons, Richard and Nicholas, whom he brought with him to America shortly after their mother's death. It is said that he was for a time in Holland and first came to the New Netherlands about 1638, later living for a time in Virginia, and finally settling on Staten or Manhattan Island. It is said that he was married shortly after his emigration to a second wife named Anne (possibly Anne Van Dyke), by whom he had further issue of Anne, Alice, William, Thomas, Daniel, Elias, John (not certain), Mary, and Jeremiah. Richard, eldest son of the emigrant Nicholas, is said to have married twice, first to Mary Holmes and second Freelove Cooke, and to have been the father of at least six children, John, Nicholas, Thomas, Mary, Richard, and Jeremiah. Nicholas, second son of the emigrant Nicholas, married the widow Elizabeth (nee Huybert) Morgan and had issue by her of Nicholas, Rebecca, Ann, Richard, John, Catharine, Mary, Elias, and Thomas. William, third son of emigrant Nicholas, was probably the father by his wife Hanna of William, John, Nicholas, Richard, Daniel and Mary, although some of these children may have been by a second wife Ann. Thomas, fourth son of emigrant Nicholas, is said to have married one Martha Balien or Billop and to have issue by her of Thomas, Nicholas, Ann. Rachel, Francis, John, and Martha. Daniel, fifth son of the emigrant Nicholas, married Mary Mott and their children were Nicholas, Samiel, Daniel, and Richard. Elias, sixth son of the emigrant Nicholas, was married in 1676 to Sarah Brsier, by whom he is said to have had an only child named Sarah. Jeremiah, youngest son of the emigrant Nicholas, was the father by his wife Sophia of Thomas, Nicholas, and Sophia, and probably others as well. The descendants of the various branches of the family in America have spread to practically every State of the Union and have aided as much in the growth of the country as they aided in the founding of the nation. They have been noted for their energy, ambition, industry, piety, integrity, perseverance, fortitude, initiative, resourcefulness, courage, and leadership. Among those of the Stil(l)wells who fought as officers in the war of the Revolution were Captain Daniel of Rhode Island, Captain Elias of Connecticut, Lieutenant-Colonel Enoch of New Jersey, and Colonel Nicholas of New Jersey. William, John, Nicholas, Jasper, Richard, Jeremiah, Thomas, Daniel, and Elias are some of the Christian names most highly favored by the family for its male members. One of the many members of the family who has distinguished themselves in various parts of the world in more recent times is Lewis Buckley Stillwell of Pennsylvania, noted American electrical engineer, born in the year 1863. Bibliography. The above data have been compiled chiefly from the following sources: B. M. Stilwell -- "Stilwell Family", 1878. Savage -- "Genealogical Dictionary of New England", 1860 W. H. Stillwell -- "The Stillwell family in America", 1883 D. Stilwell -- "History and Genealogical Record of one branch of The Stilwell Family", 1914 Heitman -- "Officers of the Continental Army", 1914 "The Americana", 1934 Notes by Willard F. Stillwell: 1. The above was transcribed by
me for publication in my family web site, the second month of the year
2000. It is copied verbatim from original The coat-of-arms of the ancient and honorable family of Stilwell or Stillwell, which is sometimes found with slight variations, is generally described as follows: Arms.-- "Argent, a bend nebuly azure, between three
escutcheons of the last, each charged with an escallop of the first." Crest.-- "Upon water a swan proper, holding in the beak an anchor or." Motto.-- "Hold Fast." (Arms taken from Burke's "General Armory", 1884.) Another description of the Stillwell Coat of arms, copied exactly as written, reads as follows: STILLWELL COAT OF ARMS.
The following is verbatim et literatim of a paper written by my Grandfather, H. W. H. Stillwell, dated March 6, 1926. Stillwell "Memoirs of the Stillwell Family" "Notes on the descendants of Nicholas Stillwell, the Ancestor of the Stillwell Family in America." N. Y. Public Library L. I. Historical Society Nicholas Stillwell The ancestor of the family in America was born Guilford, Surrey Co., England, 1603. Married Abagail Hopton by whom he had two children, Richard and Nicholas. After the death of his wife Abagail Hopton, he came to America from Leyden in Hull about the year 1638, bringing his sons Richard and Nicholas. He settled on Manhattan Island (Turtle Bay) opposite Blackwell's Island on the East River at a hamlet called Hopton, presumably after his wife's family. He married Ann Van Dyke by whom he had seven children. Due to the trouble between the Dutch and the Indians, the settlers of Turtle Bay sought safety at Fort Amsterdam where they met Lady Moody, a religious refugee from New England. With this party of Englishman, Nicholas, known as the tobacco planter, formed the village of Gravesend, Long Island. He finally settled on the easterly shore of Staten Island at Dover, where He died December 28, 1671. Nicholas Stillwell Son of Nicholas & Elizabeth Huybert Born 1636, Died 1715, 9 children Married Elizabeth Huybert, widow of Chas Morgan Thomas Stillwell Son of Nicholas & Elizabeth Huybert Born May 16, 1688, Died 1753 Married 1st Catharine Day, 4 children Married 2nd Ann Lake, 1 child Christopher Stillwell Son of Thomas and Catharine Day Born January 17,1716, Died April 15, 1780 Married 1753 Lucretia Glendining daughter of Adam Glendining, 5 children Christopher Stillwell Son of Christopher and Lucretia Glendenning (note spelling) Born 1755, Married Lavinia Degroff, 10 children James Stillwell Son of Christopher and Lavinia Degroff Born August 1804, New Utrecht, L. I. Died June 1879, Clifton, S. I. Married September 24, 1824 Hester Silvia who was born August 28, 1807, daughter of Richard and Hester Silva married October 16, 1791, Staten Island. James Stillwell resided Clifton S. I., (Silver Lane and Shore Rd.) Buried Silver Mount, S. I. 10 children Lavinia (Brower) 4 children Sara (Harrison) 10 children Margaret (Bird) 10 children James (unmarried) Died California 1856 Isabelle (Graw) 8 children Hester Cecelia (unmarried) Richard Silva 5 children Mary Virginia (Patterson) 8 children Fannie (Twaits) 7 children Annie (unmarried)
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