David Stagg

Fixing the Stagg Family Tree My grandmother was named Veda Stagg Miller. Her father was David Stagg and her mother was Jane “Jennie” Goodman Stagg. In the past I spent so much of my time researching the Miller family that I didn't bother looking at my other family lines. I assumed other family members were doing their genealogy. I was correct! There were so many records for the Stagg family that we were relative to King Henry VII. I noticed there were major errors though. On February 8, 2013 my research interest focused on the Stagg family. I was on the ancestry.com website when I noticed someone had posted the marriage record of John Stagg to Mary Brown on July 22, 1843. They were my great-great grandparents. They were married in Preshute, Wiltshire, England. As I entered the information from the marriage record onto my family tree in the FamilySearch website I noticed I had a lot of problems to fix in my records. I cannot post a copy of the marriage record because the list of copyright owners is longer than the actual record. You may order a copy from the General Register Office in England. Here are the important details: July 22, 1843: Marriage solemnized in the Parish Church in the Parish of Preshute in the County of Wiltshire. John Stagg -- Full Age, Batchelor, Labourer, Residence: Park, Father: John Stagg, Labourer. Mary Brown -- Full Age, Spinster, Residence: Park, Father: William Brown, Labourer. My records showed that John Stagg's father was named Pitman Stagg and his mother was named Mary or Martha. Mary Brown's father was named William Bennett Brown and her mother's name was Jane. I thought the Stagg family came from Burbage, Wiltshire, England and was surprised to find they were actually married in Preshute, Wiltshire, England. This information brought significant changes to my pedigree chart. Fixing things in family history work is boring! Finding new information is exciting! I have been doing both because I am one of at least 65 people who made changes to these records without verification, oops! Rather than admitting to all of our mistakes I am going to tell you what I found and let you decide if it's accurate. I have fixed any errors I made on the familysearch website to the best of my knowledge. Is truth absolute, or is it relative? Truth absolutely depends upon your relatives when doing family history research. If our records are meant to be perfect then I wish that someone would have a dream about our pedigree chart with names going back to Adam and Eve. That would take a lot of fun out of our “hobby” though. I believe in order to be successful in family history research we need to start with the last and work toward the first. Because of our right to privacy I am not going to tell about the people who are alive today. Let us start with brief information about at my grandmother, Veda Stagg Miller. Veda Stagg was born 21 Aug 1898 in Provo, Utah, Utah, USA to David Stagg and Jane “Jennie” Goodman Stagg. She married Leonel Thomas Miller on the 26 May 1926 in the Salt Lake Temple, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, USA. She died the 25 Aug 1975 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, USA and was buried in the Provo City Cemetery, Provo, Utah, Utah, USA. Leonel and Veda had three children: David, Thomas, and Marilyn. Veda’s father was named David Stagg. He was born 04 Jan 1859 in Whitsbury, Wiltshire, England. In 1895 the parish of Whitsbury was transferred from Wiltshire to Hampshire. In 1876 David Stagg sailed from Liverpool, England to New York, USA on the ship Nevada and then travelled to Utah. On the 12 Oct 1883 he married Jane "Jennie" Goodman in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, USA. He died in Provo, Utah, Utah, USA on 29 Jan 1936 and was buried in the Provo City Cemetery, Provo, Utah, Utah, USA. David and Jennie had nine children: 1. David Ernest Stagg, son, 1884 2. Jennie Louise Stagg, daughter, 1886 3. Ethel Stagg, daughter, 1889 4. Myrtle Mary Stagg, daughter, 1891 5. John Stagg, son, 1894 6. Leona Stagg, daughter, 1896 7. Veda Stagg, daughter, 1898 8. Polly Marie Stagg, daughter, 1901 9. Aleithea Stagg, daughter, 1904 I found out a lot of information from the burial records for David Stagg and his parents: John Stagg and Mary Brown. They are all buried in the Provo City Cemetery in Provo, Utah, Utah, USA. The burial record for David Stagg showed his birth date and location, his death date and location, his burial date, his spouse named Jennie Goodman Stagg, and then his parents named John Stagg, Jr. and Mary Brown Stagg. From this information I learned something new: If John Stagg was a Jr. then his father would be named John Stagg, Sr. and not Pitman Stagg like the records on FamilySearch showed. This record of burial for John Stagg, Jr. showed that he was born on March 15, 1817 in Burbage, England. He died on January 22, 1890 in Provo, Utah, Utah, USA. His spouse was named Mary Brown Stagg. His parents were named John Stagg and Mary Cole Stagg. According to the burial record for Mary Brown Stagg she was born on November 7, 1818 in Torrance, London, England. She died and was buried on January 1, 1891. Her spouse was named John Stagg, Jr. and her parents were named William Brown and Jane (Mary) ______ Brown. In doing additional research I found errors on this record that will be discussed later. The next records I looked at were the census records from the United States and the United Kingdom, starting with the 1880 US census. At this time part of the Stagg family was living in Provo, Utah. At their residence lived John Stagg, age 59, who worked as a farmer. Mary Stagg, age 58, was keeping house. David Stagg, age 21, was working on the farm. There was also a boarder living with them named Walter Stagg, age 22. He was also working on the farm. The 1871 UK census contained additional information about the family. They were living in Easton Royal, Wiltshire, England. John Stagg, Jr was a shepherd and the age 52. He was born in Burbage, Wiltshire, England. His wife, Mary Brown Stagg, was age 51. The record showed she was born in a place named Savernake Park. They had a son named Joseph Stagg, age 15, who was born in Burbage, Wiltshire. David Stagg was age 12 and a shepherd. The records were funny. They showed David was born in Witchbury. The 1861 UK Census provides the best information about the Stagg family. At this time they were living in Whitsbury, Wiltshire, England. Whitsbury is a village about 100 miles south-west of London, England. Here is the family list: • John Stagg, Age: 42, Head, Occupation: Shepard, Born: Burbage • Mary Stagg, Age 41, Wife, Occupation: [Not readable], Born: Savernake • George Stagg, Age 19, Son, Occupation: Shepard, Born: Savernake • Sarah Stagg, Age 17, Dau, Occupation: [Not readable], Born: Savernake • Ann Stagg, Age 16, Dau, Occupation: [Not readable], Born: Savernake • Betsey Stagg, Age 11, Dau, Occupation: None, Born: Burbage • Mary Stagg, Age 10, Dau, Occupation: None, Born: Burbage • Ephraim Stagg, Age 8, Son, Occupation: None, Born: Burbage • Joseph Stagg, Age 5, Son, Occupation: None, Born: Burbage • David Stagg, Age 2, Son, Occupation, None, Born: Whitsbury This appeared to be the entire family, but I double-checked the 1851 Census to be sure. In 1851 the Stagg family was living in Burbage, Wiltshire, England. The family included: John, Mary, George, Sarah, Ann, and Elizabeth [Betsey]. The only other additional information that was not already mentioned was that John Stagg was working as an Ag. Lab. My guess is that it stands for an agriculture labourer, which is a synonym to the word farmer. My next goal in fixing the Stagg family tree was to find birth and/or christening records for the Stagg Family in England. I already knew that David Stagg was born in Whitsbury on January 4, 1859. I know that John Stagg, Jr. was born in Burbage on March 15, 1817. Based upon the burial record and the new census information I also know that Mary Brown Stagg was born on November 7, 1818 in Savernake. When searching for birth, marriage, and death records I like the FamilySearch website collection: "England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975.” For David Stagg I searched 1850 to 1860 in Wiltshire, England and didn't find the correct David Stagg. There was a David Stagg who was christened in 1854 but that was the wrong year and the wrong parents. I then expanded my search to 1850 to 1860 in all of England to see if I could find his birth and/or christening record. I feel lucky because I found it! He was christened on 01 May 1859 in Whitchurch, Hampshire, England. I had doubts earlier of ever finding information about Mary Brown Stagg. She was David Stagg’s mother. Even though there are a lot of women named Mary Brown born in England I am fairly certain I found the right one. Mary Brown was born on 07 Nov 1818 in Savernake, Wiltshire, England and christened on 22 Nov 1818 in Preshute, Wiltshire, England. This was done at the same church where she married John Stagg, Jr. Her parents were named William Brown and Ann. There are still questions about Mary Brown though. Why did her burial record show Torrance, London, England? With such a common name how can we be sure it's the same person? Stay tuned! The surname of Stagg is very common in Wiltshire, England. Because of this I did an extended date-range search from 1800 to 1820 to find the christening records of John Stagg, Jr. Here are the christening records for every John Stagg that I found: 1. John Stagg, christening: 13 Dec 1801 Milton-Lilbourne, Wiltshire, England, Parents: William Stagg, Mary 2. John Stagg, christening: 08 Dec 1802 Milton-Lilbourne, Wiltshire, England, Parents: John Stagg, Hester 3. John Stagg, christening: 1807 Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England, Parents: Sarah Stagg 4. John Stagg, christening: 02 Sep 1810 Milton-Lilbourne, Wiltshire, England, Parents: Pitman Stagg, Martha 5. John Stagg, christening: 06 Apr 1817 Burbage, Wiltshire, England, Parents:John Stagg, Mary The John Stagg christened on 06 Apr 1817 in Burbage to John Stagg and Mary is the correct person because his burial record showed his parents were named John and Mary Stagg. I noticed the John Stagg who was christened on 02 Sep 1810 in Milton-Lilbourne had parents named Pitman Stagg and Martha. Our Stagg FamilySearch family tree was fixed was because the records of John Stagg (1810) were accidentally combined with John Stagg (1817), so instead of there being two people there was only one. In addition, the parents had been deleted for John Stagg, Jr. Please remember this so that their records don’t get merged again! The first John Stagg was christened on 02 Sep 1810 in Milton-Lilbourne, Wiltshire, England. His parents were named Pitman Stagg and Martha. These were the parents listed on my family tree. Poor Martha had 16 children listed. Some of her children had the same name. The second John Stagg was christened on 06 Apr 1817 in Burbage, Wiltshire, England. His parents were named John Stagg and Mary. We learned from the burial records that this person was my ancestor and that his mother was named Mary Cole. I already had the marriage record of John Stagg (1817) who was married to Mary Brown. I also had a list of their children from the 1861 UK census. I decided to find the same information for John Stagg (1810). John Stagg (1810) married Mary Teagle on 20 Oct 1845 in Wootton-Bassett, Wiltshire, England. I know this was the John Stagg from 1810 because his mother's name was Martha. I have since found out that Pitman Stagg had died on 06 Mar 1829 after being kicked by something. After I found this marriage record I realized the biggest reason the records had been combined: There were two families named John and Mary Stagg living in Wiltshire, England at the same time. I knew that it would be a challenge to find which of the children belonged to each John and Mary Stagg family so I went back and looked through the UK Census Records. I found John Stagg (1810) and Mary Teagle Stagg on the 1851 UK census. I know it's the right family because it showed that John Stagg was about 40 and was born in Milton. I learned that Mary was 33 and that she was born in Wootten Bassett, Wiltshire, England. In 1851 they had three children: 1. Elizabeth Stagg, age 7, was born in Wootten Bassett, Wiltshire, England 2. Thomas P. Stagg, age 4, was born in Kintbury, Berkshire, England 3. Sarah Stagg, age 1, was born in Burbage, Wiltshire, England I also found John Stagg (1810) and Mary Stagg on the 1861 UK census. At this time they were living in Burbage, Wiltshire, England. John Stagg was 50. Mary Stagg had aged a little faster than most people. She was 47 when she should have been about 43. They had the following three children: 1. Pidman Stagg, age 9, was born in Burbage, Wiltshire, England 2. Martha Stagg, age 6, was born in Burbage, Wiltshire, England 3. William Stagg, age 4, was born in Burbage, Wiltshire, England I don't know where Elizabeth Stagg (17) or Sarah Stagg (11) were in 1861. I found Thomas Stagg (14) was living in Burbage working as a servant/ploughboy. He was not living with anyone named Stagg. Both census records show that John Stagg (1810) and Mary Stagg had six children. When I found this information I contacted FamilySearch for help getting the records of John Stagg (1810) separated from the records of John Stagg, Jr. (1817). A senior missionary from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was very helpful. He was the one who noticed the records had been combined more than 60 times. He sent the request to someone in tech. support who fixed the problems and sent me a follow-up e-mail when it was done. Previously I mentioned the parents of John Stagg, Jr. (1817) were named John Stagg, Sr. and Mary Cole. I also mentioned the parents of John Stagg (1810) were named Pitman and Martha Stagg. I decided I would try and fix their family records because I doubted Martha had 16 children with some of the children having the same name. I tried to find the marriage record for John Stagg, Sr and Mary Cole online. I didn't find anything for them. I was able to find a John Stagg getting married to Mary Huntley in 1812, a John Stagg getting married to Mary Bailey in 1815, and a John Stagg getting married to a Mary Lowne also in 1815. I then looked on the ancestry.com website to see what other members of the Stagg family listed for the marriage date of John Stagg and Mary Cole. Some of them had listed their marriage date was in 1812 and others didn't have a marriage date listed. I thought that in addition to incorrectly combining the records of John Stagg, Jr that somehow the records of Mary Cole and Mary Huntley were also combined in error. Up to this point I did all of the verification and fixing of records from information that can be found on the Internet. I decided that it was time to go to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah to get copies of original records from their large collection of microfilm. I found out Mary Cole married Stephen Huntley on 29 April 1804. On 14 Sept 1812 she married John Stagg in Burbage, Wiltshire, England. At the time of this marriage the record showed she was a widow. I don't know for sure if Stephen and Mary Huntley had children. I know from the Provo City Cemetery records that John Stagg and Mary Cole had at least two children: 1. John Stagg, Jr. was born 15 Mar 1817 in Burbage, Wiltshire, England 2. Richard Stagg was born 29 Sep 1820 in Burbage, Wiltshire, England I cannot find John Stagg, Jr on the 1841 UK census, but I was curious to see if I could find Richard Stagg. I was able to find a family that appears to match the family of John Stagg, Sr and Mary Cole. They are living in Burbage, Wiltshire, England in 1841. I will let you decide if it's accurate: • John Stagg, about 50, estimated birth year: 1791 • Mary Stagg, about 55, estimated birth year: 1786 • Sarah Stagg, about 25, estimated birth year: 1816 • Richard Stagg, about 20, estimated birth year: 1821 • Mary Stagg, about 16, estimated birth year: 1825 I searched for the birth and/or christening records of John Stagg, Sr. On FamilySearch I found more than 25 in all of England born between 1780 and 1800. I also checked Wiltshire, England and found 10 children christened between 1780 and 1800. I don't have enough verifiable information to decide who was the correct John Stagg, Sr. Next, I did the same search for Mary Cole. There were more than 500 people named Mary Cole who were christened in all of England between 1780 and 1800. There are more than 25 people with various spellings of the name Mary Cole in Wiltshire, England. I thought to myself: Wow! Good luck finding her parents. Stagg is a common name in England, so I don't know if I am related to John Stagg (1810) with parents named Pitman Stagg and Martha. Since I was fixing the Stagg family I figured I would update his family records also. Pitman Stagg was christened on 26 Jan 1783 in Milton-Lilbourne, Wiltshire, England. He married Martha White on 19 Oct 1807 in Milton-Lilbourne, Wiltshire, England. According to England christening records they had the following children: 1. John Stagg (1810) 2. Jane Stagg (1812) 3. Eliza Stagg (1815) 4. Edward Stagg (1817) 5. Henry Stagg (1819) 6. Richard Stagg (1821) 7. William Stagg (1823) 8. Mary Ann Stagg (1826) The surname of Brown is more common than Stagg and Miller combined, so how was I going to find the correct Mary Brown? She was my great-great grandmother who married John Stagg, Jr. Let me review what I already have mentioned about her. The following information I feel relatively certain is accurate: On the Provo City Cemetery burial record Mary Brown Stagg was born on 07 Nov 1818 in Torrance, London, England. Her christening record showed the date of 22 Nov 1818 to William Brown and Ann. Her parents were named William Brown and Jane (Mary) ______ Brown. Her marriage record showed the date of 22 July 1843 in Preshute, Wiltshire, England and she died on 01 Jan 1891 in Provo, Utah. I also mentioned that on the U.K. census records her birth was in Savernake, Wiltshire, England. I found an old map that showed a place in South Savernake named Tarrants farm. It is near the Savernake Forest. I think the reason her burial record showed Torrance, London, England was because whoever filled the burial record didn't have the slightest idea how to spell Tarrants Farm or Savernake. My sister figured out a way to search the United Kingdom census records by location in Wiltshire, England. She was looking for Mary Brown on the 1841 census for South Savernake, with Brimslade and Cadley. She did not find Mary Brown. However, of all the people named William Brown who married someone named Ann on Earth during this time period there just happened to be a William and Ann Brown living on Tarrants Farm in South Savernake. Remember that the burial record for Mary Brown showed her mother was named Jane (Mary) _____ Brown, but her christening record showed Ann? I think whoever filled out the burial record just made a mistake. Obviously, at the time of her christening the record keeper would know her mother's first name. The christening record showed she was baptized in Preshute, Wiltshire, England. Mary Brown and John Stagg were also married in Preshute. The marriage record showed John Stagg, Jr and Mary Brown were from Park. The above map shows there was a Park Farm next to Tarrants farm. This was likely their first married residence. The distance from Tarrants farm to the church in Preshute is 2.3 miles. There are no longer buildings on the site of Tarrants farm and I don't know if the buildings on Park farm are the same ones as my ancestors may have lived in. The buildings may have been destroyed on 02 January 1946 when a train carrying ammunition left over from WWII exploded near the farms and killed eight British soldiers. For some reason on my pre-fixed FamilySearch Family Tree Mary Brown Stagg's parents were named William Bennett Brown (1792) and Jane (1796). They were born in London, Middlesex, England and it was through this line that someone said I am related to King Henry VII. I believe the William and Ann Brown who lived on Tarrants farm are the correct parents. Sorry King Henry VII. Thanks to my sister for finding a way to locate census records for Savernake, Wiltshire, England. She showed me how and I located people living on Tarrants farm from 1841 to 1911. This time I started with the 1841 census and came forward. This section will only be about the Brown family. Note: This is not the full census record for Tarrants farm because there were other cottages on the site. 1841 UK Census (Savernake) • William Brown, about 1796 • Anne Brown, about 1797 • Rachael Brown, about 1826 • Hannah Brown, about 1829 • David Brown, about 1831 • Martha Brown, about 1834 • Eliza Brown, about 1835 1851 UK Census (Savernake) • William Brown, about 1793, head, birth place: South Savernake • Ann Brown, about 1792, wife, birth place: South Savernake • Rachel Brown, about 1827, daughter, birth place: North Savernake • Hannah Brown, about 1829, daughter, birth place: North Savernake • Martha Brown, about 1834, daughter, birth place: South Savernake • Eliza Brown, about 1835, daughter, birth place: South Savernake • William Brown, about 1850, grandson, birth place: South Savernake 1861 UK Census (Savernake) • William Brown, about 1794, head, widower, birth place: Lamborne, Wilts [sic] • Eliza Brown, about 1836, daughter, unmarried, birth place: South Savernake • William Brown, about 1850, grandson, birth place: South Savernake • Jesse Bridgman, about 1833, head, married, birth place: South Savernake • Rachel [Brown] Bridgman, about 1828, wife, married, birth place: South Savernake • Alfred E. Bridgman, about 1860, son, birth place: South Savernake 1871 UK Census (Savernake) • Jesse Bridgement, about 1833, head, married, birth place: South Savernake • Rachel [Brown] Bridgement, about 1827, wife, married, birth place: North Savernake • Julia M. Bridgement, about 1864, daughter, birth place: South Savernake • William Brown, about 1793, father-in-law, widower, birth place: Berks, Lambourn • Eliza Brown, about 1837, sister-in-law, unmarried, birth place: South Savernake • Alfred E. Brown, about 1866, nephew, birth place: Wiltshire, Milton • Elizabeth Brown, about 1838, visitor, birth place: South Savernake When fixing the Brown family tree I wondered if all the information was just a mere coincidence. I will explain what I found and then let you decide its accuracy. William Brown and Ann are my great-great-great grandparents (3rd great). The 1841 census showed that he was born about 1796, but it doesn't list a location. The 1851 census said that he was born about 1793 in South Savernake. By the time of the 1861 census Ann Brown had died. William was listed as a widower who was born about 1794 in Lamborne, Wiltshire. The last census he appeared on was in 1871 where he was born about 1793 in Lambourn, Berkshire. I was typing the above census information about William Brown on the afternoon of Friday, April 12, 2013. By the time I got to the 1871 census I decided to get some more information about Lambourn. I had no idea where it was on the map, or if I had the name spelled correctly. I decided at that moment to start researching the Lambourn connection. I found out that there just happened to be only one person named William Brown born in Lambourn, Berkshire during the 1790s. He was christened on 13 Oct 1793. His parents were named Henry Brown and Hannah. There was also marriage record for Henry Brown and Hannah Allen on 13 June 1793 in Lambourn. They are my great-great-great-great grandparents (4th great). There were two people named Henry Brown who were christened in Lambourn, Berkshire between 1750 and 1800: Henry Brown, 09 Jan 1757 and Henry Brown, 15 Jan 1792. If William Brown was born in 1793 it is obvious who the correct person was - the Henry Brown who was christened on 09 Jan 1757. He had parents who were named Richard Brown and Ann. They are my great-great-great-great-great grandparents (5th great). I have not found their marriage date. Would you believe that there was only one person named Richard Brown who was christened in Lambourn, Berkshire between 1700 and 1750? Well, the only Richard Brown was christened on 28 Oct 1716. His parents were named Richard Brown and Alice Gibs. They were married on 19 Oct 1713 and are my great-great-great-great-great-great grandparents (6th great). I estimate that Richard Brown and Alice Gibs were born sometime in the 1600s. Unfortunately, there are too many possibilities and their names don't appear in the christening records for Lambourn, Berkshire. However, I think it was inspiring to have found so many generations of my family, especially with the last name Brown. The next steps in fixing both the Brown family and the Stagg family should include verifying the children and grandchildren, aunts, uncles, and the cousins of each family, finding additional sources of information, and searching for photos and paintings of the people and the places. Is the information I presented absolutely true, or relatively true? I have provided enough sources that the information is at least verifiable. There is a quote by the famous Mahatma Ghandi that provides a great perspective on our pursuit of truth: "Nobody in this world possesses absolute truth. This is God's attribute alone. Relative truth is all we know. Therefore, we can only follow the truth as we see it." (Gandhi's Experiments with Truth: Essential Writings by and about Mahatma Gandhi. 2006 edition by Richard L. Johnson, page 319) 2013 MillerNeverEnds

Fixing the Stagg Family Tree My grandmother was named Veda Stagg Miller. Her father was David Stagg and her mother was Jane “Jennie” Goodman Stagg. In the past I spent so much of my time researching the Miller family that I didn't bother looking at my other family lines. I assumed other family members were doing their genealogy. I was correct! There were so many records for the Stagg family that we were relative to King Henry VII. I noticed there were major errors though. On February 8, 2013 my research interest focused on the Stagg family. I was on the ancestry.com website when I noticed someone had posted the marriage record of John Stagg to Mary Brown on July 22, 1843. They were my great-great grandparents. They were married in Preshute, Wiltshire, England. As I entered the information from the marriage record onto my family tree in the FamilySearch website I noticed I had a lot of problems to fix in my records. I cannot post a copy of the marriage record because the list of copyright owners is longer than the actual record. You may order a copy from the General Register Office in England. Here are the important details: July 22, 1843: Marriage solemnized in the Parish Church in the Parish of Preshute in the County of Wiltshire. John Stagg -- Full Age, Batchelor, Labourer, Residence: Park, Father: John Stagg, Labourer. Mary Brown -- Full Age, Spinster, Residence: Park, Father: William Brown, Labourer. My records showed that John Stagg's father was named Pitman Stagg and his mother was named Mary or Martha. Mary Brown's father was named William Bennett Brown and her mother's name was Jane. I thought the Stagg family came from Burbage, Wiltshire, England and was surprised to find they were actually married in Preshute, Wiltshire, England. This information brought significant changes to my pedigree chart. Fixing things in family history work is boring! Finding new information is exciting! I have been doing both because I am one of at least 65 people who made changes to these records without verification, oops! Rather than admitting to all of our mistakes I am going to tell you what I found and let you decide if it's accurate. I have fixed any errors I made on the familysearch website to the best of my knowledge. Is truth absolute, or is it relative? Truth absolutely depends upon your relatives when doing family history research. If our records are meant to be perfect then I wish that someone would have a dream about our pedigree chart with names going back to Adam and Eve. That would take a lot of fun out of our “hobby” though. I believe in order to be successful in family history research we need to start with the last and work toward the first. Because of our right to privacy I am not going to tell about the people who are alive today. Let us start with brief information about at my grandmother, Veda Stagg Miller. Veda Stagg was born 21 Aug 1898 in Provo, Utah, Utah, USA to David Stagg and Jane “Jennie” Goodman Stagg. She married Leonel Thomas Miller on the 26 May 1926 in the Salt Lake Temple, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, USA. She died the 25 Aug 1975 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, USA and was buried in the Provo City Cemetery, Provo, Utah, Utah, USA. Leonel and Veda had three children: David, Thomas, and Marilyn. Veda’s father was named David Stagg. He was born 04 Jan 1859 in Whitsbury, Wiltshire, England. In 1895 the parish of Whitsbury was transferred from Wiltshire to Hampshire. In 1876 David Stagg sailed from Liverpool, England to New York, USA on the ship Nevada and then travelled to Utah. On the 12 Oct 1883 he married Jane "Jennie" Goodman in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, USA. He died in Provo, Utah, Utah, USA on 29 Jan 1936 and was buried in the Provo City Cemetery, Provo, Utah, Utah, USA. David and Jennie had nine children: 1. David Ernest Stagg, son, 1884 2. Jennie Louise Stagg, daughter, 1886 3. Ethel Stagg, daughter, 1889 4. Myrtle Mary Stagg, daughter, 1891 5. John Stagg, son, 1894 6. Leona Stagg, daughter, 1896 7. Veda Stagg, daughter, 1898 8. Polly Marie Stagg, daughter, 1901 9. Aleithea Stagg, daughter, 1904 I found out a lot of information from the burial records for David Stagg and his parents: John Stagg and Mary Brown. They are all buried in the Provo City Cemetery in Provo, Utah, Utah, USA. The burial record for David Stagg showed his birth date and location, his death date and location, his burial date, his spouse named Jennie Goodman Stagg, and then his parents named John Stagg, Jr. and Mary Brown Stagg. From this information I learned something new: If John Stagg was a Jr. then his father would be named John Stagg, Sr. and not Pitman Stagg like the records on FamilySearch showed. This record of burial for John Stagg, Jr. showed that he was born on March 15, 1817 in Burbage, England. He died on January 22, 1890 in Provo, Utah, Utah, USA. His spouse was named Mary Brown Stagg. His parents were named John Stagg and Mary Cole Stagg. According to the burial record for Mary Brown Stagg she was born on November 7, 1818 in Torrance, London, England. She died and was buried on January 1, 1891. Her spouse was named John Stagg, Jr. and her parents were named William Brown and Jane (Mary) ______ Brown. In doing additional research I found errors on this record that will be discussed later. The next records I looked at were the census records from the United States and the United Kingdom, starting with the 1880 US census. At this time part of the Stagg family was living in Provo, Utah. At their residence lived John Stagg, age 59, who worked as a farmer. Mary Stagg, age 58, was keeping house. David Stagg, age 21, was working on the farm. There was also a boarder living with them named Walter Stagg, age 22. He was also working on the farm. The 1871 UK census contained additional information about the family. They were living in Easton Royal, Wiltshire, England. John Stagg, Jr was a shepherd and the age 52. He was born in Burbage, Wiltshire, England. His wife, Mary Brown Stagg, was age 51. The record showed she was born in a place named Savernake Park. They had a son named Joseph Stagg, age 15, who was born in Burbage, Wiltshire. David Stagg was age 12 and a shepherd. The records were funny. They showed David was born in Witchbury. The 1861 UK Census provides the best information about the Stagg family. At this time they were living in Whitsbury, Wiltshire, England. Whitsbury is a village about 100 miles south-west of London, England. Here is the family list: • John Stagg, Age: 42, Head, Occupation: Shepard, Born: Burbage • Mary Stagg, Age 41, Wife, Occupation: [Not readable], Born: Savernake • George Stagg, Age 19, Son, Occupation: Shepard, Born: Savernake • Sarah Stagg, Age 17, Dau, Occupation: [Not readable], Born: Savernake • Ann Stagg, Age 16, Dau, Occupation: [Not readable], Born: Savernake • Betsey Stagg, Age 11, Dau, Occupation: None, Born: Burbage • Mary Stagg, Age 10, Dau, Occupation: None, Born: Burbage • Ephraim Stagg, Age 8, Son, Occupation: None, Born: Burbage • Joseph Stagg, Age 5, Son, Occupation: None, Born: Burbage • David Stagg, Age 2, Son, Occupation, None, Born: Whitsbury This appeared to be the entire family, but I double-checked the 1851 Census to be sure. In 1851 the Stagg family was living in Burbage, Wiltshire, England. The family included: John, Mary, George, Sarah, Ann, and Elizabeth [Betsey]. The only other additional information that was not already mentioned was that John Stagg was working as an Ag. Lab. My guess is that it stands for an agriculture labourer, which is a synonym to the word farmer. My next goal in fixing the Stagg family tree was to find birth and/or christening records for the Stagg Family in England. I already knew that David Stagg was born in Whitsbury on January 4, 1859. I know that John Stagg, Jr. was born in Burbage on March 15, 1817. Based upon the burial record and the new census information I also know that Mary Brown Stagg was born on November 7, 1818 in Savernake. When searching for birth, marriage, and death records I like the FamilySearch website collection: "England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975.” For David Stagg I searched 1850 to 1860 in Wiltshire, England and didn't find the correct David Stagg. There was a David Stagg who was christened in 1854 but that was the wrong year and the wrong parents. I then expanded my search to 1850 to 1860 in all of England to see if I could find his birth and/or christening record. I feel lucky because I found it! He was christened on 01 May 1859 in Whitchurch, Hampshire, England. I had doubts earlier of ever finding information about Mary Brown Stagg. She was David Stagg’s mother. Even though there are a lot of women named Mary Brown born in England I am fairly certain I found the right one. Mary Brown was born on 07 Nov 1818 in Savernake, Wiltshire, England and christened on 22 Nov 1818 in Preshute, Wiltshire, England. This was done at the same church where she married John Stagg, Jr. Her parents were named William Brown and Ann. There are still questions about Mary Brown though. Why did her burial record show Torrance, London, England? With such a common name how can we be sure it's the same person? Stay tuned! The surname of Stagg is very common in Wiltshire, England. Because of this I did an extended date-range search from 1800 to 1820 to find the christening records of John Stagg, Jr. Here are the christening records for every John Stagg that I found: 1. John Stagg, christening: 13 Dec 1801 Milton-Lilbourne, Wiltshire, England, Parents: William Stagg, Mary 2. John Stagg, christening: 08 Dec 1802 Milton-Lilbourne, Wiltshire, England, Parents: John Stagg, Hester 3. John Stagg, christening: 1807 Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England, Parents: Sarah Stagg 4. John Stagg, christening: 02 Sep 1810 Milton-Lilbourne, Wiltshire, England, Parents: Pitman Stagg, Martha 5. John Stagg, christening: 06 Apr 1817 Burbage, Wiltshire, England, Parents:John Stagg, Mary The John Stagg christened on 06 Apr 1817 in Burbage to John Stagg and Mary is the correct person because his burial record showed his parents were named John and Mary Stagg. I noticed the John Stagg who was christened on 02 Sep 1810 in Milton-Lilbourne had parents named Pitman Stagg and Martha. Our Stagg FamilySearch family tree was fixed was because the records of John Stagg (1810) were accidentally combined with John Stagg (1817), so instead of there being two people there was only one. In addition, the parents had been deleted for John Stagg, Jr. Please remember this so that their records don’t get merged again! The first John Stagg was christened on 02 Sep 1810 in Milton-Lilbourne, Wiltshire, England. His parents were named Pitman Stagg and Martha. These were the parents listed on my family tree. Poor Martha had 16 children listed. Some of her children had the same name. The second John Stagg was christened on 06 Apr 1817 in Burbage, Wiltshire, England. His parents were named John Stagg and Mary. We learned from the burial records that this person was my ancestor and that his mother was named Mary Cole. I already had the marriage record of John Stagg (1817) who was married to Mary Brown. I also had a list of their children from the 1861 UK census. I decided to find the same information for John Stagg (1810). John Stagg (1810) married Mary Teagle on 20 Oct 1845 in Wootton-Bassett, Wiltshire, England. I know this was the John Stagg from 1810 because his mother's name was Martha. I have since found out that Pitman Stagg had died on 06 Mar 1829 after being kicked by something. After I found this marriage record I realized the biggest reason the records had been combined: There were two families named John and Mary Stagg living in Wiltshire, England at the same time. I knew that it would be a challenge to find which of the children belonged to each John and Mary Stagg family so I went back and looked through the UK Census Records. I found John Stagg (1810) and Mary Teagle Stagg on the 1851 UK census. I know it's the right family because it showed that John Stagg was about 40 and was born in Milton. I learned that Mary was 33 and that she was born in Wootten Bassett, Wiltshire, England. In 1851 they had three children: 1. Elizabeth Stagg, age 7, was born in Wootten Bassett, Wiltshire, England 2. Thomas P. Stagg, age 4, was born in Kintbury, Berkshire, England 3. Sarah Stagg, age 1, was born in Burbage, Wiltshire, England I also found John Stagg (1810) and Mary Stagg on the 1861 UK census. At this time they were living in Burbage, Wiltshire, England. John Stagg was 50. Mary Stagg had aged a little faster than most people. She was 47 when she should have been about 43. They had the following three children: 1. Pidman Stagg, age 9, was born in Burbage, Wiltshire, England 2. Martha Stagg, age 6, was born in Burbage, Wiltshire, England 3. William Stagg, age 4, was born in Burbage, Wiltshire, England I don't know where Elizabeth Stagg (17) or Sarah Stagg (11) were in 1861. I found Thomas Stagg (14) was living in Burbage working as a servant/ploughboy. He was not living with anyone named Stagg. Both census records show that John Stagg (1810) and Mary Stagg had six children. When I found this information I contacted FamilySearch for help getting the records of John Stagg (1810) separated from the records of John Stagg, Jr. (1817). A senior missionary from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was very helpful. He was the one who noticed the records had been combined more than 60 times. He sent the request to someone in tech. support who fixed the problems and sent me a follow-up e-mail when it was done. Previously I mentioned the parents of John Stagg, Jr. (1817) were named John Stagg, Sr. and Mary Cole. I also mentioned the parents of John Stagg (1810) were named Pitman and Martha Stagg. I decided I would try and fix their family records because I doubted Martha had 16 children with some of the children having the same name. I tried to find the marriage record for John Stagg, Sr and Mary Cole online. I didn't find anything for them. I was able to find a John Stagg getting married to Mary Huntley in 1812, a John Stagg getting married to Mary Bailey in 1815, and a John Stagg getting married to a Mary Lowne also in 1815. I then looked on the ancestry.com website to see what other members of the Stagg family listed for the marriage date of John Stagg and Mary Cole. Some of them had listed their marriage date was in 1812 and others didn't have a marriage date listed. I thought that in addition to incorrectly combining the records of John Stagg, Jr that somehow the records of Mary Cole and Mary Huntley were also combined in error. Up to this point I did all of the verification and fixing of records from information that can be found on the Internet. I decided that it was time to go to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah to get copies of original records from their large collection of microfilm. I found out Mary Cole married Stephen Huntley on 29 April 1804. On 14 Sept 1812 she married John Stagg in Burbage, Wiltshire, England. At the time of this marriage the record showed she was a widow. I don't know for sure if Stephen and Mary Huntley had children. I know from the Provo City Cemetery records that John Stagg and Mary Cole had at least two children: 1. John Stagg, Jr. was born 15 Mar 1817 in Burbage, Wiltshire, England 2. Richard Stagg was born 29 Sep 1820 in Burbage, Wiltshire, England I cannot find John Stagg, Jr on the 1841 UK census, but I was curious to see if I could find Richard Stagg. I was able to find a family that appears to match the family of John Stagg, Sr and Mary Cole. They are living in Burbage, Wiltshire, England in 1841. I will let you decide if it's accurate: • John Stagg, about 50, estimated birth year: 1791 • Mary Stagg, about 55, estimated birth year: 1786 • Sarah Stagg, about 25, estimated birth year: 1816 • Richard Stagg, about 20, estimated birth year: 1821 • Mary Stagg, about 16, estimated birth year: 1825 I searched for the birth and/or christening records of John Stagg, Sr. On FamilySearch I found more than 25 in all of England born between 1780 and 1800. I also checked Wiltshire, England and found 10 children christened between 1780 and 1800. I don't have enough verifiable information to decide who was the correct John Stagg, Sr. Next, I did the same search for Mary Cole. There were more than 500 people named Mary Cole who were christened in all of England between 1780 and 1800. There are more than 25 people with various spellings of the name Mary Cole in Wiltshire, England. I thought to myself: Wow! Good luck finding her parents. Stagg is a common name in England, so I don't know if I am related to John Stagg (1810) with parents named Pitman Stagg and Martha. Since I was fixing the Stagg family I figured I would update his family records also. Pitman Stagg was christened on 26 Jan 1783 in Milton-Lilbourne, Wiltshire, England. He married Martha White on 19 Oct 1807 in Milton-Lilbourne, Wiltshire, England. According to England christening records they had the following children: 1. John Stagg (1810) 2. Jane Stagg (1812) 3. Eliza Stagg (1815) 4. Edward Stagg (1817) 5. Henry Stagg (1819) 6. Richard Stagg (1821) 7. William Stagg (1823) 8. Mary Ann Stagg (1826) The surname of Brown is more common than Stagg and Miller combined, so how was I going to find the correct Mary Brown? She was my great-great grandmother who married John Stagg, Jr. Let me review what I already have mentioned about her. The following information I feel relatively certain is accurate: On the Provo City Cemetery burial record Mary Brown Stagg was born on 07 Nov 1818 in Torrance, London, England. Her christening record showed the date of 22 Nov 1818 to William Brown and Ann. Her parents were named William Brown and Jane (Mary) ______ Brown. Her marriage record showed the date of 22 July 1843 in Preshute, Wiltshire, England and she died on 01 Jan 1891 in Provo, Utah. I also mentioned that on the U.K. census records her birth was in Savernake, Wiltshire, England. I found an old map that showed a place in South Savernake named Tarrants farm. It is near the Savernake Forest. I think the reason her burial record showed Torrance, London, England was because whoever filled the burial record didn't have the slightest idea how to spell Tarrants Farm or Savernake. My sister figured out a way to search the United Kingdom census records by location in Wiltshire, England. She was looking for Mary Brown on the 1841 census for South Savernake, with Brimslade and Cadley. She did not find Mary Brown. However, of all the people named William Brown who married someone named Ann on Earth during this time period there just happened to be a William and Ann Brown living on Tarrants Farm in South Savernake. Remember that the burial record for Mary Brown showed her mother was named Jane (Mary) _____ Brown, but her christening record showed Ann? I think whoever filled out the burial record just made a mistake. Obviously, at the time of her christening the record keeper would know her mother's first name. The christening record showed she was baptized in Preshute, Wiltshire, England. Mary Brown and John Stagg were also married in Preshute. The marriage record showed John Stagg, Jr and Mary Brown were from Park. The above map shows there was a Park Farm next to Tarrants farm. This was likely their first married residence. The distance from Tarrants farm to the church in Preshute is 2.3 miles. There are no longer buildings on the site of Tarrants farm and I don't know if the buildings on Park farm are the same ones as my ancestors may have lived in. The buildings may have been destroyed on 02 January 1946 when a train carrying ammunition left over from WWII exploded near the farms and killed eight British soldiers. For some reason on my pre-fixed FamilySearch Family Tree Mary Brown Stagg's parents were named William Bennett Brown (1792) and Jane (1796). They were born in London, Middlesex, England and it was through this line that someone said I am related to King Henry VII. I believe the William and Ann Brown who lived on Tarrants farm are the correct parents. Sorry King Henry VII. Thanks to my sister for finding a way to locate census records for Savernake, Wiltshire, England. She showed me how and I located people living on Tarrants farm from 1841 to 1911. This time I started with the 1841 census and came forward. This section will only be about the Brown family. Note: This is not the full census record for Tarrants farm because there were other cottages on the site. 1841 UK Census (Savernake) • William Brown, about 1796 • Anne Brown, about 1797 • Rachael Brown, about 1826 • Hannah Brown, about 1829 • David Brown, about 1831 • Martha Brown, about 1834 • Eliza Brown, about 1835 1851 UK Census (Savernake) • William Brown, about 1793, head, birth place: South Savernake • Ann Brown, about 1792, wife, birth place: South Savernake • Rachel Brown, about 1827, daughter, birth place: North Savernake • Hannah Brown, about 1829, daughter, birth place: North Savernake • Martha Brown, about 1834, daughter, birth place: South Savernake • Eliza Brown, about 1835, daughter, birth place: South Savernake • William Brown, about 1850, grandson, birth place: South Savernake 1861 UK Census (Savernake) • William Brown, about 1794, head, widower, birth place: Lamborne, Wilts [sic] • Eliza Brown, about 1836, daughter, unmarried, birth place: South Savernake • William Brown, about 1850, grandson, birth place: South Savernake • Jesse Bridgman, about 1833, head, married, birth place: South Savernake • Rachel [Brown] Bridgman, about 1828, wife, married, birth place: South Savernake • Alfred E. Bridgman, about 1860, son, birth place: South Savernake 1871 UK Census (Savernake) • Jesse Bridgement, about 1833, head, married, birth place: South Savernake • Rachel [Brown] Bridgement, about 1827, wife, married, birth place: North Savernake • Julia M. Bridgement, about 1864, daughter, birth place: South Savernake • William Brown, about 1793, father-in-law, widower, birth place: Berks, Lambourn • Eliza Brown, about 1837, sister-in-law, unmarried, birth place: South Savernake • Alfred E. Brown, about 1866, nephew, birth place: Wiltshire, Milton • Elizabeth Brown, about 1838, visitor, birth place: South Savernake When fixing the Brown family tree I wondered if all the information was just a mere coincidence. I will explain what I found and then let you decide its accuracy. William Brown and Ann are my great-great-great grandparents (3rd great). The 1841 census showed that he was born about 1796, but it doesn't list a location. The 1851 census said that he was born about 1793 in South Savernake. By the time of the 1861 census Ann Brown had died. William was listed as a widower who was born about 1794 in Lamborne, Wiltshire. The last census he appeared on was in 1871 where he was born about 1793 in Lambourn, Berkshire. I was typing the above census information about William Brown on the afternoon of Friday, April 12, 2013. By the time I got to the 1871 census I decided to get some more information about Lambourn. I had no idea where it was on the map, or if I had the name spelled correctly. I decided at that moment to start researching the Lambourn connection. I found out that there just happened to be only one person named William Brown born in Lambourn, Berkshire during the 1790s. He was christened on 13 Oct 1793. His parents were named Henry Brown and Hannah. There was also marriage record for Henry Brown and Hannah Allen on 13 June 1793 in Lambourn. They are my great-great-great-great grandparents (4th great). There were two people named Henry Brown who were christened in Lambourn, Berkshire between 1750 and 1800: Henry Brown, 09 Jan 1757 and Henry Brown, 15 Jan 1792. If William Brown was born in 1793 it is obvious who the correct person was - the Henry Brown who was christened on 09 Jan 1757. He had parents who were named Richard Brown and Ann. They are my great-great-great-great-great grandparents (5th great). I have not found their marriage date. Would you believe that there was only one person named Richard Brown who was christened in Lambourn, Berkshire between 1700 and 1750? Well, the only Richard Brown was christened on 28 Oct 1716. His parents were named Richard Brown and Alice Gibs. They were married on 19 Oct 1713 and are my great-great-great-great-great-great grandparents (6th great). I estimate that Richard Brown and Alice Gibs were born sometime in the 1600s. Unfortunately, there are too many possibilities and their names don't appear in the christening records for Lambourn, Berkshire. However, I think it was inspiring to have found so many generations of my family, especially with the last name Brown. The next steps in fixing both the Brown family and the Stagg family should include verifying the children and grandchildren, aunts, uncles, and the cousins of each family, finding additional sources of information, and searching for photos and paintings of the people and the places. Is the information I presented absolutely true, or relatively true? I have provided enough sources that the information is at least verifiable. There is a quote by the famous Mahatma Ghandi that provides a great perspective on our pursuit of truth: "Nobody in this world possesses absolute truth. This is God's attribute alone. Relative truth is all we know. Therefore, we can only follow the truth as we see it." (Gandhi's Experiments with Truth: Essential Writings by and about Mahatma Gandhi. 2006 edition by Richard L. Johnson, page 319) 2013 MillerNeverEnds