"Those only deserve to be remembered by posterity,
who treasure up the history of their Ancestors." - Burke
As with the book, the aim of this page will not be to closely follow the ramifications of descent outside of the Stanley name. The Stanley daughters, who by marriage lost that name, became, by so doing, incorporated into other family lines, many of them of high position and repute.
There are 4525 descendants listed in the book, not including spouses, parents of spouses, children with last names other than Stanley, and descendants born after publication of the book in 1887. This site now refers to 8181 individuals and 2815 families who are descended from, or linked to, the three "Hartford" Stanley's. All the individuals and families regarding the descendants of John, Timothy and Thomas Stanley, as listed in the book by Israel P. Warren, can be found on this site. Individuals and information from the three known supplements to the book, regarding descendants of Thomas Stanley, has also been added. Additional individuals and family links will be added as time permits, and as additional related families are researched.
It has now been over 122 years since the publication of the book, and it would be virtually impossible to publish a book as comprehensive as the original, because of the large number and dispersion of all the descendants. However, a revised edition is possible, but I need help. If you're descended from this line, and would like to add your family line to this online database, and to the intended revision, please send me an E-Mail message. Effort has been made to insure the accuracy of the information contained on this site. But, even with that effort, errors will occur, primarily in the lines outside of the Stanley line. If you have additions or corrections to the information contained on this site, please let me know.
The STANLEY family is very ancient in England, and there are many branches settled in various countries. The American Hartford branch is thought to have sprung from the family of that name in Kent County, England, which was descended through a younger son from the great Lancashire family of STANLEY's. They were certainly NOT of the noble line of the Earl of Derby, but had a remote connection with it through a distant collateral branch, sprung from a very early ancestry common to both.
The crested arms of the Stanley family were:
ARMS: Argent on a bend azure, three
bucks' heads cabossed or.
CREST: On a chapeau gules turned up ermine an eagle, wings endorsed or, feeding on
an infant in its nest proper swaddled azure, banded of the third.
(Click On Crest To View Crests.)
The Mayflower Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock in 1620 A.D. These particular Stanley families were Puritans. They emigrated from England for religious freedom, and arrived in Boston in May, 1634, just 14 years after the Pilgrims. They traveled on a ship named the "Elizabeth & Dorcas". John Stanley died during the voyage. Upon their arrival in Boston, the two remaining brothers, Timothy and Thomas, with the two remaining children of the deceased John Stanley, went with their fellow voyagers to make their homes in "Newe Town", now Cambridge. John's daughter, Ruth, was assigned to the care of her uncle Timothy, while John's son, also named John, was cared for by his uncle Thomas.
The value of an Elizabethian Pound and the estate that John Stanley left his children, John and Ruth, amounted to about $112,000 in todays value. This suggests a land sell-off by the three Stanley brothers prior to their departure in February, 1634 - probably sometime between October and December of 1633 (since they planned to sail in January of 1634). .
  If John, Thomas and Timothy indeed had similar amounts of cash and goods, the sell-off of the family lands must have been on the order of $350,000 (in today' value). We know the Stanley's were considered people of quality, so their landholdings in Kent may have been substantial.(*)
The younger John, Timothy, and Thomas Stanley, were among the founders of Hartford, CT., and are therefore known as the "Hartford" Stanley Families. Descendants of these three Stanley's have been in this country for nearly 400 years.
I've also included information and links on this web site which should be of interest and use to descendants of other English and American Stanley Family lines, including those from Maine, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennesee and Virginia, who are searching for links to their ancestors.
Where, and from whom, the "Hartford" Stanley line is descended!
(*) This information gratefully provided by Roy Morgan Stanley II.
Researcher:
Ms Elizabeth A. Finn, Research Archivist, Centre for Kentish Studies.
This Web Site is dedicated to the memory of Jennie K. Stanley (30 Mar 1910 - 16 Nov 1997), without whose efforts and
research it would not have been possible.
Notice: All material contained in this web site is © Copyright 2009, James K. Stanley, All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly forbidden. The information contained herein, may not be used for any commercial purpose whatsoever, and may not be uploaded to any commercial site, including, but not limited to, Family Tree Maker, and absolutely no part of this web site may be reproduced by either electronic, printed, or photographic media without the express written consent of the author.