Nathan Stedman (abt. 1765 - aft. 1850)

Born about 1765 in Douglas, Worcester, Province of Massachusetts Bay [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Martha (Morse) Stedman — married before 1796 in Uxbridge, Worcester Co., Massachusetts

Descendants

Died after 1850 after about age 85 in Westerlo, Albany County, New York, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Scott Harris [send private message]

Biography

Most of this biography is from a GEDCOM importing a correspondence from John Lisle. It is very informative and detailed. In editing this biography, I have chosen to leave much of his letter.

Note from John Lisle

There are several interconnections between the Cornwell and Stedman families in Albany County.

The earliest Stedman was a Nathan Stedman who was supposed born in Massachusetts about 1765 (He was listed as age 84 in the 1850 census but as born in NY.). He had been listed in Albany County census (Rensselaerville, then Westerlo) from 1810.

Although I have done extensive research on the Massachusetts Stedmans, I cannot place him. Supposedly, he came from Worcester County.

A Nathan Stedman of Douglas, MA, married a Martha Morse, d/o Jesse Morse and Rachel Allen, born 1769 in Uxbridge, MA in Uxbridge in 1796. Jesse and Rachel are well documented in Uxbridge and both died there between 1800 and 1805.

I can find no evidence of a Nathan Stedman - or any Stedman - in Uxbridge/Douglas area in 1790/1800 census.

Nathan and Martha's first born son Uriah was born about 1797 in New York, but there is no evidence that I have found for them in the 1800 census.

The complete list of children and grandchildren of this family is not known to me.

Findagrave has a picture of Hannah's monument in Topeka Cemetery in Topeka, Kansas. Her name is listed as Hannah Cornwell.

HOWEVER, I cannot locate her in the 1860 or 1870 census.

John Lisle.

Nashua, NH

First Generation

1. Martha Morse, daughter of Jesse Morse, Sr. and Rachel Allen, was born on 11 February 1769 in Uxbridge, Worcester Co., MA and died between 1830 and 1840. Martha married Nathan Stedman Sr bef. 1796 in Uxbridge, Worcester Co., MA.

Birth Notes: He was probably born in Massachusetts.

General Notes: I do not know where this Nathan comes from.

According to Morse genealogies, Martha Morse, b. 1769 married Nathan Stedman of Douglas in Uxbridge. Douglas and Uxbridge are neighboring towns in southern Worcester County, MA, near the Rhode Island border. This is an area that some of the Isaac Stedman of Brookline clan moved to. Most explicitly, some descendants of Robert Murdock and Hannah Stedman moved there and possibly some of Joshua Stedman, son of Thomas, were in the area. But I can find no fit for Nathan with what I know of the family now.

However, I have found a family of a Nathan Stedman in Westerlo, Albany County, New York, that seems like a fit so I have put them together; however, I have not proved that the family I have documented for Nathan and this Nathan are the same. The more serious contradictory evidence is in 1850 census and 84-year-old Nathan is listed as born in New York and an 1880ensus where Nathan, Jr., claims his parents were born in New York.

Census Analysis

I have found no trace of him in Douglas or Uxbridge in 1790 or 1800 census. I do not believe that he married before 1790 so he probably would have been enumerated with his family at that time or with whomever he was living. And as there are no Stedmans listed in Worcester County, it is difficult to identify where he might be.

I have also not found him in the 1800 census. A scan of Douglas, MA, and Rensselaerville, NY, did not show any likely matches. The 1820 census validates a birth date for his oldest known son Uriah of about 1797. Uriah also claims to have been born in New York. The 1810 census seems to have mixed Nathan with some other family so it is difficult to determine which of the people are his family and which are the other family. I do note that there seems to be a number of Murdock families in Rensselaerville and Westerville. One of them was an Amos Murdock who went from Newton to Windham Co., CT, and then to Rensselaerville along with two sons. He had brothers in Uxbridge.

Nathan "Nate" STEDMAN was a sportsman - fox hunter - in So. Berne, NY.

Noted events in his life were:

Nathan Stedman was living at Douglas, Worcester Co., MA abt. 1795.

Census

1810 Census in Rensselaerville, Albany, New York. p. 129^[1]

Nathan Stedman 42120 - 30120 - 00

Male 26-45 : Nathan Stedman Sr, b. abt 1765

Female 26-45 : Martha Morse, b. 1769

Male 26-45 :  ?

Female 26-45 :  ?

Male 16-26 :  ?

Female 16-26 :  ?

Male 10-16 : Uriah Stedman, b. abt 1797

Male 10-16 : Thomas Stedman, b. abt 1800

Male < 10 : Nathan Stedman Jr , b. abt 1803

Male < 10 :  ?

Male < 10 : William Stedman, b. abt 1810

Male < 10 : Rufus Stedman, b. abt 1807

Female < 10 : Hannah Stedman, b. 1802

Female < 10 :  ?

Female < 10 :  ?

1820 Census in Westerlo, Albany, New York. p. 109^[2]

Steadman, Nathan 011 201 - 50001 - 0200

Male > 45 : Nathan Stedman Sr, b. abt 1765

Female > 45 : Martha Morse, b. 1769

Male 18-26 : Thomas Stedman, b. abt 1800

Male 18-26 : Nathan Stedman Jr, b. abt 1803

Male 16-18 : Rufus Stedman b. abt 1807

Male 10-16 : William Stedman, b. abt 1810

Female < 10 : Elizabeth Stedman, b. abt 1816

Female < 10 : Hannah Stedman, b. abt 1802

Female < 10 :  ?

Female < 10 :  ?

Female < 10 :  ?

1830 Census in 1830 in Westerlo, Albany, New York. p. 491^[3]

Nathan Steadman Sr 000 110 010 0000 - 001 010 010 0000

William (Uriah) Steadman 100 010 000 0000 - 100 010 000 0000

Nathan Steadman Jr 200 010 000 0000 - 010 001 000 0000

Male 50-60 : Nathan Stedman Sr, b. abt 1765

Female 50-60 : Martha Morse, b. 1769

Male 20-30 : Rufus Stedman, b 1807

Female 20-30 : Wife of Rufus ?, b 1810

Male 15-20 :  ?

Female 10-15 :  ?

Male 20-30 : William Stedman, b. abt 1810

Female 20-30 :  ?

Female < 5 :  ?

Male < 5 :  ?

Male 20-30 : Nathan Stedman Jr, b. abt 1803

Female 20-30 : Wife of Nathan Jr ?, b abt 1805

Female 5-10 : Mary Stedman, b. abt 1824

Male < 5 : Samuel Stedman, b. abt 1825

Male < 5 : Henry Stedman, b. abt 1830

1840 Census in 1840 in Westerlo, Albany, New York. p. 163 ^[4]

Male 40-50 : Uriah Stedman, b. abt 1797

Female 30-40 : Mary ?, b. abt 1800

Male 60-70 : Nathan Stedman Sr, b. abt 1765

Male 15-20 : Alfred Stedman, b. abt 1828

Female 15-20 : Abigail Stedman, b abt 1823

Female 5-10 : Emily Stedman, b. abt 1832

1840 Census in Westerlo, Albany, New York, p. 161 ^[5]

Male 30-40 : Nathan Stedman Jr, b. abt 1803

Female 30-40 :  ? wife

Female 10-15 : Mary Stedman, b. abt 1824

Male 10-15 : Samuel Stedman, b. abt 1825

Male 10-15 : Henry Stedman, b. abt 1830

1850 Census in Westerlo, Albany, New York^[6]

30 September 1850

Nathan Stedman (Jr) 47 M Farmer $600 NY

Mary Stedman 26 F NY

Samuel Stedman 24 M Farmer

Henry Stedman 19 M Farmer

Nathan Stedman (Sr) 84 M Farmer

Children from this marriage were:

1. Uriah Stedman was born abt. 1797 in Westerlo, Albany Co., NY and died on an unknown date. Uriah married Mary [--?--] abt. 1820.
2. Thomas Stedman was born abt. 1800 in Westerlo, Albany Co., NY and died on an unknown date. Thomas married Phebe [--?--] bef. 1836.
3. Nathan Stedman, Jr. was born abt. 1801 in Westerlo, Albany Co., NY and died 24 May 1887 in Rensselaerville, Albany Co., NY. Nathan married Miss [--?--]. They had three children. Nathan married second Lucy Unknown before 1865.
4. Hannah Stedman was born on 4 April 1802 in Westerlo, Albany Co., NY, died on 17 March 1876 in Topeka, Shawnee Co., KS at age 73, and was buried aft. 17 March 1876 in Topeka Cemetery, Topeka, Shawnee Co., KS. Hannah married Peter Cornwell, son of James Cornwell and Catharine Coons, on 25 March 1825 in Berne, Albany Co., NY. Hannah was previously married to Harvey Henry Morehouse.
5. Rufus Stedman was born abt. 1807 in Westerlo, Albany Co., NY and died on an unknown date. Rufus married Ann Smith, abt. 1830.
6. William Stedman was born abt. 1810 and died on an unknown date. William married Miss [--?--] bef. 1830.
7. Elizabeth Stedman was born on 21 January 1815 in Westerlo, Albany, NY and died on 2 March 1898 in Wauconda, Lake Co., IL at age 83. Elizabeth married James Cornwell, nephew of Peter Cornwell and Hannah Stedman, on 24 February 1853 in Berne, Albany Co., NY.

Marriage Notes

The marriage record for Nathan and Martha "Patty" Morse seems to be valid, but it is not a perfect record. The NEHGS records marriage intent filed in Uxbridge, 15 Oct 1797 and a marriage in Douglas on 28 November 1797. The intent gave his name as Nathan Stevanns and the marriage record as Nathan Stearns; however, the 1850 Abner Morse genealogy of the family names him as Nathan Stedman.

IF this is the same Nathan Stedman - and I believe that is so - then any children of Nathan's born before 1797 would be with a previous, and currently undocumented, wife.

I have - or have seen - a long document which was a Will or Estate that identified Martha Morse, d/o Jesse, as the wife of this Nathan Stedman. I have been searching for it, but am unable to find it again either on my computer or in my paper files. (I am bcc'ing this to 2 other researchers who may have insights into this family.)

As Nathan would have been about 32 when he married Patty in 1797, it is possible that he had a previous wife and it is their children that are family members in 1810 older than 16. And the female 16-26 COULD have been a Lydia Mariah Stedman who would fit to being to first wife.

If this is not our Nathan, the most likely source for Nathan is as a remnant of an English family from Shropshire. A John Stedman was a portage master over the Niagara Falls in the 1760s. He was in America with several brothers. Most of them went back to England during/after the Revolution. There is some chatter about one brother being in Albany area and dying there. It is possible that Nathan was one of his sons but I have no records of those sons.

IF he is the Stedman from Douglas, there are two possible sources for who he was.

1. There was a John Stedman born in New London about 1704. He had a large undocumented family that scattered about Connecticut and New York in the 1700s and early 1800s. The name Nathan is not uncommon in that family. I have been searching for data on his family for over 10 years without any success. I know that various Stedmans were part of his descendants but I cannot put the pieces together. http://johnlisle.org/stedman/tng/getperson.php?personID=I8382&tree=stedman_main

2. There was a descendant of Isaac Stedman called Nathaniel Stedman, b. 1713, who left Brookline, MA and was buried in Killingly, CT. Some of his children were born in Worcester County and their descendants are largely undocumented. [1]. This is what I consider the most likely origin of Nathan of Westerlo.

John.

Census Notes

1790-1840 US Census Index for the TOWNS OF RENSSELAERVILLE & WESTERLO, ALBANY COUNTY, NY Contributed by Karen Hahn Jun 2001

The Town of Westerlo was formed from the Town of Rensselaerville and the Town of Coeymans in 1815, shortly before the 1820 US census. Names from before that census, could not be assigned to either one of the present towns.

(R) = Rensselaerville (Town of) Used only for 1820-1840

(W) = Westerlo (Town of) Used only for 1820-1840

Blank Space = Town of Rensselaerville before 1820

A person might be found on the Town of Westerlo census for 1820-1830. They might also be listed in the overall Town of Rensselaerville census for 1810. In the list below, that person would be shown with a (W) after their name because it is known where they lived for the 1820-1830 time period. They probably lived there for 1810 also, but that is not certain.

Sources

1. ↑ "United States Census, 1810," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH2S-173 : accessed 4 December 2022), Nathan Stedman, Rensselaerville, Albany, New York, United States; citing p. 129, NARA microfilm publication M252 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 26; FHL microfilm 181,380.
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1820," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHGC-R9N : accessed 4 December 2022), Nathan Steadman, Westerlo, Albany, New York, United States; citing p. , NARA microfilm publication , (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll ; FHL microfilm .
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1830," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHG1-GMT : 20 February 2021), Nathan Steadman, Westerlo, Albany, New York, United States; citing 491, NARA microfilm publication M19, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 84; FHL microfilm 17,144.
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1840," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHT3-P5T : 8 December 2020), Uriah Steadman, Westerlo, Albany, New York, United States; citing p. 163, NARA microfilm publication , (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll ; FHL microfilm .
5. ↑ Citation "United States Census, 1840," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHT3-PKY : 8 December 2020), Nathan Steadman, Westerlo, Albany, New York, United States; citing p. 161, NARA microfilm publication , (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll ; FHL microfilm .
6. ↑ "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCTX-YCC : 23 December 2020), Nathan Stedman in household of Nathan Stedman, Westerlo, Albany, New York, United States; citing family , NARA microfilm publication (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Scott Harris for creating WikiTree profile Stedman-188 through the import of Harris Family Tree.ged on Mar 19, 2013.

Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Scott and others.

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