James Sterling (1742 - 1818)

Born 6 Jan 1742 in Coleraine, County Londonderry, Ireland

Husband of Mary (Shaw) Sterling — married 20 Oct 1768 in Burlington, New Jersey Colony

Husband of Rebecca Coles (Budd) Sterling — married 13 Nov 1785 in Burlington, Burlington, New Jersey, United States

Descendants

Died 6 Jan 1818 at age 76 in Burlington, Burlington, New Jersey, United States

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Biography

James Sterling was born in Ireland.

James Sterling was born in Coleraine, Ireland, on January 6, 1742. He came to America when he was twelve and, after a short time in Philadelphia, settled in Burlington, N.J. He was commissioned as captain under Col. Joseph Borden in the First Regiment, Burlington County Militia, and commissioned second major under Col. Bowes Reed. He returned to Burlington and resumed his mercantile business, accumulating a large estate. James served as the third mayor of Burlington, 1801-1806. He died at the age of 76 on January 6, 1818. He was buried in St. Mary's Episcopal Churchyard, Burlington, New Jersey, with his two wives and some of his children and grandchildren.

He married Mary Shaw, Oct. 26, 1768. Their children were:

• James Hunter Sterling b. 9-14-1769; d. 9-9-1798
• Elizabeth Salter Sterling Budd; b. 7-16-1771; d. 8-12-1815; m. Mahlon Budd of Mt. Holly
• Mary and Jane Sterling, twins living only a few hours 6-19-1773
• Samuel Shaw Sterling b. 1774; d. 1808
• William Sterling b. 10-17-1776; d. 9-22-1781 age 4
• Archibald S. Sterling, b. Sept. 26, 1780; m. Mary A. Robinson.
• John Wesley Sterling, b. Oct. 11, 1782; m. Ann Woodward.
• Margaret Sterling, b. Apr. 12 1785; m. John Johnston.

He married Rebecca Budd, Nov. 13, 1785. Their children were:

• William Asbury Sterling, b. Friday, Aug. 11, 1786; d. at Burlington, Thursday, Mar. 12, 1811, unm.
• Thomas Chew Sterling, b. Apr. 4, 1788; m. Edith Wetherby.
• Mary Shaw Sterling, b. Dec. 5, 1789; m. Charles E. Hollinshead.
• Joseph Sterling, b. Jan. 30, 1792; m. Sarah Hamilton.
• Benjamin Sterling, b. Apr. 6, 1794; m. 1st, Rebecca Elkinton, 2d, Elizabeth Fenton.
• Budd Sterling, b. Apr. 18, 179-5; m. Eliza Wright.
• Susannah Budd Sterling, b. June 11, 1798; m. William F. Van Amringe.
• Rebecca Budd Sterling, b. May 5, 1801; m. 1st, William H. Cowperthwaite, 2d, Rev. John S. Porter.
• James Sterling, b. July 7, 1803; m. 1st, Caroline E. Fennimore, 2d, Amelia L. Porter.

Sources

• https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/sources/27SY-RFD
• American Ancestry: Giving Name and Descent, in the Male Line....Vol. IV, p. 211. Joel Munsell's Sons Publishers, Albany, New York, 1889.
• The Sterling Genealogy compiled and illustrated by Albert Mack Sterling, Vol 2 containing "Major James Sterling of Burlington, New Jersey and his Descendants" by Edward Boker Sterling, pp 1104-1148. The Grafton Press Publishers, New York. 1909. [1].
• Francis Bazely Lee. Genealogical and Personal Memorial of Mercer County New Jersey, vol. 1,p 201. The Lewes Publishing Company, New York and Chicago, 1907.
• John E. Stillwell. Historical and Genealogical Miscellany, Vol. 1 pp , St. Mary's Churchyard [NOTE: found these transcriptions of inscriptions to have inaccuracies]
• freepages.rootsweb.com/~baconfamily
• Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 11 October 2020), memorial page for Maj James Sterling (6 Jan 1742–6 Jan 1818), Find A Grave: Memorial #118281347, citing Saint Mary's Episcopal Churchyard, Burlington, Burlington County, New Jersey, USA ; Maintained by Coral Tyson King (contributor 47688705) .
• "Memorials of Methodism in New Jersey, From the Foundation of the First Society in the State in 1770, to the Completion of the First Twenty Years of Its History, Containing Sketches of the Ministerial Laborers, Distinguished Laymen, and Prominent Societies of That Period," by Rev. John Atkinson, Philadelphia: Perkinpine & Higgins, 1860, pages 152-164. [2].
• W. S. Stryker, Official register of the officers and men of New Jersey in the Revolutionary War. Trenton, N.J.: W. T. Nicholson & Co., printers, 1872, pp. 339, 369. [3].
• James Sterling, obituary, "The American Daily Advertiser" newspaper, Philadelphia, 19 January 1818, page 2. [4].

Acknowledgments