Can't find parents of my great grandfather

+2 votes
191 views
I've looked as far as I know how - my third great grandfather, William Wall Oliver Stanfield (Stanfield-1042) was born 29 July 1809, supposedly in Virginia.  He died in 1886 in Wise County, Texas.  There's lots of sources for him, but I'm unable to find any information about his birth and parents.  In a narrative written by one of his sons, he stated he was born in Halifax County but that's my only lead.  He also stated his mother was descended from the Liddle or Liddel family, minor royalty in England.  I searched a bit in the Yorkshire area in case his parents were born in England but could find no connection there.  The Yorkshire area is the historical home of the Stanfield family.  Any suggestions?
WikiTree profile: William Stanfield
in Genealogy Help by LaJuana West G2G2 (2.2k points)
Not sure what you mean by minor royalty, but if you are looking for Liddle connections then you might also want to try a bit further north than Yorkshire. It is a fairly common name on both sides of the English/Scottish border. A couple of the middle names for his children, Henderson and Oliver, might also be indicative of origins around the border regions.
Thanks, Lynda.  I've been looking at Oliver and Wall as possibilities but didn't look at Henderson.
Sounds like a fairly common phenomenon with the Stanfield men lol My Great Grandfather Carl Stanfield
(https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Stanfield-688) seems to just "poof" in to existence out of nowhere too lol No Parents,No siblings, No listed or inferred family at all. Untill he had a family of his own. KEEP YOUR HEAD UP! You are far from alone with this type of "brickwall" problem.

2 Answers

0 votes
One approach might be to search for Stanfield/Liddle marriages in the 1700s in England then work forward from any potential couple to see if they have children or grandchildren who emigrated.
by Lynda Crackett G2G6 Pilot (673k points)
By "minor" I guess I mean a lord over a manor as opposed to the King.  I've been checking these names and dates in England and Virginia with little luck.  I thought possibly the father, whose name was probably also William, was from Halifax, Yorkshire, as opposed to Halifax, Virginia.  Maybe the son who wrote the narrative didn't realize that.  Oh, well, I'll keep digging!  Thanks.
Been there, done that, and unfortunately still looking.  I think he may have been a space alien dropped on the earth at this point . . . .
0 votes
Virginia Vital Records online.See if they have his birth record.Since you have

July 29 1809,that really helps.
by Wayne Morgan G2G Astronaut (1.1m points)
There don't seem to be any records early enough for his 1809 birth for some reason.  Courthouses were notorious for burning in the old days since so much was built with wood, so maybe that's the issue.  I'll keep digging though.  Thanks for commenting.

Related questions

+1 vote
1 answer
+6 votes
2 answers
242 views asked Apr 20, 2016 in Genealogy Help by Clairessa Mack G2G2 (2.4k points)
+10 votes
3 answers
345 views asked Oct 4, 2015 in Genealogy Help by Jacqueline Clark G2G6 Pilot (171k points)
+2 votes
1 answer
+1 vote
1 answer

WikiTree  ~  About  ~  Help Help  ~  Search Person Search  ~  Surname:

disclaimer - terms - copyright

...