Chris & Julie Petersen's Genealogy

Margaret Judd

Female 1822 - 1893  (71 years)


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  • Name Margaret Judd 
    Born 29 May 1822  Reddies River Township, Wilkes, North Carolina, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Female 
    Died 20 Nov 1893  , Harrison, Iowa, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Buried 22 Nov 1893  Graybill-Stoker Cemetery, Garner Township, Pottawattamie, Iowa, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I2540  Petersen-de Lanskoy
    Last Modified 27 May 2021 

    Family Eller Stoker,   b. 28 Jul 1816, Bloomfield Township, Jackson, Ohio, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 18 Jul 1855, Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie, Iowa, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 38 years) 
    Married 9 Jun 1839  , Van Buren, Iowa, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Last Modified 28 May 2021 
    Family ID F1448  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • RESEARCH_NOTES:
      1. Censuses:
      1840 US: Quincy, Adams, Illinois, the following related families living in near proximity to each other (with exception of John McDaniel and his wife Christina Stoker, all of David Stoker's siblings, children, and mother are accounted for and it confirms his father Michael was dead by 1840):
      P. 43a:
      David Stoker, males 5-10:1; 40-50:1//females 5-10:1; 10-15:1; 40-50:1. [David, his wife Barbara, and their children Sarah (13), Catherine (11?), and Michael (6). Note daughter Nancy not in census which means she was probably deceased by then.]
      Simeon P. Grabell [Graybill], males 0-5:1; 20-30:1//females 0-5:1; 20-30:1. [David's nephew: Simeon and his wife Amanda Hill and their two oldest children.]
      Jacob Stoker, males 20-30:1//females 0-5:1; 20-30:1. [Younger brother to David: Jacob and his wife Catherine and their oldest child.]
      P. 44a:
      Eller Stoker, males 20-30:1//females 0-5:1; 15-20:1; 60-70:1. [Youngest brother to David: Eller with his wife Margaret and their oldest child and probably their mother Catherine Eller.]
      James Walker [Welker], males 10-15:1; 15-20:1; 30-40:1//females 5-10:2; 40-50:1. [Living next door to Eller and ages work perfectly that this is James Welker and Elizabeth Stoker, who is David's sister.]
      John W. Stoker, males 0-5:2; 10-15:1; 30-40:1//females 0-5:1; 5-10:2; 30-40:1. [John and his wife Electa Sarah and their six oldest children.]
      John Stoker, males 0-5:1; 20-30:1//females 0-5:1; 5-10:2; 20-30:1. [David's son: John and his wife Jane and their children.]
      P. 52a:
      William Stoker, males 0-5:1; 20-30:1//females 20-30:1 (father-in-law Samuel Winegar is next door). [David's son William and his wife Almira with their child.]
      P. 55a:
      Michael Stoker, males 0-5:2; 5-10:2; 10-15:1; 30-40:1// females 30-40:1. [Michael, his wife Martha, and their five oldest children.]

      1850 US: Dist. 21, Pottawattamie, Iowa, p. 134b, dwelling 1118, household 1118; neighbors: Eller Stoker and Jacob Stoker:
      Eller Stoker, 34, farmer, OH.
      Margrath, 28, NC
      Orson, 7, IL.
      David, 5, IL.
      Lavina, 3, IA.
      Michael, 1, IA.

      1851 Iowa State: Pottawattamie County. FHL film 1022203. The entire state was counted but only Pottawattamie listed everyone by name in the household with their ages; other counties only listed the head of the household and a numerical count without names of the various ages by sex in the household. No date is given when the census was taken but it was certified in Dec. 1851; however, the other counties show a Sep 1851 date which also appears more likely for Pottawattamie as well in light of ages given some children with known birthdays in October. Note that the following related families are in this census and very close neighbors: Simeon P. Graybill, Michael and Polly Graybill with Polly's mother Catherine Eller Stoker, Jacob and Catherine Stoker, Philip and Catherine Gatrost, David and Barbara Stoker, Edward and Sarah Davis, and William and Almira Stoker. Other relatives in same county but separated by several pages of census include the following families: Thomas and Hannah Pilling whose daughter Hannah later marries William Lenore Graybill, Levi and Patience Graybill, John W. and Sarah Stoker, Hannah Ford whose son Martin later marries Zibiah M. Stoker, and John and Sarah Smith. Census return:
      Eller Stoker, 35
      Margaret, 29
      Orson H., 8
      David A., 6
      Lovina, 4
      Michael E., 2
      Mary E., 1/2.
      John L. Gutherie, 30

      1854 Iowa: Kane, Pottawattamie, Iowa, FHL film 1022207. Next door neighbors include Philip "Gastrop" and Simeon "Grabill." Neighbors a couple of census pages away include M. Stoker and M. Ford. Census return:
      Eller Stoker, 4 males, 4 females, 1 voter, 1 militia, 8 total.

      1860 US: Can't find.

      1870 US: Council Bluffs Post Office, Kane Township, Pottawattamie, Iowa, p. 172b, dwelling 57, family 58; the following families were Margaret's neighbors: Simeon Graybill, George Graybill, William L. Graybill, and Phillip Gatrost:
      Margaret Stoker, 48, keeping house, $8675 real estate, $1600 personal property, NC.
      Allen, 25, farmer, $250 personal property, IL.
      Michael, 21, farmer, $100 personal property, IA
      Mary, 19, IA.
      Calpernia, 16, IA.
      Lucretia, 15, IA.

      1880 US: Garner, Pottawattamie, Iowa, NA T9-0361, FHL 1254361, p. 23A:
      M.E. Stoker, s, 31, IA NC OH, farmer.
      Margaret, mother, widow, 58, NC NC NC, keeping house.
      Mary E., sister, divorced, 29, IA NC NC.
      Fulvia Fitzgerold, niece, 7, IA OH IA.
      Ernest Ship, other, 2, NE VA VA.

      2. Sister-in-law of Alvin Winegar who was born May 13, 1816 in Chenango County of N.Y. and who married Mary Judd Aug. 29, 1837 in Chenango County. Alvin came to Utah in 1852 as part of the Benjamin Gardner company. Member of the 5th quorum of seventies, elder, and high priest. Stonecutter for Salt Lake Temple. Died June 12, 1874. He in turn had a son, John Winegar, born Sep. 28, 1838 in Clay County, Missouri who came with his father to Utah. Alvin is brother to Almira Winegar who marries William Stoker and to Sarah Winegar who marries John Smith and remains in Iowa. See their notes elsewhere in this database.

      3. Per website http://www.ls.net/~newriver/nc/ashe1815.htm: "Ashe County, North Carolina - 1815 Tax List. Ashe County, North Carolina was formed in 1799 from Wilkes County. From 1799 until 1859, Ashe County included the most of the land now included in Alleghany and Watauga Counties, and part of what is now Avery County, North Carolina. In 1815, Ashe County was bounded by Carter County, Tennessee on the west, Grayson County, Virginia on the north, by Surry and Wilkes Counties on the east and Burke County, North Carolina on the South. This list was abstracted and totals were combined for brevity for individuals with multiple tracts of land. I abstracted this document years ago and omitted portions that I wish I hadn't now. Don't take it as absolutely accurate. Five categories are given: Name, number of acres of land, valuation in dollars, polls, and local situation or name of neighbors. I added the number of tracts of land in the consolidation process." [He did not get the parts of Ashe County that are now part of Alleghany and Watauga Counties. Also no Stokers found.]:
      Henson, Nancy 100, 50, -, Long Branch, 1 [Nancy Mary Graybill?]
      Graybeal, Henry 200, 255, 1, Laurel Fork, 3
      Koons, Gasper 150, 150, 1, Charles Francis, 1
      Koons, George 205, 200, 1, North Fork, 1
      Koons, John 90, 130, 1, North Fork, 1
      Koons, Devault 150, 200, 1, North Fork, 1
      Graybeal, David 350, 212, 1, Old Field Creek, 2
      Eller, Jacob 300, 200, 1, Horse Creek, 2
      Eller, Henry 250, 200, 1, M. Carpenter, 1
      Eller, Peter 215, 320, 1, 1
      Pennington, William 103, 150, 1, 1
      Burket, Chris. 1260, 1800, 1, Buffalo [Father of the two Burkett girls who md. Graybills.]
      Judd, John 196, 250, -, Pine Swamp [Father of Margaret Judd?]
      Koonts, Mary 340, 600, 3, S.F. New River [Mary Eller?]
      Koonts, Geo. 250, 150, 1, Pond Mountain

      4. FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 17-31, clarifies early North Carolina counties and land grant practices:
      "Land grants in North Carolina originated with an entry application which was filed in the county where the land was situated and if not lost are now on file there. This was followed, sometimes soon and sometimes years later by an order from the land office for the tract to be surveyed. Sometimes soon and sometimes years later the survey was made and a surveyor's plat filed with the Secretary of State in Raleigh. Then came the grant which may have been issued reasonably near the date of the survey or sometimes several years later. These grants, orders to survey and the survey itself are on file now in the Secretary of State's office at Raleigh...
      Many counties were formed from what originally was Rowan County, namely Surry and Guilford in 1770, Burke and Wilkes in 1777, Randolph in 1779, Iridell in 1788, Stokes in 1789, Buncomb in 1791, Ashe in1799, Davidson in 1822, Yancey in 1833, Davie in 1836 and Yadkin in 1850. Some of these counties were grandchildren of Rowan County; for instance Wilkes was taken partly from Burke and partly from Surry, Randolph from Guilford, Buncomb and Yancy form Burke, Ashe from Wilkes and Stokes and Yadkin from Surry. These facts must be kept in mind when tracing early Rowan County families."

      BIOGRAPHY:
      1. Susan Easton Black, compiler, "Early Members of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints," (Religious Studies Center, BYU, 1993, copy in Family History Library in Salt Lake City): "Stoker, Marguerite (Margaret) Judd; Birth: 29 May 1822, Wilkes County, North Carolina. Death: 20 Nov 1893, Harrison County, Iowa; Burial: 22 Nov 1893, Stoker Cemetery, Parna Township, Pottawattamie, Iowa. Marguerite Judd Stoker was bapt. and conf. a member of the [RLDS] on 12 Aug 1860 by E.C. Briggs. She provided hospitality to members of the Reorganization. Sources: Early Reorganization Minutes, 1852-71, book A, p. 302; Saints' Herald Obituaries, 1893, p 787."

      2. Parents per Ordinance Index and biographies cited below: John Judd and Rhoda Shepherd.

      3. FHL book 977.771 H2 "History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa," O.L. Baskin and Co., 1883, p. 97: "Mrs. Marguerite Stoker, Council Bluffs, was born in North Carolina in 1822; daughter of John and Rhoda Judd. When Mrs. Stoker was quite young, she moved, with her parents, from North Carolina to Indiana, where she was raised and educated. When seventeen years of age, she married Mr. E. Stoker, born in Ohio in 1816. At the time of her marriage, she was living with her mother (her father having died ten years before) on the Des Moines River, near what was called Meeke's Mill, at that time a flouring mill, subsequently a woolen mill; there she had lived a year previous to her marriage. The first two years after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Stoker lived in the eastern part of Garner Township, and then moved onto the present place. When they first settled in this township, almost their only neighbors were Indians and half-breeds, and they were obliged to procure their provisisons in Missouri. When the Western lands first came into market, Mr. Stoker purchased 160 acres; he also entered land, and subsequently added to this till the farm now consists of 360 acres. Mr. Stoker died in 1855, leaving his wife with seven children, two of whem live in Harrison County and five in this county; they are all married, except the youngest son."

      4. Http://iagenweb.org/pottawattamie/Bios1891-S.htm quoting from the "Biographical History of Pottawattamie County," 1891: "Margaret Stoker, of Pottawattamie County, was born May 29, 1822, in Wilkes County, North Carolina, the daughter of John and Rhoda (Judd) Stoker, the former a native of North Carolina. Mrs. Stoker was in her seventh year when her parents moved to Wayne County, Indiana, where they lived until after her father's death, which took place when she was about seven or eight years of age. He left his widow and nine children, of whom Mrs. Stoker was the youngest. In 1838, when she was sixteen years of age, the family moved to Iowa, on the Des Moines River, when the state was still a Territory and where they lived until the mother's death, which occurred one year later. In 1839 Mrs. Stoker was married, at the age of seventeen years to Eller Stoker, who was born in Jackson County Ohio, the son of Michel and Catherine Ella Stoker, the mother a native of North Carolina and the father of Germany. Eller Stoker was reared in Ohio, when about twenty-one years of age moved to Missouri, where he lived two years and then came to Iowa, and afterward moved to Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois, where he became a member of the Church of the Latter-Day Saints, in 1846. He then came back to the old homestead, where Mrs. Stoker still lives, and cultivated a portion of the land before his death, which occurred July 18, 1855, lacking but a few days of being thirty-nine years old, and leaving a widow and seven children, viz.: Orson Hyde, who lives near Yorkshire, Harrison County, Iowa, is married and has seven children: Allen, who lives near Union Grove, Harrison County and has five children; Michel E., lives near Union Grove, Harrison County; Lavina, the wife of William Spears, lives in Pottawattamie County, and has six children, Mary, wife of William Shene, of Garner Township, has three children; Calpernia, lives in Minden Township, the wife of George Spears, and has four children; and Lucretia, who lives in Garner Township, the wife of William Heileman. Mrs. Stoker has had a wonderful experience on living in Iowa and she has witnessed the growth and prosperity of the State."

      5. The book "The Howard Leytham Stoker Von Dollen Family Histories," FHL 929.273 H833a, by Doris Lewis, 2017 So. 80th Ave., Omaha, Nebraska, 68124, pp. 102-105 [note: the same information is also contained in the FHL book 929.273 P684pn: "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, p. 87]: "Eller Stoker was the last and ninth child born to Michael and Catherine Eller Stoker. He was born in Jackson County, Ohio on July 28, 1816, just seven months after the family had made the trek from North Carolina. While in Ohio, probably in 1833 or early 1834, the family joined the newly organized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. His older brother, Michael Jr., baptized a number of relatives and friends in Feb. of 1836, among them, Margaret Judd, Eller's future wife. In 1837, the family moved to Far West, Caldwell County, Missouri, a gathering place for the Saints. Two years later, Eller, with numerous relatives, fled the persecutions in Missouri. His mother, Catherine, lived through these times to die in 1850 in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, but Michael was not among those accounted for later. In 1839, he married Margaret Judd, who also had been in Missouri, then living with her widowed mother, Rhoda Judd, on the Des Moines River in Jefferson County, Iowa. Margaret later commented that their only neighbors after their marriage were Indians and Half-breeds which leads me to assume they were living on the Half-breed Tract in southeastern Iowa, which Joseph Smith had negotiated for the displaced Saints from Missouri. Ownership of this Half-breed Tract was in dispute of whether it was legal for half-breeds to sell their government land and these Saints again lost their land. In 1841, Eller and Margaret moved to Nauvoo where they lived until the exodus in February of 1846. Orson and Allen were born in Nauvoo; Allen, a few months after Joseph Smith was killed. In June of that year, they settled in Garner Township, Pottawattamie County, on land still owned by their descendants and Eller planted the crop to be harvested that fall. In December, Margaret gave birth to Lavina, their fourth child and the first known white child born in Pottawattamie County. Their home was a small log cabin, where the younger children were all born and reared. This picture on page 104, was given me by Else Steinberg, and was taken before the cabin was destroyed in a tornado in 1925. On a hot July day in 1855, Eller took a cold dip in a pond after haying and couldn't seem to recover from the chills, which led to stories that the cold water killed him; however, he died from cholera. He was but 39 years old and left a wife and seven children, the baby a few weeks old. Margaret, at the age of 33, became the head of the family. She managed to keep the farm and gave each of the boys a team of horses, a wagon and a hundred dollars on reaching maturity. Both Eller and Margaret are buried a mile south of their old farm in the Stoker-Graybill Cemetery, east of Council Bluffs. A wrought iron fence surrounds their grave… Children:
      a. Melanda Stoker, b. 11 Sep 1840 in Iowa; d. 11 Aug 1841.
      b. Orson Hyde Stoker, b. 25 Jan 1843 at Nauvoo, IL; d. 14 Jan 1908 - buried at Yorkshire, Iowa; m. Elizabeth Massie Oman.
      c. David Allen Stoker, b. 29 Dec 1844 at Nauvoo, IL; d. 15 Jan 1929; m. Allie Whitinger.
      d. Lavina Stoker, b. 10 Dec 1846 at Pottawattamie Co., IA; d. 19 Jan 1916; m. William Spears.
      e. Michael Stoker, b. 26 Feb 1849 at Pottawattamie Co., IA; d. 18 Nov 1929; m. Laura White; m. (2) Lilly White.
      f. Mary E. Stoker, b. 20 Jan 1936; d. 20 Jan 1936; m. Andrew Fitzgerald; m. (2) William Sheen.
      g. Margaret Calpernia Stoker, b. 7 Oct 1853 at Pottawattamie Co.; d. 27 Jan 1934; m. George Spears.
      h. Lucretia Stoker, b. 28 May 1855 at Pottawattamie Co.; d. 28 Aug 1914; m. William Heileman.
      Margaret's parents are given on the following page. John Judd was the son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Judd. I do not know his mother's maiden name nor the names of the other children in the family. Nathaniel was in Pittsylvania, Virginia, with his brother, Rowland Judd, in 1767. In 1771, the brothers were in Surry County, North Carolina, later to be Wilkes County. All land in North Carolina had to be registered in 1778 and records show Nathaniel and Towland on land by the Reddies River in Wilkes County. The Judds were respected in their community and were listed frequently on early Wilkes County records. Rowland was the tax assessor and the overseer to build the road from Deep Ford Hill to the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains. John Judd was appointed a County Justice in 1816. Perhaps John intended to go back some day to North Carolina, for his farm, consisting of 790 acres, was not sold until after his death in Wayne County, Indiana, in 1838. Judge Johnson Hayes, a U.S. District Judge and the author of the 'The Land of Wilkes,' now lives on the old John Judd farm. Rhoda Shepherd was born on a farm in Wilkes County soon after her family had moved from Virginia. She married neighbor John Judd, and they raised their eight children in Wilkes County. They went west in 1827 or 8, settling first in Ohio, where they became members of the Latter Days Saints Church, then on to Wayne County, Indiana, where John died. Rhoda was living on the Des Moines River in Iowa, when her daughter Margaret, married Eller Stoker in 1839. Margaret and Eller had a widowed mother living with them a few years later in Illinois, and it may have been Rhoda. Children:
      a. Elizabeth Judd, b. 1802; m. William Welch.
      b. Tabitha Judd, b. 1803; m. David Eller, son of John Eller, brother to Catherine and Mary Eller.
      c. Allen Judd, b. 1810; m. Hester Burns.
      d. Sarah Judd, b. 1813; m. Thomas Oler.
      e.Thomas Judd, b. 1815; m. Margaret Oler.
      f. Mary Judd, b. 1817; m. Alvin Winegar.
      g. Margaret Judd, b. May 29, 1822; m. Eller Stoker.
      h. John Judd, Jr., b. 1824.
      [Note that the book also contains more information on Rhoda Shepherd's ancestry.]"

      6. Mentioned in two separate biographies of her son-in-law's William Heileman as follows:
      a. "Biographical History of Pottawattamie County Iowa," by The Lewis Publishing Company, 1891: "William Heileman is one of the prominent and successful citizens of Garner Township who came to Pottawattamie co. 13 years ago and has resided on his present farm ever since. He was born August 22, 1857, in Saxony, Germany, the son of William and Wilhemina (Marker) Heileman, natives of Saxony. William attended school until 14 years of age, and then commenced farm work. When 16 years of age, he bade his father, mother, six brothers and one sister, good-bye and came to this country with his uncle, Carl Heileman, who settled in Webster Co, Iowa. William afterward came to Humboldt Co., where he worked at farm work by the month and remained until the spring of 1877 when he came to Pottawattamie Co. He purchased 80 acres of land in Minden Township, which he afterward sold and bought his present farm of Margaret Stoker. It was an old, cultivated farm, situated about 4 miles from the city limits, and consists of 243 acres, 120 acres being cultivated and the remainder in valuable timber and pasture lands. He has some four acres in vineyard, about two acres in blackberries, and six acres in orchard. The farm is well adapted for fruit-growing or stock-raising. On the 16th of April, he was married to Miss Lucretia Stoker, who was born on this homestead, the daughter of Eller and Margaret Stoker, early and well known settlers of the township. Mr. and Mrs. Heileman have two children: Ralph Earling and Minnie. Politically Mr. Heileman is a Democrat, and is a member of the Farmers' Protective Alliance of Garner Township. He is a man yet in the prime of life, frank, intelligent and cordial in his manner."
      b. FHL book 977.771 H2 "History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa," O.L. Baskin and Co., 1883, p. 96:
      "Wm. Heileman, farmer, P.O. Council Bluffs, was born in Germany in 1857; son of William and Wilhelmina (Marker) Heileman, living in Germany. Subject was educated in Germany, where he has five brothers, he being the only child in America. His father was in the army, but now has an office on a railroad. Our subject has always followed farming. He was married, April 16, 1879, to Miss Lucretia Stoker. They have one child, a little girl. Mr. Heileman came to this country when only fifteen years old, with an uncle, settling at Fort Dodge, Webster Co., Iowa, where he followed farming; he came to Pottawattamie County in April, 1877, ahd has been here since engaged in general farming. He is now farming Mrs. Stoker's farm, but owns one of eighty acres in Minden Township, partly improved. Since coming to America at fifteen years of age, he has made his own way."

      7. Mentioned in son Orson H. Stoker's biography as follows. See Eller Stoker's notes for full quotation. Two sources: www.rootsweb.com/~iaharris/ and FHL book 977.747-H2n: "History of Harrison County, Iowa," 1891, pp. 542, 543: "Orson H. Stoker... Our subject was born in Hancock County, Ill., January 25, 1843, and came with his parents to Pottawattamie County, where he remained until 1863. His father was Eller Stoker, and was born in Ohio about 1815, and died in Pottawattamie County, in July, 1855; she was one of the pioneers of that county, coming there as he did, in 1846, when Iowa first became a State. His wife, the mother of our subject, was Margaret (Judd) Stoker, and was a native of North Carolina, born in June, 1822, and is still residing in Pottawattamie County, Iowa."

      8. Mentioned in son Allen Stoker's biography as follows. See Eller Stoker's notes for full quotation. Two sources: www.rootsweb.com/~iaharris/ and FHL book 977.747-H2n: "History of Harrison County, Iowa," 1891, pp. 717, 718: "Allen Stoker... To inform the reader concerning our subject's earlier years, his marriage, etc., it should be stated that he was born December 29, 1844, in Hancock County, Ill., and is the son of Ellar and Margaret (Judd) Stoker. The father was a native of the Buckeye State, and came to Pottawattamie County, Iowa, settling near Council Bluffs, in June 1846, where he died July 19, 1855, always following farming. His wife was born in Indiana. They were the parents of eight children, of whom seven still survive, Mr. Stoker being the third child. He attended the district school in Pottawattamie County, acquiring a fair business education. His father died when he was about eleven years of age, but, being a faithful son, he lingered around the home hearth-stone until he had reached his majority, and then worked the old homestead two years, teaching school winters. Upon leaving home his mother gave him a team of horses and a wagon and the sum of $100 in money. And with this small beginning he started forth in life to take his rank among men as the architect of his own fortune, and by good business habits and much hard labor he is now surrounded with a comfortable home, and is possessor of three hundred and ninety-five acres of land in Union Township, of which two hundred are under the plow, and the balance pasture and meadow land. He usually keeps seventy-five head of cattle, fourteen horses, and fifty swine... "

      9. The book "The Howard Leytham Stoker Von Dollen Family Histories," FHL 929.273 H833a, by Doris Lewis, 2017 So. 80th Ave., Omaha, Nebraska, 68124, pp. 107+, has the following biographies of the children of Eller and Margaret (Judd) Stoker:
      Orson Hyde Stoker: "Orson was three years old when he came to Pottawattamie County with his parents in 1846. He grew up on the family farm in Garner Township. In 1863, when 20 years old, he bought government land at $7.00 an acre in Harrison County, Washington Township, section 32. Andrew Graybill, William Graybill, William Spears and Orson bought 320 acres in one body and helped one another clear the land. In 1867, he built a log house where he brought his new bride, Betty Oman, the following January. The oldest five children were born in this log house on Mosquito Creek, and Jess commented later it had quite a number of cracks, requiring one to shake the snow off of the quilts in the morning if it had snowed in the night. In 1879, Orson built the big family home just west of the cabin. The road at this time ran east and west and the house stood east of the present Highway 64 and across the road from William Darrington's home now. Because of his many daughters and numerous men on the premises, the second story was separated into male and female sleeping quarters by a solid wall, with separate stairways from each side. Because of the many out buildings, elevators and granaries, strangers often stopped at the farm thinking they had reached Yorkshire. Orson owned more than 1000 acres in Harrison County when he died in 1908 from an infectious carbuncle on the neck. He had diabetes, as did many of his children. Elizabeth Massie Oman, or Omen, as it is sometimes spelled, was born in Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri, in 1847, the first child born to Perry and Hannah Oman. A number of babies born to Latter Day Saint parents were born in Lafayette County, so there was probably a pocket of church members there. Two years later Betty's younger sister was born in Holt County, Mo. The Missouri census, taken in Lafayette County on August 26th, 1850, lists Perry as 26 years old, born in Illinois and a farmer by occupation. Hannah was 22, Elizabeth 3 ½ and Eliza ½. In the summer of 1851, the family moved to Pottawattamie County, Iowa, where Perry soon died. He may be buried in the old Mormon Cemetery, now Fairview in Council Bluffs, of the Stoker-Graybill Cemetery east of the Bluffs, or in Wheeler's Grove, where many Smiths were living, including Hannah's father, in a large Mormon community. I find only two other Omans at this time in the area, both in Council Bluffs, during the 1850 census. Eliza Oman, age 35, was perhaps a relative since Perry named a daughter Eliza, and next door to her was George Oman, who was a leader of a group of Latter Day Saints who traveled on to Utah. Betty's younger sister Eliza Annette was called 'Net.' When Net was 16 she met George Tucker at a dance in Council Bluffs, and they were married three weeks later. The Tucker family had come to Council Bluffs, then called Kanesville, in 1849. The first night of arrival they camped outside of town and the father was killed trying to stop house thieves from stealing the horses. The mother and a younger brother contacted smallpox later and died, leaving George and a sister, orphans. In 1861, when 17, George volunteered in the Fourth Iowa Infantry, Company B. He served in the following battles: Pea Ridge, Chick Bayou, Arkansas Post, Jackson, Champion Hill, Vicksburg, Big Black River, Dalton, Taylor's Ridge, Mission Ridge, Columbia River, Bentonville, the Atlanta campaign, the march to the sea, and the campaign that ended in Johnston's surrender. After the war he delivered oxen and wagons to Denver, returning with cattle. Returning from such a drive in the midst of a violent snow storm, he found a dance in progress in Council Bluffs. Dances had been discontinued during the war years, which made one quite an event after the war. George went to the dance and met Net. They never had children but were dear aunt and uncle to all of Orson and Betty's children. They lived their entire married life within a few miles of Neola. In the early years of marriage they lived in a log cabin on Mosquito Creek near Yorkshire, the last few years they lived in Neola, where George was the banker. The Stoker look is a familiar phrase to us who have it, but I was surprised to find that photographs show it was the Smith women who had it. Maybe it is really a Smith look, or an Eller look, of a Koons look, but wherever it came from, Grandma Betty Stoker had it." More on Orson Children: "Orson used to bring home bolts of material, so each family member had a dress or a shirt made out of the same material. He also brought barrels of clams and my grandmother said as she walked in the smoke house she could hear hundreds of clams clicking shut when the light hit. They were all excellent cooks, good eaters, hard workers, but would drop everything for a good ridge game. They had as much fun at 70 as at 17. When the grandchildren were ready for high school, which is in Neola, they moved in with Grandma Stoker, who had moved to Neola in her later years. There were times when she had as many as six teenagers boarding with her..." [The book lists 10 children born of this couple with numerous photographs. Three of the photos are especially noteworthy since they are of Hannah Smith - one taken just after her marriage with George Graybill, one with her second husband, James Sexton, taken during the Civil War, and one as an older woman with three generations of descendants.]
      David Allen Stoker: "Allen, who always went by his middle name, lived at home and taught school winters, until he was 24 years old. In 1869, he purchased the land and broke the wild sod which was to become the homestead on section 27, Union Township, Harrison County, Iowa. For two years he lived with his future brother-in-law, George Spears while he worked the land. In 1876 he married 'Allie' (Sarah) Whitinger, a young woman of 17..." [7 children listed, a complete downline, and a photograph is included.]
      Lavina Stoker: "Lavina was the first known white child born in Pottawattamie County. Her Mormon parents, Margaret and Eller Stoker, left Nauvoo with the migration of Mormons in the spring of 1846. She was born and reared in the log cabin just east of the Bluffs, leaving home when she married William Spears. William bought and started to clear land in Harrison Co., in 1863, along with Lavina's older brother and two Graybill cousins. William and Lavina had a log house just south of the Harrison county line in Pottawattamie County and lived there for many years before building their bigger house to the south... This old log cabin was near the conjunction of Interstate 80N and 80, north of Neola. When Minden Township was formed in 1877, William Spears was one of the three judges appointed." [Eleven children listed with a complete downline.]
      Michael Stoker: Narrative is about his wives' heritage and not Germane to this database. [One son is listed, a complete downline, and some photos.]
      Mary Elizabeth: Narrative of children and not Germane to this database. [Three children are listed and a complete downline.]
      Margaret Calpurnia Stoker: Calpurnia married at 17, as did her older sister, Lavina. George Spears was a brother to William Spears; which was not unusual on the frontier, for sisters of one family to marry brothers from another. George was named after his father, George Spears, Sr., who came from Scotland, married a girl name Sarah Churchfield in Pennsylvania, moved to Illinois in 1839. While in Illinois the family became members of the Latter Day Saint Church and came to Florence, Nebraska, with the exodus from Nauvoo in 1846. Calpurnia and George raised Byron Stoker, son of Michael Stoker, after the death of his mother. George Spears was born in Pennsylvania." [Four children are listed and a very partial downline.]
      Lucretia (Crish) Stoker: "Lucretia was a few weeks old when her father, Eller Stoker, died. She lived all of her life on the farm on which she was born. She was nicknamed 'Crish' as a baby, probably as a result form an attempt at pronouncing her name by Calpurnia or Mary. William Heileman was born in Germany and after his marriage to the baby of the family; he took over the family farm, consisting of 243 acres, burying it from Margaret, his mother-in-law. Granddaughter, Helen, and husband Dean Andress, live on part of the original farm today." [Two children are listed with a complete downline and a photo.]

      10. The book "Mormon Redress Petitions, Documents of the 1833-1838 Missouri Conflict," edited by Clark V. Johnson, contains a copy of the "Scroll Petition" dated 28 Nov 1843 at Nauvoo, IL addressed to the U.S. Congress by members of the LDS Church who had property destroyed by Missouri mobs in the 1830's. Included with over a couple thousand signatures are Elles, Mary, and Catherine Stoker. Elles is Eller, Mary is Margaret, and Catherine is Eller's mother Catherine Eller.

      11. FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 122-123: "Eller Stoker, b. 28 Jul 1816 in Jackson Co., OH; d. 18 Jul 1855 in Pottawattamie Co., IA. He m. 1839 Margaret Judd, b. 29 May 1822 in Wilkes Co., NC; d. 20 Nov 1893 in Pottawattamie Co., IA. She was a dau. of John and Rhoda (Shepherd) Judd. (Sources of data on this family, the 1850 Federal Census of Pottawattamie Co., IA and Hisotries of that county published in 1883 and 1891, also cemetery, church and Stoker family records.) The children of Eller Stoker and Margaret Judd were:
      Orson Hyde Stoker, b. 25 Jan 1843 in Illinois, d. 14 Jan 1908. He married but wife's name not found.
      David Allen Stoker, b. 29 Dec 1844 in Illionis; d. 15 Jan 1929; m. Alice Whitinger.
      Lavina Stoker,, b. 10 Dec 1846 in Pottawattamie Co. IA; d. 19 Jan 1916; m. William Spears, b. Sep 1836 in Mercer Co., PA; d. Jan 1911 in Pottawattamie Co., IA.
      Michael E. Stoker, b. 26 Feb 1849 in Pottawattamie Co., IA; d. 18 Nov 1929; m. Laura White.
      Mary Elizabeth Stoker, b. 18 Feb 1850 in Pottawattamie Co., IA; d. 20 Jan 1936; m. William Sheen or Shene.
      Margaret Calpernia Stoker, b. 7 Oct 1854 (prob. 1853) in Pottawattamie Co., IA; d. 19 Sep 1933 at Council Bluffs, IA; m. 5 Mar 1871 George Spears, b. 6 Apr 1843 in Illinois; d. 27 Nov 1919.
      Lucretia Stoker, b. 28 May 1855 in Pottawattamie Co., IA; d. 28 Aug 1914; m. 16 Apr, about 1878, William Heilman."

      12. FHL film 702: "Journal of John Stoker, b. 1817; Journal starts November 1, 1869." John was the son of David Stoker and Barbara Graybill. Selected family related passages from his journal:
      P. 1: Nov. 1-4, 1869: The journal starts with John leaving as a 52 year old missionary with Jesse N. Perkins as a companion from Salt Lake City on the railroad to Omaha, NE. The railroad had just recently been completed so he details the progress of the transcontinental railway journey.
      P. 2: Saturday, Nov. 6, 1869: "Went to Bluff City with J.N. Perkins. Sunday 7th, spent the fore noon with Moroni Stoker - took dinner with him." [William Moroni Stoker, 1834-1929, was John's first cousin thru John's father's brother Michael S. Stoker, 1805-1858.]
      P. 3: "Monday 8th. Went up to Musketoe to see Simeon P. Graybill. Stayed all night. Tuesday 9th, took dinner with Aunt Margaret Stoker, Uncle Eller Stoker's widow, and returned to Aunt Martha's at Trading Point, Potawatamie Co., Iowa. Wednesday, 10th. Wrote a letter to Mr. Wm. Atkinson in Bountiful, Davis Co., Utah. Thursday 11th. Visited Wm. McDaniel in Harrison Co. 40 miles north. Friday 12th. Visited the grave of Zibiah Birdno [could also be Binders], my wife's mother. Saturday 13th. Returned to Aunt Martha's at Trader's Point. Sunday 14th. Spent the day with Aunt Martha's family. Monday 15th. Went to Bluff City to look for a letter but got none and returned to the Point. [Simeon Graybill, 1816-1889, was John's first cousin twice thru his father's sister Polly Stoker, 1792-1864, and thru his mother's brother Michael Peter Graybill. Eller Stoker, 1816-1855, was John's father's brother and married to Margaret Judd, 1822-1893. Aunt Martha was Martha Carr McDaniel, 1808-1873, wife of John's father's brother Michael S. Stoker, 1805-1858. William McDaniel, 1810-1885, is John's brother-in-law. John's Mother-in-law, Zibiah (McCarley) McDaniels, 1786-1860, apparently remarried a Mr. Birdno after her husband James McDaniel, 1762-1820, died.]
      Pp. 4-9: The journal details their departure from Council Bluffs area by various means including railroad, hack, steamboat, packet boat, hired horses, and on foot with luggage to "Leith Co. 5 miles north of Estillville," Virginia via many detailed waypoints including but not limited to DesMoines, Chicago, Cleveland, Wheeling VA, Burlington on the Ohio River, the "Big Sandy" on the line between Kentucky and Virginia, the "Pound Gap" summit of Cumberland Mountain, the "High Nob the highest point in Virginia." John details with whom they stayed and what hospitality they received. Along the way they see and preach the Gospel to many McLelland/McClelland relatives of his companion. In Leith Co., VA, on Monday, Dec. 13, 1869, he "wrote a letter home to my family and one to Ash[e] Co., North Carolina to David and Henry Graybill" which they mailed the next day from Estillville. [John's mother, Barbara Graybill, had two brothers - Henry, ca1780-ca1843, and David, 1794-1874 - who remained in Ashe Co. where she was born; however, Henry was dead by then but his "Uncle" David responds later on Jan. 22.]
      Pp. 10-17: They stayed in the area doing missionary work mainly among McClellands. He notes on Christmas day while staying with Samuel McClelland, they went to a meeting and heard a Dunkard preach. On Monday, Dec. 27th, John notes, "wrote a letter to my family also one to my sister-in-law Martha Stoker at Bluff City, Iowa. [Martha Carr (McDaniel) Stoker was whom he referred to as Aunt Martha previously in his journal since she was married to his father's brother Michael S. Stoker, but she was also a sister-in-law since she was the sister to John's wife Jane McDaniel.] John notes on Saturday, Jan. 8th, that he "went to the widow Quillins to inquire concerning the Wampler family." [I am unsure who the widow was, but John's maternal grandmother was Christina Wampler, 1753-1844.] On Tuesday, Jan. 11th, John notes, "Went to Patsy Daughterty's to inquire after my mother's relatives." On Thursday, Jan. 13th, he notes that he "went to Wm. Wampler's, took dinner." [I do not have either a Patsy Daughterty nor William Wampler in my database - they must be of a later generation than John's grandmother Christina Wampler.] He also notes on the same day that he received a letter from his son-in-law J. Tolman and daughter in Utah. On Saturday, Jan. 22nd, John notes, 'Received a letter from my son David Stoker, Davis Co., Utah dated Jan'y 1st, 1870, gave particulars of my son John Stoker's sickness but getting better. Also received a letter from my uncle David Graybill, Ashe Co., Jefferson, North Carolina." On Jan. 24th, he writes back to his uncle David Graybill.
      Pp. 18-24: Starting on Jan. 26th, 1870, the missionaries are on the move: first to Bristol (VA?), then thru Chattanooga, Nashville, Sparta, to Putnam Co., Tennessee where they did missionary work with the Perkins and Mayberry families who relatives of his companion, Jesse Perkins. On Sunday, Feb. 13th, 1870, John wrote letters to his son David Stoker in Davis Co., Utah and one to Aunt Martha Stoker and cousins in Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie Co., Iowa. On the next day he went to Gainesboro where he received a letter from his son David Stoker. Beginning Feb. 16th, 1870, John proceeds by boat down the Cumberland to Nashville then to St. Louis via the Mississippi River from Cape "Jerido". On Feb. 23rd, took the from St. Louis to Trader's Point where again he sees Aunt Martha. He sends money to his companion in Decatur Co., Iowa to help him get to Council Bluffs. He also sends a letter to Utah asking his family for money for himself and his companion.
      Pp. 25-33: John arrives Feb. 26 and remains in Pottawattamie Co., Iowa until March 24 when he, Jesse Perkins who arrives March 9, and several other missionaries from the East Coast join up in Omaha for the trip home to Utah by railroad which he notes cost $50.75. Generally he is staying with his Aunt Martha. Some journal entries during that time period dealing with family follow: "Sat., Feb 26th, 1870: Went up to Musketoe Creek to Simeon Peter Graybill, my cousin. Stayed over night. Sunday, 27th. Went to Walker's Grove in Harrison Co. to Sidney R. Graybill, my cousin, with Moroni Stoker to see some sick cousins Michael and Elizabeth Graybill. [Sidney Rigdon, 1836-1893, Michael S., 1827-1910, and Elizabeth, 1833-1891, are siblings and all children of Polly Stoker, John's father's sister.] Stayed over night. Monday 28th. Cold and windy. Remained all day. Stayed all night. Tuesday, March 1st 1870. Returned to Aunt Martha Stoker's at Traders Point. Read a letter from David Stoker, my son, to John A. Stoker, dated Feb'y 21st, 1870. Stayed overnight… Thursday 3d. Cousin Jared Stoker killed 2 turkeys, the 2 weighing 40 lbs. [John Alexander Stoker, 1837-1918, and Jared, 1843-1912, were first cousins and sons of Michael S. Stoker, brother of John's father David.] Stayed over… Tuesday 8th, being my birthday, age 53… Wednesday 9th… was weighed being 184 lbs… Friday 18th… went to Aaron Thomas, took dinner and spent the day with him and family. [Aaron Morris Thomas, 1833-1920, was married to John's first cousin, Elizabeth Jane Stoker, who was the daughter of John W. Stoker, a brother of John's father David.] Returned to Aunt Martha Stoker's… Saturday 19thns to Omaha with a wagon. Rained before we got there. Joseph Stoker went over the River with us met about 30 of the missionaries at the St. Charles Hotel. [Joseph Jehiel Stoker, 1846-1921, was a brother of John Alexander and William Moroni Stoker.] Left Omaha at 6 p.m. on the Emigrant Cars for home…"
      Pp. 33-35: John details the train trip which started March 24th and arrived home in Bountiful March 29th after switching to the Utah Central in Ogden. He notes his arrival "in the midst of family and friends with a hearty God bless you… and a hearty shaking of hands." The missionary journal ends at this point.
      Pp. 36-227: The balance of John's journal book is genealogical notations of family. Many pages are blank, which I did not copy. Besides family, John would also note many other unrelated Stokers who he must have gleaned from books and other sources. He also notes some totally unrelated non-Stoker individuals with whom he evidently has some acquaintance. I have entered the pertinent data with each family in my database.

      13. FHL film 702: "Journal of John Stoker, b. 1817; Journal starts November 1, 1869." John was the son of David Stoker and Barbara Graybill. The first 35 pages detail his mission taken from Utah to Virginia and Tennessee through Council Bluffs, Iowa, which I have summarized and included with his notes in this database. Pp. 36-227, the balance of Johntaken over the book later. Many entries are repetitive at different times. Pertinent data for this family or individual is quoted verbatim as follows on pages:
      180-181: Catherine Stoker, daughter of Peter Eller and Elizabeth was born March the 9th, 1773 in the State of North Carolina, Rowan County.
      Jacob Stoker, son of Michael Stoker and Catherine Eller was born April 7th, 1812, Ashe County, State of North Carolina.
      Michael Graybill, son of Peter Graybill and Christenia Wampler was born May 1787, North Carolina, Ash County.
      Eller Stoker, son of Michael Stoker and Katherine Eller was born July 28th, 1816, Ohio, Jackson Co., Bloomfield Township, died July 18, 1855.
      Margaret Judd Stoker, daughter of John Judd and Rhoda Shepherd was born May 29th, 1822, North Carolina, Wilks County.
      Michael Stoker, son of Michael Stoker and Katherine Eller was born Feby 10th, 1805, North Carolina, Ash Co.

      14. The following is a partial quote from an article entitled: "The Michael and Catherine Eller Stoker family as early Mormons in Ohio and Missouri," by Jimmie "B" Stoker, November 24, 1993, as reprinted in the book "Our Stoker Family Histories 1731-1881," Vol. II, comp. and ed. by Elayne Stoker, 2004, printed by Stevenson's Genealogy Center, Provo, UT. See the notes of Michael Stoker (1762-1838) for the full transcript of this article:
      "During the late fall and winter of 1836, the Stoker families, whether together or separately, trekked across Ohio in their wagons. Many of them planned to spend part of the winter with relatives in Indiana.(7) Michael stopped in Henry County, Indiana where on December 1, 1836 he bought "1 Roe of Shock corn" from the estate of Absalom Koons who was Catherine's deceased nephew.(8) Michael's son Michael Stoker, Jr., must have been in Henry County when he wrote in his journal in April 1837 that he baptized Margaret Judd, David Eller, Tabitha Eller, Mary Sharp, Rhoda Judd. These were relatives and soon-to-be relatives. Margaret Judd in 1839, after the Stokers were driven from Missouri, would marry Michael's youngest brother, Eller. Rhoda Judd was the mother of Margaret Judd and Tabitha Eller. David Eller was Michael's first cousin.(9)
      Footnotes:
      5. Vivian Graybill, "Michael Graybill, Sr." Typescript sent to Jim Stoker by Alice Graybill Russell, 6120 Wincanton Dr., Shreveport, LA 71129 on October 6, 1993.
      6. Ibid.
      7. Ibid.
      8. A necessary explanation on the Michael Stoker (Stocker) family group sheet sent by Jim Rose, 740 So.Woodland Hills Dr., Woodland Hills, UT, 84 653 on Nov. 13, 1993.
      9. "The Howard Leytham, Stoker, Von Dollen Family Histories...," p. 92."

      15. From an article entitled "The Family" from the book "Our Stoker Family Histories 1731-1881," Vol. II, comp. and ed. by Elayne Stoker, 2004, printed by Stevenson's Genealogy Center, Provo, UT. For the full transcriptional listing of the descendants of Michael Stoker and Catherine Stoker, see the notes of Michael Stoker - the following only pertains to this immediate family. Generation "1" is Michael Stoker and Catherine Eller:
      "The Michael Stoker Family as existed at the time of his death. Those names that are [bracketed] probably were involved in the Missouri experience...
      2. [Eller Stoker], born Jul 28, 1816 in Bloomfield Twp., Jackson Co., OH, married Margaret JUDD in 1839, in Iowa. Margaret was born in Wilkes Co., NC on May 29, 1822. They lived in Iowa before coming to Nauvoo in 1841. Eller was a Mason. He died on Jul 18, 1855 in Pottawattamie Co., IA. Margaret was baptized in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Aug 12, 1860. Eller and Margaret are buried in the Graybill/Stoker Cemetery."

      16. The following is a partial quote from an article entitled: "The Michael and Catherine Eller Stoker family as early Mormons in Ohio and Missouri," by Jimmie "B" Stoker, November 24, 1993, as reprinted in the book "Our Stoker Family Histories 1731-1881," Vol. II, comp. and ed. by Elayne Stoker, 2004, printed by Stevenson's Genealogy Center, Provo, UT. See the notes of Michael Stoker (1762-1838) for the full transcript of this article:
      "The following members of Michael Stoker's family attached their names to a petition in 1843 that they had lived in Missouri and had been driven from their state:(21)
      David Stoker [Michael's son David (1795-1852)], John Stoker [possibly David's son, John (1817-1881) or Michael's son, John W. (1803-1857)], John McDaniels (1812-1884) [David's son-in-law, husband of his oldest daughter, Christine (1815-1854)], Elles Stoker (1816-1855) [Eller, Michael's youngest son], Mary Stoker (1822-1890) [probably Margaret Judd, Eller's wife]. Catharine Stoker (1773-after 1850) [Michael's wife, Catharine Eller], Jacob Stoker (1812-1893) [Michael's son], Catharine Stoker [Catharine Burcham, Jacob's wife], John Stoker (1803-1857) [Michael's son, John W. Stoker], Sarah Stoker (1806-1857) [John W. Stoker's wife, Electa Sarah McDaniel].
      Geo. Graybill (1821-?) [Michael's grandson, George Washington Graybill, son of Polly Mary Stoker (1792-1864)], Michael Stoker (1805-1858) [Michael's son], Martha Stoker (1808-1873) [Martha Carr McDaniel, wife of Michael's son, Michael], Gabrael Stoker (1832-1852) [Michael's grandson, son of Michael (1805-1858)], William Stoker (1819-1892) [Michael's grandson, son of David], Almira Stoker (1818-1884) [Michael's granddaughter-in-law, grandson, William's wife, Almira Winegar], Samuel D. Stoker (1840-1908) [Michael's great-grandson, son of William and Almira], William Stoker (1842-1906) [Michael's great-grandson, son of William and Almira].
      Mary Graybill [possibly Michael's daughter, Polly Mary Stoker (1792-1864) or his granddaughter, Mary Ann Graybill (1830-?)], William Graybill (1825-1880) [Michael's grandson, son of Polly Mary Stoker], Adam Graybill [still looking for this relationship to Michael], Sidney R Graybill (1836-?) [Michael's grandson, son of Polly Mary Stoker], Levi Graybill (1818-1912) [Michael's grandson, son of Polly Mary Stoker], Patience Graybill (1825-1895) [Patience Smith, Michael's granddaughter-in-law, wife of Joseph Levi Graybill (1818-1912)], Mary Graybill [possibly Michael's daughter, Polly Mary Stoker (1792-1864), or his granddaughter, Mary Ann Graybill (1830-?), Polly's daughter].
      John Stoker (1817-1881) [Michael's grandson, son of David], Jane Stoker (1810-1890) [Michael's granddaughter-in-law, Jane McDaniel, wife of John (1817-1881)], Hannah Graybill [Michael's great granddaughter, daughter of Joseph Levi Graybill], Hyrum Stoker (1840-1887) [Michael's great grandson, son of John Stoker (1817-1881) and Jane McDaniel], Alma Stoker (1835-1897) [Michael's adopted great grandson, son of Jane McDaniel], and Franklin Stoker (1842-1855) [Michael's great grandson, son of John Stoker (1817-1881)]. Lucinda Stoker is also listed on the petition but cannot establish a relationship to Michael Stoker (1762-1838).(22)
      Refuge found in Illinois.
      The people of Quincy reached out to help the Mormons fleeing from Missouri. Elizabeth Haven Barlow writes, "The people of Quincy had contributed between four and five hundred dollars for the poor Mormons. God had opened their hearts to receive us. May heaven's blessings rest upon them. We are hungry and they feed us, naked and clothed us. The citizens have assisted beyond all calculations."(23)
      Footnotes
      21. Also included are some of their children who were born after 1838 in Illinois.
      22. "Mormon Redress Petitions," pp. 574, 598, 599-601.
      23. Elizabeth Haven Barlow in letter to Elizabeth Howel Bullard, 24 February 1839, published in Ora H. Barlow, "The Israel Barlow Story and Mormon Mores." Salt Lake City: Ora H. Barlow, 1968."

      17. From an article entitled "Eller Stoker Family" from the book "Our Stoker Family Histories 1731-1881," Vol. II, comp. and ed. by Elayne Stoker, 2004, printed by Stevenson's Genealogy Center, Provo, UT. There are some dates that I do not agree with as noted in [ ]:
      "The following is from Doris Lewis's book: The Howard, Leytham, Stoker, Von Dollen Family Histories:
      'Eller Stoker was the last and ninth child born to Michael and Catherine Eller Stoker. He was born in Jackson County, Ohio on July 28, 1817 [s/b 1816], just seven months after the family had made the trek from North Carolina. While in Ohio, probably in 1833 or early 1834, the family joined the newly organized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His older brother, Michael Jr., baptized a number of relatives and friends in February of 1836, among them, Margaret Judd, Eller's future wife. In 1837, the family moved to Far West, Caldwell, Missouri. His mother, Catherine, lived through these times to die in 1850 [should be after 1856] in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, but Michael was not among those accounted for later.
      In 1839, he married Margaret Judd, who also had been in Missouri, then living with her widowed mother, Rhoda Judd, on the Des Moines River in Jefferson County, Iowa. Margaret later commented that their only neighbors after their marriage were Indians and Half-breeds which leads me to assume they were living on the Half-breed Tract in southeastern Iowa, which Joseph Smith had negotiated for the displaced Saints from Missouri. Ownership of this Half-breed Tract was in dispute of whether it was legal for half breeds to sell their government land and the saints again lost their land.
      In 1841, Eller and Margaret, moved to Nauvoo where they lived until the exodus in February of 1846. Orson and Allen were born in Nauvoo, Allen a few months after Joseph Smith was killed.
      In June of that year they settled in Garner Township, Pottawattamie County, on land still owned by their descendants, and Eller planted the crop to be harvested that fall. In December, Margaret gave birth to Lavina, their fourth child and the first known white child born in Pottawattamie County.
      Their home was a small log cabin, where the younger children were all born and reared. This picture, on page 104, was given me by Elsie Steinberg, and was taken before the cabin was destroyed in a tornado in 1925.
      On a hot July day in 1855, Eller took a cool dip in a pond after haying and couldn't seem to recover from the chills, which led to stories that the cold water killed him. However he died from cholera. He was but 39 years old and left a wife and seven children, the baby a few weeks old.
      Margaret, at the age of 33, became the head of the family. She managed to keep the farm and gave each of the boys a team of horses, a wagon and a hundred dollars on reaching maturity.
      Both Eller and Margaret are buried a mile south of their farm in the Stoker-Graybill Cemetery, east of Council Bluffs. A wrought iron fence surrounds their grave.'
      Margaret obituary as listed in The Saints Herald, Lamoni, Iowa, December 9, 1893. Vol. 40 No. 49 [a publication of the RLDS Church].
      'Stoker- Sr. Marguerite Judd Stoker was born in Wilkes County, North Carolina, May 29, 1822 and died in Harrison County, Iowa November 20, 1893. The funeral took place from the residence of her son-in-law, Mr. Heilemen, of Parner township, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, November 22, Elder D. K. Dodson preaching the sermon. A long line of carriages followed the remains to the Stoker Cemetery. Deceased leaves three sons and four daughters, all married, and many relatives to mourn. Sr. Stoker was a woman of great hospitality, and in the early days of the Reorganization she entertained the traveling ministry with great cordiality, and in a short time after hearing the gospel in its purity she, with most of her family, united with the church.'
      Her history is again set forth in the Biographical History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, 1891. This sketch was written while she was still alive.
      'Margaret Stoker, of Pottawattamie County, was born May 29, 1822, in Wilkes County, North Carolina, the daughter of John Judd and Rhoda (Shepperd), the former a native of North Carolina. Mrs. Stoker was in her seventh year when her parents moved to Wayne County, Indiana, where they lived until after her father's death, which took place when she was about seven or eight years of age, the family moved to Iowa, on the Des Moines River, when the State was still a Territory, and where they lived until the mother's death, which occurred one year later. In 1830 [should be 1839] Mrs. Stoker was married, at the age of seventeen years, to Eller Stoker, who was born in Jackson County, Ohio, the son of Michel and Catherine Ella [s/b Eller] Stoker, the mother a native of North Carolina and the father of Germany. Eller Stoker was reared in Ohio, and when about twenty-one years of age moved to Missouri, where he lived two years and then came to Iowa, and afterward removed to Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois, where he became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in 1846. He then came back to the old homestead, where Mrs. Stoker still lives, and cultivated a portion of the land before his death, which occurred July 18, 1855, lacking but a few days of being thirty nine years old, and leaving a widow and seven children, viz., Orson Hyde, who lives near Yorkshire, Harrison County, Iowa, is married, and has seven children; Allen, who lives near Union Grove, Harrison County, and has five children; Michel E., lives near Union Grove, Harrison County; Lavina, the wife of William Spears, lives in Pottawattamie County, and has six children; Mary, wife of William Shene, of Garner Township, has three children; Calpernia, lives in Minden Township, the wife of George Spears, and has four children; and Lucretia, who lives in Garner Township, the wife of William Heileman. Mrs. Stoker has had a wonderful experience of living in Iowa, and she has witness the growth and prosperity of the State.'
      Margaret sold her farm of 243 acres to her son-in-law, William Heileman, around 1877. The land had 120 cultivated acres and the rest used for pasture and timber harvest. It was located four miles from the city limits of Council Bluffs.
      Pictures:
      "Top: children of Eller Stoker and Margaret Judd. Bottom: Home of Eller and Margaret Judd in Iowa."
      "Upper left- Margaret and Crish, about 1866. Lower left- Margaret, about 10 years later."
      Children of Margaret and Eller Stoker:
      1. Melanda Stoker, b. Sept. 11, 1840 Iowa; d. Aug. 11, 1841.
      2. Orson Hyde Stoker, b. Jan. 25, 1843 Nauvoo, Illinois; d. Jan. 14, 1908; buried- Yorkshire, Iowa; m. Elizabeth Massie Oman.
      3. David Allen Stoker, b. Dec. 29, 1844 Nauvoo, Illinois; d. Jan. 15. 1929; m. Allie Whitinger.
      4. Lavina Stoker, b. Dec. 10, 1846 Pottawattamie Co., Iowa; d. Jan. 19, 1916; buried- Yorkshire, Iowa; m. William Spears.
      5. Michael Stoker, b. Feb. 26, 1849 Pottawattamie Co., Iowa; d. Nov. 18, 1929; m. Laura White; m. (2) Lilly White.
      6. Mary E. Stoker, b. Dec. 18, 1850 Pottawattamie Co., Iowa; d. Jan. 20, 1936; m. Andrew Fitzgerald; m. (2) William Sheen.
      7. Margaret Calpernia Stoker, b. Oct. 7, 1853 Pottawattamie Co., Iowa; d. Jan. 27, 1934; m. George Spears.
      8. Lucretia Stoker, b. May 28, 1855 Pottawttamie Co., Iowa; d. Aug. 28, 1914; m. William Heileman."

      17. The article "Michael and Catherine Eller Stoker's Descendants in Illinois," by Jimmie "B" Stoker, July 30, 1994, as reprinted in the book "Our Stoker Family Histories 1731-1881," Vol. II, comp. and ed. by Elayne Stoker, 2004, printed by Stevenson's Genealogy Center, Provo, UT. See the notes of Michael Stoker (1762-1838) for the full transcript of this article. This portion of the article lists the proxy baptisms done in Nauvoo, Illinois by the Stokers and related families for their extended family in behalf of their dead relatives and friends per the doctrine of their newly embraced Mormon religion:
      "A new doctrine taught.
      Seymour Brunson's funeral.
      On August 10, 1840 forty-year-old Seymour Brunson died in Nauvoo. He was an old Stoker friend. Not only was he one of the first missionaries that had brought the restored gospel to their home in Jackson County, Ohio during 1833, but he had also distinguished himself in Missouri during 1838 as leading out in Joseph Smith's behalf. Colonel Brunson had led some of the Mormon attacks against the Missouri enemies.
      At Brunson's funeral Joseph Smith introduced to his followers the ordinance of baptism for the dead. This doctrine would seize the imagination of many members of the church including the Stokers. Joseph taught that "the Saints have the privilege of being baptized for those of their relatives who are dead, whom they believe would have embraced the Gospel, if they had been privileged with hearing it, and who have received the Gospel in the spirit, through the instrumentality of those who have been commissioned to preach to them while in prison."13
      Baptism for the dead.
      The idea of this ordinance underscores the fact that God is just and will allow all mankind equal opportunity to accept proper baptism in Christ's name. Hence by allowing a proxy to be baptized in behalf of those who had died without being baptized in the proper manner, God would not penalize those of His children who had lived on the earth without hearing the restored gospel. In the hereafter, God would allow them to accept or reject that ordinance which is designed to allow one entrance into Heaven. Individual members of the church could perform baptism for their ancestors who had never heard of the restored gospel.
      The Stokers go to Nauvoo to be baptized for their dead relatives.
      Stepping into the water on behalf of their dead relatives to be baptized for them was an act that Catherine Eller Stoker was to perform. Many in her family followed her example and were baptized for numerous dead relatives.
      During the short time after Joseph Smith had introduced the concept of baptism for the dead, members of the church entered the waters of the Mississippi River to be baptized on behalf of their loved ones. The rite of baptism for the dead was confirmed to the vicinity of Nauvoo.
      On January 19, 1841, the Lord commanded that the Saints built a temple with a baptismal font in it. Furthermore, the commandment states that baptism for the dead "belongeth to my house, and cannot be acceptable to me, only in the days of your poverty, wherein ye are not about to build a house unto me."14 On October 3, 1841, as the temporary baptismal font in the Temple basement neared completion, Joseph Smith declared, "There shall be no more baptisms for the dead until the ordinance can be attended to in the Lord's House."15
      In 1841 Catherine Eller and members of her family traveled to Nauvoo to perform baptisms for their dead. At this time the church policy allowed men and women to be baptized indiscriminately for each other. Catherine was baptized for her father, Peter Eller, and her brother, John Eller. She may have been baptized for her deceased daughter, Rebecca Stoker at this date. Michael Stoker (1805-1858) was baptized for his Grandfather Stoker, Michael (1762-1838), Eller Stoker (1816-1857) was baptized for his uncle, George Eller.16
      It is most probable that these 1841 Stoker baptisms were performed in the MIssissippi River. The first baptisms for the dead performed in the Nauvoo Temple font took place on Sunday November 21, 1841 in the basement. This temporary font had been dedicated a couple of weeks earlier and would be used until the Temple was completed with a permanent one.17
      The following Stoker family members were baptized for these dead members of their families [Person baptized for/Relationship to above:]
      Catherine Eller Stoker:
      Elizabeth [Dick Eller] White/Mother
      George M. Eller/Grandfather
      Kinrod Dick/Grandfather
      Catherine Dick/Grandmother
      Peter Eller/Father
      John Eller/Brother
      Rebecca Stoker/Daughter
      Michael Stoker (1805-1858):
      Michael Stoker/Grandfather
      Barbary Pertune/Aunt
      Absalom Koons/Cousin
      Eller Stoker (1816-1857):
      Christian Sherrer/Great uncle
      Sarah Sherrer/Great aunt
      Jacob Sherrer/Mother's cousin
      Catherine Sherrer/Mother's cousin
      Philip Baker/Uncle
      George Baker/Cousin
      George Eller/Uncle
      Margaret [Judd] Stoker:
      William McQuarey/Uncle
      James Welker:
      Sarah Wilker/Mother
      Elizabeth Stoker Welker
      Lear Black/Mother's cousin
      William Pennington/Uncle
      Mary Polly Stoker Graybill
      Molly Coons/Great aunt
      Andrew Sherer/Mother's cousin
      Andrew Black/Mother's cousin
      Catherine Yance/Mother's cousin
      Luke White/Step-grandfather
      Mary Steemel [Stimmel]/Aunt"

      18. The following LDS ordinances were done in Nauvoo by Michael Stoker acting as proxy for his family as follows per the book "Annotated Record of Baptism for the Dead, 1840-1845, Hancock County, Illinois - [7 volume set] ," by Black, Susan Easton & Black, Harvey Bishchoff, Provo, UT, BYU Press, 2002, pp. 1452-1453, with additional biography by editors:
      "Deceased: William McQuarey. 1841. William McQuarey, b. abt. 1795 of North Carolina. Margaret Stoker was the Niece of William McQuarey. Source: Nauvoo Baptismal Records of the Dead, Book A105; Family Search, IGI."

      BIRTH:
      1. FHL film 0183374 "Sealings and Adoptions of the Living; Index 1846-1857," p. 495, Nauvoo Temple, states: Margaret Judd, 29 May 1822 at Wilkes Co., North Carolina. This is also the date in her published biography above.

      2. Variant of June 1822 in NC is found in Orson H. Stoker's biography above. Since the biography is second hand, I believe the Nauvoo temple dates would be more reliable si