[Last updated: 29 October 2020]

Johan Friederich Stembel (Grandfather)

Frederick Stembel (Father)

Frederick Stembel, Jr.

FREDERICK STEMBEL, JR. (1779 - 1868)

In 1779, the war for Independence was not going well. Morale was low, and reality of a long war was setting in. No doubt the mood in Middletown was sober. On July 17 of that year, Frederick welcomed his second son and named him for himself.

We know almost nothing of Frederick's childhood other than what we can gleen or deduce from general knowledge of the times. He was born and raised in town. Middletwon was on a major route to the west, with a steady stream of Conestoga wagons of settlers and supplies heading to settlements popping up like weeds. More exciting were the wagons returning with news of the new frontier. Despite the gloom of the war, it was an exciting time to be a child in Middletown. Frederick had an older sister and older brother to emulte and harrass (we know of two others, but they apparently died young).

As Frederick grew to adulthood, his ambitious father was busy finding success in the bustling town of Middletown. Frederick benefited by being raised in family free of want. He also benefited from observing his father's different commercial endeavors.

On May 30, 1801, Frederick married Elizabeth Staley (Stahli). They were both 21. They lived in Middletown where he operated a tanning yard.⁽¹⁾ In 1805, Frederick and four others purchased land in Middletown for a school.⁽²⁾ Frederick was listed as one of the trustees.

Frederick and Elizabeth had three children: two sons and a daughter. Sometime between 1826 when his daughter sponsored a baptism in Middletown, and 1830 when Frederick was enumerated in the 1830 census, the family moved to Xenia, Ohio. In the 1830 census Frederick, his wife, and three children were all present, plus two others: a white female between the ages of 20 and 30, and a free black female, under the age of 10-years-old. Neither the black female or the unknown white female were present ten years later in the 1840 census.

It appears that a conflict arose between Frederick and his father, for when the elder Frederick wrote his will in 1838, Frederick, Jr. was conspicuously absent. Instead, the elder Frederick specified that his son's share of the estate was to be divided between his three children. One is left to speculate what might have caused Frederick to literally disinherit his son. In his will, Frederick's father specified that each child's inferitance would be reduced by the amount he had advanced them over the years. Frederick had been advanced $3,280, which was about the average amount advanced to the others.

In 1835, just a few years after moving to Ohio, Frederick's wife, Elizabeth, died at the age of 54. Five years later, the 1840 federal census was taken, but there was no entry for Frederick (the 1840 census continued the practice of only recording the name of the head of household while showing the other household occupants as numbers in age groups), but there was an entry for his older son, Jacob, in Xenia Township. Judging by the information given it appears that Frederick was living in Jacob's household at this time.

We're not certain what Frederick's main occupation was in Ohio. In the 1850 census he listed his occupation as Tanner, which is what he was back in Maryland. The Greene County Public Library's database of "Public Figures of the Past" shows that in 1838 Frederick was the road superintendent for District 19, in 1842 he was road superintendent for District 20, and in 1855 he is listed as "road supervisor." Then in 1856 and 1857 he was a council member⁽³⁾ (at the age of 77). It is also noted in the History of Greene County, that Frederick was Xenia's City Marshal for 20 years!⁽⁴⁾

Beginning with the 1850 census, all family member's were named instead of just the head of household. In this census we find that Jacob was again listed as head of household. Frederick was living with him and his family. Both Frederick and Jacob had their occupations recorded as "Tanner." It is unusual that Frederick, as father, was not listed as head of household. Its possible Jacob bought the farm with the money he inherited from his Grandfather, money that would normally have gone to his father.⁽⁵⁾

Jacob died four months after the 1850 census was taken. According to the 1860 census, Frederick continued to live on the farm, with his son's widow, Rachel, her two children, and Frederick's unmarried daughter, Ann Elizabeth.

Eight years after the 1860 census, Frederick died on May 23, 1868, at the age of 88. He had outlived his wife and all three of his children.

Frederick and Elizabeth are both buried in Xenia's Woodland Cemetery.

It should be noted that in the majority of cases where Frederick's family name is recorded, the name is spelled Stemble. It appears this is the way the family preferred to spell it.

Frederick and Elizabeth Stembel's three children:

A. Jacob Stembel (1802-1850). Jacob was born March 26, 1802, in Middletown. He moved to Xenia with his family sometime before 1830. He was single and in his mid-20s. In 1839 he married Rachel Eyler who was ten years younger. She was born in the same Maryland county as Jacob. They may have known each other as children. At the time of the 1840 and the 1850 federal censuses, they were living on a farm outside Xenia. In the 1850 census, it shows they had two children, Staley and Elizabeth Ann.

Jacob died just a few months after the 1850 census was taken. He was just 48. He is buried in Xenia's Woodland Cemetery. In the 1860 census, Rachel and her two children were still living on their farm with her father-in-law, Frederick, and her sister-in-law, Ann Elizabeth. She was recorded as the head of household. The census shows she owned real estate valued at $3,000 and personal property valued at $4,100. It's unclear how she amassed such a large amount, especially for a widow with two teenage children. The other two adults in the household were Ann Elizabeth, who was single, and Frederick. Ann had personal property valued at $2,500; Frederick didn't report owning any real estate or personal property.

In 1863 Rachel's sister-in-law died. In 1864 her daughter married, and in 1868 her father-in-law died. At this point the only other person in Rachel's household was her son. She decided it as time to move west, so she moved to Missouri with her son and her son's wife-to-be. On August 17, 1868, Rachel purchased a 230-acre farm⁽⁶⁾ near Fayettesville, Johnson County, Missouri. She paid $9,200 for the farm. Four days later her son got married.

According to the land records, Rachel was forced to borrow money on a number of occasions over the years, using the land as collateral. In 1871 she borrowed $1,150 (at 10% interest) against 175 acres of her land. Evidently she paid it off, for in 1875 she again borrowed against that same parcel of land. She later borrowed $700 against another 80 acre parcel from her daughter and son-in-law, Elizabeth and Peter Benham, who remained behind in Greene County, Ohio. Staley's name appears on the mortgage with Rachel's.

In 1880, Rachel, now 68 years old, again pledged her land, this time the whole farm, to borrow $1,200. Peter and Elizabeth, and Staley and Libby appear on the mortgage with Rachel. The loan was paid off in 1884.

Rachel died October 12, 1886, of 'gastric fever.'⁽⁷⁾ She was buried in the Liberty Baptist Church Cemetery in Hazel Hills Township (only the cemetery remains). Apparently Staley and his wife inherited the farm, and remained in Missouri for almost 10 more years.

Jacob and Rachel's two children:

1. Staley F. Stembel (1841-1916). Staley was born on August 20, 1841. As a young man he fought for the Union in the Civil War,⁽⁸⁾ attaining the rank of corporal. He was mustered out in September, 1864 and returned to Xenia. He met and courted a young lady from Indiana, Libbie Smith. In 1868 they traveled to Missouri with his mother, who purchased a farm in Johnson County. A few days later Staley and Libbie wed.

No children were born to Staley and Libbie, though in the 1880 census a 4-year-old orphan named J.O. Flemming was living with them. Staley's mother died in 1886 and Staley inherited the farm. Staley and Libbie remained in Missouri for another ten years, then moved back to Xenia, where they were living at the time of the 1900 census.⁽⁹⁾ Staley died November 30, 1916. He is buried in Xenia's Woodland Cemetery. On his tombstone his last name is spelled Stemble. Libbie moved away from Xenia after Staley's death for she was enumerated in the 1920 census living as a boarder in Van Buren Township, Montgomery County, Ohio. She died sometime after the 1920 census ⁽¹⁰⁾ She is not buried with her husband in Woodland Cemetery.

2. Elizabeth Ann Stembel Benham (1843-1916). Elizabeth was born in June of 1843. When she was six her father died. In 1864 she married Peter Benham. At the time of their marriage, Peter was in the Union Army, serving on General Jefferson C. Davis's staff. After the wedding, Peter returned to battle and was captured by the Confederates in February, 1865. He was released from prison a month later and returned home.⁽¹¹⁾

After the war Peter became a farmer. According to a biographical sketch in a history of Greene County,⁽¹²⁾ they had six children, three of whom died in infancy.⁽¹³⁾ They lived their entire lives in Xenia. In 1881 their farm was located 2 1/2 miles west of Xenia.⁽¹⁴⁾ The 1910 census shows they had moved to town, living at 312 East 3rd Street. Peter was 70 and retired.

Elizabeth died on April 26, 1916, she was 72. Peter died in 1917 at the age of 77. Their three children who lived to adulthood were: Blanche (who married Charles Rogers), Harry, and George (who married Josephine Lambert).

B. Ann Elizabeth Stembel (1807-1863). Ann Elizabeth was born on April 12, 1807, in Middletown. She moved to Ohio with her family, never married, and died in 1863. The only other record I have of her is of a baptism she sponsored in the Middletown Reformed Church when she was 18 years old. She is buried in Xenia's Woodland Cemetery. On her tombstone her last name is spelled Stemble.

C. John N. Stembel (1810-1856). John was born on September 26, 1810, in Middletown. He moved to Ohio with his family sometime before 1830. He was abut 17. In 1840, he married Amanda Richards, daughter of William and Mary Richards.

In the 1840 census they were recorded living in Xenia, and were enumerated next to "W. Richards," presumably Amanda's father.

In December 1848, at the age of 38, John joined the Army. According to his enlistment records, John was a tanner in civilian life. In the 1850 census John was stationed on an Army post in Newport, Kentucky. Amanda was recorded in the same census living in Defiance, Ohio, about 90 miles north of Xenia, living with her parents. Her name was still Amanda Stembel. I don’t know if this split is significant or not. There were no Stembel children living with Amanda so it appears John and Amanda were childless.

In 1856, John died at the age of 45. He is buried in Xenia's Woodland Cemetery. A website listing the Army's Newport Barracks deaths for that period shows that John died of delirium tremens.⁽¹⁵⁾ It should be noted that leather tanning in the 19^th century used a number of chemicals that could cause health problems.

There was no Amanda Stembel listed in the 1860 census index, nor was she living with her parents who were still living in Defiance. However, there was an Amanda Green who was the same age as Amanda Stembel, living in Defiance. She was married to Jacob Green (Greene). In the 1850 census Jacob Green was a young father with two young children. I assume his wife died and he married Amanda Stembel, for Amanda Green is the only Amanda in Defiance County that is even close to Amanda Stembel's age. Unfortunately in the next two censuses (1870 and 1880), Jacob Greene was married to yet another woman, so Amanda may have died between 1860 and 1870 (if she was, in fact, Amanda Stembel).

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Copyright. Oren Stembel, STEMBEL FAMILY HISTORY PROJECT (familyhistory.stembel.org).