stauffer1710.com

[reffuats]

Our father was Glenn Stauffer, he was born and raised in Glendale Az.
We know very little about our grandfather and beyond.

[stauffer]

In a few minutes I was able to find out quite a lot.

A search of Glendale, AZ in the 1930 census found only one Stauffer family. It seems to be the right one:

Ray F Stauffer, head, 45, born in Kansas, father and mother born in Kansas
Julia, wife, 26, born Texas, mother and father born in Lousianna
Glenn H, son, 6, born AZ
Harold R, son, 4y 2m, born AZ

On deathindexes.com I located a web site with AZ birth and death records on line: genealogy.az.com. I searched this site for Ray Stauffer and found 4 records: his death and the births of 3 of his children.

From his death certificate I found he was born Feb 2 1882 in Sedgwick, Kansas. His father was John Wesley Stauffer (born Ohio); his mother Mary Jane Richardson (born PA). Ray died Dec 11 1939 and was divorced at the time. He was a citrus grower and lived at 7th and Glenndale Av. He died of a gunshot wound in Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix (local newspapers of the time must have reported the story). The informant (for the personnal information) was Chas Stauffer of Phoenix. He was buried in Greenwood Cemetary on Dec 13.

I got more information from the birth certificates. Ray's full name was Raymond Franklin Stauffer. Julia's full name was Julia Gale Harris. In addition to the 2 sons in the 1930 census, there was a daughter Patricia Jane Stauffer born in 1914. Patricia's mother's name was Claire McClaughry and the birth is listed as legimate so Ray her and Ray were married.

I also found a death certificate for Claire (I almost missed it; the search didn't find it as it is spelled Clair. But only 52 Stauffer births and deaths are recorded so I just scanned the list). She was born Nov 18, 1891 and died Mar 6 1919. Her father was R.L. McClaughry; her mother Ellen Durryun??? She died of the flu.

Finally, I also found the death certificate of John Wesley Stauffer. He died Feb 8 1923 of a cerebral hemorhage and was 77. The date of birth is blank (from the age it was about 1846) and he was born in Findley, OH (probably should be Findlay, OH). His father was John E Stauffer, birth place unknown. his mother was (blank) Haight, birth place also unknown. His body was removed to Upload, CA.

I couldn't identify a John Stauffer about 4 years old in Ohio in the 1850 census who also had a father named John. There are 2 John's in the 1860 census whose fathers are named John, but they were both born in 1842, and in PA not OH.

[reffuats]

Thanks,
This is very interesting information! Being new at this, can you tell me were one would find a family tree? And is there a meaning to the Stauffer Crest?

[stauffer]

Many people who do genealogy research post the family trees that they build on line so others can view them. My tree, for example, is here:
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/s/t/a/Wayne-Stauffer/index.html

But always be caution of the work someone else has done, however. There are often errors. familysearch.org is a free site with a lot of information. Ancestry.com, has many family trees and so much more. It is not free, however. And rootsweb.com, which is owned by ancestry.com, is free and has a lot of information.

A google search on "family trees" will keep you busy for a while.

There are several versions of the Stauffer crest, but they are all variations of the one on my web site. I've seen them in a book in the Eggiwil, Switzerland town hall. A "stauf" is a cup in ancient German. Legend says tax collectors went door to door with a stauf to collect taxes, and later when surnames were introduced these tax collectors became Stauffers. This would mean there are many unrelated Stauffers today. But many, and probably most, Stauffers in the USA are descended from the Rothenbach/Eggiwil, Switzerland Stauffers. This family seems to have been named after the hill in Rothenbach where Stauffers first lived.

Now, with regards to your family. I recognized the name John Wesley Stauffer when I was researching your grandfather so I have since looked into it further. A book was written about him and his genealogy in 1940 by Charles Albert Stauffer. I assume you are related to him in some way. I found it through google books. Here is the link:
http://books.google.com/books?id=jUPDPAAACAAJ&dq=john+wesley+stauffer&cd=1

This page has a link on the left side to find the book in a library.

Also I searched the public family trees on ancestry.com for John Wesley Stauffer. He is listed in a number of trees; one in particular seems very complete and lists a number of sources. It accurately lists the information I found, and traces him back to Daniel Stauffer and Barbara Galli of Eggiwil, Switzerland, aunt and uncle to the Hans Stauffer of this web site.

So it seems we are 11 or 12th cousins!