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DAR case #580635, on veteran #A108428. Her application was filed in 1973 from Wellington, TX, and later approved. Her application gives many details on Joshua to include his date of birth as “October 28, 1740,” bom on the “Eastern shore of Chesapeake Bay, Maryland,” and died “May 1, 1826, in Warren County, GA.” She stated that Joshua’s wife was “Mary Rooks, bom on March 1, 1743, in Maryland” and died in Warren County, Georgia in 1825.” This DAR application seems to be the “source” for the name of Joshua Stanford’s wife, while we have found no first hand source for her name. Miss Coffee also identifies Joshua’s father as “Jonathan Stanford,” but gives no source. She then lists 13 children for Joshua, including a “John Stanford.” John’s siblings are named as found in Joshua Stanford’s Will of 1825, plus an additional 4 siblings to include: Letta, Nancy, James, and Reuben Stanford.
Miss Coffee gives her sources as Bible records (but no quotes); “Memoirs of Georgia” by the Southern Historical Association, Atlanta, GA, from 1895, Vol. 1, page 1068; 1845 records by relatives; Joshua Stanford’s Revolutionary War Military record, #383588; various census records; and Land Grant material seen in DAR case #118585.” This case #118585 is a much earlier DAR application filed by Mrs. Elta May Allen Nix for her ancestor, Joshua Stanford, and was later approved. She said she was related to Joshua Stanford through his son, James Stanford, who was bom in 1782, married Mary McGhee, and died in 1847. We do not have Mrs. Nix’s DAR file, which should give her sources.
As time went on, other descendants (or those who thought they were descendants) cited Mrs. Nix’ s approved application as their “source,” as done later by Miss Coffee and a host of others to help prove their relationship to Joshua Stanford. Looking at Miss Coffee’s application, we can see she made errors. It would be nice to see the actual “documentation” submitted to the DAR by Miss Coffee and Mrs. Nix, but we will leave that project to others. Anyone who has ever researched DAR records knows that they have errors. At various times in the DAR’s history, they were not as demanding of proof as they are today.
These DAR records give specific dates of birth for both Joshua and Mary Stanford, but no specific source. At that time in history, specific birthdays generally came from church records, bible records, or a headstone. Hopefully the DAR records will have a specific source for these dates. With this said, we will “assume” the information submitted on Joshua Stanford is correct, and there is additional documentation in the DAR files to support their applications.
According to the DAR records, Joshua Stanford’s military record #383 588 was taken from the source “Maryland Militia in the Revolutionary War” by Clements & Wright, page 218. They state that “Joshua Stanford took part in the battle of Harlem Heights, where Columbia University now stands,” which is located in New York City.
He was “later captured and for six months, he was held prisoner on the British ship, Jersey.”
Another DAR source says Joshua Stanford resided in “Wicomico District, Somerset County, Maryland,” at the time of the War. He served as a private in the Somerset Militia, Salisbury Battalion, in Captain DashielFs Wicomico Creek Company. Salisbury was a city and major hub of commercial and military activity in Wicomico District during the Revolution. We do not have these original military records, but they should give additional details on Joshua Stanford’s part in the American Revolution.
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