| Notes |
- I found an earlier Obadiah Stafford who may have been the father of James Stafford. I have no evidence that they are related but there are several connections. The name, Obadiah, is one connection. I wondered who else would name their kid "Obadiah" unless they had a father of that name. However, that name crops up every now and then in those censuses so it wasn't as unusual in the early nineteenth century as it is today.
Obadiah Stafford and Daniel Stafford received immigration passes from the British Consulate in New York in 1817. They are both listed as having the occupation of 'mason.' They are both from Derbyshire. Daniel left his family in England.
In 1819 Obadiah Stafford applied for a land grant in Upper Canada. The Ontario Provincial Archives has a copy of his petition. It is not easy to read but the following is as much as I could make out:
The petitioner, Obadiah Stafford, now of the Town of York, Farmer, humbly showeth, that your petitioner is a native of Derbyshire in England, that he is first arrived in this province, that he has a wife and two children, that having the means to cultivate a new farm, he is desirous to become a settler, that he has taken the oath of allegiance required by law and has never received any land order for land from the crown.
Therefore your petitioner humbly prays that Your Excellency may be pleased to grant him an allotment of land as an Emigrant Settler, subject to the payment of fees under present regulations.
And petitioner will ever pray,
York 18th August 1819 Obadiah Stafford
The land records show that he was awarded 100 acres. The next record shows that 100 acres were also awarded to Joseph Stafford, also from Derbyshire. He apparently has no family, but is a Dsch [Discharged] Soldier, Royal Marines. Thus, it appears that Daniel, Obadiah, and Joseph are related, and came to Upper Canada at about the same time. Obadiah Stafford settled in the township of Chinguacousy, which is in the area where the Pearson International Airport is presently located. It was settled mostly by United Empire Loyalists from the United States and contained some of the richest farmland in southern Ontario although the early settlers had to put up with a lack of accessible water.
Obadiah was successful in gaining patent to his land. In those days a settler had to build a house that was at least 16' by 20', clear half the roadway in front of the lot, clear and fence five acres of land, and pay fees to the surveyor, inspector, and colonial government.
For some reason he wanted to move on - maybe he couldn't stand the arrogant Loyalists who were the bulk of his neighbours in Chinguacousy - so he applied for more land in 1824. This petition is even harder to decipher but reads to the effect that he is:
. . . a Native of England, with a wife and three children. He gratefully acknowledges a location of 100 acres in Chinguacousy which he has improved and for which he has received a patent. This petitioner is of the ability and ?????? to improve an additional grant and humbly ??????? two hundred acres of land in addition to his fees.
He got 100 acres by an order-in-council and had to pay the location fee. His land was in the Township of West Gwillimbury, which is in the southern part of Simcoe County. This is up toward the area where William Booth later located and where we first find evidence of the younger Obadiah Stafford, so the connection is very possible. The dates also make the connection between the older and younger Obadiah's possible. The first Obadiah had two children in 1819. One of these could have been James Stafford who was born in England in 1813 according to the 1871 census.
Obadiah Stafford moved back to the area northeast of Toronto. He is a member of the First Regiment, East York Militia in 1828-29 and is less than forty years of age. He wrote his will on February 28, 1832. It is virtually illegible but makes the point that he is a bricklayer in the Township of York, is "weak in bodily health" and refers to his wife, Susan, and unnamed children who are not yet of the age of majority. He also names Joseph Stafford as one of the executors of his will. The most significant fact that I can make out in the will that connects Obadiah to James is the statement that Obadiah is a bricklayer and that he lives in the Township of York. All of this evidence tells me that the two are directly related, and are probably father and son.
The will is registered in the Probate Court of Upper Canada on September 5, 1832 so Obadiah Stafford must have met an untimely death shortly before that date. His ill health may explain why we do not find him farming his own land in West Gwillimbury.
By Jim Stafford, a descendant.
There are land grants and land transactions (1819 & 1824 York) for Obadiah Stafford at the Provincial Archives of Ontario.
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- Bef 1832
