| Notes |
- NO RELIEF IN SIGHT
Many surnames associated with upper Moore County are still prevalent in that area today. Others have come and gone. They quietly departed on a sea of obscurity, never to return again. Their footprints are buried under forever increasing ominous drifts of time. If not for the recollections of Thurman Maness, many would have vanished forever. The Isaac Stafford family is another he has rescued from the threshold of oblivion. In this same place in another time, they were friends and neighbors of his father and grandfathers. Though the faces of their neighborhood have changed many times, each and every one held a special place in the hearts and minds of those that knew them. To know them was to have been there and struggled alongside them. It was to have laughed when they laughed and cried when they cried. To have known them was to also risk being forgotten. The past is a place from which few seldom return. Too much has already been forgotten. Such shall not be the fate of the Stafford family, for too much is remembered to ever let them die a peaceful death of indifference.
Isaac Stafford was born about 1821. He was a farmer and self-proclaimed Baptist minister. About 1843, Isaac married Sarah Ann Williams, the daughter of Thomas Williams and granddaughter of Thomas Greene Williams. She was born about 1819. The 1850 census shows Isaac and his family living in upper Moore County, N.C. Their home was beside the Old Salem Road, about 1/2-mile south of Bear Creek and Carter's Mill. The house once stood in plain view from the Addison (Ad) Ritter home place. Isaac and Sarah had seven children:
1. Mary Stafford (b.~ 1844)
2. Thomas W. (Tom) Stafford (b. Feb. 3, 1846)
3. Jesse Parker Stafford (b.~ 1848)
4. George Stafford (b.~ 1851)
5. Alfred Stafford (b.~ 1854)
6. Martha Stafford (b.~ 1857)
7. J.B. Stafford (b.~1864)
Most of the Stafford family moved to Texas after the Civil War. Isaac and Sarah are found in Montague, Texas on the 1880 census. Two sons, Tom and Parker, remained in Moore County and are found there on the 1880 census. They lived in the Pleasant Hill Methodist Church section of upper Moore County. Tom lived on the corner of present day Ritter and Lakey Siding Roads. Thurman Maness remembers Tom Stafford. He was at the old man's house when he died. He was only fifteen at the time. Though he did not remember the exact date, he did recall that the weather was hot. Julys are notorious for that. He also recalled he had just finished grammar school and was to begin high school that fall. He marks the passage of time with births and deaths of friends and neighbors. Many are to be encountered if you live to be ninety-four. Thurman's father, Reuben A. Maness, remembered Tom well. Reuben was born in 1865 and grew-up in the shadows of the successes and failures of Tom Stafford. According to Reuben, Tom was a mechanical genesis born with mental images of things that did not yet exist and the mechanical know-how to make them a reality.
About 1869, Tom married Emily Ann McIntosh (b.~1855). She was the daughter of Duncan (b.~1812) and Emeline (b.~1822) McIntosh, of that same Pleasant Hill section of Moore County. Duncan McIntosh was a neighbor of Thurman's grandfather, Tommy Manenss (b. 1834). Duncan's house stood across the highway from present day North Moore school.
Parker Stafford married Nancy Jane Cockman (b. 1850). She was the daughter of George Cockman (b. 1818) and Clarkey Ann Wallace (b. 1820). Parker and Nancy Jane are found residing in the Carthage Township in 1880, but he spent a considerable amount of time with his brother Tom in the Ritter Township. Together they pursued some of the wildest dreams imaginable.
Reuben Maness was witness to many of their contraptions. The Stafford Kraut Shredder was one that stood out in his mind. Heads of cabbage were cored, fed into a hopper, and a crank was turned. Out came finely chopped cabbage, suitable for making kraut. Nothing Tom ever invented made him rich or famous but they were things that kept him busy for a lifetime. Tom and Parker's most memorable endeavor was their pursuit of a perpetual motion machine.
The search for "free energy" or machines that would run forever with no energy input date back to the 12th century. The idea is something that has intrigued humanity ever since. Reuben remembered the secrecy surrounding the Staffords' quest for the Holy Grail. Very little was ever revealed of the particulars of their machine. For added security, their work was carried-out upstairs in Tom Stafford's home instead of his shop. Only those working on the project were ever allowed access to the machine. Those three individuals were Tom Stafford, Parker Stafford and Bryant Williams. Bryant Williams was the son of Matthew Williams, who was a brother to Isaac Stafford's wife, Sarah Ann Williams. Bryant was her nephew. One day, early in the 1880s, Bryant Williams galloped past the Maness house on a white horse named "Charlie", whooping and hollering as he went. It seems the Stafford brothers had made a major breakthrough in the field of perpetual motion. Bryant had borrowed Tom's horse to ride the five miles southeast to Parkewood and make the call that would reveal their secret to the world. Parkewood was the only place in upper Moore County with telephone service. Despite their excitement the celebration was very short lived. Rumors suggested that their machine ran about 45 minutes before finally succumbing to the laws of physics. The exact workings of their machine remained a secret. Reuben did learn that it involved steel balls being gravity-loaded onto a wheel. Thurman remembers a collection of steel balls that layout back of Tom's shop for years after his death. Their failure confirmed what Reuben had suspected, that nothing of any value is ever to be had for free.
Tom Stafford was the first man in the upper end of the county to construct a fishpond. There were lots of millponds around but they were constructed as power sources for gristmills. Tom's fishpond was different. It was constructed with one purpose in mind - entertaining the needs of fish. He constructed a rock wall dam below Pleasant Hill Church on a tract of land purchased from Brad Brady. The sides of the spillway were braced with sturdy timbers. After a heavy rain, children from the community would scour the branch down to Buffalo Creek and snare the giant carp that washed over the spillway. Though Tom never allowed any fishing, those that escaped his impoundment were anyone's, simply for the taking. There was so much more that Tom would have liked to accomplish but he simply ran out of time. On July 15, 1924, at the age of 78, Tom Stafford quietly passed away. His only material legacy was the piles of rotting timbers and rusting steel he left behind. He and Ann never had any children. Tom left behind many other things. They were things that define a man's character and things that Reuben remembered.
Reuben enjoyed reminiscing about the day he arrived at the home of Tom and Ann midst one of their many domestic disputes. Tom was obviously spending too much time in the shop at night and Ann was feeling slighted and neglected. Reuben remembered her as a jealous, contemptuous woman. Tom came bursting out of the house with Ann hot on his heels. Ann stopped in the doorway to take what must have been her final shot. "What does the Bible say Tom?" Tom retaliated with one last retreating volley. "What does the Bible say? I'll tell you what the Bible says Ann! It says that if a man can't live with a quarrelsome woman, then damn-it, Leave her!" It was not the answer Ann had hoped for but it did at least imply that they were still speaking. It is never assumed proper etiquette to savor enjoyment in the mishaps of our fellowman but a smile did cross Reuben's face every time he told that story. Theologians are still searching the ancient Hebrew text in hopes of discovering the origin of Tom's interpretation. Reuben's conclusion was simple. It was the Gospel according to Tom Stafford. No one ever dared challenge his doctrine. After all, his father was a Baptist minister.
After unintentionally interrupting them that day, Reuben was always a bit more careful from then on. Before approaching the Stafford house he would always stop, look and listen. It was the same precautions to be taken when crossing the train tracks with a team of skittish mules. One day as he neared the house he again heard the sounds of a heated argument. He darted into the woods and lay on his stomach, waiting for the storm to abate. As he lay there, he suddenly became keenly aware of heavy breathing behind him. Afraid to look over his shoulder, he called out in a muffled whisper, "Who's there?" "Relax boy, it's just me, Alex Maness, I come to hear the program too."
Tom was an accomplished blacksmith and truly a jack-of-all-trades. His shop was the lifeblood of the little farming community. He could do things with iron and steel that he could never do with his wife. Steel was considerably more pliable than Ann. If it was broken, Tom could fix it. If a horse could pull it, Tom could make it. If Ann could contrive it, Tom could deny it, and so they went round and round.
A path from the Maness house coursed through a portion of Tom's field. One morning Tom and Ann were out working the field. Tom was plowing the mule and Ann was working behind him with the hoe. Reuben's sister, Mary Ella Maness (b.1862), was walking the path that crossed the field when she made the mortal mistake of casually speaking to Tom. "Good morning Tom." The gesture so infuriated Ann that she came at Ella with her hoe. Ella would have had little trouble overpowering Ann. Her odds were greatly diminished when Ann hollered for help. Two girls rushed from Ann's house to offer their assistance. After a considerable bout of scratching and hair-pulling Ella managed to subdue all three. The only comment ever heard from Tom was when he told the mule to "Woe!" He folded his arms, leaned back on his plow and waited for the dust to settle. When it was all over he slapped the mule on the rump with the reins and hollered "Gitty-up boy!" There were many stories that Reuben remembered.
One evening Thurman's grandfather, Presley (Pres) Maness (b. 1854), tarried too long at Tom's shop and darkness overtook him. Tom convinced him to stay the night with him instead of walking home in the dark. Pres was a bit reluctant, aware of Ann's reputation, but Tom assured him that Ann was away for the night, sitting-up with a sick friend. Pres finally agreed that it would be far better than trying to find his way home in the dark. Tom told him he could have Ann's bed for the night. Some time later that night, Ann decided to return home. She quietly slipped into the house and into bed with someone she thought was her husband. Neighbors could never agree on who must have been more surprised, Pres or Ann. Ann raised such a ruckus that Pres decided it was better to return home that night. I suppose he perceived it to be the lesser of two evils. There was nothing to fear in the dark, but the dark-side of Ann was a different story.
As Tom and Ann grew older, they became more and more reclusive. Tom's brother Parker and his wife Nancy moved to Spartanburg, South Carolina, where they both later died. No one in the community seemed concerned with the aging Staffords, except the Maness family. All the Maness children were taught to listen attentively for cries for assistance originating from the Stafford house. One-day Ann's cries pierced the still morning air. Reuben and his sons dropped what they were doing and rushed to the Stafford home. They found Tom and Ann crying in each other's arms. Their old white horse, "Charlie", had died during the night. The boys promised the couple that they would see to a decent burial. Even after Thurman (b. 1909) came along, the Maness family was still supportive of the Staffords. As a small child, Thurman remembers his mother forever sending him to the Stafford home to see if Tom or Ann needed anything.
Tom is buried in the Pleasant Hill Church cemetery, near the only home he ever knew. He has a proper maker, complete with his name and dates. Ann was later buried beside him, sadly in an unmarked grave. If you patiently stand between the graves of those two and turn an inquisitive ear to the wind, you may still hear the sounds of them arguing. Her issue now, and forevermore, is that Tom has a stone and she doesn't. Even in death, Tom has found little relief.
Story by Thurman Maness, written by Lacy A. Garner, Jr. 01-13-04 Written by: Lacy A. Garner, Jr.
Isaac and Sarah Ann Williams Stafford migrated to Montague Co., TX around 1870, settling in the Belcherville area. Isaac received Fannin County school land (land sold by the State of Texas to fund school development in an already existing county, in this case, Fannin) located in Montague County in January 1888. Their youngest children (George Austin, Martha Jane and Isaac B., not J.B.) migrated with them. The two eldest, Thomas W. and Jesse Parker, apparently stayed behind in Moore Co, NC. I don't know what happened to Alfred Stafford, I have not been able to find him on any census after 1860.
Meg Barnett
Census:
- Listed as Isaac Stafford, a farmer, with wife Sarah and children Mary A., Thomas W. and Jesse P..
- Isaac Stafford, age 38, farmer, $1240/$1000, b. NC
Sarah, 40, b. NC
Thos. W., age 14, b. NC, in school
Jessa (sic) P., age 12, b. NC, in school
Mary A., age 16, b. NC, in school
Gorge (sic) A., age 9, b. NC, in school
Alfred J., age 6, b. NC
Martha J., age 3, b. NC
- Listed as a farmer with wife Sarah and son I. B. Stafford. Parents born in NC.
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1823 - 1898 (75 years)
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