Stoddards and Lovells

By Douglas H. Shepard, 2008

                Alford (frequently entered as "Alfred") Stoddard was born in Vermont ca. 1798. The 1850 Census gives his age as 52; the 1855 as 57. He married Anna Gore, born on 13 January 1802, daughter of Ezekiel and Meriam Gore, on 8 October 1819 at Halifax, Windham, Vermont. There is an undocumented entry to this effect in the LDS Online International Genealogical Index for North America. The Stoddard family came to Fredonia probably around 1833. (In the 1855 Census they claim to have been resident 22 years.) Alfred and Anna Stoddard were both admitted into the Fredonia Baptist Church by letter on 5 September 1835. (Church Records; and see The Chautauqua Genealogist Vol.29,No.1,p.17.)

                Alford Stoddard appears for the first time in the Pomfret Assessment Roll for 1835, owning 80 acres and having personal property valued at $3500. It may not be a coincidence that a Silas E. Stoddard also appeared for the first time in Pomfret in 1835. Alford Stoddard purchased additional lands on 24 November 1841 and 22 May 1844. (Property Deeds, Mayville Court House.) A daughter, Mary Ann, born in November 1823.  Her obituary of February 1856 says she was 32 years, 3 months old. She was married to Amos B. Lovell of Pleasantville PA on 16 November 1848 in Fredonia. The marriage was performed by the Rev. B. C. Willoughby of the Fredonia Baptist Church (Fredonia Censor 21 November 1848). Lovell, then from Allegany, Cattaraugus County, had attended the Fredonia Academy in the April 1848 Term. He was 22 at the time (Academy Records).

                The 1850 Census lists the household as: Alford Stoddard, 52; Anna, 48; Mila, 21; Augusta, 16; Chester,12; Alice, 8; and Ellen, 5.  The 1851 map of Fredonia shows Stoddard living on Hamlet Street near Water Street. On 12 May 1851 "A. Stoddard" married "C. N. Walker" and "M. Stoddard" married "C. L. Quackenbush," both ceremonies (a joint ceremony?) performed by the Rev. T. S. Griswold of the Fredonia Baptist Church (FC 6 and 13 May 1851). The grooms were probably Carlton N. Walker, son of Lewis M. Walker, who attended the Fredonia Academy in 1837 and again in 1847, and Chauncey L. Quackenbush of Charlotte, who attended the Academy in the August 1849 Term. Augusta Stoddard of Fredonia attended in 1845-1850.; Mila in 1844 and 1845 (Academy Records).

                The Fredonia Village map of the 1854 Atlas shows Alford Stoddard living on Eagle Street at what was then the equivalent of today's 101 Eagle Street. Later it was moved to become 120 Eagle Street. It was illustrated in the Atlas. The family as listed in the 1855 Census was: Alford Stoddard, 57, resident 22 years, born in VT; Anna, 53, ditto; Mila, 26, born in VT; Chester, 17; Alice, 14; and Ellen, 10, all born in NY; and five hired men.

                On 19 February 1856, Mary Ann (Stoddard) Lovell died in Pleasantville PA, wife of Amos Lovell and daughter of Alfred Stafford [sic] of Fredonia (FC 27 February 1856). The Lovell family believes there was a young daughter, Mary Ann Lovell, who was raised by her grandmother, Anna Stafford. She never married and died in Los Angeles CA in 1939. Amos Lovell married an Elizabeth A. Carroll (?) in 1858 (Personal letter from Burrell B. Lovell to the Barker Historical Museum 1 February 2006).

                Chester Stoddard died on 29 October 1857, age 20 ¼. He was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery in a plot purchased by his father (FC 4 November 1857 and Cemetery Records.) The death of his only son may have been a precipitating factor in Stoddard's decision to leave Fredonia. Through 1857 and 1858 the assessment rolls show him with his handsome dwelling on a substantial parcel of land plus an astounding list of twenty two other lots, homes and businesses, but by 1859 he was gone. He does not appear anywhere in the 1860 Census, although he may have been in Iowa by then. The 1870 Census records him in Benton Township, IA with an Alice Stoddard, 11, born in Iowa. They are living in the household of Sarah T. Wood, 19, born in Ohio; Robert J. Wood, 1 month old born in Iowa; Frank J. Wood, 3, born in Iowa; and Martha E. Wood, 7, born in Iowa. There is no indication if Alice is Stoddard's daughter, granddaughter, or niece, nor if either is related to Sarah T. Wood.

                The 1860 Census does record Amos Lovel, 35, born in PA; Betsy, 31, born in NY; Calvin, 1, born in NY; and Sarah Carroll, 32, born in NY; living in Laona. If this is Mary Ann's widower, he must have moved back to New York before 1859.  The 1870 Census for Oil Creek PA notes a Mary Lovell, 20, domestic help, in the family of Alonzo Poor, farmer. It is possible this is Amos Lovell's daughter, if she was born around 1850. However, the family believes that her mother may have died giving her birth, in 1856. The Forest Hill Cemetery Records note that Alfred Stoddard deeded Lot C-45, where Chester occupied one grave, to a Chatfield H. Parsons in 1874, indicating that Stoddard was still alive, son, 10, born in PA, also at school. This does seem to be Amos B. Lovell and his second family.

                The only other record is in the 1920 Census for Los Angeles CA: Mary A. Lovell, lodger, 59, born in New York, single. She is a Saleslady — medicine. Her father's birthplace is unknown, her mother's New York. This is the woman the Lovell family believes was the daughter of Mary A. Stoddard and Amos B. Lovell who died in Los Angeles in 1939. However, if she was truly 59 in 1920, therefore born in 1861, those dates do not work.