This search started with the following post: "I am looking for William Stanton. He was born in 1824 in Ohio, and died in 1864 in Jackson Iowa. He was married to Mary Self. His parents were William Harrison and Rebecca Miller. Any help would be appreciated."
This was followed by one reply: "William and Mary may be buried in the North Garryowen Cemetery in Jackson Co. Search here. Also, 20 miles from this cemetery, in Jones Co. in the 1856 census, is another William and Mary Stanton, but their birthplaces don't match yours. Still worth checking on."
In the 1856 Iowa census for Scotch Grove in Jones Co. (near the N.Garryowen Cem.), is the following entry:
William Stanton, male, age 41, b.Ireland, Married, Farmer, in Iowa 17 years
Mary Stanton, female, age 37, b.France, Married, in Iowa 18 years
Richard Stanton, male, age 10, b.Iowa.
Ellen Stanton, female, age 9, b.Iowa.
Mary Stanton, female, age 7, b.Iowa.
Johanna Stanton, female, age 5, b.Iowa.
Julia Stanton, female, age 3, b.Iowa.
Hanna[sic] Stanton, female, age 1, b.Iowa.
Charles Barrett, male, age 20, b.Wisconsin, Single, Laborer, in Iowa 18 years.
Harriet Barrett, female, age 18, b.Iowa, Single.
Margaret Barrett, female, age 16, b.Iowa.
Catherine Barrett, female, age 14, b.Iowa.
Thomas Barrett, male, age 13, b.Iowa.
There was another William Stanton in the 1856 census, in Decorah Twp., Winneshiek Co. In this entry, his wife is listed as May, but his age and birthplace match the original information.
Wm. F. Stanton, male, age 31, b.Ohio, Married, Laborer[?], Native voter, Militia, in Iowa 2 years.
May[sic] J.[?] Stanton, female, age 30, b.Ohio, Married, in Iowa 2 years.
R.A. Stanton, female, age 11, b.Ohio, in Iowa 2 years.
W.H. Stanton, male, age 9, b.Ohio, in Iowa 2 years.
John Stanton, male, age 6, b.Ill., in Iowa 2 years.
M.E. Stanton, female, age 4, b.Ill., in Iowa 2 years.
David Stanton, male, age 2, b.Ill., in Iowa 2 years.
But which one is the couple requested in the original post?
Following the link above took me to William Stanton buried in St. Patrick's, aka the North Garryowen, cemetery. The entry said he died on 24 December 1864 and that he was the husband of Mary. I searched for other Stanton's in the same cemetery, hoping to find related individuals. I found five of them, including Mary A. (Mrs. Wm.) Stanton, who died on 29 January 1894 at age 75. There was also Johanna Stanton, daughter of W. & M., born about 1852, meaning she would have been about 4 years old in the 1856 census. There is no possible candidate for her in the Winneshiek Co. entry. But, in the Scotch Grove entry above, there is a Johanna, age 5. So this is probably the family buried at N. Garryowen cemetery. Is there any way to prove the maiden name of the Mary Stanton buried there?
On the Jackson County GenWeb site, I found an obituary for the Mary Stanton buried at St. Patrick's and her maiden name was clearly not Self:
"Mrs. Wm. Stanton, of Garry Owen, died at the family residence on Sunday last and the funeral took place from St. Patrick's church on Wednesday morning and she was interred in the cemetery adjoining the church. She was a native of Ireland and a pioneer settler of this section. She was a kind and generous hearted old lady and had hosts of friends. Her maiden name was Mary A. Gyneau. She was married twice, her first husband being John Barrett, of which marriage the following children survive her: Charles, Thomas and John Barrett and Mrs. Michael Reddin. Her second husband was Wm. Stanton and the following children survive her: Richard, David and William Stanton, Mrs. John Dunn, Mrs. Richard Noonan, Mrs. Michael Boyle. Mrs. Wm. Miller and Miss Hannah Stanton."
And the 1910 biography of her son, David Stanton, confirms both her death year and maiden name: "She was Miss Mary Gunand in her maidenhood." Her name here doesn't quite match the one given in her obituary, but, again, it's a far cry from Self.
So it's now clear that the Mary Stanton buried in N. Garryowen cemetery is not Mary (Self) Stanton. Which also means that the William Stanton buried there is not the one requested in the original post.
Does that mean that the William and Mary listed in the 1856 Winneshiek Co. entry are the ones requested in the original post? More evidence is needed to prove that.
In the 1800's, groups of related families often moved together from place to place. Did they have any relatives living in or near Winneshiek Co. in 1856?
A search for anyone named Stanton in Winneshiek Co. in that census produced only one entry, in Summit (now Frankville) Twp.:
Thomas E. Stanton [Sr.], male, age 45, b.Ohio, Married, Native voter, in Iowa 1 year, [more].
Sarah Stanton, female, age 43, b.Ohio, Married, in Iowa 1 year.
Lydia Stanton, female, age 19, b.Wis, in Iowa 1 year.
Drusilla Stanton, female, age 18, b.Ind., in Iowa 1 year.
Noah Stanton, male, age 14, b.Ind., in Iowa 1 year.
Joel Stanton, male, age 13, b.Ind., in Iowa 1 year.
Alfred Stanton, male, age 10, b.Ind., in Iowa 1 year.
Elnora Stanton, female, age 4, b.Ind., in Iowa 1 year.
Thomas E. Stanton [Jr.], male, age 2, b.Iowa., in Iowa 2 years.
However, I didn't find any relationship between William and Thomas. And there was no entry for anyone named Self.
But, when I did a general search for people named Self – I hit the jackpot!
There were dozens of entries for Winneshiek County, including a probate record for an elderly woman named Nancy Self.
According to several family trees, Mary Self was the daughter of John and Nancy (Arey) Self. Most of their family was born in Ohio. By 1850, they were living in Bureau Co., Illinois, where John died in 1859.
Their oldest daughter, Elizabeth, married William Painter. And in the 1856 census, this couple is listed next to William and Mary Stanton. This is only circumstantial proof, of course, but sifting through the other records shows clearly that most of John and Nancy Self's family lived in Winneshiek County for at least a short time.
I find this very compelling evidence that the William and Mary Stanton living in Winneshiek County in 1856 are the couple requested in the original post.
However, I can find no trace of either of them after the 1860 census. I can find some of their children in the 1870 census, but they are working out or farmed out with relatives. I can only assume that William died and Mary either died or remarried.
It is extremely frustrating to not know the final resting place of an ancestor. I have a few in my family tree, as well. The only thing to do is to make peace with it as you continue searching, hoping to someday find the answer.
