UPDATED: The Journey of John STULL (1848-1919)

John STULL (great-great grandfather of my wife, Judy) was born 5 May 1848, in the part of Virginia that is now West Virginia. (His parents, Joseph and Elizabeth STULL, were from Pennsylvania.) In 1850 (age 2) and in 1860 (age 12) living with his family in Tyler County. (West Virginia became a separate state in 1863, during the Civil War.)

On 16 Feb 1868, in Tyler County, West Virginia, he married Sarah A. LEWIS, who was born in Feb 1850, in Virginia (now West Virginia). (Her parents were Abraham and Margaret LEWIS.) John was listed as age 19, from Monongalia County, Virginia, Sarah was listed as age 17, from Tyler County, Virginia, widow.

John and Sarah remained in West Virginia for eleven years and their first seven children were born there: Margaret Elizabeth “Lizzie” (1868), William Riley (1870), George (1872), Susan “Susie” (1873), Abraham “Abe” (1875), Dollie (1878), and Ida (Sep 1879).

Shortly after the birth of Ida, John moved his family 1,100 miles west and on 17 Jun 1880, he was farming in Grant Township, Osborne County, Kansas. They only lived in Kansas a short time before moving 250 miles northeast and by Jul 1881 they were in Cass County, Nebraska, where their last five children were born: Bessie Anna (1881), Minnie (1883), Lora (or Laura) (????), Anna (or Annie) (1886), and George (1888). Sarah died 4 Jul 1888 following the birth of George. She is buried in Cass County.

John made the long trek back to West Virginia, where he married Malinda (Milinda) J. GRAY on 11 Nov 1888 in Tyler County, West Virginia. (The marriage register lists John's place of birth as Monongalia County, and Malinda's place of birth as Ohio.) John and Malinda were living in Pennsylvania in Apr 1890 when their first child, Rosa May, was born. By Mar 1892 they were somewhere in Iowa, where Mary Alice was born and by 1894 they were living in Missouri where their they had at least five more children: John Henry (Feb 1894), Charles Harrison (Feb 1897), Roy Alva (Apr 1899), Oliver Rue (Oct 1903), and one unknown child (according to the 1910 census, Malinda had seven children). On 9 Jun 1900, John was farming in Dayton Township, Newton County, Missouri.

John died in 1918, at the age of 71 at Avery, Hickory County, Missouri. Malinda died 30 Dec 1922. They were buried near Fairfield, Benton County, Missouri. Sometime in the 1960s-70s, the graves were moved to Concord Cemetery, Benton County, during the construction of the Truman Reservoir.

John STULL had a total of 19 children: 12 with Sarah and 7 with Malinda. Here are some interesting notes:

• John was 20 and Sarah was 17 when they were married. Sarah was 18 when her first child was born and was 38 when she had her 12th child.
• John’s oldest child, Margaret, was born in 1868 and was 20 years old when her mother Sarah died (Margaret married that same year.) 
• John’s second wife, Malinda was only six years older than Margaret. Margaret was 35 when her youngest brother, Oliver, was born in 1903.
• John was 41 and Malinda was 26 when they were married. Malinda was 27 when her first child was born and was 41 when she had her seventh child. She died at age 60.
• John was 56 when his younger youngest child, Oliver was born. Oliver was 15 years old when his father died.