The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
State of Service: NH
Qualifying Service: Patriotic Service
Birth: 02 May 1711 Topsfield / Essex / MA Death: Jan 1803 Jaffrey / Cheshire / NH
Qualifying Service Description:
Signer of Jaffrey, NH Resolution to support the Continental Congress and adoption of Declaration of Independance, 1776
MEM OF COMMITTEE TO HIRE SOLDIERS FOR ARMY
MEM OF COMMITTEE OF INSPECTION, JAFFREY
Additional References:
History of the Town of Jaffrey, New Hampshire 1749 - 1880 by Dabiel B Cutter, M D, Concord, NH, Republican Press Association, 1881, pg 134
History of Jaffery, New Hampshire, An Average Country Town in the Heart of New England, Copyright 1937 by Annett and Lehtinen, published by the Town of Jaffrey, NH, pg 165
Rev War soldiers’graves in New Hampshire. Harold Trombley, compiler. American Legion. Reprinted DAR Magazine. NSDAR
CUTTER, HIST OF TOWN OF JAFFREY, NH, pg 134-135, 479-80
Jonathan Stanley was born on 2 May 1711 in Topsfield, MA to Samuel Stanley and Mary Kinney. The maiden name of Jonathan’s mother is not well documented. However, it is documented that Jonathan’s great grandfather, Matthew Stanley, had emigrated from Scotland in 1646 and settled in Lynn, MA. His father, Samuel, and his mother, Joanna (maiden name unknown), were long-time residents of Topsfield, MA where they had given birth to seven children from 1678 to 1703 The names of all of his siblings are not known but Jonathan had an older brother, named Samuel, who was married to Mary Kinney
Although the exact time of Jonathan Stanley having relocated from Topsfield, MA to New Hampshire is unknown, it is documented that he came to Rindge, NH when it was still known as Rowley, Canada and became well known in the organization and development of the town of Rindge and later for the younger town of Jaffrey. Jonathan was instrumental in the successful petition to the last Royal Governor, John Wentworth, for the Township of Monadnock No. 2 to have been granted a charter on 17 Aug 1773. Supportive of all of Jonathan’s efforts was his wife, Abigail Gould, whom he had married on 2 Aug 1737. She was the daughter of Thomas and Mercy (Sumner) Gould
Jonathan Stanley’s American Revolutionary War service was that appropriate for his age of about 65 years. He was elected to represent the Town of Jaffrey at the early NH State meetings preparatory to the revolutionary actions of the Continental Congress on 4 Jul 1776. Jonathan, as well as all other residents, are believed to have signed the Association Test for the Town of Jaffrey but unfortunately neither these records nor those for the Town of Rindge can be found. “In Rindge there were no dissentients and, so far as known, the inhabitants of Jaffrey were unanimous in the support of the Patriot cause throughout the Revolutionary struggle.” On 4 Feb 1778 Jonathan Stanley was chosen to be a member of a committee to hire soldiers for the Continental Army. That same year (1778), Jonathan Stanley was chosen to serve as the Town Meeting moderator again for the second Town Meeting. He also was elected as Chairman of the Board of Selectmen and named a member of the Committee of Inspection.
Jonathan and Abigail raised a large family in Jaffrey, NH and were the parents of nine children, all but the last three born in Jaffrey, as follows: Abigail born 20 Mar 1738 married Col. Enoch Hale; Mary, born 20 Apr 1740 married Samuel Sherwin; Samuel born 15 Mar 1741 or 1742 married Sibyl Page, daughter of Lt. Nathaniel and Mercy (Gould) Page of Rindge, NH; John born 29 Jan 1743 or 1744 married Sarah maiden name unknown; Joseph born 16 Dec 1745 who died young; Jedediah born 31 Jan 1747 or 1748; Joseph born Boxford, MA 17 Jan 1749 or 1750 married Lucy Hosmer of Acton, MA who lived in Rindge and had six children; Hannah born 1 Dec 1751 and married Jonathan Parker, Jr.; and Elizabeth, baptized 14 Jul 1754.
Jonathan Stanley died in Jan 1803 in Jaffrey, NH at the age of 91 years and seven months. His grave is believed in the Centre burying yard of Jaffrey, NH but the only headstone now bearing the Stanley surname is that of Samuel, his son. As of the 1790 U.S. Census, his wife, Abigail (Gould) Stanley was living and is recorded as having died on 11 Jul 1798
Hannah Stanley, daughter of Capt. Jonathan and Abigail (Gould) Stanley married Jonathan Parker, Jr. on 6 Jul 1769.Jonathan Parker, Jr. and Hannah Stanley had a total of seven children who survived birth. Four were born in Rindge, NH: Abigail born 16 May 1770 and died 13 Sep 1770; an unnamed infant born on 14 Jun 1771 who died the same day; Ellen born 15 May 1781 who married Eleazer Flagg; and Sarah born 2 Jun 1783 and unknown life or marriage and not named in later references to her father’s heirs The four others were: Prudence born on unknown date in Clarendon and married Thrice Arnold; Rufus born 10 Oct 1786 in Clarendon and died about 1852-58 in Clarendon and married in 1807 Eunice Titus, daughter of Revolutionary War veteran Abel Titus; and Jonathan born about 1790 in Clarendon and married Sarah Ann Whitney; and Hannah born on an unknown date in Clarendon who married William Pierce. It is through the following lineage that this author is descended from Jonathan Stanley:
John Eldredge Sweeney-1; Ella Margaret (Hathaway) Sweeney-2; Eldredge Berkley Hathaway-3; Frances Johnson (Parker) Hathaway-4; George D. Parker-5; Hannah (Stanley) Parker-6; Jonathan Stanley-7
Ancestry.com, Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 – Jonathan Stanley
Annett, Albert & Lehtinen, Alice E., The Generations of Jaffrey New Hampshire, 1934, pub. by the Town of Jaffrey, NH, p. 723
Annett, Albert & Lehtinen, Alice E. E., History of Jaffrey (Middle Monadnock), New Hampshire, 1937, pub. by the Town of Jaffrey, NH, pp. 164-165
Cutter, MD, Daniel B., History of the Town of Jaffrey, New Hampshire 1749-1880 with Genealogical Register, 1881, Concord, NH, p. 134
Stearns, Ezra S., History of the Town of Rindge, New Hampshire, Rowley, Canada or Massachusetts Charter 1736-1874 With a Genealogical Register of Rindge Families, 1875, Boston, Press of George Ellis, p. 622
State of VT, Rutland County, 13 Feb 1809, Notice of Estate Sale to named heirs of deceased Jonathan Parker, Jr.
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