Stedman Family Organization

 

 

 Family History and Genealogy Research

 

 

 Stedman / Steadman / Steedman Families

 

 

 Stedman Coat of Arms

 

 

Who We Are:

The Stedman Family Organization has been organized to become a focal point for Family History and Genealogy Research for families with surnames Stedman, Steadman , Steedman, other spelling variations, and their descendants.

Our research focus is the Stedman families originating in the British Isles. The major research effort is on the Stedman families that came to America before the Revolution and their ancestors in Scotland and England. However, several researchers are working on the Stedman families in Britain and those that have emigrated to the United States and Canada since the Revolution and to Australia, New Zealand, and other countries.

We are not directly documenting the Swedish Stiddem / Stedham family, German Steadmann families, nor other families that have taken one of Stedman surames; however, we are including some of their data so that currently family members can identify their origins.

Our organization has affiliated itself with the Stidham Surname DNA Study Project given that there has been significant historical confusion between the surnames.		  

 
Resources:

This web site provides a knowledge base of the Stedman family. This knowledge base is a work in progress. The goal will be to provide data, including:
  • Lineage linked database of Stedman family group pages
  • Census index and extracts for Stedman family members
  • Vital Records for Stedman family members
  • Genealogy Reports of various Stedman families
  • Links to external Stedman resources
  • Stedman Photo Gallery - Pictures of Stedmans and descendants
  • Stedman Virtual Cemetery - Pictures of Stedman gravestones
As with any knowledge base, the data has a compiler. I serve in that function. However, I depend on all researchers to assist by providing data for the family group pages and for providing pictures and stories and whatever else to make this a valuable site for both long-time Stedman researchers and people just starting to search for their Stedman family roots.

We invite you to extract what you need to make your own story more complete. We ask you to share with us what you learn so that we can in turn pass it along to others.

We are not professional genealogists. We approach this hobby as scientists and historians, searching for answers. We try to provide a solid standard of proof in all of our findings, but we do compile what we learn from a lot of sources, not all of which have provided complete proof. So, unintentionally, we do report items that are not true. If you have data to improve, enhance, or correct what you find here, please share it with us so that we can share it with others.

 

 
Summary of the Stedman Family in Britain:

Most Stedman and Steadman families in America can assume that their ancestry could be traced back to a John le Stedeman who was a Knight in the Crusades.

(In these pages, I will generally refer to the family as the Stedman family even though various members spell the name differently. For research purposes, I have adopted that spelling for most descendants of the New England families, except branches that went to Canada and to Louisiana.)

He fought with King Richard the Lion-hearted in the Holyland and was imprisoned with King Richard in Austria on their return to England. For his service, King Richard awarded him a manor in Kent. The Stedman family is present in Kent to this day. In fact, the first known Stedman immigrant to America is documented to have come from Biddenden, Kent.

One of the sons of John le Stedeman began a northern migration of a branch of the family, eventually to York, and then to Scotland over several generations. Whilst in York, some sided with Robert the Bruce against the English and had to flee to Scotland, founding the Scottish Branch of the family. Amongst the Scottish family, you will see the name also spelled Steedman.

Parts of the family have been well documented because they were at least minor gentry. The principal line that is the source of most of the American Stedmans of Scottish ancestry are actually Bartons. When a landed line had only a daughter for an heir ("daughtered out"), her husband, an Alexander Barton, petitioned Queen Mary of Scotland to assume the name, and he became Charles Stedman. Consequently, there is a great interest in the Barton family also. This is true, in part, because many Stedmans who came to America are descended from this Scottish Stedman-Barton family and are genetically Bartons.

The Scottish family, both Bartons and Stedmans, has a long history as mariners. Some of them lived in Holland at periods of time. One was Capt. John Gabriel Stedman of the Scottish Dragoons. He became a famous explorer and author. In the late 1700s he spent several years exploring in South America and wrote a well known book about it.

Members of both the Scottish and English families immigrated to America in the colonial period.

For more details on the Scottish and English history of the family, click here.

For details on the Barton family, click here.

 

 
Stedman Family in America:

Unlike many families, the Stedmans in America cannot trace their ancestry to a single immigrant ancestor. For example, we have documented three distinct families in Massachusetts and one in Connecticut that arrived by 1650. By the Revolutionary War, many other families had also arrived, although we can document a common ancestor in Scotland for many of them.

For a roadmap to understanding the various families, click American Colonial Stedman Families.

 

 
Links for More Information:

Knowledge Base of Stedmans

This is the database of Family Group Sheets that document the various Stedman families. In this edition, I have begun to include family fragments; i.e., I have documented a family, but not necessarily connected the family into the family of one of the immigrant ancestors.

Internet Resources:

A sampling of resources for Stedman research on the Internet. If you have others to suggest, please send them to me.

 

 
Homage to Prior Researchers:

This link documents many of the major sources we have used to trace the family and provides reference to the researchers who have gone before us to document this interesting family.

 

 
Digest of Current Researchers:

This link provides pointers to people who are working today to document some parts of the Stedman family. Each of these people has agreed to be listed on this page.

 

 
Stedman Picture Gallery (future):

This link is to a future Photo Gallery of Stedman family pictures. You can help us by either sending me image files or links to your own pages of images. We will start building this as I get something to offer.

 

 
Stedman Virtual Cemetery (future):

This link is to a future Photo Gallery of Stedman family grave stones. Again, I need you to supply me with the pictures. I will also include cemetery lists of Stedman families as they are provided.

 

 

 

 
Thank you for stopping by. Drop me a note if you found this useful or if you have anything to add.

 

 
John & Carolyn Lisle

John Bulmer Lisle and Carolyn Miethe Lisle
Nashua, New Hampshire
List Administrator for the Stedman, Steadman, and Steedman RootsWeb Email lists

 

 

 

 

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  Visitors since 1 January 2001
Last updated: 20 June 2004
Contact: John Lisle
Copyright © 1998-2004, John B. Lisle, TQSI Consulting Group, Nashua, New Hampshire