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Descendants of John Stelfox

Generation No. 1

      1. John² Stelfox (John¹) was born May 17, 1817 in Manchester Lancashire Co., England, and died October 05, 1897 in Austin, Travis Co.,Tx. He married (1) Harriet Holden Stanley July 09, 1839 in Cathedral, Manchester, Lancashire Co., England. He married (2) Isabella Ann Wahly September 30, 1855 in Port Sanilac, MH, daughter of Jorgen Wahly and Mary Cook.

Notes for John Stelfox:
Entry in Stelfox Family History as written to Corkey Waite by her Aunt Mamie in 1975(The family of John Stelfox owned property in Jamaica and after the British Emancipated the slaves in their colonies, October, 1836, John was sent to Jamaica to look out for this property.

He was twice married, the first time in England in the late 1830's to Elizabeth Stanley by whom he had three children. He brought them all to this country about 1847, landing in New Orleans during an epedemic of yellow fever, which claimed the life of one of the little girls. He and his wife took the remaining children, Kate (born 22 July, 1840; died 1940) and William, to Little Rock, Ark. where his wife died (1850-1851).

In 1854 he and his friend, John Robinson, moved to Austin and opened a store of general merchandise. He had a cousin named Thompson in Port Sanilac, Michigan and he stopped off to see them enroute to and from New York, where he went to buy supplies for the store. There he met another family from England, that of Jorgen Henry Wahley, who was interested in the shipping business on the Lake, and in 1855 he married their 19 year old daughter, Isabella Ann.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

      Article in the Austin's "STATEMEN'S NEWSPAPER" in 1897 at the time of his death

                        "JOHN STELFOX"
                        born - May 17, 1817
                        died - October 5, 1897

      One of Austin's oldest citizens died yesterday morning.

      Mr. John Stelfox, one of Austin's oldest citizens, died yesterday morning at the family residence on West Thirteenth St.
      Mr. Stelfox came to this City in 1855 and engaged in the merchantile business with Mr. J.H. Robinson, Sr. He was born in Manchester, England, May 17, 1817, but moving to Texas early in life as he did he can justly be regarded as a Texan. He has lived in Austin all the while, but for the past few years he has been retired from the active duties of the commercial world, having earned his rest by years of diligeant business application. A wife and nine children survive him and all of them were at his bedside when he died. The nine surviving children are as follows:

      Mrs. M.C. Abrams of Manor                  Miss Emma Stelfox of Austin
      Mrs. Ed. N. Ketchum of Galveston            Mr. William E. Stelfox of Austin
      Mrs. M.C. Cornwell of Austin                  Mr. J.H. Stelfox of Austin
      Mrs. H.W. Browder of San Antonio            Mr. Albert E. Stelfox of Austin
      Mrs. Dr. J.S. Price of Beaumont

      Mr. Stelfox was widley known in the commercial and social circles of this City, and many will regret exceedingly to learn of his death. He was a kind husband, a loving father and a true friend. His demise leaves many a saddened heart to mourn his loss, and in this hour of bereavement, The Statesman joins loving friends in extending heart felt sympathy to the bereaved family.

      The funeral service will be conducted from the family residence, 604 West Thirteenth St., this afternoon at 4 o'clock.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

The above is all there is in Mother's record book but I recall hearing Father tell that "Your Uncle John at the age of 17 was sent out from Manchester by a big company to Cuba to manage a large sugar plantation. But he knew nothing about such a business and was soon fleeced out of it and, I think, went back to England". I seem to remember that he was married there and had one or two children there when his wife died. He then came to this country and was married here. I have nothing to substantiate this, but I recall hearing Father talk about it.

SENT TO ME BY CORKEY WAITE IN MARCH 1997: SHE STATES THAT SHE DOES NOT KNOW WHO WROTE THIS BUT THAT IT IS A COPY OF INFORMATION SENT TO MRS. LUCILE PRICE POWERS WHICH SHE REQUESTED IN HER LETTER OF DEC. 14, 1959. POSSIBLY FROM TOM ESENHOWER.

            DONATED BY LUCILE PRICE POWERS

John Stelfox.--John Stelfox was born in Manchester, England, May 17, 1817, emigrated to the United States, in the '40s, and settled at Little Rock, Arkansas, where he remained several years engaged in merchandising. He came to Austin in 1855, and at once went into business as a merchant, in partnership with the late John H. Robinson, Sr. The firm name was Robinson & Stelfox. They did business at the well known stand on the west side of the Avenue, between Fifth and Sixth streets. Mr. Stelfox subsequently went into business by himself, continuing until the '80s, when he retired because of old age and impaired health. He departed this life October 5, 1897, aged about 80 years. A wife and nine children survive him. John Stelfox was an exemplary citizen.
(not quite right but interesting--Corkey

From Tom Eisenhour to Corkey -- Sent to me by Corkey March 1997

lETTER FROM AUNT LULA, WRITTEN NEARLY TWENTY YEARS AGO;@ 1968

"I do not think the Wahleys knew the Stelfoxes before they went to Michigan. They lived in Port Sanilac where the Stelfoxes lived, and my grandparents Wahley are buried there. Aunt Ann Thomson was my father's sister and she had several sons, Tom Will, & John, and they in time had families and all had nice homes and were prosperous. Lucile and Elizabeth Manor can tell you all about them, they visted them when children and heard their mother speak of them so much and Lucile B. visited them not so long ago on one of her summer trips.

"I've heard K tell how she remembered our father dressing up and wearing a stove-pipe hat and going to call on Miss. Wahley. Mama told me they were burnt out twice in Michigan and she taught school there for a while. We liked all the Thomsons, Mama said cousin John was her favorite but she liked them all. Cousin Tom and Will visited us in Texas and they and Billy were great friends and affectionate cousins. Papa took Amie to Sanilac twice and Minnie once."

Guess that's enough for today about the Thomsons. I'll copy what Lucile B. wrote me about Aunt K's mother, grandfather's first wife; "Mama was born in 1840. Her mother was named Stanley. They came from England, landing in New Orleans about 1847 or 48. The yellow fever was sweeping New Orleans and her sister died of it and was buried there. They left for Little Rock, Ark. where her mother died and is buried. I do not know the exact date, but I would say about 1850, 2 That's all about that. Our grandmother married grandfather in 1855 when she was nineteen and he over thirty!

One of the Thomsons was a woman who never married, but taught physical education at the Univ. of Oregon, in Eugene, Ore. She is probably dead by now, but her name was Harriet W. Thomson and she was there in 1921.
From Aunt Mamie to my dad (Corkey) Sent to me March 1997

From Aunt Mamie's papers Sent to me by Corkey March 1997

Family History

The family of John Stelfox(6) owned property in Jamaica, and after the British emancipated the slaves in their colonies, he was sent out to look out for it.

He was twice married, the first time in England in the late 1830's to Elizabeth Stanley by whom he had three children. He brought them all to this country about 1847, landing in New Orleans during an epidemic of yellow fever which claimed the life of one of the little girls. He and his wife took the remaining children, Kate (b.22 DJuly 1840; d. 1942) and William, to Little Rock, Ark., where his wife died (1850-1).l

In 1854 he and his friend, John Robinson, moved to Austin and opened a store of general merchandise. He had cousins named Thomson in Port Sanilac, Michigan and stopped off to see them enroute to and from New York where he went to buy supplies for the store. There he met another family from England, that of Jorgen Henry Wahley, who was married their 19 year old daughter, Isabella Ann.

His children: Mary Elinor b. 4 Feb. 1857; d. 5 July 1938
John b. 22 Sept. 1859
Emma Isabella b. 31 Dec. 1861; d. unm.
Minnie Alice b, 2 June 1864. m. Morris Cornwell, d. 1899
Harriet Maude b. 1 Sept. 1866; d. 14 Sept. 1942, m. Henry Worden Browder. No issue
Lucy Bishop, b. 17 Jan. 1869; d. 15 June 1951; m. Dr. Jake Price of Beaumont. 2 Children
Albert Edward, b. 25 Dec. 1870; d. 1913; m. Sally Ritchie 2 sons.

British emancipation was October 1836 (Corkey )

John had a brother William who lived in Austin, and his sister Ann who was born in Manchester, England and died in Port Sanilac, Her boys visited their cousins in Austin and everyone liked them

John Stelfox had by his first wife, Kate and William. We were all fond of them both. (Written by Aunt Mamie in 1975 to Corkey)

More About John Stelfox:
Place of Burial: Oakwood Cementary Austin Texas

Notes for Harriet Holden Stanley:
According to the records at the LDS Church Harriet was John Stelfox's first wife. She moved to the U.S. with him in 1848. She later died and was buried in Little Rock, AR.

More About Harriet Holden Stanley:
Cause of Death: Unknown
Medical Information: Died and was buried in Little Rock AR.

Notes for Isabella Ann Wahly:
Entry in Stelfox Bible--My precious Mother Isabella Ann Wahly Stelfox died January 6 2 p.m. 1913
Bible inscribed: Isabella Ann Stelfox from her affectionate brother
Henry E. Wahly Sanilac August 22nd 1858

Letter written to Corkey from her grandmother's sister Mary Jauncey Ketchum "Mamie"

March 31,1975

Dear Corkey

It was really kind of you and Larry to go to Port Sanilac and get those Photographs for me. I had never seen pictures of the Wahly graves, though no doubt Granny Stelfox had them, and it really was a satisfaction and pleasure to me to see them. And what a job you had to find them! I hope you did enjoy your excursion----you deserved to.

I am returning all of these (including the one of 1903) for you to keep for your records---I am destroying
of mine after making this family record for you, drawing on old letters from Granny and my aunts to fill it in.

I did not even realize that Ann Thomson was born Ann Stelfox and was my grandfather's sister. She seems to have beene the mother of lots of Thomsons some of whom visted their cousins in Austin. I never knew any of them myself.

Notice that my grandfather Stelfox was 19 years older than Granny when he married her in 1855! And he had to take her to Austin, where there were still Indians all over the place, in a covered wagon. She must have thought she'd gotten to the jumping-off-place when she got there. No wonder she remained an English woman all her life and wrote me just before her death in 1913 that there was no country in the world to compare with lovely England!

I've often wondered if, being English, she raised an Epicsopalian. Perhaps there was only a small Episcopal church (if any?) in Austin in the early days. I've always heard what a Splendid man this Dr. Wright of the Presbyterian was--maybe that's how she became a Presbyterian and brought up all her children in that Church. But for all I really know, she may have been a Presbyterian in England--still here is the record of her baptism at St. Bridget's in Dublin and that sounds Anglican.

She was the only fat one in the family--Everyone else was thin, Grandfather was tall and thin, very blue eyes, and he parted his hair in the back down to his collar, as fashionable Englishmen did in the 1830"s. And Granny always said "I have bean" (been) for "I have bin" as Americans do.

There was a Tom Cook, but I don't remember who he was. One of the Cook men married at 17 and had 22 children, and his wife (poor thing) died at 43.

Note from Corkey----We later found the son of the youngest of these 22 and became good friends. He died in 1981 but we keep in touch with his wife. They helped us find what little information we have on the Thomson (John's sister Ann) line of the Stelfox's. You were not related to the Cooks. Granny (My) Stelfox's mother was Mary Cook m. Wahly

back to letter

I don't remember any Wahly service spoons--were they heavy silver or light-weight? Margaret Schwecke has 6 heavy Wahly forks.

Well many thanks again and good luck in your researches---

With love

Aunt Mamie

Letter from Aunt Mamie to my father, Clark (no e) Snyder

Dear Clarke,

I have been gathering up some old photograhs for your children this morning and it seems to me I ought to add a little information about some of your relatives.

Grandmother Stelfox is fat and looks German because she was half German: her father, Jorgen Henry Wahley was born in Hannover, Germany and went to England and became a English man. He and her Mother, Mary Cooke were married in London at St. George's Hannover Square. They lived in England till Granny was a young lady, mostly at Hull; then came to this country bringing her and her brother Henry, and settled at Port Huron, Mich. where he was interested in shipping. Grandfather Stelfox had relatives there named Thompson and as he was himself a widower with two young children, he was looking for a second wife and picked out Granny, though she was about 20 years younger than he. This was about 1854 or 55. He married her and took her to Austin in a covered wagon! Rough for a young girl who had hardly left England! She did not like Austin, but there she was. Brought up an Episcopalian, she found no Episcopal Church down there then, but she admired the Presbyterian minister, Dr. Wright, and so became in time a Presbyterian. She loved England always, and used to tell me what a lovely country it was. She spoke with her English accent--always said "bean" for been, and named her youngest son for the Prince Consort Albert Edward. He was the apple of her eye and she was broken hearted when he married; in her Bible you will see that she has written "this day my son left me for strangers"

Uncle Albert married a girl named Sally Ritchie and they had two boys, Albert and Ritchie. Ritchie died some years ago, but Albert lives in Houston and is married and has children. He must be in his 60's now. I last saw him at the services when Mother died, and he was tall and good looking, looked just like his father and reminded me of your Uncle Henry. His address was 2613 Talbott, Houston, and I think he worked in a bank.

The little photograph of him (Uncle Albert) and four of his sisters was sent me by Lucile Price recently. Aunt Emma never married , Aunt Lula married Dr. Price and divorced. Aunt Minnie married Morris Cornwall and died before 1900 and Aunt Hallie married Henry Browder and had no children. Aunt Lula had a son about my age named Albert Price who worked for Humble Oil and owned a house at 2223 Wroxton Road in Houston. He left a wife and a son, Albert junior whom I have never seen. Albert Stelfox relatives you have, besides a raft of Aunt K's grandchildren whom I don't know anything about, myself. Aunt K was Grandfather's daughter by his first marriage and married 4 times(no divorces) and Uncle Billy lived with her in Manor, Texas.

Oh, yes, Uncle Albert worked in Bahn's jewelry store in Austin for years, then bought it and named it Stelfox Jewelry. I don't know what it is called now. He died of acute appendicites about 1915.

These details may interest your girls. I put them down here so they won't be lost when I pop off!
Love

Aunt Mamie

Austin Statesman

Mrs. Isabella A. Stelfox Buried

The funeral of the late Mrs. Isabella A Stelfox was conducted from her residence Tuesday afternoon at 3:00 o'clock. The services at the house and at the cemetery were in charge of Dr. A.F. Bishop. The honorary pallbearers were: John H Robinson, G.M. Castleman, W.R. Hamby and William Spence. The active pallbearers were James P Hart, Charles Granger, William G. Franklin, Dr. R.J. Brackenridge, Major Ira H. Evans and M,C. Cornwall. The floral offerings were unusually beautiful and profuse and covered not only the newly made grave but the other four graves in the family lot.

The passing of Mrs. Stelfox removed one of Austin's oldest and best known citizens, for she came to Austin as a bride fifty-six years ago, making the trip overland, as then were no railroads, her husband, the late John Stelfox, having been one of Austin's first merchants. She was born in England and received a finished education in the best schools of London, being especially proficient in languages, speaking French and German fluently. For thirty-six years she was a prominent worker in the First Presbyterian Church. Although she had been in bad health for the past several years, her death was unexpected. She is survived by one brother, Henry Wahly of Washington City; six children: Mrs. Lula S. Price, Mrs. Hallie W. Browder, Mrs. Emma Stelfox, Albert E. Stelfox and John Stelfox, all of Austin. Mrs. Ed. N. Ketchum of Galveston, and two stepchildren, Mrs. M.C. Abram and William Stelfox of Manor. There are also a number of grandchildren.

Although preferring always the quiet privacy of her home life, Mrs. Stelfox was so strong a personality and possessed so splendid a mind and heart that she exerted a wide influence for good even among those remotely associated with her and her death is mourned by hundreds of devoted friends, while the loss to her children is irreparable.

From Aunt Mamie

More About Isabella Ann Wahly:
Place of Burial: Oakwood Cementary Austin Texas

Children of John Stelfox and Harriet Stanley are:

+	2	i.		Elizabeth Ann³ Stelfox, born July 22, 1840 in Manchester, Lancashire Co., England; died November 03, 1941 in Manor, Travis Co, Tx.
	3	ii.		Unknown Stelfox Female, born 1841; died in New Orleans, LA.

Notes for Unknown Stelfox Female:
This child died from Yellow Fever after John and Harriett landed in New Orleans La.

iii.

William Stelfox, born March 17, 1843 in Little Rock, AR; died December 15, 1928 in Austin, Travis Co.,Tx. He married <Unnamed>.

Notes for William Stelfox:
William Stelfox is buried beside Elizabeth Stelfox Abrams and her last husband Marion C. Abrams at the Oakwood Cemetery in Austin Texas. They are buried in the annex.
William Stelfox never married and was known as "Billy"

Children of John Stelfox and Isabella Wahly are:

+	5	i.	Mary Elinor³ Stelfox, born February 04, 1857 in Austin, Travis Co.,Tx; died July 05, 1938 in Houston, Harris Co., Texas.
+	6	ii.	John H. Stelfox, born September 22, 1859 in Austin, Travis Co.,Tx; died August 10, 1930 in Brackenridge Hospital.
	7	iii.	Emma Isabella Stelfox, born December 31, 1861 in Austin, Travis Co.,Tx; died August 27, 1936 in Austin, Travis Co.,Tx.

Notes for Emma Isabella Stelfox:
Entry in Stelfox Bible--Dear Sister Emma passed thru the "Valley of the Shadow" into God's glorious Home 3:38 a.m. Thursday Aug. 27, 1936 at the State Hospital. Loved by all. Information from Corkey Waite 1997

(Deaf/dumb??) from census

iv.

Minnie Alice Stelfox, born June 22, 1864 in Austin, Travis Co.,Tx; died October 07, 1901. She married Morris C. Cornwell February 14, 1885.

Notes for Minnie Alice Stelfox:
Entry in Stelfox Bible--Minnie Alice Cornwell went Home Oct. 7 th 1901

+	9	v.	Harriet Maude Stelfox, born September 01, 1866 in Austin, Travis Co.,Tx; died September 14, 1942.
+	10	vi.	Lucy Bishop Stelfox, born January 17, 1869 in Austin, Travis Co.,Tx; died June 15, 1951 in Austin, Travis Co.,Tx.
+	11	vii.	Albert Edgar Stelfox, born December 25, 1870 in Austin, Travis Co.,Tx; died May 12, 1916 in Austin, Travis Co.,Tx.

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