Stooksberry has nothing on Wallis…
English: Blue Mountain College in Tippah County, Mississippi (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
as far as being patriotic. The Stooksberry family can trace their heritage back to the Revolutionary War; the maternal side of the family, the Wallace side, has patriots as well.
The Wallis family goes back to England and the usual spelling of the name in most records is Wallis. The earliest known to date are Joseph Wallis and his wife Elizabeth Shetford Wallis. They had a son, Joseph Wallis, who was born 27 Sep 1712 and died 4 Apr 1748 in Kegworth, Leicestershire, England. He married a Sarah, likely Mawby but possibly Pool. They had a large family of children. One of their sons, Thomas Wallis was born 1731 also in Kegworth, England. He immigrated to the United States in 1750. Thomas Wallis was in North Carolina likely by the time of his marriage to Jane. He married Jane Christian in 1760 and they had the following children: John Wallis born ca 1772, Josiah Wallis 1775-1850, Thomas Wallis born ca 1776, Isaac Henry Wallis 1777-1862, Mary Wallis born ca 1780, Elizabeth Wallis born ca 1781 and Timothy Wallis born ca 1785. There may have been additional children. Thomas Wallis died 7 Nov 1800 in Hillsborough, Randolph County, North Carolina.
We follow the line next through son Josiah Wallis who was born 11 May 1775 in North Carolina and died 30 Aug 1850 in Tishomingo, Tishomingo County, Mississippi. Josiah married Sarah Hobson on 31 December 1795 in Prentiss County, Mississippi. In 1800 they appear to be residing in Hillsborough, Randolph County, North Carolina. In 1820 they had located themselves in Franklin County, Tennessee. In 1830 they lived in Lawrence County, Tennessee. In 1840 they were living in Tishomingo County, Mississippi where according to census records they seem to have remained for the remainder of their lives, although it is possible they lived other places in-between censuses.
Josiah and Sarah had a very large family of children. The names and birthdates follow as found in records: Malinda Wallis born ca 1797, Bennett Wallis 1799-1869, Rachel Wallis born ca 1799, Amy Anny Wallis 1802-1880, Joseph Hobson Wallis 1808-1886, Sallie Wallis 1809-1860, Rebecca Wallis 1810-1893, Letitia Wallis 1812-1900, Tilman Wallis born ca 1814, Isom Lee Wallis 1816-1889, Jane Wallis 1819-1860, Charity Wallis born ca 1820, Virginia Wallis born ca 1820, Rachel Wallis born ca 1822, Brantley Wallis born ca 1825 and Easter Wallis born ca 1825. There may have been sets of twins or the dates may have been surmised a little off. Josiah Wallis died 30 August 1850 at about age seventy-five.
Their son Tilman Wallis Wallace continues the line. He was born ca 184 in Lawrence County, Tennessee. It is not known when he died or where he is buried. He married Rebecca whose last name is presumed to be Thomas. She was born ca 1810 in Lawrence County, Tennessee. There were records that indicated she was born in South Carolina, but that is normal for every family. She died 21 Jul 1893 in Tishomingo County, Mississippi according to some researchers. Tilman and Rebecca Wallace Wallis had children, some are documented but there may be others as well. They are thought to be: James H “Jimmie” Wallis 1832 – 4 April 1910, Sarah J Wallis born ca 1834, Mary Wallis born ca 1836, Sarah P Wallis born ca 1837, Josiah Wallis 1840 – 1863, William H Wallis 1845 – 1905. Some places William H Wallis’ name is given as William Isaac Wallis.
We follow the Wallis’ through Tilman and Rebecca Wallis’ son James H Wallis who was called Jimmie. Jimmie Wallis was born January 1832 in Lawrence County, Tennessee and died 4 April 1910 in Tippah County, Mississippi. Jimmie is buried at City Line Baptist Church Cemetery at Dry Creek as are numerous ancestors and other family. It is noted that the date for his marriage to Jane E Ford was 1847. That marriage date would have her age at seventeen and his age at fifteen. His birth date may have been earlier than found. Jane and Jimmie Wallis had known children as follows: Tilman R Wallis 1848 – 1929.Elijah Walker Wallis 1850 – 1933, William Turner Wallis 1853 – 1922, Harriet Wallis 1855 – 1870, Mary S Adline Wallis born ca 1856, Rachel C Wallis 1858 – 1941, Sarah Sallie Wallis 1865 – 1900, Tobe Davenport Wallis 1868 – 1950, Amanda Manerva “Nerve” Wallis born ca 1870, and Martha Emma Wallis born ca 1875. James H Wallis married secondly to Susan Anna Coon/Koon Wileman on 23 October 1887 . No documentation of children from that marriage have been found. Susan Anna Coon had first married William R Wileman in 1865. William R Wileman died October 1882 in Booneville, Prentiss County, Mississippi.
There were four James Wallis’ who served in the Confederate Army, one in the 8th Battalion and one in the 1st Regiment, both seem to be Infantry units. Another served in the Holmes County Independents and the fourth one served in the 22nd Infantry. If any of them are James H Wallis, it has not been determined, but a little research would reveal the information for family. They may have been the same person as that happened frequently during the War Between the States.
The Wallis line goes next to their son Tilman R Wallis who was born 29 Nov 1848 and died 4 Feb 1929 in Tishomingo County, Mississippi. On 31 December 1868 Tilman R Wallis married Amanda Bartlett in Tippah County, Mississippi. Their
children may have been: Isa Wallis, Lillie Wallis, Columbus Lafayette “Fate” Wallis 1869 – 1951, Jane J Wallis 1871 – 1876, Jesse Daniel Wallis 1874 – 1952, Felix Leon Wallis 1876 – 1956, Lee Walace born ca 1877, Amanda Wallis born ca 1877, and Maude Myrtle Wallis 1888 – 1968. Tilman R Wallis was located in both Prentiss and Tippah Counties on census records. Tilman R Wallis and Amanda Wallis are buried at County Line Baptist Church Cemetery; they share the same headstone. County Line Baptist Church Cemetery is located at County Road 638, Tippah County, Mississippi.
Next we follow with Tilman R Wallis’ son, Jesse Daniel Wallis. Jesse was born 1874 and died 1952 in Tippah County, Mississippi. The following information is gleaned from his World War I Draft Registration Card: he was 44 years old, engages in farming, is of medium build and height with blue eyes and brown hair; his wife is Viola. On this 1918 draft registration, he gives his residence as Dumas in Tippah County.
Jesse Wallis had two wives, the first was Viola E Green and the second was Vida Clara Cooper. No documentation has been found for the marriage to Vida Clara Cooper as of this date. However it does seem that Vida Clara Cooper had married a Wallis, William David Wallace, whose birth and death dates were similar to that of Jesse Wallis. Viola and Jesse married 6 November 1895 in Tippah County. Jesse Daniel Wallis and Viola Green Wallis had the following children: Ray O Wallis 1897 – 1966, Roy Wallace born ca 1898, Thomas Lee Wallace 1902 – 1980, Lizza Myrtle Wallis Smith born ca 1906, Refford G or Billy Wallace born 11 June 1911 and died 31 July 1983 in Sacramento, California, Faye Gwendola Wallis 1919 – 2000. Jesse Daniel and Viola Green Wallis are buried at County Line Baptist Church Cemetery at Dry Creek, Mississippi.
The line goes next through Thomas Lee Wallace was born 19 Jan 1902 in Mississippi, likely Tippah County and died 11 
Apr 1980 in Sacramento, California three years before his brother Refford Wallace. Thomas Lee Wallace married Velma C whose last name is unknown at present. They likely married in 1929 as the 1930 census has Velma C Wallace listed as having married at age 19 and she was then 20. Their firstborn, Lowell, was just one month old at the time of the census. The census was taken 20 April 1930 and it shows them and his father living on Ripley and Baldwyn Road. Thomas Wallace served honorably in the U S Navy during World War II. Thomas Lee and Velma C Wallace had the following children: Lowell H Wallace born 1930, Virginia Wallace born ca 1931, Morris T Wallace born ca 1932, Betty Joy Wallace born ca 1934, Bobbie Sue Wallace born 1936, and Jimmy Wallace born ca 1939.
Thomas and Velma Wallace’s daughter Bobbie Sue Wallace is the connection to the Stooksberry line of the family. She was born 19 March 1936 in Lauderdale County, Alabama. She married Robert Earl Grigsby who was born 7 Apr 1932 likely in Lauderdale County, Alabama and died 9 Dec 1992 in Whigham, Grady County, Georgia. The obituary says his place of death was Cairo, Georgia. As of yet no date of marriage has been located, but their divorce was dated June of 1955 and took place in Lauderdale County, Alabama. Robert Earl Grigsby’s parents were Arthur and Pearl Grigsby.They had four children: Jeanne, Lisa, Roger Dale and Donna Jo Grigsby. Bobbie Sue Wallace Grigsby married again to a Woodruff and lives in Florida.
Robert Earl Grigsby and Bobbie Sue Wallace Grigsby’s daughter, Donna Jo marries Richard Lane Stooksberry; he is called Ricky by family and friends. Ricky and Donna Jo Stooksberry had two children: Joseph Lane Stooksberry born 1979 and Amy Stooksberry born 1987. Both were born and raised in Lauderdale County, Alabama. Before Ricky and Donna Jo Stooksberry had their first natural-born child, this couple adopted into their family a relative when he was a small child and raised him as their own. That child was Anthony Lynn Wallace and he now resides in Illinois.
Donna Jo Stooksberry was a young 44 years of age when she died. Her obituary follows:
She was born 6 April 1958 and died 26 July 2002
Mrs. Donna Jo Stooksberry, 44, of Florence, passed away Friday, July 26, 2002, at ECM Hospital.Donna was a loving wife, mother and grandmother, and a homemaker. She was preceded in death by her father, Robert Earl Grigsby.Funeral service will be Monday at 3 p.m. at Elkins Funeral Home Chapel. Officiating will be Brother Henry Melton, and burial will be at Tri-Cities Memorial Gardens.The family will receive friends Sunday from 6-8 p.m. Elkins Funeral Home, Florence, will be assisting the family.She is survived by her husband Ricky Stooksberry of Florence; daughter, Amy Lea Stooksberry of Florence; sons, Anthony Lynn Wallace of Galesburg, Ill., and Joseph Lane Stooksberry of Florence; mother, Bobbie Sue Woodruff of Milton, Fla.; sisters, Jeanne Brewer of Nashville, Tenn., and Lisa Adcock of Texarkana, Ark.; brother, Roger Dale Grigsby of Milton, Fla.; one grandchild, Taylor Sky Wallace; and several nieces and nephews.Pallbearers will be Rick Willis, Fred Adams, Ryan Stooksberry, Justin Tatum, Johnny Wallace and Dwight Hubbard. Published in Florence Times Daily on July 28, 2002
She was a beautiful woman and she had a beautiful family. Donna Jo Grigsby Stooksberry may your soul rest in peace.
Related articles
- Family is important… (rememberingtheshoals.wordpress.com)
Family is important…
and sometimes documenting family history is difficult. Joseph Lane Stooksberry formerly of Florence has posted some of his family story and some of the stories are heartwarming. His paternal line goes back further than the American Revolution. This article will concentrate on the Stooksberry line. The Wallis line will be the next article; and it is very interesting as well.
The name Stooksbury, variously spelled Stukesberry, Stukesbury, Stokesberry, Stretchbury, Stuchbury, Stretchbury, appears in the records of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. These records indicate that a Robert Stukesbury was in that county as early as 1695. In 1719 William Penn, divided all the land of Wrightstown, Bucks County, among 15 men, one of whom was Robert Stuckbury. Since that was the last time his name appeared in the Bucks County records, it is assumed that he was Robert Stretchbury, of Bucks County who married Elizabeth Heuitt, widow, of the same county, on October 16,1792, and later appeared in the Fairfax County, Virginia records. Robert died intestate in 1751. William Stokesbury was in Buckingham and Wrightstown Militia, Bucks County, Pennsylvania on August 21, 1775, and Jacob Stooksbury, Solesbury Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, was in the same militia company. They could have been brothers. It is probable that Sir William and Susannah Thomas Stukesbury are the parents of Robert Stukesbury. Sir William Stooksbury of England Came to America about 1720 and had sons.
On October 28, 1757 Robert Stukesberry, lawful son and heir of Robert Stukesberry, deceased, and Jean, his wife, sell land formerly owned by his father to Thomas Gore of Loudon County, Virginia. The Robert Stukesberry family lived near Waterford, in that part of Fairfax County which in 1757 became Loudon County. In Loudon County Court Order Book A, page 229, there is record of a transaction in 1759 between Robert Stukesberry and his stepmother, Elizabeth Powderell. (She may have remarried after the first Robert’s death.) Robert and Jean Stukesberry had sons David, John, Jacob and William and daughter Rebecca.
His eldest son Jacob was born in New York about 1750 and moved to Virginia. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary 
War. His wife was Elizabeth Brixtraw Moorhead and they had sons Jacob, William, Robert, Enoch, and Joseph or Josiah, Franklin S, and twin sons who were born and died in 1807.There were two Rixey boys that were associated with the family in the census records. Elizabeth Morehead had previously been married to Richard Rixey and they had a number of children. Richard Rixey served in the Revolutionary War as well and his descendants are members of the Sons of Revolutionary War and likely the DAR. The Rixey children were: John, Mary, Richard, Presley, Samuel, Charles and William.
His second son William Stooksbury moved to Pennsylvania or Ohio and had sons named Jacob, William, David, and John.
This Jacob Stooksbury is the lineage for the Stooksberry’s from Lauderdale County, Alabama. Jacob Stooksbury served in the American Revolutionary War. He was born 10 May 1753 in Loudoun County, Virginia (one source stated he was born in Pennsylvania). He died in the year 1839 in York Springs, Anderson County, Tennessee.
These notes on Jacob Stooksbury tell us about his life:
Jacob Stooksbury was the first of the name in Anderson County, Tennessee. The exact date of his arrival in the county is not known, but the following record was found in the Anderson County Court Minutes 1810-1814, April 1814, p. 206: Ordered by the court that Jacob Stukesbury be allowed $30.00 annually, payable quarter annually, for the support and maintenance of Elizabeth Hutchings instead of Phillip Albright, who has refused to keep said woman.Jacob may have been part of the Henderson and Company Survey or another Land company that held title to the land of the Big Valley area off of the Clinch River.
Jacob was not pensioned for his service in the revolution. The application he made and the application for survivor benefits stated that proof of his service was insufficient. The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and the Sons of the Revolution (SOR) accept Jacob’s declaration and allow his descendents into their organizations. ( page 9 To Loy’s Cross Roads, by William G. Tharpe )
Jacob applied for a Revolutionary War pension 8 September 1818. He served on the Virginia Line. His pension application number was S39094. He lived in Frederick County, Virginia at the time of his enlistment. He moved to Montgomery County for several years and then to Anderson County, Tennessee. Jacob,enlisted in Frederick County, Virginia in the spring of 1776, and served under Capt. William Frost and Col. Dan Milligan of the Virgina Line and was discharged below Richmond from the Melinburg Brigade. He was hurt by a wagon running over his hip. His job was wagoneer. He also served under Lt. Abraham Anderson until 1781, After the battle of Eaton Springs. He was discharged near Williamsburg. (Bessys Ferry on the Shenadough) His petition was witnessed by Jacob Strader. Benjamine Wheeler, Edward Ervin, and William King.
Jacob Stooksbury sold 100 and 640 acre tracts in Loudoun County, Virginia to a Joseph and William Parks for 5 Shillings. A Jacob Stooksbury is shown in the Soldiers of the American Revolution for Bucks County, Pennsylvania as:
- Pvt. , Solbury Co., 2d Batt…(s2, v14, 159)
- Pvt., Solbury Co., 1st Batt…(s5, v5, 330)
- Muster Rolls and Papers Relating to the Associators and Militia of the County of Bucks.
- Roll of the Associated Company for the Township of Solesbury, Bucks County, August 21, 1775 lists a Jacob Stooksbury on its rolls as a private.
Jacob filed for a pension for his Revolutionary War service on 8 September 1818 Campbell County, 9 April 1821 in Anderson County and in Knox County on 28 December 1821. He was never awarded a pension. Alternate spelling of last name Stukesbury. Alternate birth date of 1750 in New York. Jacob Strechberry was listed in Virginia, Fredrick’s County in 1782 as the head of the household with two in the household.
Jacob and Eliazabeth Moorehead Stooksbury’s eldest son, Robert Robin ‘Squire’ was born circa 1780 in Loudoun County, Virigina and dies 15 October 1850, some say he died in 1855, in Mount Pleasant, Union County, Tennessee.
He lived in Loyston for a time; that area has historic significance. In the 1870s a frontier fort known as “Sharp’s Station”1870s was built by a German immigrant named Henry Sharp. It was situated on the slopes of Big Ridge overlooking the Clinch River east of Loyston; the area that had been identified by long hunters travelling down the Clinch Valley during the 1860s. Another notable early settlers, Robert Stooksbury, moved to the Loyston area around 1800. Several dozen Stooksbury descendants were still living in the Loyston area; some operated one of the community’s general stores.in in the early 1930s. The valley in which Loyston was once located is now submerged under the widest part of Norris Lake, the mile-wide “Loyston Sea.”
Robert Stooksbury married Hannah Parley Horton. They had children named Isaac, Elizabeth, Jacob, Robert, Rebecca JAne, Mary Nancy, Anna, Alfred, and William Josiah Stooksbury. Robert Stooksbury died in Mount Pleasant in Union County, Tennessee. The Lauderdale County Stooksbury line continues through their son Robert.
Robert Stooksbury was born circa 1815 in Anderson County, Tennessee and died 10 May 1879 in Wayne County, Tennessee. One source gives the death date as September 1880. On 5 August 1846 he married Jane Jennie Sharp. They have children named: Francis Franklin “Frank” who married Nancy Dee Hensley; Ellen Nellie who died at age 34 and never married; Hannah who married Abraham Mart Sims; Isaac who married Sarah M Woody; Samuel G who died at age 22; and William Sherman Stooksbury who died at the age of 32.Robert Stooksbury served in Company F of the 6th Tennessee Infantry; he and his wife Jane received pensions.
Francis Franklin Stooksbury and Nancy Dee Hensley married 27 February 1872 in Wayne County, Tennessee. They had sons Lemuel W, James Robert, and William C; and daughters Eliza E, Mary L, Francis E, and Parley J Stooksbury. Frank was born in August of 1846 in Anderson County, Tennessee and died in 1905 in Wayne County, Tennessee.
James Robert Stooksberry was born in March 1876 and died 1913 in Wayne County, Tennessee. A 1901 marriage record shows him married to Lillie Bell Brewer and they had a son Willie Herman Stooksberry. James Robert Stooksberry married again in 1908 to Mattie Moore (Mary Molly Martin is also given as a wife) and they had a son Matthew Floyd.
Willie Herman Stooksberry was born 23 Oct 1902 in Wayne County, Tennessee and died 27 May 1986 in Iron City, Wayne County, Tennessee. He married Bessie E Olive and they had Iva Dean, James Ellis, and J Marie Stooksberry. Herman Stooksberry married Mattie Levellyn Moore in 1920 and they had J W Stooksberry.
James Ellis Stooksberry was born 24 February 1927 in Wayne County, Tennessee. He died 21 September 2007 in Lauderdale CountyAlabama. His obituary reads:
Mr.James Ellis Stooksberry, 80, of Florence, passed away Friday, Sept. 21, 2007, at his residence following an extended illness.He was a native of Wayne County, Tenn., and a member of Oakdale Baptist Church.Visitation was last evening at Greenview Funeral Home. Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. today, Sept. 23, 2007, in Greenview Memorial Chapel, with burial in Tri-Cities Memorial Gardens. Officiating will be the Rev. Tim Hanback. Mr. Stooksberry was preceded in death by his father and mother, Hermon and Mattie Moore Stooksberry; stepmother, Bessie Stooksberry; brother, J.W. Stooksberry; and daughter-in-law, Donna Stooksberry.He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth (Libby) Hunt Stooksberry; three sons, Terry Stooksberry and wife, Teresa, Richard Stooksberry and Ronald Stooksberry and wife; Donna; two daughters, Carolyn Sue Edwards and husband, John, and Maureen Napps and husband, Rick; two brothers, Junior Stooksberry and wife, Kaye, and Keith Stooksberry and wife, Lisa; four sisters, Ivadeen Jackson, Lillie Day and husband, Herman, Marie Weavers and husband, James, Shirley Robertson and husband, Royce, and Cathy Cook and husband, Bill; sister-in-law, Crystal Stooksberry; 12 grandchildren plus a special grandson, Ryan Stooksberry and wife, Lori, four great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.Family and friends will serve as pallbearers. Special thanks to Dr. Irons, Mid South Home Health and to Hospice of the Shoals.Arrangements by Greenview Funeral Home. Published in Florence Times Daily on September 23, 2007. Burial: Tri-Cities Memorial Gardens Florence, Lauderdale County, Alabama.
Son Richard Lane Stooksberry’s mother was Tommie Venus Jones Stooksberry Rich. The other siblings are Sue, Ronnie, Ricky, Maureen and Terry Stooksberry. Many Shoals area residents will recall Terry and Maureen due to their great athleticism. All of them were Bradshaw High School graduates except the two oldest; this probably means that Bradshaw was not built at that date.
Richard Lane “Ricky” Stooksberry was born 10 August 1953 in Lauderdale County. Ricky married Donna Jo Grigsby who was born 6 Apr 1958 and died 26 July 2002 in Lauderdale County. It is interesting to note that Ricky already has a memorial in Find-A-Grave, even though he is not deceased. This is a volunteer site where citizens, and I am a contributor, document the burials of others and recently we have started putting a little history of the person online in the memorials. Ricky has a memorial because Donna’s headmarker is a double marker and Ricky’s side of the marker has 
been completed except for the expiration date. This is the first time I have run across a memorial for a living person in my years and extensive research on the site.
Donna passed away at the age of forty-four and was a beautiful lady. Joseph, a son, states that, “Actually, all the men and women were really good looking people in my family and were very well-known for that.” Ricky and Donna had two biological children: Joseph L Stooksberry and Amy Stooksberry; and an adopted son who is five years older than Joseph. The adopted son is Anthony Wallace and Donna and Ricky took him in at birth. Anthony Wallace and Joseph and Amy share Tom Wallace; who was Anthony’s grandfather and Joseph and Amy’s great-grandfather. Donna Stooksberry and Anthony Wallace were first cousins. Confusing, I know, but that is how genealogy unfolds.
Joseph Stooksberry was born 4 June 1979. He is married to Angela Weems and they now live in Huntsville, Alabama. Amy Wallace is younger than Joseph, but it is not polite to tell a girl’s age. Amy works at Shoals Hospital while Joseph works at Athens-Limestone Hospital. They were both born in Lauderdale County, Alabama.
Posted here is the obituary for Donna Jo Grigsby Stooksberry:
| Birth: | Apr. 6, 1958 |
| Death: | Jul. 26, 2002 |
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The Wallace side of the Stooksberry family will be written about in a future article. For the most part, though, the ancestors who born in Tennessee, Wayne County is one area, then moved to Tippah County, Mississippi and somehow ventured in to Lauderdale County, Alabama at some point.
Remembering the Shoals 