THE  STARK  FACTS


Issue 2							March 2000

Welcome to the second issue. Interesting reaction to Issue 1 - mostly 
favourable, thank goodness. I hope you all found something worthwhile.

HOW CAN I HELP YOU?
Perhaps I should start by clarifying my place in the scheme of things. 
Like most of you, I am an amateur researcher and started by tracing 
my own family tree ( I am a Scot, born in SW Scotland now living in 
England. ). During my research I gathered a great deal of info on 
STARK, apparently unrelated to my own family. One thing led to another 
until I had "filled the spare room" with Stark papers. I registered 
with the Guild of One Name Studies in UK and, by doing so, agreed to 
research and maintain records of everything to do with the surname. 
( What a fool !!! )  By way of interest - you can visit the Guild 
site at www.one-name.org to see the other surnames being researched.

This brings me to the statement I made in Issue 1 - Apart from my 
own family - I only hold details of people with the surname STARK, 
i.e. births, marriages, deaths etc.. so, when a female Stark marries 
and changes her name - apart from the marriage details - I do not 
record any more details of that line. The children of that marriage 
have become BROWN or JACKSON etc.. I would need a few spare rooms to 
record all that detail!  You, of course, will follow that line because 
they are your family. Grateful if you could bear that in mind when you 
send me your information.

THE USA STARK FAMILIES
I have received many requests for information on the USA Stark origins. 
I can only pass on details as I have received them from the many hard 
working researchers in the USA as the majority of the research I have 
done is in the UK. I know from my mail that some of you are doing a 
similar One-Name Study in the States and I know of, at least, one book 
on the subject being produced in the near future. This may be the 
opportunity to put you all in touch with each other.
According to my friends in USA, FOUR main STARK families have been well 
documented. They are:

1. AARON STARK who landed in Hartford around 1639 and is thought to 
have originated from England.

2. THOMAS STARK who died in 1705 in New Kent Co. VA and is thought to 
be from London or Suffolk, England.

3. Dr RICHARD STARK a surgeon with the British Army who died in York 
Co. VA in 1704 and is thought to originate from Glasgow, Scotland.

4. ARCHIBALD STARK ( father of General John Stark ) died 1758, also 
thought to be from the Glasgow area.


WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE
If we start with the four families listed, it would seem logical to 
put all those interested in the same family in touch with each other. 
I am quite happy to list the Email addresses of those with the same 
interest and then you can contact each other. However, I will only 
publish your address if you register that you are happy for me to do 
so. Just state your Email address and which of the families you are 
researching. Anyone researching other USA STARK families - let me 
know and I will do the same for you. 

A WORD OF WARNING
If you are researching your roots back to UK please be aware that 
during the 1600/1700s many thousands of births went unregistered 
(the reasons are too many to list). Births that were registered 
tended to be from "notable or churchgoing" families. Please do not 
fall into the trap of thinking that because the date and name seem 
to be the only one that fits that it must be your ancestor.

When I started researching, I was amazed by the number of Church 
Ministers and eminent Doctors among the early Stark families but soon 
realised that they were among the "notables" who appeared in registers.
Of course we have had our share of criminals who also received a 
mention. If the truth be known, most of us descend from the thousands 
of labourers, weavers and farmhands etc. who never got a mention or a 
place in the registers.

FINALLY
One STARK described variously as Customhouse Boatman and Excise 
Collector, working in Leith, which is the Port for Edinburgh in 
Scotland, seems to have had his little bit of fame during the years 
1732-1735. He appears in a number of local papers for apprehending 
various smugglers of  Brandy and Wine and for being the victim of a 
number of assaults. The last known report states that 2 people were 
hanged for assault and robbery on Collector Ambrose Stark. Nothing 
more was written about him - sounds like dangerous work - lets hope 
he retired peacefully to a little cottage in the countryside.

Wherever you are in the world - If you think I may have details of 
your Stark family or if you wish to add your family to my database 
please drop me a line.

Bill Stark
bill.stark@virgin.net