Stagner Family Genealogy

I had the experience to attend Diahan Southard’s weeklong class on Y-DNA and finally understand enough to be dangerous. So I will try to explain what I have learned in terms of Stagner YDNA results experienced this far.

YDNA is passed down from father to son. There always the possibility that the DNA could change during this process, but the change process from one generation to another is fairly slow, so minimal changes are expected in known relationships. It seems to be generally agreed that 5 or less deviations indicates a close relationship. In theory YDNA should be able to be valuable for several generations back.

The following tables summarize those results. The table consists of a list of the YDNA markers tested that are shown in the first row. These markers represent areas where sections of the DNA repeat. The number of times the DNA repeats is the number defined for each individual in the line below. The line highlighted in “yellow” is called the mode line and that is the most common value found for those of similar ancestry.

Frame 1 lists the results for the first 37 markers. It should be noted that the first seven men tested had very similar Y-37 DNA, suggesting a close relationship. BS, RC, and DES2 had one variation from the standard.

Frame 2 shows the results for additional markers tested for those having done a Y67 test. For those testing to Y-67 level, there were no variations from the standard value shown in yellow.

Frame 3 lists the additional markers tested for those have done a Y111 test. For those testing to Y-67 level, there were no variations from the standard value shown in yellow. For those testing to Y-67 level, there were no variations from the standard value shown in yellow. RC had one variation from the standard at Y-111.

All of this suggests the conclusion, that seven of the guys eventually go back to John Stagner, son of Barney Stagner.

TS, ES, BS, DES1, TS are clearly descendants of John Stagner.

DES2 has known relationship back to William Stagner born 1815 in North or South Carolina. However, the father of this William is unclear from genealogical data. This Y-DNA definitely suggests that DES2 is a descendant of John Stagner and Barney Stagner and based on offspring of John Stagner, the most likely candidate is William Stagner and Susanna Gibson his wife, who moved from Warren County, KY to Crawford County, Arkansas. Gibson, oldest son of William eventually moved to Caldwell County, Texas and his possible brother William was in nearby Colorado and Fayette County, so this makes some sense. However, William Stagner (1815-1870) gives his birth as North Carolina in 1850 census and South Carolina in the 1860 census. This is inconsistent with his father being William (1768-1830) because as far as known, William was no were near NC or SC in 1815, as records shown him in Warren County, KY at the time. So the only way this could have been his father was if William (1815-1870) did not know his actual state of birth and maybe assumed based on where his father was born.

Looking at the other possible brothers of William (1768-1830):

• John (1766-1842) had a son William (1790-1846)-home Butler County, KY
• George (1770-1840) had a son William J (1806-1850)-home Simpson County, KY
• Nathan (1770-1857) had a son George William (1827-1867)-home Benton County, TN
• Barnabus (1773-1836) had a son William (1813-aft 1894)-home Stewart County, TN
• Jeremiah (1783-1843) had no son William.
• Thomas (1783-????) nothing is known about his family
• Andrew (1792-1873) has a son Henry William (1822-1900)

So, of the possible known sons of John Stagner(1740-1820), those with known sons William, other than William(1768-1830) do not fit the story to be a father of William (1815-1870). William (1768-1820) was the only known son of John (1740-1820) to have ventured past the Mississippi in Arkansas, and his offspring in Texas where William(1815-1870) died.

It must be pointed out there there is NO solid evidence who were the sons of John Stagner (1740-1820). The above list of sons was determined only what makes sense by looking at name and location.

There is another possibility. There is anecdotal family history stating that 3 brothers: John, William, and Henry traveled west and bought land in Warren County, KY. The only evidence that I have found for a Henry Stagner in Kentucky in the early 1800s was for a Henry Stagner found on tax lists in Christian County, KY on the Little River. No positive evidence has been found linking this Henry to any other Stagners either in Kentucky or Tennessee other than the geographical proximity. So it is possible that this Henry could have been a son of John (1740-1820) and perhaps was the father of William (1815-1870).

There was another Henry Stagner found in Sumner County, TN from about 1809 to the 1820 census. There is an individual in this census that could have have been William (1815-1870). Could this Henry have been the same one found in Christian County in early 1800s? It is not certain where the Sumner County Henry came from! But, it is believed that he was the Henry Stagner found in Greenville County, SC in the 1800 census. If so, and if William (1815-1870) is descended from him, then it might explain why he stated he was born in SC in 1860 census. What is clear is that Greenville County/Sumner County Henry cannot be the same Henry as found in Christian County, definitely were two different Henrys as they were in distinctly different locations in 1800.

The last tester in the list YDNA test list is DFS. He is a Stagner male and his descendancy is from Henry Stagner of Trigg County, KY.

I often get questions about John C Stagner who died in Pike County, AL in 1879, born in SC in 1795. The main question being who was his father. There has not been any direct evidence found mentioning John in a Stagner family at a young age. However, indirect evidence directly points to the father of John C Stagner as William Stagner of Lexington County, SC. The 1800 census for William Stagner (looks like and indexed as Hagner) lists 3 males under 10. One of these males is likely John C. The other are likely brothers William Stagner and Daniel Stagner. There is no 1810 census for William Stagner, but there is for “Widaw” Stagner, indicating that William passed before 1810. The 1810 census shows a 16-25 year old male that could have been John C, but at 15 without a father, who knows where he was at the time of census. This Widow Stagner disappeared from records after 1810, so presumably she died or remarried.

I am not sure what happened to John C’s possible brother William, but I believe that he died after 1820 as he was shown in Lexington County, SC 1820 census. A Rachael Stagner was found in 1830 in Jasper County, GA and latter in Tallapoosa County, AL. Rachael is believed to have been the spouse of William. This all indicates a trend of this Stagner family moving west.

Additional support is that another possible brother Daniel Stagner was found in Jasper County, GA in 1820 census.

So beginning around 1810 to 1820 the Stagners of Lexington County were moving West. None were found in any census records in South Carolina after 1820.

The only other Stagner in SC at this time was Henry Stagner, 1800 census in Greenville County. He was older and there were no young males in census. This Henry was found in Buncombe County, NC in 1810. Although they may have been related, there is not proof, but John C most certainly was not a son on Henry. Curiously there was a John Stagner who enlisted in the Army in 1814 in Greenville, SC. This might have been John C, it would not have been that far from Lexington to Greenville.

More detail can be found in the section on Daniel Stagner and his family. Daniel Stagner

It was requested to post the information for what is assumed to be the immigration of John Bernhard Steigner or John Barney Stagner in 1738. Attached are the found references:

YDNA testers are needed so I am writing this as a plea to anyone who sees this and is a Stagner male descendant carrying the STAGNER name or may know a Stagner male descendant of:

• Barnet Stagner and his sons Richmond, John, Barney Thomas or Barney Coulter originally from Madison County, KY.
• Nathan Stagner originally from Stewart and Benton County, TN.
• Barnabus Stagner originally from Stewart County, TN and vicinity.
• William Stagner and his son Gibson originally from Warren County, KY and Crawford County, AR.
• John8-11 Stagner and his sons Henry and John40 originally from Trigg County, KY and vicinity.
• Daniel Stagner and his son William originally from Lexington County, SC

As I have mentioned elsewhere there is no solid evidence of the descendancy of the sons of old Barney Stagner. His will lists him with two sons John123 (123 added to distinguish him from other Johns) and Barnet.

So far 5 Stagner men have submitted their DNA for YDNA analysis, but this is not enough to prove descendancy. Testing so far tends to prove some of the descendancy through John123 and his sons John5 and George2, but it is strongly desired to obtain evidence from other descendants of John123, specifically William, Nathan and Barnabus. 

Testing a descendant of Barnet can help to prove that the descendants of Barnet and John123 are in fact descendants of old Barney.

John8-11 Stagner (and his sons Henry and John40) are from unknown source. It is hoped that DNA testing can give some hint as to their descendancy.

Daniel and his son William are likely from a different Stagner branch and DNA testing of a descendant can help to clarify that. There is a possibility that Daniel and John8-11 could be closely related.

The current cost for doing a YDNA test at Family Tree DNA is Y37=$119 and Y111=$249. The preferred test is Y111 because many more DNA markers are available for comparison. The website for ordering is: https://www.familytreedna.com/.

So if you are a Stagner male or know a Stagner male of any of the above lines and are curious about confirming your lineage, please consider doing a YDNA test! There may be financial help available to do the test, if you would like to do it, but can’t afford it, please contact me using the contact link.