As I mentioned in the last post my research has led me to the conclusion that there were likely 5 different families with the name of Stagner or Stegner or Stogner living in America before 1800 and in the early 1800s up to about 1850, when other immigrants arrived. In the map below I plot what appears to be the location where they were generally found and the path taken as the country expanded to the south and west.
- John Stoggner (red line in map) was first found in Brunswick County, Virginia in 1736. He appears to be the first. There is nothing that backs this up, but this researcher feels that he may have come with early British colonial expansion to America. There were Stagners and a Stogner in 1700 England, perhaps he came from there and maybe even earlier from Germany. This Stogner clan seems to have kept the name Stogner and appears have generally migrated south to Montgomery, Robeson, Richmond Counties in North Carolina; to Lancaster, Marlboro and York Counties in South Carolina and later to Georgia, Mississippi and points west. This John may have died before 1790. There does not appear to be any connections to the other St*gn*rs in early America, unless there are some far back in Europe.
- Johann Bernhardt “Barney” Stagner (purple line in the map), who immigrated in 1738 and ended up in North Carolina before 1753 and Kentucky in 1775. It appears that his family spread out to Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois and beyond. Barney was born about 1714 in Germany and died in 1777 in Kentucky.
- Daniel Stagner (green line in the map), who was found in New York in 1754 as a 24 year old born in Germany. He was apparently fighting for England in the French and Indian War. It looks like this Daniel ended up in South Carolina where he was a Loyalist during the American Revolution. Afterwards he escaped to Nova Scotia, but may have returned later after things settled down. Daniel and his family eventually moved to Orangeburg and/or Lexington Counties in South Carolina. From there it is a little sketchy. It appears that some may have moved to Alabama. Records from the era are hard to come by thanks to General George T. Sherman and his swath of destruction during the Civil War.
- Jacob or Nicolas Stagner/Stegner (orange in the map) initially resided in York County, PA. It is thought that he may have landed in America in 1744. He was probably born around 1714 and died in York County in 1764. His family appeared to use the name Stagner and Stegner and was next found in Frederick and Carroll Counties in Maryland. From there some descendants were found in Green County, in Western Pennsylvania and also on into Ohio and Illinois.
- In Bucks County, Pennsylvania there was a Lodowick or Lewis Stagner (yellow in the map). He immigrated to America in 1771 and was probably born around 1750 and died in 1815. His family appeared to primarily reside in Bucks and Montgomery Counties of Pennsylvania. There does not appear to be any connections to the other St*gn*rs in early America.
It is important to note the areas of possible intersection of the various families, particularly in North and South Carolina where Barney Stagner’s family, John Stoggner’s family, and Daniel Stagner’s family may have become a source of confusion for those trying to understand their family tree and their origins. This was why I decided to study all these families.
As data was skimpy for all these early families, I will admit that not all my conclusions are genealogically sound, but this is what makes sense to me. I have tried to obtain feedback from others, but there is not enough interest apparently to dig into this deeply. That is why as a STAGNER, the last of my line, I decided to go into this in as much detail as possible. So for anyone who sees this, any and all feedback, positive or negative is appreciated.
Stagner Family Genealogy 