Strong Deeds of Strong Men ~ The Stark Family Journey Begins!

Taken from "The Aaron Stark Family" written by Charles R. Stark, 1927

"Fortiorum fortia facta" - Strong Deeds of Strong Men. A description of the Stark Family located in the book, "The Aaron Stark Family" written by Charles R. Stark, published in 1927. A surname changed to Stark after a day of hunting where a man named John Muirhead saw King James IV in hazard of his life by a bull. John literally takes this bull by the horns, it being stated by Sir George MacKenzie, "Strength almost wrung ye head from him." The bull of course, and that is how the name Stark and the crest began. This is where our journey takes us next. Why? Simply put, Danyle and I have located our connection. Ten generations back for both of us we connect from a union of Aaron Stark Jr. (1608-1685) & Sarah Fish (1620-1685.). This revelation comes after hours of research on both our families as we forged a map of many homesteads between both families. It is quite easy to lose yourself down many a tail, catching myself saying "squirrel" and getting back of track. Ten generations. Put simply, over 2,048 individuals between our trees. 2,048 stories to located. 2, 048 locations of burial. 2,048 squirrel moments!!! The impending travels for Danyle and I are endless possibilities so a game plan must be decided on & travel plans start immediately.

With the located details on the Scottish roots, it must be noted YDNA notes this Scottish connection is not correct. My sparse understanding of YDNA creates hardship in the findings of the Stark surname but I take this to heart.  Sir George Mackenzie (1636-1691) told the story of how John Muirhead was given the name John Stark by a grateful King James IV of Scotland after wresting a bull literally by its horns to save the King.  YDNA research provides an answer, Aaron Stark was not a descendant of John Muirhead.  I take this as its value and will discuss this further in future blogs. I do want to maintain the history as so many ancestors stated this to be true. Details on the Aaron Stark family can be located at the blog written by Clovis Lafleur. I need to digest this generation further and have included the link to his work:

Source:  https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~clovis/genealogy/DNA-Program.htm

What we do know is that Aaron Stark born circa 1608 in either England or Scotland.  Aaron's date of arrival is not known with any certainty, Quote: "In a historical sketch of the late Hon. Benjamin Stark, published in the "Ships and Engine Magazine", the statement is made that his ancestor, Aaron, landed at Salem, Massachusetts in 1627, and that he joined up with the Rev. Joseph Hooker and journeyed to Wethersfield, Connecticut."

Sources: Ackley, Hattie Stark, 1937 Stark Family Reunion Publication, Historian's Report, page 31.

"The Old Northwest Genealogical Quarterly", Volume XII, No. 4, dated October, 1909, page 195, Article Titled, "Stark Descendant Family Lines"; published by The "Old Northwest " Genealogical Society, Memorial Hall, East Broad Street, 1909. Reports Aaron arrived in 1629.

The family years close to Aaron Stark's time family had a ring with the crest for John Muirhead and in the 1903 Stark Family Association Yearbook, page 15 there is a poem  entitled, “Story of the Origin of The Stark Name.” The events depicted in this poem came from an account by Sir George Mackenzie [1636-1691]; which tells the story of how John Muirhead was given the name John Stark by a grateful King James IV of Scotland. On Page 21 of the 1903 Yearbook, there can be no doubt the membership believed they were all descendants of John Muirhead. In the preamble to the Association's Constitution, they stated: “In order to form a more perfect union and to become more closely identified with each other, We, the descendants of one Muirhead, a Scotchman, to whom King James the Fourth gave the name of Stark (meaning strong) for his great bravery, do hereby adopt the following as the constitution of the Stark Family.” Whatever the outcome of YDNA or future findings of Aaron Stark in any, the family truly believed the Scottish connection. More of this foundation of the Stark family to come as Aaron Stark was NOT a boring man and has many a skeleton in his closet.

The Stark name starts a bit earlier in my generations than Danyle's. My connection starts with Eva Ruhanna Stark (1871-1940) and Danyle's starts with Hannah Stark (1758-1836.). Eva's line is from my paternal family tree and Danyle's stems from her mother's paternal side. Both families homestead within a few miles of each other in branches of their stories, even being located in Oregon, Missouri at the same time as my mother's mtDNA line! I think the best way to start is with a brief tree of both showing the connection.

Danyle: Starting with her grandfather, Clayton Le Roy Fields (1929-2023) > Manasseh C. Fields (1894-1991) > Emma Jane Tripp (1856-1946) > Eli Z. Tripp (1828-1857) > Ira Tripp (1808-1850) > Grace Harding (circa 1780 - 1811) > Hannah Stark (1758-1836) > Stephen Stark Jr. (1717-1777) > Stephen Stark (1685-1755) > Aaron Stark Jr. (1657-1721) > Aaron Stark (1608-1685) & wife Sarah Fish (1620-1685.).

Jennifer: Starting with her second great grandmother: Eva Ruhanna Stark (1871-1940) > Stephen B. Stark (1841-1920) > Rev. Stephen D. Stark (1808-1869) > Abraham Jesse Stark (1781-1857) > Daniel P. Stark (1743-1810) > Jonathan Stark Sr. (1712-1764) > William Stark Jr. 1689-1730) > William Stark Sr. (1664-1730) > Aaron Stark (1608-1685) & wife Sarah Fish (1620-1685.)

Our next blog will show overall map of each generations travels, detailing their migration leading to the midwest. After that, travels start to really get into each families story, hardships, victories & love. How this web of 2,048 will turn who knows but the journey, our "taisteal" will be epic!