Third Generation
3. Thomas STANSBURY [380]. Born in 1678 in Baltimore MD. Thomas died in Baltimore MD, on 4 May 1766; he was 88. Buried at the Ballestone-Stansbury estate, Baltimore. Occupation: planter. In 1710 when Thomas was 32, he married Jane DIXON [381], daughter of John DIXON [762] & Jane [763], in Great Falls MD. Born about 1688 in Baltimore MD. Jane died in Baltimore MD, on 4 May 1766; she was 78.
They had the following children:
| i. | John. Born in 1710. John died in 1785; he was 75. John married Ann ENSOR. | |
| 4 | ii. | Thomas Jr. (1714-1798) [190] |
| iii. | Daniel. Born abt 1716. Daniel died in Dec 1769; he was 53. | |
| iv. | Dixon. Born on 6 Dec 1720 in Baltimore MD. Dixon died on 19 Mar 1805; he was 84. On 4 Jan 1741 when Dixon was 20, he married Penelope BODY in Baltimore MD. | |
| v. | Edmund. Born on 13 Jan 1723. Edmund died on 22 Apr 1780; he was 57. Edmund married Kesiah GOSTWICK. | |
| vi. | Jemima. Born on 19 Jul 1727. Jemima married Roebuck LYNCH. |
The twins Thomas and Daniel Stansbury were born in 1678, sons of Tobias Starnborough and his unknown first wife. Both were planters. The brothers changed the family name to Stansbury around 1700. When their father died in 1709, he left the Strife plantation to Daniel, who never married. A year later, Thomas married Jane Dixon and they began to raise a family of six children.
In 1713, for reasons unknown, Daniel gave Strife to his brother Thomas, who changed the name of the plantation to Daniel’s Gift. In 1724 Thomas bought an additional plantation of 268 acres on the west side of the Little Falls of the Gunpowder, close to the Harford County line.[7]
Two of Thomas and Jane’s children – Edmund and Dixon – played an important role in the early settlement of the Back River Neck peninsula. The homes they built still exist: one as it was originally constructed and one that has been rebuilt and placed on the historic landmarks list.
Edmund Stansbury inherited land bordering the Back River sometime in the 1760s. The land was originally part of a manor called Danby. Edmund built the house now known as the Somogyi Farmhouse just off Back River Neck Road. The house’s exact date is unknown, but local historians have traced its roots back to the 1760s. The house is visible today at 1501 Somogyi Road. (The ad copy on Zillow reads “Diamond in the ruff! Built by Lord Stansbury!”)
Edmund’s brother Dixon, through his wife Penelope Body, inherited 37 acres of land near Rocky Point in 1783. A few years later he paid taxes on his brother-in-law’s adjoining property. It is on this site, sometime in the 1780’s, that Dixon Stansbury built the first sections of what we now know as the Ballestone-Stansbury House.[8]
The original structure no longer stands, but the earliest portion of the current farmhouse was built by another generation of Stansburys – that of Isaac Stansbury, who recorded $200 worth of improvements on the 1813 tax list. In 1836, the trustees of the late Isaac Stansbury advertised the property as a two-story brick house on a 180-acre tract. Some time afterward, the house acquired a 1-1/2 story brick wing addition.
In 1855, a family headed by Edward Miller expanded the farmhouse to a full 2-1/2 story dwelling as well as added the front porch that we see today.[9] The house is open for tours on summer weekends and for special events.
The headstones of Thomas and Jane Stansbury, as well as Thomas’s younger brother Luke, are located within a fenced-in section of the estate, which adjoins the Rocky Point Golf Course.
Sources:
[7] C. Johnston, op. cit.
[8] K. Roberts, op. cit.
[9] Ballestone-Stansbury House website.