William Munford Stubbs Research Project

Hello, my name is Alice Childs. I am an Accredited Genealogist® professional working to discover the father of my second great-grandfather, William Munford Stubbs.

Research Objective

The objective of my research is to answer the question, “Who was the father of William Munford Stubbs?” William was born to Ann Munford on 23 June 1858 in Hethel, Norfolk County, England. He died on 31 March 1934 in Parowan, Iron County, Utah. William married Isabelle Margaret Gavin in Parowan on 18 June 1875.

Background

Although a man named William Stubbs (1835-1904) has been assigned as William Munford Stubbs’ father on the FamilySearch tree, recent research has uncovered evidence that William was not likely a Stubbs.1

Ann Munford did not list William’s father on his birth record.2 William was enumerated in his grandfather Robert Munford’s household in 1861 under the surname Munford.3 When immigrating to the United States, Ann was listed as a spinster (never married), and her son William was listed with her surname, Mumford [sic].4 In 1870, William was enumerated with the surname of his stepfather, George Gunn.5

The 1880 census is the first record on which William’s surname was listed as Stubbs, or Stubs, as it was spelled on this record.6 He used this surname for the rest of his life, and his descendants carry that surname. Family lore suggests that William might have chosen the surname himself and that it wasn’t his biological father’s surname. DNA evidence supports this theory.

Y-DNA Evidence

Y-DNA test results for one of William’s great-grandsons suggest two possible surnames: Dale and Brock. The matches with these surnames are distant. The estimated common ancestor for the closest match (surname Dale) would have occurred around 1700 AD.7 

Autosomal DNA Evidence

Autosomal DNA matches who go back to a Stubbs family have not been discovered. Theoretically, William’s father could be identified by finding a group of autosomal DNA matches whose pedigrees all triangulate on an unknown ancestor. Three of William’s great-grandsons have provided their autosomal DNA test results for analysis. Creating a network graph using the DNA data from these test takers resulted in the identification of a cluster of matches who likely all share ancestors on William’s line. Common ancestors in the cluster included William’s maternal grandparents, his mother and stepfather, and his wife’s ancestors. No group of matches who definitively belong to William’s paternal family has been discovered.

Current Research

I am currently using a two-prong approach to seek the biological family for William with the long-term goal of narrowing in on one man as his father.

1. Targeted DNA Testing of Dale Descendants

Based on the surnames Dale and Brock appearing in Y-DNA test results, families with these surnames who lived within a five-mile radius of Ann (in Hethel) and her parents (in Wymondham) between 1851 and 1861 were sought in a previous research session. No Brock families were discovered in the area but several Dale families were identified. Current research is focusing on tracing the descendants of these families to find living individuals who can be asked to take an autosomal or a Y-DNA test to see if they match descendants of William Munford Stubbs.

2. Autosomal DNA Matches for William’s Descendants

The second approach for solving the research objective is to seek a group of autosomal DNA matches for William’s descendants who descend from a Dale or Brock family in Norfolk, England. Thus far, no Brock or Dale descendants have been discovered among the DNA matches for the three test-takers whose autosomal DNA has been analyzed. To achieve a higher likelihood of finding DNA matches relevant to his father’s family, DNA data for more descendants of William Munford Stubbs are needed, especially those who descend from different children than the three current test takers. If you descend from someone other than Walter, Edgar Merion, or Maude Amelia Ann Stubbs and you would like to participate in this study, please contact me at alice@alicechilds.com.

Research Reports

I have created detailed reports of my research to date. To learn more, click the links below.

“Who was the Father of William Munford Stubbs?” (April 2023)

Tracing the Descendants of Robert Dale (November 2023)

  1. FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LCQ8-RKF : accessed 29 October 2023), profile for William Munford Stubbs, PID #LCQ8-RKF.
  2. General Register Office, United Kingdom, Hethel, Humble Yard, Henstead, Norfolk, no. 241, birth registration for William Munford, 23 June 1858; digital copy held by Alice Childs, Highland, Utah.
  3. "1861 England and Wales Census," digital image, FindMyPast (https://findmypast.com : accessed 5 April 2020), Wimbledon, p. 11, William Munford in the household of Robert Munford; citing PRO HO 107, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.
  4. "New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957,"
    database with images, Ancestry (https://ancestry.com : accessed 24 April 2020), entries for Ann and Wm.
    Mumford, ages 29 and 4, arrived New York, New York, 1863 on SS Amazon from London; Date > 1863,
    July > 20 > image 5, entry 201.
  5. 1870 U.S. Census, Iron County, Utah, population schedule, Parowan, page 291 (stamped), page 17 (penned), dwelling 124, family 122, William Gunn in the household of George Gunn; digital image, Ancestry (https://ancestry.com : accessed 25 September 2020); citing NARA microfilm publication M593, Roll 1610.
  6. 1880 U.S. Census, Iron County, Utah, population schedule, Parowan, enumeration district (E.D.) 21, page 358 (stamped), page 11 (penned), dwelling 102, family 102, M. William Stubs; digital image, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 16 November 2020); citing NARA microfilm publication T9, Roll 1336.
  7. "Most Recent Common Ancestor Time Predictor Based on Y-STR Genetic Distance," Family Tree DNA (https://www.familytreedna.com : accessed 29 October 2023), estimate for a genetic distance of 4 at the Y-111 test level.