1665 – PRESENT
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STOVALL HERITAGE FOUNDATION
Where Our Journey Began
Where Our Journey Began
The story of the Stovall family is more than a collection of names and dates.
It is the story of generations who built homes, served their country, raised families, faced challenges, and left behind a legacy that continues today.
For many years, our family history existed in scattered photographs, letters, documents, memories, and cemetery records—pieces of a story that risked being forgotten with each passing generation.
A journey through Tennessee and Alabama—standing in places where our ancestors lived, visiting historic cemeteries, and seeing the communities that shaped their lives—reinforced how important it was to preserve these stories and pass them on.
That journey helped inspire the creation of the Stovall Heritage Foundation and our mission to preserve the people, places, and stories connected to our family's journey.
Our Journey Through Time
Our Journey Through Time
For more than three centuries, generations of the Stovall family moved from England to colonial Virginia and eventually across the American South, building the family story that continues today.
Old Church of St. Peter and St. Paul
Albury, Surrey, England — The historic parish church in the village where Bartholomew Stovall was born.Photo: John Salmon / Geograph • CC BY-SA 2.0England → Virginia
England → Virginia
Bartholomew Stovall (1665–1721)
Bartholomew Stovall (1665–1721)
Our documented Stovall story begins with Bartholomew Stovall, born in 1665 in Albury, Surrey, England. In 1684, at approximately nineteen years of age, he left England as an indentured servant bound for Virginia, beginning the family's documented history in America.
In 1693, Bartholomew married Ann Burton in Henrico County, Virginia. Together, they had seven children, establishing the next generation of the Stovall family in colonial America. Among them was John Stovall, whose life would carry the family's story from Virginia into North Carolina.
Virginia → North Carolina
Virginia → North Carolina
John Stovall (1706–1781)
John Stovall (1706–1781)
Born in Henrico County, Virginia, in 1706, John Stovall married Dorcas in 1732. Together, they had eleven children. John later moved his family to Granville County, North Carolina, where he acquired land and established roots for future generations.
By the time of his death in 1781, the Stovall family was firmly established in North Carolina. John's will, dated July 29, 1781, provides an important surviving record of his family. Among his children was George Stovall, who would carry the family's story into Tennessee.
Virginia and Maryland, 1670
Historic map of the Chesapeake region near the time the Stovall family arrived in Virginia.Source: Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division
George Stovall HeadstoneOld Beans Creek Cemetery, Franklin County, Tennessee
The oldest Stovall headstone our family has located.
The oldest Stovall headstone our family has located.
The Journey to Tennessee
The Journey to Tennessee
George Stovall (1750–1820)
George Stovall (1750–1820)
Born around 1750, George Stovall married Nancy Anne Newton in 1772. Together, they established a family that would become part of the Stovall family's growing roots in the American South.
George eventually settled in Franklin County, Tennessee, where succeeding generations of Stovalls would make their homes. His headstone, located near the site of Old Beans Creek Church, is the oldest Stovall headstone our family has located, providing a tangible connection to these early Tennessee roots.
Among George and Nancy's children was John Stovall (1781–1862), through whom our family's story continued in Tennessee.
Tennessee Roots | 1781-1929
Tennessee Roots | 1781-1929
Five Generations of the Stovall Family
Five Generations of the Stovall Family
For generations, the Stovall family made its home in Franklin and Lincoln Counties, Tennessee, establishing farms, raising families, and building lasting connections to the communities around Huntland.
The family lineage continued through John Stovall (1781–1862) and Elizabeth D. Staples (1784–1861); Ancel Manley Stovall (1804–1876) and Anna L. Rich (1804–1885); George Washington Stovall (1837–1906) and Elizabeth Jane Damron (1846–1911); Charles Cleveland Stovall (1881–1948) and Nancy Elizabeth “Lizzie” Keith (1883–1973); and Charles Leslie Stovall (1903–1929) and Hester Lillian Martin (1892–1986).
Together, these generations shaped the family's Tennessee heritage, preserving traditions and connections that would carry forward into the twentieth century.
Stovall Family, Franklin County, Tennessee Charles Cleveland Stovall (far right) with his son Charles Leslie Stovall as a young boy • c. 1907
Birthplace of James Ralph and Charles Ray Stovall
Huntland, Franklin County, TennesseeHuntland → Illinois
Huntland → Illinois
James Ralph Stovall & Charles Ray Stovall
James Ralph Stovall & Charles Ray Stovall
Twin brothers James Ralph “Ralph” Stovall and Charles Ray “Ray” Stovall were born on September 30, 1928, in the family home near Huntland, Tennessee. They grew up in the community where generations of Stovalls had lived.
Both brothers served their country during the Korean War era—Ralph in the U.S. Army and Ray in the U.S. Air Force. Following their military service, both eventually settled in Illinois. Ralph married Betty Jane Nonnweiler in 1952, while Ray married Diana Jean Teresa Moreno in 1971.
The house where the twins were born still stands near Huntland, although it is now abandoned and largely hidden by trees and brush.
Ralph's life and legacy are the first to be explored in depth in our growing digital archive.
The Story Continues
The Story Continues
The Stovall story did not end with one generation or in one place. Each generation added its own experiences, photographs, documents, memories, and traditions to the family's history.
Through the Stovall Heritage Foundation, we are working to preserve those individual stories—one person, one place, and one discovery at a time.
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