Staggs Family History

My ancestors in the United States

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      Richard Ayers (1797-1870)

      BIRTH: 1797, Harford County, Maryland, USA
      DEATH: Bef. 1870, Beaver County, Pennsylvania, USA
      FATHER: Thomas Ayers (1755–1836)
      MOTHER: Elizabeth Almony (1757–1857)
      SPOUSE: Eliza McCreary (1793–1873)

      When Richard Ayers was born in 1797 in Harford, Maryland, his father, Thomas, was 42 and his mother, Elizabeth, was 40. He had three sons and two daughters with Eliza McCreary between 1828 and 1842. He died in before 1870 in Pennsylvania

      The life of Richard Ayers

      A Life Between Maryland Roots and Pennsylvania Horizons

      Richard Ayers was born around 1797, almost certainly in Harford County, Maryland, where the Ayers, Almony, and McCreary families had lived for generations. He grew up in a landscape of rolling farmland, small mills, and tight‑knit kin networks that shaped the lives of nearly everyone in the region. His early years were spent among the extended Ayers clan, a family known for its Revolutionary War service, agricultural work, and deep roots in the Maryland countryside.

      By the late 1810s or early 1820s, Richard married Elizabeth “Eliza” McCreary (1793–1873), a woman from a respected Maryland family whose name would later be passed to one of their sons. Their marriage united two long‑established Harford County lines and set the foundation for a family that would eventually migrate westward.

      Throughout the 1820s and 1830s, Richard and Eliza appear in Harford County census records as a young family beginning to grow. Their first children—Thomas, Eliza Ann, and Joanna—were born in Maryland, followed by McCreery and Abelard. The names reflect both family tradition and the influence of the McCreary line.

      Sometime between 1840 and 1850, Richard moved his family from Maryland into western Pennsylvania, part of a broader migration pattern that drew many Maryland families toward new opportunities in Beaver, Lawrence, and surrounding counties. This move placed the Ayers family in the same region where their daughter Eliza Ann would later meet and marry Jacob Stone (1822–1888), forming the Stone–Ayers line that continues to our generation.

      By 1850, the family appears in Pennsylvania with all five children present—an intact household on the cusp of change. Over the next decade, the children began to marry, establish their own homes, and integrate into the growing communities of western Pennsylvania and, later, Missouri.

      Richard lived long enough to see his children reach adulthood and begin families of their own. His wife, Eliza, survived him and appears in later records as a widow living with or near her children. Richard’s death occurred before the 1870 census, though no probate record has yet been found for him in Pennsylvania.

      What remains clear is that Richard’s life bridged two regions—Maryland and Pennsylvania—and two eras of American history. He was born in the early years of the republic and lived to see the nation transformed by westward expansion, industrial growth, and civil conflict.

      Children of Richard Ayers & Elizabeth “Eliza” McCreary

      Richard and Eliza raised five children, all of whom appear consistently in census records and family clusters:

      1. Thomas Ayers: Born: ca. 1828 Died: after 1860 Married: Unknown Notes: Eldest son; appears in early Pennsylvania records.
      2. Eliza Ann Ayers: Born: June 1832 Died: 1920 Married: Jacob Stone (1822–1888) Notes: Our direct ancestor; moved to Missouri; mother of the Stone line.
      3. Joanna Ayers: Born: ca. 1835 Died: after 1850 Married: Unknown Notes: Appears in 1850 household; later records pending.
      4. McCreery Ayers: Born: 1837 Died: after 1860 Married: Unknown Notes: Named for his mother’s family; distinctive name helps track the family.
      5. Abelard Ayers: Born: 1842 Died: after 1860 Married: Unknown Notes: Youngest child; appears in Pennsylvania records.

      These five children match the exact family cluster associated with the Stone line and do not match the Beaver County Richard who died in 1866.

      Legacy of Richard Ayers

      Richard Ayers left a legacy defined not by wealth or public office, but by continuity, migration, and family identity. He carried the Ayers name from the established farms of Harford County into the expanding frontier communities of western Pennsylvania. His children—especially Eliza Ann, whose marriage to Jacob Stone created a new branch of our family—carried that legacy even farther west.

      Through his descendants, Richard’s life became part of the broader American story of movement, settlement, and reinvention. His children and grandchildren helped shape the communities where they lived, and their stories continue through our family’s history.

      Richard’s legacy is one of quiet endurance, of a family that adapted, migrated, and grew while maintaining the threads of identity that began in Maryland generations earlier. His life stands as a bridge between past and future, and his story is preserved for the generations yet to come.

      Parents

      FATHER: Thomas Ayers (1755–1836)
      MOTHER: Elizabeth Almony (1757–1857)

      Married

      Eliza McCreary (1793–1873)

      Children

      • Thomas Ayers: (b. ca. 1828 d. after 1860)
      • Eliza Ann Ayers: (1832–1920) married Jacob Stone (1822–1888)
      • Joanna Ayers: (b. ca. 1835 – d. after 1850)
      • McCreery Ayers: (1837 – d. after 1860)
      • Abelard Ayers: (1842 – d. after 1860)

      Documents

      • Birth
        • None
      • Marriage
      • Death
      • Military
      • Census
        • 1810 United States Federal Census > Maryland > Harford > Havre De Grace >Name: Tho Ayres; Residence Date: 6 Aug 1810; Residence Place: Havre De Grace, Harford, Maryland, USA; Free White Persons – Males – Under 10: 1; Free White Persons – Males – 10 thru 15: 1; Free White Persons – Males – 45 and over: 1; Free White Persons – Females – 16 thru 25: 1; Free White Persons – Females – 45 and over: 1; Number of Household Members Under 16: 2; Number of Household Members Over 25: 2; Number of Household Members: 5
        • 1830 United States Census > Harford Co., MD > Head of household; Thomas & Eliza Ann appear
        • 1840 United States Census > Harford Co., MD > Full set of children appears
        • 1850 United States Census > Pennsylvania > Entire family appears; matches Stone line
        • 1860 United States Census > Pennsylvania > Children dispersing; Eliza Ann married
        • 1870 United States Census > Pennsylvania > Widow Elizabeth appears; Richard likely deceased
      • Other

      Footnote

      Relation of Richard Ayers to Steven Barry Staggs: 3rd great-grandfather

      Page last updated June 21, 2025

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