Book Description

"To go back in time and know our ancestors would be the greatest of all adventures." With this sentence, Betty Stamper Latham begins her book and it was with this principle that she has created more than just a genealogy of the Stamper family. Ms. Latham personally spent over five years researching this book. She visited many of the places where the Stamper families lived and where they forever rest in peace. She spent hours sifting through microfilm and pouring through archival evidence to develop this clear chronicle of eleven generations of the Stamper family. Ms. Latham does more than just duplicate the dry facts of her research. She combined what she learned of her family with her knowledge of general history and used a little imagination to bring to life such events as a marriage, a night in a tavern or hitching a ride on a boxcar. The book begins in 1660 with John Stamper, a probable immigrant from England, and ends at the time of publication. Like many of the early colonists, the Stampers wandered around their new country, settling for a while and then moving on. After originally settling in Middlesex County, Virginia, the Stampers moved to Amherst County, Virginia. After about ten years they moved again, this time to Rowan County, North Carolina. By the early nineteenth century there were Stampers all over southern Virginia and North Carolina as well as Kentucky and other states west. Many Stampers played roles in some of our country's most significant historical chapters, as well. Jonathan Stamper, Sr. had sons who fought in the Revolutionary War and many Stampers fought in our nation's Civil War. There are approximately 1,800 persons named in this book. Most of the maiden names are included, as well as the names of parents when available. There is an every-name index for the ease of researching names. There are also several old photos of Stampers, pictures of places related to the family's history, a map of pertinent areas and copies of some of the land grants issued to the Stampers.