Considerable research has been carried out over the years regarding the Stansbury Families in England.

Henry Stansbury of Risbury, near Leominster in Herefordshire, is the earliest known ancestor that we have been able to prove, although there are records of Stansburys near Leominster for many years before. Henry was a yeoman farmer near Leominster in Herefordshire. He died about 1657. His descendants are now spread around the world, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and America.

John Stansbury of Leominster was the grandson of Henry and became a mercer, trading in cloth between Leominster and London.He married Elizabeth Jones in 1694 and died in Leominster in 1741.

John Stansbury, born in 1732 and the grandson of John of Leominster, joined the Army as a young man in the 34th Regiment of Foot. He rose through the ranks to become the Sergeant Major of the Regiment. He served in the Battle of Minorca in 1752 against the French and in the siege and capture of Havana from the Spanish. When Havana was exchanged for Florida the 34th were moved to Florida. Sgt.Major John and the 34th then endured considerable privation for over three years moving up the Mississippi until finally arriving in Philadelphia in August 1768. In Philadelphia Sgt.Major John was able to meet up with his cousin Joseph and met and married Elizabeth Sutton before returning to England. Joseph was a Loyalist and achieved some fame by writing “Loyal Verses” but he was later to get into trouble in the War of Independence. He was imprisoned for a time for singing “God Save The King” and acted as a spy in the war, including a plot to capture George Washington. We have a record of over sixty nineteenth century American descendants of Joseph Stansbury. His Grandson, Captain Howard Stansbury, first surveyed the land on which Salt Lake City now stands.

John Fortunatus Stansbury, grandson of Sgt.Major John, was Headmaster of Oundle School in Northamptonshire from 1848-1876. He had 14 children and 55 grandchildren and we have recorded over 300 of his descendants.

In the process of tracing the family of Henry of Risbury and in particular the descendants of John Fortunatus we have discovered three other Stansbury families, who may or may not be related. These three families have all been traced back to Devonshire. The first family has been traced back to a George Stansbury who became a coastguard and was said to have been born in Bideford about 1793. Secondly there is a family who trace back to William Henry Stansbury who is believed to have been born about 1824 in or around Tavistock. Thirdly there is a family who trace back to a Benjamin Stanbury who was born in Okehampton in 1753.
More information regarding all four families can be accessed by selecting any of the names in bold