Barton Stafford, son of William Stafford and Mary Cook, was born on September 7, 1808 in Palmyra. He lived on Stafford Road in Manchester for most of his life. He married Abigail Butts on April 17, 1834. To their union were born ten children.
Barton was a neighbor to the Joseph Smith Sr. family in Palmyra.[1] He was a fish peddler and a farmer by trade. He claimed that young Joseph Smith got intoxicated and was preoccupied with treasure digging. His affidavit first appeared in print in Mormonism Unvailed.[2]In the 1850 US Federal Census, Barton was listed as a fisherman.[3] He was recorded in the 1860, 1865, and 1875 censuses as living with his wife and children in Manchester.[4] He died in Palmyra on September 28, 1878 and was buried in the Palmyra City Cemetery.
[1] Quinn, Early Mormonism and the Magic Worldview, p. 136; Clark, Gleanings by the Way, p. 343; Tucker, Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism, p. 2.
[2] Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, pp. 351–352.
[3] Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, 2:22.
[4] US Federal Census, 1860; New York State Census, 1865, 1875.