Stamps family
The Stamps family is an American ancestral group descended from seventeenth-century Virginia colonists bearing the Stampe, Stamp, or Stamps surname.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The Stamps family is an American ancestral group rather than a commercial brand or incorporated organization. It comprises patrilineal descendants of early Virginia colonists whose surname appeared in forms including Stampe, Stamp, and Stamps. The family’s recorded surname history reaches back to medieval England and is commonly connected to Étampes, a region southwest of Paris. One early spelling, John de Stampes, appears in London Pipe Rolls from 1191, while Sir Thomas Stampe is recorded in Essex legal documents in 1424. Over time, bearers of the name are described as having settled in London and adopted anglicized forms of the surname. A significant phase in the family’s American history began in 1635, when Thomas Stampe sailed from London to Virginia aboard the Plaine Joan. By 1638 he controlled substantial landholdings along the Nansamond River and in James City County, where he operated a mill. During the late eighteenth century, branches of the family moved south and west from Virginia. Descendants established themselves in Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, and Texas, contributing to the family’s later geographic distribution across the American South and Southwest. The family’s documented history is closely associated with military service. Members are described as having volunteered in every major American conflict from the French and Indian War onward. Dr. Timothy Stamps, a physician educated in Germany and England, served in the Fauquier County militia during the French and Indian War and later became a captain. During the Revolutionary War he advanced to major and was associated with supplying colonial troops with homemade ammunition. His son Thomas Stamps also served as an officer during the Revolution before relocating with his family to Georgia, where he acquired land through the state’s 1820 land lottery. Later generations participated in the War of 1812, the Creek War, and the American Civil War. Moses Stamps served as a captain during the War of 1812, while his son Eason Stamps later served in the Creek War. Several family members fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War, including Isaac Stamps, who was killed at Gettysburg. Other relatives served as soldiers or medical personnel, and the family’s published history includes accounts of land ownership, church founding, burial sites, and complex genealogical relationships. Some records have confused Fletcher Moreland Stamps with another relative identified as F. M. Stamps, illustrating the difficulty of reconstructing the family’s history from military and archival sources. In the twentieth century, Stamps descendants continued to appear in military, business, scientific, technological, legal, religious, and cultural contexts. Examples identified in the family’s historical account include World War I chaplain Drure Fletcher Stamps, World War II B-17 pilot George M. Stamps, oil executive William Stamps Farish II, geodesy and tectonics scholar D. Sarah Stamps, archaeologist and anthropologist Richard B. Stamps, and fax-technology developer George Moreland Stamps. The surname also became associated with gospel music through Frank Stamps and Virgil Oliver Stamps, founders of the Stamps Quartet tradition and later inductees into the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame. The family has no single headquarters, corporate owner, product portfolio, or unified commercial operating structure. Its identity is genealogical and historical. Related public references include family histories, genealogy forums, charitable activity, military records, local histories, and the Stamps Quartet. Stamps, Arkansas, which was named for settler Hardy James Stamps, also has a place in American popular culture as the setting of Maya Angelou’s memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
History
The surname associated with the Stamps family is traced in the reference account to the French region of Étampes, approximately 48 kilometers southwest of Paris. After members of the broader name group settled in England, forms such as d’Étampes and Stampe were anglicized. The earliest cited record is John de Stampes in the 1191 Pipe Rolls of London; Sir Thomas Stampe appears in Essex Feet of Fines in 1424. The family’s American history begins with Thomas Stampe, who departed London for Virginia on May 15, 1635, aboard the Plaine Joan. Within several years he held land on the Nansamond River and in James City County. His holdings included acreage used for a mill and larger areas described as swamp or marshland. This early settlement established the Virginia base from which later branches developed. During the late eighteenth century, Stamps descendants moved from Virginia into the American South and toward the western frontier. Georgia became particularly important. Thomas Stamps, the son of Dr. Timothy Stamps, served during the American Revolution and later moved with his father and son to Georgia. He received 250 acres in present-day Gwinnett County through the 1820 Georgia land lottery. His descendants and related family branches later became associated with Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, and Texas. Military participation is a recurring theme in the family’s documented history. Dr. Timothy Stamps served during the French and Indian War, first as an ensign and later as a captain. Family tradition also credits him with treating a seriously ill George Washington, although this account is presented as family history rather than independently established medical documentation. During the Revolutionary War, Timothy became a major and was associated with the manufacture or supply of ammunition for colonial forces. His son Thomas served as an ensign and captain. Moses Stamps and Eason Stamps represented subsequent generations’ military involvement. Moses served as a captain in the War of 1812 and commanded Eason, who served as a private. Eason later participated as a captain in the 1836 Creek War. Both were buried in Coweta County, Georgia. A contemporary newspaper account published near Eason’s death described him as more than a century old. The Civil War produced several notable but sometimes difficult-to-separate family records. Isaac Davis Stamps, a relative connected by marriage to Jefferson Davis’s family, received a ceremonial sword from Davis and was killed at Gettysburg. Fletcher Moreland Stamps served as a medic with the 19th Georgia Infantry, which moved between Virginia and Florida before surrendering in North Carolina in 1865. Genealogical and archival sources have sometimes conflated him with another F. M. Stamps who died in 1862. Fletcher Moreland Stamps later donated land associated with Salem Baptist Church near Bowdon, Georgia, and was buried there near other members of the family. The family’s twentieth-century record extends beyond military service. Roy Rupert Stamps served in the United States Army during World War I, Drure Fletcher Stamps was an infantry chaplain, and Lieutenant Colonel George M. Stamps piloted a B-17 during World War II. William Stamps Farish II became president of Standard Oil of New Jersey, the predecessor of Exxon, from 1937 to 1942; his name reflected an earlier Stamps relative. George Moreland Stamps is identified as an important developer of modern fax technology. Other descendants became scholars of Chinese and Taiwanese archaeology, cultural anthropology, geodesy, and tectonics. The Stamps name also has a cultural history. Frank Stamps and Virgil Oliver Stamps helped develop the Stamps Quartet in the 1920s. The group’s song Give the World a Smile is described in the reference material as an early southern gospel hit, and both brothers were inducted posthumously into the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1997. Stamps, Arkansas, named for settler Hardy James Stamps, later became associated with Maya Angelou’s childhood memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. The family’s history has been preserved through genealogical publications, local records, family archives, and online genealogy resources.
- 1997
Stamps brothers enter gospel music hall of fame
[1]Frank Stamps and Virgil Oliver Stamps were posthumously inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
- 1920
Stamps Quartet rises in southern gospel
[1]Frank Stamps led the Stamps Quartet during the 1920s, helping establish the group’s place in southern gospel music.
- 1863
Isaac Stamps is killed at Gettysburg
[1]Captain Isaac Stamps, who carried a ceremonial sword associated with Jefferson Davis, was killed during the Battle of Gettysburg.
- 1820
Georgia land-lottery participation
[1]Thomas Stamps received land in present-day Gwinnett County, Georgia, through the state’s 1820 land lottery.
- 1812
War of 1812 service
[1]Moses Stamps served as a captain and commanded his son Eason Stamps during the War of 1812.
- 1775
Revolutionary War service
[1]Thomas Stamps served in the Halifax County Militia and the 2nd Virginia Regiment, eventually attaining the rank of captain.
- 1750
Thomas Stamps is born
[1]Thomas Stamps, later a Revolutionary War officer and Georgia settler, was born in 1750.
- 1638
Early Virginia landholdings
[1]Thomas Stampe controlled land along the Nansamond River and in James City County and operated a mill.
- 1635
Thomas Stampe arrives in Virginia
[1]Thomas Stampe left London for Virginia aboard the Plaine Joan on May 15, beginning the family line’s documented settlement in North America.
- 1424
Record of Sir Thomas Stampe
[1]Sir Thomas Stampe appears in the Feet of Fines for Essex, providing another medieval English record connected with the surname.
Products and positioning
A genealogical and historical family identity, not a conventional commercial brand.
Sources1 sources
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