Hi, Liz! You may already have this, but in case you don't, here is what Brethren Encyclopedia has to say about Francis Stump and the Stump family: STUMP, FRANCIS, d 1801, pioneer minister. Stump was probably a native of Pennsylvania and according to tradition was a descendant of Peter Becker of Germantown. It is not known when or where he was placed in the ministry, although he lived in Somerset and Fayette Cos., PA, between ca. 1780 and 1795. By 1797 he had moved to Muhlenberg Co. KY, becoming one of the first Brethren ministers to settle in that area. He probably organized near Browder a congregation of settlers from western Pennsylvania. His wife Rachael may have been a daughter of colonial minister George Adam Martin. Asterisks indicate that biographies are also in BE for Peter Becker and George Adam Martin. Another bio is for John Stump (1855-1925) , a brother to my Riley Stump. I too have wondered why he was named Riley. I have not been able to find parents for Riley & John's mother, Sarah Musser Stump, so if it was family name, it might have come from that side. As to the Stump family listing in Brethren Encyclopedia, it says: STUMPFF (STUMP) FAMILY. Julian Stumpf was Pietist, born in Worms, Germany, who moved to Dudelsheim. There his wife was baptized by Alexander Mac Sr. Three children are also listed. He seems to have migrated to N. America with Peter Becker in 1719. Jacob Stump married Elizabeth, daughter of Peter Becker. Conrad Beissel lived with a John Stump before the Ephrata Community was built; he may be the same John who lived at Tulpehocken PA. Caspar Stump lived at Tulpehocken by 1750. The relation- ships of these men are still uncertain. Casper's sons, Abraham and William, took land in 1778 at Shamokin, PA. In 1804 Abraham Stump took his family to Canada, near Toronto. There his son Daniel became a River Brethren (Brethren in Christ) minister, and his grand- daughter Catherine married John Burkholder, a Brethren minister. Their seven children went in 1836 by wagon train to Nappanee, IN, where they founded the Union Center congregation. Several of the Stump families migrated to Iowa, although some later returned to Indiana. John Stump went to Falfurrias, Tx, and began a ministry which later became a mission there. Many of the prominent Brethren families of northern Indiana are descendants of this family and have included many elders, ministers, and deacons. I think this paragraph was written by Merle C Rummel, church historian, who is an active part of the Brethren e-mail genealogy list, and he has Stump ancestors. John Stump who went to Falfaurrias is Riley's brother, and we aren't sure how Levi, their father, fits in with the other Stumps. We only know that Levi was from PA (but where?) and that he was Brethren. Perhaps I should check Tulpehocken. There are pastoral biographies for the Stumps who were ministers & missionaries in the ministerial lists volume of Brethren Encyclopedia. Jan T