About the Society

The Society is a family association for the descendants of this immigrant from Sweden in the seventeenth century to New Sweden (now Wilmington), Delaware. As a barber-surgeon in the employment of the Swedish crown on four expeditions to America, including the Swedes' first expedition in 1638 on the ship the Kalmar Nyckel, he is recognized as the first doctor of Delaware. His name was later anglicized to Timothy Stidham.

The objectives of the Society are to encourage and promote the accurate recording of family data, vital statistics, and individual accomplishments of Dr. Timen Stiddem and his descendants.

The Society was organized on January 1, 1998, by three of Dr. Stiddem's descendants:

1. Jack Stidham (now deceased) of Morristown, Tennessee, the author of the books, The Descendants of Timothy Stidham, Volumes 1 and 2. Jack served as the Society's first historian until his passing in 2008.

2. David R. Stidham (now deceased) of Worcester, Massachusetts, was the Society's first president, serving from 1998 till the end of 2001. He was re-elected president for the 2010-2011 term, and again for the 2012-2013 term. David authored Volume 3 of The Descendants of Timothy Stidham, and was the Stidham* Family Tree database manager and webmaster.

3. Richard L. Steadham of San Diego, California (formerly of Woodbridge, Virginia), was the Society's first newsletter editor (Issues 1 thru 19) and treasurer, president (2008-2009). He resumed the position of editor of the newsletter in 2010 with Issue #45 and continues as the TSS webmaster.

The first official meeting of the officers took place on May 8, 1998, in New Castle, Delaware, at the home of Kay Wootten-Schechinger, current Membership Secretary, and among the Society's earliest Descendant Charter Members.

Today, most of Dr. Stiddem's descendants spell the surname as STIDHAM, however a number of them spell the surname variously as: STEDHAM, STEADHAM, STEDDOM, STEDAM, STEDUM, STIDAM, STIDOM, STIDUM, and others following this phonetic pattern. When the Society uses the spelling Stidham* followed by an asterisk as shown, it's referring to all spelling variations of the surname.

For a concise history of Dr. Timen Stiddem and his immediate family, read Dr. Peter Stebbins Craig's article about him on the Swedish Colonial Society's website.

Below is an etching by Wilmington artist, Robert Shaw (1859-1912), entitled, "Landing Place of the Swedes."