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. The most prominent of whom is Jack Stidham 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. His son David R. Stidham of Worcester, Massachusetts, was the Society's first president, and currently serves as the editor of the newsletter, as well as the Stidham* Family Tree database manager. The third is Richard L. Steadham of San Diego, California (formerly of Woodbridge, Virginia), who was the Society's first newsletter editor (Issues 1thru 19) and treasurer, and currently serves as the Society's president (2008-2009) He also 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 one of the Society's 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."