Holbrook line: Stanard or Stannard?

It's long been a debate in our family as to whether our grandmother's name was to be spelled Stannard or Stanard.  She used the spelling Stannard but her father and her grandfather used the spelling Stannard. 

Here's the explanation, as found in The Colville Examiner of February 8, 1919, page 4, located on the Chronicling America website.  (Colville is the county seat of Stevens County, Washington).

"  "What's in a Name"-Is Easily Explained

"The correct spelling of our county school superintendent's name has been a matter of controversy-that is, among outsiders.  In the office there is no controversy, for the county superintendent spells her name Stannard, and her father (her deputy) spells his name Stanard.  Each states the reason for the particular spelling, and lets it go at that.  But it has been a matter of supposition among many of the Examiner readers that this paper was not correctly reading proof when these names were spelled differently.  And recently, in the Baptist church news, it did look rather queer to see Supt. L.E. Stanard in one line, Leader Miss Elizabeth Stannard in the next. 

But the Examiner was correct in both cases, and if any argument arises, it may have to be settled by the Stanard ancestry (or Stannard).  For it was along about 1800, when the grandfather of the present L.E. Stanard was an innkeeper in Madison County, York state, that the change of spelling originated.  It seems that the innkeeper had ordered a sign for his inn, as was the old custom, and the signboard was one of a certain size, and the lettering was also of a certain size.  The lettering proved too long for the board, hence to adjust matters the sing painter simply left out an n from the name, and behold-a nice sign, perfectly proportioned. 

The innkeeper, to keep matters straight with his sign, then had to drop an n from his name, and he did so, although his three brothers did not.  The succeeding generations of the innkeeper have maintained the spelling Stanard, but all the other relatives use Stannard. 

The present county superintendent wishes to retain the original spelling, but her father says he was born Stanard, and Stanard he will remain.  So each has a name, and a reason for the name, and the Examiner's proofreader is not to blame when a different spelling appears."

This is interesting for several reasons.  First, it more or less confirms an old family story, but according to this article the change came 100 years earlier and a thousand miles away from Franklin County, Kansas, which is where we thought the change came.  Secondly, we now have an occupation for Louis E Stanard's grandfather.  This may be Libbeus Stanard, Jr., who was a veteran of the War of 1812, but wasn't born until 1785.  It more likely was his great grandfather, Libbeus Stanard Sr., who was a veteran of the Revolutionary War and who died in Madison County, New York, in 1846.  Either the "about 1800" date is incorrect, or it was actually the great grandfather who was the innkeeper.

The county school superintendent referred to is Elizabeth Stannard, elected in 1916, before women had the right to vote in national elections.  I found a record on line in some sort of public document that stated in the 1918-1919 school year, there were 118 "districts", presumably each with a school, in Stevens County, Washington.  Elizabeth was quite a woman, but no wonder she needed an assistant!  Just visiting each school once a year would have kept her busy, but she also had to supervise and report on extracurricular activities, community centers, how many events were held and whether they were educational or patriotic, and various other busy work.  She eventually left her job and went to teach high school in Spokane, Washington, where she retired after many years of teaching Latin. 

Did anyone notice that I've sort of tied elections, and veterans, into this same post, which will post on election day, just a few days before Veteran's Day?  It worked out nicely! 

The line of descent would be

Libbeus Stannard Sr.-Eunice Pomeroy
Libbeus Stanard Jr.-Luceba Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stannard (she actually did spell her name with two n's, also)-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

And now we know!