John Stevens, of Andover

Not the same as Sgt. John Stevens of Salisbury who married Katherine

Summary

John Stevens, son of John Stevens and Alice Atkins, is not to be confused with John Stevens of Salisbury, Massachusetts, who died in February 1688/1689 and was buried there. This John Stevens was baptized 7 JUL 1605 at Caversham, Oxfordshire, England, son of John Stevens and Alice Atkins. He was a farmer ("husbandman") from Caversham, England who immigrated on board "The Confidence" from South Hampton, England in 1638 with wife, Elizabeth, brother William, mother Alice and indentured servants, John and Grace Lovejoy (also spelled Lowgie) (brother and sister). They initially came to Newbury, Massachusetts but was one of the first settlers of Andover (as was John Lovejoy). (According to Moses T. Stevens, in 1645 John went to Andover, Mass.) His homestead was in North Andover, south of Mill Pond. He was a prominent citizen and a sergeant in the militia. John Stevens died 11 April 1662 at Andover, and was buried there in the Old North Parish Burying Ground. See Abiel Abbott's 1829 "History of Andover", p. 15.

Family

Parents: John Stevens (1575 - Sep. 21, 1627) and Alice Atkins (Oct. 14, 1576 - Jul 17, 1650).

He married Elizabeth prob. Parker about April 1638, probably in Caversham (but record not found) shortly before they emigrated.

John and Elizabeth Stevens were parents of eight children.

i JOHN STEVENS, b. at Newbury, 20 Jun 1639; d. at Casco, ME, 4 Mar 1688/9; m. 1st at Andover, 13 Jun 1662, HANNAH BARNARD, b. at Andover, about 1644 daughter of Robert and Joan (Harvey) Barnard; Hannah d. at Andover, 13 Mar 1675. John m. 2nd at Andover, 10 Aug 1676, ESTHER BARKER, b. at Andover, 1651 daughter of Richard and Joanna (-) Barker. Esther d. at Andover, 25 Jun 1713.

ii TIMOTHY STEVENS, b. at Newbury, 23 Sep 1641; d. at Roxbury, 31 Jan 1708; m. at Roxbury, 12 Mar 1664, SARAH DAVIS, b. 10 Feb 1646/7 daughter of Tobias and Sarah (Morrill) Stevens; Sarah d. 5 Apr 1695.

iii NATHAN STEVENS, b. at Andover, 1643; d. at Andover, 19 Feb 1718. Nathan did not marry.

iv ELIZABETH STEVENS, b. at Andover, 1645; d. at Newbury, 1714 (inventory 6 Sep 1714); m. at Andover, 22 Jan 1665, JOSHUA WOODMAN, b. at Newbury, about 1637 son of Edward and Joanna (-) Woodman; Joshua d. at Newbury, 30 May 1703 (inventory 12 Jul 1703).

v EPHRAIM STEVENS, b. at Andover, 1649; d. at Andover, 26 Jun 1718; m. at Andover, 11 Oct 1680, SARAH ABBOTT, b. at Andover, 14 Nov 1659 daughter of George and Hannah (Chandler) Abbott; Sarah d. at Andover, 28 Jun 1711.

vi MARY STEVENS, b. at Andover, about 1650; d. at Andover, 1 May 1703; m. at Andover, 6 Jul 1670, JOHN BARKER, b. at Andover, 1643 son of Richard and Joanna (-) Barker; John d. at Andover, 3 Jan 1722. John married second widow Martha Smith.

vii JOSPEH STEVENS, b. 16 May 1654; d. at 25 Feb 1742/3 (probate Mar 1742/3); m. 1st at Andover, 28 May 1679, MARY INGALLS, b. at Andover, 29 Jan 1659 daughter of Henry and Mary (Osgood) Ingalls; Mary d. at Andover, 21 Sep 1699. Joseph m. 2nd at Salem, 13 Nov 1700, ELIZABETH BROWN (who may be a widow); Elizabeth d. at Andover, 16 Sep 1745.

viii BENJAMIN STEVENS, b. at Andover, 24 Jun 1656; d. at Andover, 8 Jan 1729/30; m. 18 Oct 1715, SUSANNA SYMMES (widow of John Chickering), b. at Bradford, 11 Oct 1671 daughter of Zachariah and Susanna (Graves) Symmes; Susanna d. at Andover, 20 Jul 1753. Benjamin and Susanna did not have children.

Taken from Abbott, Patricia A. 2021. The Descendants of John and Elizabeth Stevens of Andover Through Six Generations. Emerald Isle, NC: Patricia A. Abbott.

Biography

JOHN STEVENS, baptized at Caversham, Oxfordshire, 7 Jul 1605 son of John and Alice (Atkins) Stevens; (Moriarty, “Stevens of Newbury and Andover, Mass.”, NEHGR, volume 85, p 397) d. at Andover, 11 Apr 1662; m. before Apr 1638, ELIZABETH (likely but not certainly Parker), b. 1611; Elizabeth d. at Andover, 1 May 1694.

On 24 April 1638, John Stephens, aged 31 husbandman of “Gonsham” (Caversham), Oxfordshire, his wife Elizabeth, his mother Alice, brother William aged 21, and two servants John Lowgee (Lovejoy) aged 16 and Grace Lowgee embarked from Southampton for New England on the 200-ton ship Confidence captained by Master Mr. John Gibson. Also on the ship were John’s sister Barbara and her husband William Ilsley. Joseph Parker, possibly brother of John’s wife Elizabeth, but of Newbury, also made the trip. (Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild, Confidence, https://immigrantships.net/v4/1600v4/confidence16380424.html; Moriarty, “Stevens of Newbury and Andover, Mass.”, NEHGR, volume 85, p 398)

John’s father died at Caversham in 1627. (Moriarty, “Stevens of Newbury and Andover, Mass.”, NEHGR, volume 85, p 397, p 399) John had an older sister Jane who seems to have remained in England. The three remaining children and mother Alice made the trip. John’s mother Alice in perhaps the widow “Anne” Stevens whose death is recorded at Newbury on 17 July 1650. (Stevens, Anne, wid., July [17, 1650.] Newbury Vital Records, volume 2, p 727)

Although the identity of John’s wife Elizabeth is not certain, she was likely sister of Joseph Parker who settled in Newbury and was later in Andover. On the 16th day of the 4th month 1673, Elizabeth Stevens, widow aged 60 years, testified concerning Samuel Parker, son of her brother Joseph of Andover. (Pope, The Pioneers of Massachusetts, p 433)

John and Elizabeth were first in Newbury and the births of their first two children are recorded there. John Stevens was admitted as freeman on the 18th day of the 3rd month (May) 1642. (Shurtleff, Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, volume 2, p 292) John Stevens held freehold rights in Newbury which were assumed by Edward Moers after the Stevens family relocated to Andover. (Currier, History of Newbury, p 93)

Around 1643, John Stevens was one of those who accompanied the Rev. John Woodbridge to the newly incorporated town of Cochichwicke (later named Andover) in Essex County which was formed 10 May 1643. The exact date of arrival of the Woodbridge settlers in Cochichwicke is not certain as negotiations for this new settlement had begun by 1640 with final arrangements made by 1642. (Currier, History of Newbury, p 74) John Stevens was one of the first twenty-three freeholders of Andover and is listed fifth on the list of those coming to Andover in the order in which they arrived. (Founding Families of “Cochichawick Plantation”, The Faulkner List, North Andover Historical Society; https://www.northandoverhistoricalsociety.org/new-page-3)

Part of the land distribution in Andover included the assignment of “house lots”. The size of these lots ranged from four acres to twenty acres, lot size correlating to the status of the proprietor. John Stevens was assigned an 8-acre house lot with only four of the freeholders being assigned larger lots. (Greven, Four Generations, p 46) In addition to this initial house lot, distribution was made in the common lot of Shawsheen field with one acre in the field assigned for each acre of house lot. The second division of Newfield also allowed one acre per acre of house lot. The third division of land in 1658 allowed four acres of upland per acre of house lot. The fourth land division was made on 24 November 1662, seven months after John’s death, although Elizabeth’s extensive land holdings at the time of her death suggest that she received the property in this division. The fourth division allowed twenty acres of upland for each acre of house lot. (Greven, Four Generations, pp 50-57) The Stevens house lot and homestead property were in North Andover. (“Map of Andover in 1692” with index; http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/maps/andomap.html)

The available form of the probate of John Stevens’s estate is an abstract of the probate that was further transcribed. Widow Elizabeth was named administratrix on 24 June 1662. Estate inventory taken 28 April 1662 by Nicholas Noyes, George Abbott, Sr., Richard Barker, and Nathan Parker gave an estate value of £463.4.0. Son John Stevens was to have £74 paid at demand and each of the other children £37 when they come of age or at marriage, The children named in the abstract are Timothy, Nathan, Ephraim, Joseph, Benjamin, and Mary. Eldest son John Stevens received from the estate house, orchard, and land, one cow, two steers of two-years-old and a yearling, two swine, two sheep, and rights and privileges granted by the town of 25 acres, and three acres of meadow. (Dow (Ed.), The Probate Records of Essex County, Massachusetts, volume I, pp 377-378) Daughter Elizabeth who can be clearly established as a child is inexplicably missing from the transcript of the probate abstraction which may be simply a transcription error.

In her will written 1 October 1687 (probate 25 September 1694), Elizabeth Stevens bequeathed to her eldest son John one-half of the meadow “that was my last division of meadow.” Second son Timothy receives the other half of the meadow plus ten acres from “my swamp division.” Third son Nathan receives four acres of upland and ten acres of the swamp division. Fourth son Ephraim receives one-half of “my great division” lying on the Merrimack and part of the shoe meadow. Fifth son Joseph receives forty acres of upland from the great division, the part of the meadow now in his possession, and one-half of the lands in Cochichawick and Shawsheen. Six son Benjamin receives the house lot with dwelling house and barns and the ploughing land belonging to the homestead. Each of the sons also received specific household items. Eldest daughter Elizabeth Woodman receives household items including the biggest brass kettle, fire tongs, and dripping pan. Second daughter Mary Barker receives household items including feather bed and blankets and half of the small pewter. There are bequests to grandchildren including granddaughter Elizabeth Woodman, grandson Joshua Stevens, granddaughter Elizabeth Stevens daughter of Timothy, granddaughter Sarah Stevens daughter of Ephraim, granddaughter Mary Stevens daughter of Joseph, and granddaughter Elizabeth Stevens daughter of Ephraim. Son Benjamin was named executor. Elizabeth signed her name to the will. The will was witnessed by Dudley Bradstreet and Anna Bradstreet. Elizabeth wrote a codicil on 7 September 1691 following the death of eldest son John. She made bequests to John’s sons John and Joshua. There was also an adjustment to the bequest to son Nathan “being well provided for and no family as yet”, dividing some of the bequest to Nathan among sons Ephraim, Joseph, and Benjamin and daughters Elizabeth Woodman and Mary Barker. (Essex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1638-1881.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. Case 26327)

On 13 October 1688 (recorded 24 March 1696/7), Joseph Stevens and Benjamin Stevens, yeomen of Andover, in consideration of £20, conveyed to Samuel Ingalls an 8-acre tract in Andover called Cochichawick field formerly belonging to their father John Stevens and given to them by their mother Elizabeth Stevens. (Massachusetts Land Records, Essex County, 11:223)

Son Nathan did not marry. In his will written 23 July 1714 (probate 13 March 1718), Nathan Stevens bequeathed to Samuel Stevens son of brother John Stevens, deceased, one-half of the meadow commonly called Woodchuck meadow. Abiel Stevens, son of brother John, receives Nathan’s homestead including dwelling house, barn, and arable land, on condition that Abiel quitclaim his interest in his father’s homestead to his younger brothers Benjamin and David to divide equally. Ebenezer Stevens son of John receives the land on which he now lives and improves which contains about 20 acres. David Stevens son of John receives the horse, the furniture belonging to him, the pistols, holster, rapier, and carbiner. Kinswoman Elizabeth Stevens wife of nephew Nathan Stevens receives one cow. Cousin Nathan Stevens son of nephew Nathan receives ten pounds to be paid in the form of stock of cattle. John Barker son of William Barker receives three pounds. Nephew Samuel Stevens, eldest son of sister-in-law Esther Stevens, was named sole executor. Samuel also receives any residue of the personal estate. Nephew Samuel Stevens died in early 1717/8, and in a codicil written 17 February 1717/8, Nathan left the property he had bequeathed to Samuel to Samuel’s eldest son Samuel with some other adjustments to the bequests. Abiel Stevens was named executor. (Essex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1638-1881.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. Case 26407)

Son Benjamin married late in life and did not have children. He left a will which was later set aside as he had acquired additional property after he wrote his will which was not accounted for in the will. As a result, the estate was handled as if he died intestate. His estate entered probate 23 February 1729/30. In his will written 8 March 1722/3, cousin John Stevens son of brother John was bequeathed ten pounds. Other bequests were to Samuel Stevens youngest son of brother Timothy Stevens of Roxbury, Benjamin Stevens son of brother Joseph, cousin Hannah wife of Robert Swan, and a bible to each of all the rest of his cousins, the children of his brothers and sisters. All the real estate was left to his cousins Benjamin Stevens, cordwainer, and James Stevens, blacksmith, who were also named executors. The will was initially proved and approved on 12 March 1729/30. The will was then set aside, and widow Susannah Stevens and Benjamin Stevens were named administrators. The total inventory was £2,980.15.8 and included “the negro man” valued at £100. The dower thirds were set to the widow Susannah Stevens. The division of the real estate was made to Benjamin’s siblings or their heirs/representatives: John Stevens, Timothy Stevens, Ephraim Stevens, Joseph Stevens, Elizabeth Stevens alias Woodman, and Mary Stevens alias Barker. On 23 June 1735, the estate accounting showed a balance of £1,455.8.1 which was distributed one-half to the widow Susannah and the remaining half in one-sixth parts to the siblings of Benjamin or their legal representatives: Joseph, Timothy, John, Ephraim, Elizabeth alias Woodman, and Mary alias Barker. (Essex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1638-1881.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. Case 26293)

John Stevens is interred at Old North Parish Burying Ground (First Burial Ground) in Andover. His reconstructed headstone now encased in granite bears this inscription: HERE LYES BURIED THE BODY OF Mr JOHN STEVENS WHO DECEASED Ye 11 DAY OF APRIL 1662 IN Ye 57 YEAR OF HIS AGE. (Find a Grave ID 7868321)

Taken from Abbott, Patricia A. 2021. The Descendants of John and Elizabeth Stevens of Andover Through Six Generations. Emerald Isle, NC: Patricia A. Abbott.

John Stevens, immigrant ancestor, was born in England in 1605 He came from Caversham or Gonsham Oxfordshire England in the ship Confidence sailing in April 1637 from Southampton. Caversham is in the southern part of Oxford near Reading in Berkshire. He settled first in Newbury and was admitted a freeman May 18 1642. He removed to Andover. He was sergeant of a military company at Andover, and served on a committee with Henry Short of Newbury and Joseph Jewett of Rowley to decide the boundary line then in dispute between Haverhill and Salisbury appointed by the general court in 1654. In 1681 his son John was also a proprietor of Andover. He was a man of note and substance. His name appears often in the town and court records.

He died April 11 1662. His gravestone in the old yard at Andover is quaintly carved and ornamented, but bears no eulogy or text It bears this inscription:

Here lies buried the body of Mr John Stevens who deceased ye II Day of April 1662 in ye 57 Year of his age.

It is the only gravestone erected to the memory of a first settler. If others were erected stones have been destroyed or buried.

His wife Elizabeth was appointed June 14 1662. She testified June 16 1673 she was sixty years old concerning Samuel Parker, son of her brother Joseph Parker of Andover, and presumably her maiden was Parker though the word brother was for brother in law etc

She died May 1 1694 aged eighty one years. Her will dated October 21 1687 with codicil added September 7 1691 bequeathed to her children John, Timothy, Ephraim, Joseph, Benjamin Woodman , Mary Barker and their children. It was proved September 25 1694

Children

• 1 John born June 20 1639 at Newbury to Andover with his father was there in 1641 took the oath of there in 1674
• 2 Timothy born September 23 1 641 The following born at Andover
• 3 Nathan
• 4 Ephraim
• 5 Joseph born 15 1654 mentioned below
• 5 Benjamin born June 24 1656
• 7 Elizabeth married Joshua Woodman
• 8 Mary married John Barker

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References

• From: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Stevens-250 cites

1. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1847-. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2018.) G. Andrews Moriarty. "Stevens of Newbury and Andover, Mass. pp 396-401.subscription
2. Samuel G. Drake. "Result of Some Researches Among the British Archives for Information Relative to the Founders of New England: Made in the Years 1858, 1859 and 1860." New England Historic and Genealogical Register, Boston, MA (1860). p. 59.see at archive.org
3. G. Andrews Moriarty, "Stevens of Newbury and Andover, Mass.," NEHGR 85(1931):396
4. Stevens' Find-a-Grave Memorial
5. Daughter Elizabeth is inexplicably missing from the abstract transcription, perhaps a simple oversight in the transcription.
6. Dow (Ed.), The Probate Records of Essex County, Massachusetts, volume I, pp 377-378
7. Essex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1638-1881.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. Case 26327
8. Essex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1638-1881.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. Case 26407
9. Essex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1638-1881.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. Case 26293
10. Hoyt, David W. The Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury Massachusetts (Providence, Rhode Island, 1897), pages 322-23, 1009-10.
11. ↑ The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1847-. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2018.) James R. Henderson. "English Origins of John Lovejoy of Andover, Massachusetts" Vol. 163, pp 27, 28. subscription
12. Andover Vital Records - death http://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Essex/Andover/Images/Andover_D549.shtml
13. Vital Records of Newbury, Mass., http://ma-vitalrecords.org
14. Vital Records of Andover, Mass., http://ma-vitalrecords.org
15. Boltwood, Lucius Manlius. Deaths in The Town of Andover, MS., from 1650 to 1700, The New England Historical & Genealogical Register (NEHGS, Boston, Mass., 1848) Vol. 2, Page 377
16. See also: Nathaniel Stevens, 1786-1865: An Account Of His Life And The Business He Founded

• Reference: WikiTree Genealogy - SmartCopy: Dec 15 2016, 20:55:05 UTC
• from Parish Registers, Caversham, Co. Oxford
• http://www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/john-stevens_119872505
• Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of ..., Volume 2 edited by William Richard Cutter
• http://www.ournorthernroots.com/getperson.php?personID=I9844&tree=f...