Thomas Stevens of Devonshire

Thomas STEVENS - b. about 1585. Son of Anthony STEVENS and Kathrine BROKE, and grandson of Edward STEVENS and Joan FOWLER. Some compilations identify him as the son of Thomas STEVENS and Elizabeth STONE, and grandson of Edward STEVENS and Joan FOWLER. However, The Visitation of London 1634, published by the Harlein Society, Vol. 17, page 362, shows the arms, parents and children of Thomas STEVENS, husband of Mary WALLE. A haberdasher of London, Thomas was living in 1634. Married about 1615.

Mary WALLE - b. 1592. The children listed are those named in the above noted Visitation of London 1634. Daughter of Peter WALLE (b. 1567) of Spargrave, Cheshire.

Children of Thomas and Mary Stevens

  1. Nicholas - b. about 1620, Little Sodbury, Gloucestershire; d. Jun. 11, 1675, Gloucestershire.

2. Thomas - b. about 1621. Resided at London. Children of Thomas STEVENS: Richard married Mary LINCOLN (daughter of Thomas LINCOLN and third cousin of Mordecai LINCOLN, ancestor of Pres. Abraham LINCOLN); Thomas married Mary GREEN; Cyprian married Mary WILLARD (daughter of Simon WILLARD and Mary DUNSTER); Cathrine married Thomas DEANE (son of John and Alice DEANE, and grandson of William DEANE); and Mary married Capt. John WHIPPLE.
3. Anthony - b. about 1624. Probably immigrated by 1656 to Lancaster Co., VA, removing to Westmoreland Co., VA by 1667 when he received a land grant of 850 acres.
4. Mary -
5. Rebecca -

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THOMAS STEPHENS (ANTHONY1) was born 1585 in London, London, England.He married MARY WALLE 1615 in London, London, England, daughter of PETER WALLE .She was born in Spargrave, Cheshire, England.
Notes for THOMAS STEPHENS:

Thomas Stephens, Gent., 2nd son of Anthony and Kathrine, was born in 1585 in London.He was a haberdasher.He married Mary, daughter of Peter Walle of Spargrave, Cheshire in Northwest England.

Thomas Stephens, b. ca. 1585, of London, England, haberdasher -m- Mary Walle, dau. of Peter Walle of Spargrave, Cheshire, Eng. He had a nice coat of arms, illustrated herein, and was of the gentleman class. The two crescents on the arms indicates he was a second son. There was another Thomas "Stevens" in the Tower Ward of London but he had no child named Nicholas and the other children were different, and I know of no other Nicholas in London at that time.All records indicate that 10) Henry and 12) Thomas were sons of 1) Nicholas.A large black and white print about 9 inches by 14 can be obtained as a photostat from the Library of Congress.This gives the arms ;and pedigree. The Tower Ward. Stevens is spelled Steuens as the "v" at that time was interchangeable with the "u".Since no other Thomas is given it would seem there was no other Stephens-Stevens of that name in London at that time.A Thomas in London subscribed 20 pounds to the Virginia Company and his name appearsat a meeting there in 1622.(Colonial Documents. State Paper Office, London.)This was likely our Thomas.It has been ;suggested by some that 15) Cyprian was the son of Thomas the armourer to the king but a
certified copy of the oath of Nicholas Sherman as Chief Armourer to the King shows he succeeded Thomas Stevens, the Armourer in 1629, so obviously this Thomas could not have been the father of 15) Cyprian and his brother Thomas, b. 1644.Some have referred to A) Thomas as Col. Thomas. I have nothing to either prove or disprove it.The children listed in said Visitations of London in 1623 were:

• 1. 1) Nicholas3 Stephens (or Stevens), b. ca. 1620 -m- Elizabeth Starkey - eldest son.
• 2. 2) Thomas, Jr. b. ca. 1622 -m- but wife unknown. 3. 3) Anthony3 b. ca. 1624, prob. in Lancaster County, Va., by 1656. 4. 4) Mary,not traced. 5. 5) RebeccaN.T.

SOME COGNATE FAMILIES

Of the descendants of A) Thomas2 Stephens, b. ca. 1590, "the haberdasher" of London, England. Since they furnish us with about half our genes, we should pay tribute to our maternal ancestors as well as the males. The life of these early day women was, for the most part, a continual process of child bearing as well as heavy work, or as Veraldine (Benton) said in a recent letter to this writer, the work they did and "the distances they traveled without good roads and modern equipment would kill their present descendants. They had to be tough to just live. That they prospered and increased means they were smart as well as tough." Colonel Thomas Stevens (1) of Devonshire, England, was the father of the three emigrants from whom a large part of the Stevens families of Massachusetts are descended. He was the progenitor of Charles F. Stevens, and George A. Stevens, of Worcester. He was the armorer of Buttulph Lane, London, who was contracted with the Massachusetts Bay colony and government in March, 1629, for a supply of arms. He was a member himself of the Massachusetts Bay Company, gave fifty pounds to the common stock and sent three sons, Thomas, Cyprian and Richard, and one daughter to New England. Mary Stevens married Captain Whipple, of Ipswich. Thomas and Cyprian came in 1660 with Captain Green. Cyprian went to Chelsea and later to Lancaster. Richard was the father of Samuel Stevens of Marlboro. Colonel Stevens had another son, William, who remained in London. Colonel Stevens was one of the signers of the instructions to Captain Endicott before coming to New England. Richard Stevens, one of the sons settled in Concord, MA, and died there in 1683. His wife and daughter returned to England to live. Thomas Stevens came first at the age of twelve in the ship "Abigail" from London in 1635. PRENAME SURNAME AGE PASSAGE ROLL #

Alice Steevens 22 Abigail, 1635 161 Henry Steevens 24 Defence, 1635 30 Thomas Steevens 12 Abigail, 1635 7 (left in mid-July) Robert Stevens 22 Planter, 1635 7

Children of T HOMAS STEPHE NS and MARY WALLE are:

i. NICHOLAS 20 STEPHE NS, b. Abt. 1620, Little Sodbury, Glouscestershire, England; d. 1670.

ii. THOMAS STEPHE NS, J R, b. Abt. 1621.

iii. ANTHONY STEPHE NS, b. Abt. 1624, England.

iv. REBECCA STEPHENS.

v. MARY STEPHENS.

"Stevens - Stephens Genealogy and Family History" Author: Clarence Perry Stevens Call Number: CS71.S844 This book contains the history and genealogy of the Stevens-Stephens family of North Carolina. Bibliographic Information: Stevens, Clarence Perry. Stevens-Stephens Genealogy and Family History. Published 1968 http://www.genealogy.com/ftm/s/t/e/William-Lackey--Stephens/GENE20-...

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Notes for A NTHONY STEPHE NS:
[KarenMcGlynn.GED.FTW] Anthony Stephens was born in 1624.He came to Lancaster Co., Virginia. Anthony3 Stephens (Thos.2, Anthony1) b ca. 1624 in England, probably in London; appeared in Westmoreland in 1667 and in Lancaster County, Virginia, in 1659; wife not traced. "Stevens - Stephens Genealogy and Family History" Author: Clarence Perry Stevens Call Number: CS71.S844 This book contains the history and genealogy of the Stevens-Stephens family of North Carolina. Bibliographic Information: Stevens, Clarence Perry. Stevens-Stephens Genealogy and Family History. Published 1968 On July 27, 1659 he signed his name "Anth. Stephens" as a witness to land sold by John Pineand the same day signed "Anthony Stephens" as a witness to a deed by Wm. Neesham. (Lancaster County Record Book 2, page 193). On the 14th day of May 1662 "Anth. Stephens" is a witness, (Ibid) On the 1st of June, 1663 the name of Anthony Stephens appears on a list of bills belonging to John Jeffreys, Esq. for 830 lbs. or tobacco (then used by most people in place of currency). (Ibid) In Westmoreland County, I find a land grant to Anthony Stephens for 850 acres in 1667. Anthony Stephens is a true trace name as I do not find it once in the U. S. Census of 1790 in any state so I claim this is our 3) Anthony. The name of Richard Stephens also appears on the same list. William and Richard seem to have been so closely associated with 3) Anthony there as to suggest they may have been his sons; not proved, of course, only probable. But if so, then we would have: Richard Stephens in Lancaster Co., d. 1726, -m- Hannah (???) (d. 1741) Children listed in his will in 1726: I. William b. ca. 1664, -m-and had issue: A. Nicholas b. ca. 1685 (He was son of William or Daniel) -m- a dau. of Ed. Randall (will) of Westmoreland Co.,whose will in 1724 lists Nicholas and daughters:(a) Elizabeth and (b) Millicent b. ca 1712. II. Daniel d. 1741 (Inv.) III. Joseph, left will in Lancaster Co. in 1742. IV. and V. Hannah and Elinor. I don't claim the 3) Anthony and Richard (d. 1726) link is proved, of course, but our family almost has a trade mark on the rare Anthony and Nicholas names in Stephens genealogy. I suggest someother genealogist may yet prove it better. There are a number of genealogies, or parts of genealogies, of each, and most of the above ancestors, but some do not even go back to the immigrant ancestor. It has been the ambition of this compiler to tie these branches of the great Stevens-Stephens family together, in so far as time and money will allow.

A Thomas in London subscribed 20 pounds to the Virginia Company and his name appears at a meeting there in 1622.(This possibly would have been Thomas the haberdasher, father of Thomas b. 1621 who as stated above "many of whom sent their children to take up residence"(dhp insert) (Colonial Documents, State PaperOffice, London.) This was likely our Thomas.

It has been suggested by some that Cyprian was the son of Thomas the armourer to the king, but a certified copy of the oath of Nicholas Sherman as Chief Armourer to the King shows he succeeded Thomas Stevens, the Armourer in 1629, so obviously this Thomas could not have been the father of Cyprian and his brother Thomas, b 1644.

So far as this writer knows, very little of this 14) Thomas line has been traced, and little more than the names of the children published, from apparently hundreds of descendants. Savage says that this Thomas Stevens came to America with his brothers Cyprian and Richard, and their "father Thomas was, perhaps, the armorer of Buttolph Lane" (or king's armourer). Notice he says "perhaps", but many seem to have copied that leaving out the "perhaps" which amounts to saying that it was certain, and doubtless many will continue for years, to copy this error. M. L. Holman in her Stevens-Miller Genealogy, 1947, et al. say that it is wrong and Charles D. Stevens quotes an affidavit made at Whitehall (in London) in 1629 showing that said Thomas was deceased at that time and had probably died some time before that date. So he could not have been the father of said brothers: Thos. "the ironmonger" etc.

Links

• http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/p/r/e/Douglas-Premo-Ma/W...

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Children of ANTHONY STEPHENS and KATHERINE BROKE are:

• 25. i. THOMAS19 STEPHENS, b. 1585, London, London, England.
• 26. ii. RICHARD STEPHENS, CAPT., b. 1600, Mealemore, Buckinghamshire, England; d. July 1670, Jamestown Colony.

Thomas Stephens, Gent., 2nd son of Anthony and Kathrine, was born in 1585 in London.He was a haberdasher.He married Mary, daughter of Peter Walle of Spargrave, Cheshire in Northwest England.

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