Stevens

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From my book "Line of Descent of George Roger Gilbert"

The Stevens Family

Information concerning the rest of my Stevens and Barnum ancestors comes from published genealogical books that I found in the Syracuse Public Library which is now the Onondaga County Library. To date I have no information on Sarah or the rest of the Beardsleys.

Monday, August 26, 1974

Went to the Syracuse Public Library to check some of Jacobus Index's entries. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Next I turned to published Genealogies of Stevens and Barnum. There are two Stevens genealogies in the Syracuse Library but they are somewhat confusing as they do not complement each other. The Stevens book I copied and placed in the "Herald Square" book has a Dewey decimal number of R929.2 ST 425. It contained the penciled in remark "Mar. Mehitable Peck" after 2 - Benjamin Stevens.

The Barnum Genealogy R929.2 B267 contained only the male members of the family and their wives. It was constructed much like my own genealogical charts on these pages. I copied only the American Barnums even though the English Ancestry was present. I must be sure of the relationship first.

OUR BRANCH OF THE STEVENS FAMILY

First Generation

1. - THOMAS STEVENS, (progenitor of this Stevens family)

Who died in Stamford in 1658, (in that part of Stamford which is now Darien,) had five sons, viz: Obadiah, Thomas, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Joseph. ÊObadiah and Benjamin were each granted a house lot in 1676, by the town of Stamford, "for their services against the common enemy."

Second Generation

2. - Benjamin Stevens,

The third son of the above Thomas, in 1680, removed to a place called "Hop Grounds," now in the town of Bedford, Westchester Co., but which was then under the jurisdiction of the town of Stamford, and claimed by Stamford as a part of the town. About the same time, ancestors of the "Wildman" family, of Danbury, went from Norwalk or Darien to "Hop Grounds," (now Bedford). About 1700, at least previous to 1710, Benjamin Stevens and two Wildman brothers removed to Danbury.

Benjamin Stevens had four sons, who came with him to Danbury, probably all under age at that time. Dates of their birth cannot be given.

Benjamin's brother Joseph also went to Hop Grounds (Bedford), but did not go to Danbury, as Benjamin did.

Benjamin's sons were Ebenezer, Benjamin Jr., Nathaniel and Thomas. Ebenezer settled in New Fairfield, about 1741, and is the ancestor of the Stevens' of New Fairfield and some of the name in Brookfield. Thomas is the ancestor of the Stevens that used to be in Mill Plain (Danbury) CT.

[Mr. Rogers contributes the following respecting the descendants of Benjamin, son of Benjamin Stevens, 1st]:

His will [Danbury Probate Records,] was made March 19, 1749 and proved Nov. 19, 1766. The will mentions wife Elizabeth, sons, Joshua, Benjamin and Caleb, daughter Rachel , Sarah [m. Bostwick,] and the children of his deceased daughter Elizabeth Graves.

Joshua died April 16, 1848, age 80; buried in Brookfield near the railroad.

This Benjamin's son [the 3rd Benjamin Stevens] married Anna Bears, daughter of Josiah Bears, of New Fairfield. He had several children, of whom I only know of one, Ajah.

This Benjamin and Anna died in the present town of Brookfield- Benjamin died July 20, 1799, aged 88, and Anna died 1788. Both buried in Brookfield, near Housatonic Railroad.

Ajah died Sept. 20, 1801, aged 54. He made a will June 15, 1797, which was proved Nov. 20, 1797, and mentions wife Sarah, son Joshua, Asa, Benjamin and daughters Anne, Sarah, Lucy and Rachel. Ajah and his father, Benjamin, are buried in a littler burying ground in Brookfield, a little northwest of the Brookfield (Housatonic R. R.) depot.

One of Ajah's daughters married a Hodge, who resided near Ball's Pond in New Fairfield. Ajah's son Asa, was a blacksmith; settled in New Fairfield, and married a daughter of Jabez Elwell, whose house was a little west of Ball's Pond and was built on both sides of the line between New York and Connecticut. A daughter of Asa Stevens married Harvey Whitehead. One of their sons is now living in Redding.

Descendants of the Danbury Stevens family, of course, scattered everywhere. Quite early some of them settled in Patterson, NY some in Peekskill, some in Poughkeepsie, etc., etc. ÊOf course there is ample proof that all of the Stevens name in Danbury, New Fairfield and Brookfield are of one stock.

Third Generation

3 - NATHANIEL STEVENS

Son of the above Benjamin, married Abigail Barnum, daughter of Thomas Barnum, the first white female child born in the town of Danbury. They had six sons: Nathaniel Jr. , Nathan, Abraham, Timothy, John and Ezra, and two daughters, Ruth and Hannah.

He made a will at Danbury, Feb. 1, 1743, (Which is on record at Fairfield,) in which he makes mention of the above children and a granddaughter Elizabeth Stevens, and his wife Ruth, and speaks of John Stevens and Ezra Stevens as "my youngest sons." He died not long after making his will, for the two youngest sons, John and Ezra, chose guardians on July 5, 1743, and the estate was distributed in April, 1743.

Fourth Generation

4 - EZRA STEVENS

(brother to Ruth Stevens Barber, uncle to Nathan Barber)

Son of the above Nathaniel, was born May 25, 1724, and was therefore about nineteen years old at the time of his father's death. He died Feb. 5, 1823, aged 98 years, 8 months and 10 days. He married first, Ann Barnum, daughter of Benjamin Barnum, granddaughter of Richard Barnum and great-grand-daughter of Thomas Barnum, who was one of the first eight settlers of Danbury, in 1684-5.

The children of Ezra Stevens and his first wife were;
Ezra, Jr., who married Abigail Fairchild.
Rachel, married Ezra Peck.
Samuel, married Esther Hoyt.
Eli, married Abigail Knapp.
Anna, married Paul Hamilton.
Forward, married Rachel Knapp, daughter of David Knapp.
Peter, married Phebe Booth, of Newtown.
Elijah, married Betsey Criss. "