Stephen Chase was born in Portsmouth, Newport, Rhode Island on May 2, 1709. He was the son of Joseph Chase and Sarah (Sherman Read) Chase.
Stephen married four times.
His first wife was Esther Buffington, daughter of Benjamin and Hannah Buffington of Swansea, Bristol, Massachusetts; they married on September 11, 1728. Stephen and Esther were Quakers. They had eleven children, including Joseph and Jethro who were later both Cornwallis grantees alongside their father. Esther died on July 15, 1750. They had the following children:
Stephen's second wife was Bathsheba Stafford (1710–1763), daughter of Joseph/Josiah Stafford of Newport, Rhode Island. They married on April 20, 1751.
He married his third wife Abigail (Porter) Chase, daughter of Samuel and Remember Porter - in Cornwallis on August 2, 1764. They had the following children:
Stephen's fourth wife was Nancy Bushnell (1740–Deceased), daughter of William Bushnell and Elizabeth White of Halifax, married January 28, 1776. They had the following children:
Stephen migrated from Swansea, Massachusetts with several of his children to Cornwallis Township, Kings, Nova Scotia as part of the New England Planter migration. He and his two sons Jethro and Joseph were part of the second group of grantees, given land on December 31, 1764. Stephen appeared in the Cornwallis census in 1786
Stephen passed on June 23, 1790 in Cornwallis, Kings, Nova Scotia, Canada
The following was found in the effects of Millicent Chase, a descendant: Apparently father and sons divided forces - for in the Town Book of Liverpool, Stephen Chase has a grant of land, in the Township, but he never occupied it and his name does not appear there again. As there was a community of Quakers near there interested in whale fishing, he may have been induced by them to go there, but he did not remain and soon joined his three sons in Cornwallis, whose lands were granted to them in 1763, and in the year following Stephen Chase Sr. received his Grant. The Grant is recorded in the Crown Lands Book. Others to receive lands at the same time were Porter, Cove, Kinsman, and Blackmer. In The assessment roll for Cornwallis 1765, appears the following: Family 5: L.S. Jethro & Joseph Chase, Stephen Chase Jr, Stephen Chase. Assessors: William West, Isaac Bigelow, Handley Chipman In common with many of the early settlers - the Chase men chose the North Mountain land for their home and though there is no exact record of it found, it is a family story that the original homestead was near what is now known as Halls Harbour and that at least three generations were born there - and removed to the Valley lands between 1825 - 1830. In the Chipman Collection, Kings County records in the Provincial Archives of Nova Scotia, there is this reference in some road survey papers: "1813 folder - A road leading from a certain place called Sheffields in Cornwallis to a place called Chase's Harbour." No map in existence shows any place of that name, nor is any other reference to be found. In 1771 papers there is a mention of Chase's Grist mill - the following letter or petition in all its original spelling, mentions a mill, presumably the family property: "To the Justices of The Court of General sessions These are to Inform that Isaac Bigelow surveyor of highways for the year past hath neglected the highways so that there is no passing with horse nor team in the Road on the North side of Little Habitant River up to the mill greatly to the prejudice of the Inhabitants and a material road for all on that side of the s. river. and likewise he hath neglected one of the the biggest roads in the town namely the mill road so that it is not passable many times and at best very bad passing and in danger many times of life and many complaints have been made to him, the said surveyor, but to no purpose. when there is inhabitants that not worked on the high ways the years past. Witnesses William Canidays. Amos Sheffield. Isaac Bigelow Jr. Stephen Harrington and many more beside the now inhabiting population by which neglects the inhabitants hath suffered much as you may be informed by Peter Wickwire and several more Grand Jurors of our town, I respect and rename your friend Stephen Chase Cornwallis May ye 25 - 1767" At the time of the granting of land, everyone was given a certain proportion of meadow upland, etc. and it was to this that Stephen Chase, Born 1770, came and built, about 1830, on the present (1936) Chase homestead. But the original Stephen Chase with his sons, Stephen, Joseph and Jethro established a home here and the line of Chases in Nova Scotia, or more particularly in Cornwallis. Although we have no written evidence that Stephen Jun. returned to New England, it is a fact and the best proof to be offered is that after 1770 all mention of him is dropped. His marriage to ANN RUST in 1761 is recorded and the birth of a child noted 1762 - 1767 but nothing following this.
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