Henry Stephens Sr. (abt. 1644 - bef. 1726)

Born about 1644 in Little Sodbury, Gloucestershire, England [uncertain]

Husband of Elizabeth (Gallup) Stephens — married 1676 in Stonington, New London, Connecticut

Descendants

Died before 9 Aug 1726 before about age 82 in Westerly, Kings County, Rhode Island

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Biography

Henry is said to be one of three sons of Nicholas Stevens and Elizabeth Storkey, born in Little Sodbury, Gloucester, England. This tradition may be an example of the "three brothers came to America myth" that is common in U.S. genealogy.

Henry Stephens first appears in the records of the town of Stonington, Connecticut in 1668. His name is on the first census list, taken February 2, 1668, as given by Honorable Richard A. Wheeler in his history of the town of Stonington. That census recorded 43 inhabitants in the town.^[1]

Henry's birth date is commonly given as either 1644 or July 20, 1656. A birthdate of 1656 is unlikely, because a boy of 12 would not have been enumerated in the Stonington census in 1668. It is more likely that he was born in about 1644, so that he was about 24 years old in 1668.^[2]

Henry Stephens served as a Selectman of Stonington in 1696-1699, 1702-1704, and 1707. He represented the town in the General Court or Colonial Legislature in 1699-1702 and 1706-1707. He was one of the incorporators of the town of Stonington on 24 October 24 1716. He owned land in Stonington, North Stonington, Plainfield, and Voluntown, Connecticut.^[3]

He and his wife were admitted to the Congregational Church on 6 February 1725/6. Their children Thomas, Richard, "Hennery", and "Elizebath" had been baptized in the same church on 18 February 1693 (this is likely to be an old style date, equivalent to 18 February 1694).^[4]

Henry died before 9 August 1726, when his will was probated at New London, Connecticut.^[3]

Marriage and Children

Henry Stephens was married to Elizabeth Gallup, a daughter of Captain John Gallup and his wife Hannah (Lake) Gallup. Their known children were:^[3]

1. Thomas born Dec 14 1678; baptized Feb 18 1693; married first on May 26 1702 to Mary Hall and second on March 14 1719/20 to Abigail Wine or Wynne.
2. Richard b Jan 25 1680; baptized Feb 18 1693 married June 9 1704 Sarah Harker
3. Henry b Nov 20 1681; baptized Feb 18 1693; married Mar 2 1708 9 Elizabeth Fellows
4. Elizabeth; baptized Feb 18 1693; married Henry Elliot
5. Lucia or Lucy, baptized April 22 1694.

At his death, land that had not been transferred to his children during his lifetime was bequeathed in equal parts to his widow and his sons Richard and Henry. ^[3]

Death

Death:

Source: Gallup Genealogy [2009] p. 16

Date: 1726

Place: Westerly, Kings, Rhode Island

Military Service

Military Service: King Philip's War

Event

Event: Gallup Genealogy [2009] p. 16

Type: Early Settlers

Place: Westerly, Washington, Rhode Island

Immigration

Immigration: Gallup Genealogy [2009] p. 16

Date: 1660

Place: England

Research Notes

Note: Ancestry

Source: William R. Randall

25 Oct 2003

28 Oct 2006

http://kinnexions.com/smlawson/stephens.htm#NStevens

Nicholas STEVENS - b. about 1620, Little Sodbury, Gloucestershire; d. Jun. 11, 1675, Gloucestershire Son of Thomas STEVENS and Mary WALLE. Nicholas served as leader of a train band in Oliver CROMWELL's army in the 1640s. He became Captain on Apr. 18, 1645. An alternate death date of Sep. 27, 1670, Albemarle, VA for Nicholas also appears, depending on accepting Nicholas migrating to America and being in Taunton, MA by 1669 before settling at Jamestown, VA. Married Sep. 9, 1641, St. Peters Church in Cornhill, London.

Elizabeth STORKEY - b. about 1614, Little Sodbury, Gloucestershire.

Children of Nicholas and Elizabeth Stevens

Henry - b. about 1644, Little Sodbury, Gloucestershire, England; d. 1726, Stonington, New London Co., CT.

Nicholas - b. about 1648, Little Sodbury, Gloucestershire; d.Aug. 6, 1674, Haddam, CT. A resident of RI, he was on his own boat in the Connecticut River when accidently drowned.

Thomas - b. about 1662; d. 1751, Craven Co., NC. Resided in Perquemins and Craven Cos., NC. Married first by 1690 to Jane, and second about 1713 to Mary KASWELL, daughter of Francis KASWELL. Children of Thomas and Jane STEVENS: Thomas married; Sarah married Ben BROCKETT; Elizabeth; Mary; and Anne. Children of Thomas and Mary STEVENS: Frances; and John married first Grace RAIFORD, and second Sarah.

Source: William R. Randall

25 Oct 2003

Note: Stevens, Plowdon^[3]

From a German genealogy of U.S. presidents

Henry Stephens was Selectman in Stonington, Connecticut for the years 1696-7-8-9, 1702-3-4-7, and represented the town in the General Court of Colonial Legislature for the years 1699, 1700-1-2-6-7. He was one of the incorporators of the town of Stonington, October 24, 1716. He married Elizabeth, one of the daughters of Captain John and Hannah (Lake) Gallup. She was born at Stonington, but the dates of her birth, death, and marriage have not been found.She and her husband were admitted to the Congregational Church, February 6, 1726. He was an extensive land owner, having property in Stonington, North Stonington, Plainfield, and Voluntown. Part of his land he settled on his children during his lifetime, and the remainder he bequeathed to his widow and sons, Richard and Henry in equal parts. The date of his death is not given, but his will was probated in New London, August 9, 1726. Elizabeth, widow and relict to Henry Stephens, late of Stonington, gave a deed of land to her son, Henryh, Ocober 8, 1736.

Military - - King Philip's War.

Source

Genealogien van de presidenten van Amerika by Onbekend

Sources

1. ↑ Stevens, p. 20
2. ↑ The origin of the July 20, 1656 birthdate for Henry Stephens that is widely seen on the internet may be a birth record from Boston, Massachusetts, on that date. The birth record is for "Stephens Henry sonne of Henry and Mary borne 20 July 1656." It appeared in The New England Historical & Genealogical Register, vol. 10 (1856), January. p. 68, In "Early Records of Boston," copied by Wm. B. Trask (obtained from Ancestry.com at http://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2129/32608_234072-00081/161368 ). The man born in Boston in 1656 is Henry Stevens, a different person .
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4} Stevens, page 23
4. ↑ Connecticut Church Records Index. Connecticut State Library, Hartford, Connecticut. Stonington, Vol. 111, pages 393-394. Accessed on Ancestry.com at https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/247422:3032

• Stevens, Plowdon. Stephens - Stevens Genealogy: Lineage from Henry Stephens, or Stevens of Stonington, Connecticut, 1668. Frank Allaben Genealogical Co., New York, 1909.
• Ancestry Family Trees. Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.
• Ghaston, Mary Stevens. Genealogy of the Stevens and Tripp and allied families: from 1520 to 1906. Unknown Publisher, 1906 (https://ia802704.us.archive.org/19/items/genealogyofsteve00ghas/genealogyofsteve00ghas.pdf) Page 7 notes Henry and Elizabeth Stevens and family

Acknowledgments

• Thank you to Julie Telken for creating WikiTree profile Stephens-2817 through the import of Telken_Stephens_Becker_Morgan .ged on Aug 22, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Julie and others.