Jedediah Stephens Sr. (bef. 1716 - abt. 1790)

Born before 12 Aug 1716 in Stonington, New London County, Connecticut Colony

Ancestors

Descendants

Died about 1790 after about age 73 in Athens, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, United States

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Biography

Jedediah Stephens Sr. was a Connecticuter.

Jedediah Stevens was baptized on 12 Aug 1716 in Stonington, Connecticut, recorded as the son of Henery Stevens, Jr. ^[1][2] His parents are Henry Stevens and Elizabeth Fellows. He passed away in 1790.

According to Sylvia Stevens Seybolt, in an interview when she was 87 years old, her father Jedediah Stephens with his family (5 sons, 5 daughters, two sons-in-law) left Canaan in the spring of 1775 and settled in the valley of the Susquehanna, Pennsylvania.

Excerpt from Stephens-Milks Ancestry by Grace G Sweek, pages 4-6:

The Stephens family moved from Connecticut to the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania as Connecticut began to reclaim lands granted by King Charles II in an 1662 Royal Charter. The Iroquois and Pennsylvania also claimed the same area. By the end of 1775 there were several hundred Connecticut families settled in Wyoming Valley including Jedediah Stephens and his entire family. Both Jedediah and his son Joshua were on the tax rolls for Kingston District (near Wilkes-Barre) of the Town of Westmoreland in 1776, '77 and '78.

A truce of a sort developed between Yankee and Pennamite (N.B., Pennsylvania settlers) because of the growing cause of the Revolutionary War, though occasional unsuccessful raids by Pennamite Militia continued. British Tories and Indians became a larger danger, and five forts were built to protect against them, including Forty Fort at Kingston.

Two companies of Continental troops were raised in Westmoreland during 1776, and marched to join General Washington, leaving mostly old men and very young men to defend the settlements. In June of 1778, large bodies of Tories and Indians were sighted heading toward the settlements, and on 3 July 1778, Col. Zebulon Butler, decided to march out and engage them in battle. His troops were mostly young boys, age 16 and under, and at most they numbered no more than three hundred. The British and Indians were said to number about eleven hundred. The battle became the bloody Wyoming massacre, also known as the horror of the Revolution, for not only were most of the troops killed, but also many women and children.

Forty Fort fell, young Rufus Stephens was killed by bullets and tomahawks, and survivors fled to Stroudsburg. Eventually they were able to return to Connecticut.

History Note by Don Corsetti

“Jedediah Stephens (Henry, Henry) was baptized in the Congregational Church at Stonington, Conn., Aug. 12, 1716."

Jedediah Stephens married Mary Rathborn on 4 Apr 1743 in Stonington, New London, Connecticut, by minister, Rev Joseph Fish.^[3][4]

Jedediah and Mary had children:

• Mary Stephens-Howe (1746-1797)
• Thankful Stephens-Niles-Carter (1748- unknown)
• Martha Stevens (1750-1801)
• Jedediah Stephens Jr. (1757-1830)
• Joshua Stephens

"They Lived at Stonington until 1751 or 1752" "They removed to Canaan, Conn., about 1753 where he was living June 19, 1773."

He died in 1790 in Athens, Bradford, Pennsylvania, United States of America. He was the first burial at the Athens Cemetery, in Athens, Bradford, Pennsylvannia.^[5] "Buried in the old town burying ground Athens PA.” [Stephens/Stevens Genealogy 1909 by Plowden Stevens, pg. 48 - from rootsweb] Don Corsetti."

Research Notes

• He is in the DAR records (see photos of documents)
• Headstone indicates birth 1703, which I (who?) believe is incorrect on stone.

From: Stevens, Stephens-Stevens Genealogy, Third Generation, page 48:

16. Jedidiah Stephens (3) (Henry (2), Henry (1)) was baptized in the Congregational Church at Stonington, Conn., Aug. 12. 1716. He married Apr. 4, 1743, Mary Rathbone. They lived at Stonington until 1751 or 1752, when they removed to Canaan, Conn., where he was living June 19, 1773. He joined the Connecticut Colony and removed to the Wyoming Valley, Penn.

Children (births from the Stonington Records);

58. i. Joshua, b. Jan. 13, 1745; m. Christian Dutcher Oct. 27, 1767.

Sources

1. ↑ Connecticut. Church Records Index. Connecticut State Library, Hartford, Connecticut. Volume 111 Stonington, page 394. Accessed on Ancestry.com at https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/3032/images/41107_620303988_0404-00401.
2. ↑ Stevens, page 48.
3. ↑ "Chapter Name: Stonington Vital Records 1658-1854", "Connecticut, U.S., Town Birth Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection) [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: ncestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.Original data: White, Lorraine Cook, ed. The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records. Vol. 1-55. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994-2002."
4. ↑ "Early Connecticut Marriages [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Original data: Bailey, Frederic W. Early Connecticut Marriages as Found on Ancient Church Records Prior to 1800. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1997."
5. ↑ "Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 31 March 2021), memorial page for Jedediah Stephens Sr. (12 Aug 1716–1790), Find A Grave: Memorial #57286346, citing Athens Cemetery, Athens, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, USA ; Maintained by Gus Pendleton (contributor 47054338)

• Stonington Vital Records (see attached copy)

Children of Jedidiah and Mary Stevens

• Joshua Stevens b January (no year given)
• Mary Stevens b Sept 25, 1746
• Thankfull Stevens b Nov 1, 1748
• Martha Stevens b Sept 22, 1750

• Canaan, Connecticut Vital Records, Ancestry.com

Children of Jedediah and Mary Stevens

• Anne Stevens b March 17, 1753
• Jedediah Stevens b May 11, 1757 (date conflicts with Eunice)
• Eunice Stevens b June 12, 1757 (date conflicts with Jedediah)
• Ira Stevens b July 18, 1759
• Rufus Stevens b May 2, 1762
• Sylvia Stevens b June 14, 1764
• Nathan Stevens b Aug 24, 1766
• Cynthia Stevens b Sept 26, 1768

• Stevens, Plowdon. Stephens-Stevens Genealogy (Frank Allaben Genealogical Co., New York, 1909) Page 37 also see page 48.
• Sweek, Grace G. “Stephens-Milks Ancestry with Twenty Six Allied Lines, American Eagle Printing and Publishing, Pendleton, Oregon, 1996, as found on Familysearch.org library, pp. 4-6. www.familysearch.org/library/books/idviewer/357006/21 : accessed 3 September 2022
• Workman, Marjean Holmes. "The Family of Joshua Stephens/Stevens and Christiana Dutcher of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New York" (part 1), New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 142 (2011), issue 2, pages 85-95.

See also:

• Ancestry Family Trees (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com) Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. Ancestry Family Tree 21174920
• Alice Stephens Thomsen