Prudence (Rice) Stevens (1685 - 1776)

Born 26 Jul 1685 in Sudbury, Middlesex County, Massachusetts

Ancestors

Wife of Joseph Stevens — married about 1706 in Massachusetts

Descendants

Died Aug 1776 at age 91 in Rutland, Worcester County, Massachusetts

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Biography

Prudence was a daughter of John Rice and Tabitha Stone.

Prudence married Deacon Joseph Stevens, son of Cyprian Stevens and Mary Willard, circa 1705.

Joseph and his wife Prudence Rice Stevens had the following children:

• Phinehas Stevens, born in Sudbury, Massachusetts, on February 20, 1705/6.^[1]
• Azubah Stevens, born in Sudbury, Massachusetts, on October 21, 1708.^[2]
• Joseph Stevens (1709-August 14, 1723)
• Samuel Stevens, born September 1711 in Sudbury, Massachusetts.^[3] Died August 14, 1723.
• Mindwell Stevens (February 24, 1712-unknown)
• Isaac Stevens (December 14, 1718-1769)
• Dorothy Stevens (March 25, 1721-1757)
• Joseph Stevens (July 24, 1723-unknown)
• Lucy Stevens (August 04, 1725-unknown)
• Mary Stevens, baptized at Rutland on 5 November 1727.^[4]

The youngest son Joseph was one month old when his older brother Joseph was killed by Indians. It is possible that the baby had not yet been named at the time of his brother Joseph's death, after which he was given the same name.

On August 14, 1723, after family devotions and breakfast her husband Joseph and four of their sons, Samuel, Joseph, Phineas, and Isaac went to meeting and were ambushed by five hostile Indians. While the older Joseph escaped in the bushes his two sons Joseph and Samuel were killed and scalped. The other two, Phineas and Isaac were taken as prisoners to Canada, where they were held in captivity for upwards of a year.

The youngest son was one month old when his older brother Joseph was killed by Indians. It is possible that the baby had not yet been named at the time of his brother Joseph's death, after which he was given the same name.

The cost of ransom and other misfortunes impoverished their father, leading Joseph and Prudence Stevens to require town assistance in their final years.

Sources

1. ↑ Vital Records of Sudbury, Massachusetts, to 1850, page 137: Steevens, Phinehas, s. Joseph and Prudunce, Feb. 20, 1705-6.
2. ↑ Vital Records of Sudbury, Massachusetts, to 1850, page 137: Steevens, Azubah, d. Joseph and Prudunce, Oct. 21, 1708.
3. ↑ Vital Records of Sudbury, Massachusetts, to 1850, page 137: Stevens, Samuel, s. Joseph and Prudence, Sept. [torn] 1711.
4. ↑ Reed and Bartlett, page 102.

• Massachusetts Marriages, 1695-1910," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCMG-79K : 4 December 2014), Prudence Rice in entry for Phineas Stevens and Elizabeth Stevens, 1734; citing reference ; FHL microfilm 886,998.
• Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4D4-9Z3 : 4 December 2014), Prudence in entry for Phinehas Stevens, 20 Feb 1707; citing Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, p 131; FHL microfilm 185,455.
• Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4DJ-NXK : 4 December 2014), Prudence Stevens in entry for Samuel Stevens, 25 Sep 1711; citing Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, yrs 1663-1829 p 26; FHL microfilm 185,454.
• Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F45K-X41 : 13 July 2016), Prudence Stephens in entry for Mindwell Stephens, 24 Feb 1713; citing Birth, Framingham, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States, , town clerk offices, Massachusetts; FHL microfilm 872,797
• https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=57102800
• Reynolds, Cuyler, editor. Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs, Vol. I, pp. 257-260. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1911. Published online by Schenectady County (N.Y.) Public Library.
• Reed, Jonas, and Daniel Bartlett. A History of Rutland: Worcester County, Massachusetts, from Its Earliest Settlement, with a Biography of Its First Settlers. First publication 1836; reprinted in 1879 with additions. http://books.google.com/books?id=kdUWAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA102 pp. 102-103]

• Hudson's History of Sudbury, Mass., pp. 171-172.

• Blake's History of Rutland, Mass., and the Indian Troubles of 1723-30, pp. 45-46-47

• Massachusetts Archives, Vol. 51, p. 399.

• Nourse's History of Lancaster, Mass., p. 318.)

• Willard memoir : or, life and times of Major Simon Willard ; with notices of three generations of his descendants, and two collateral branches in the United States ; also some account of the name and family in Europe, from an early day. Source Information:

• Ancestry.com. North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. (Reed's History of Rutland, Mass., pp. 103-105. Hudson's History of Sudbury, Mass., pp. 171-172. Blake's History of Rutland, Mass., and the Indian Troubles of 1723-30, pp. 45-46-47 Also Massachusetts Archives, Vol. 51, p. 399. Nourse's History of Lancaster, Mass., p. 318.)