Janet and Robert Wolfe Genealogy --- Go to Genealogy Page for Thomas Stevenson --- Go to Genealogy Page for Elizabeth Cook

Notes for Thomas Stevenson and Elizabeth Cook

We seek further information about Thomas Stevenson, son of Thomas and Maria (Bullock?). [1] [2] Cousin Thomas Stevenson [3], son of Edward Stevenson, was born about the same time, which makes it difficult to distinguish their records.

1663 Son Thomas Stevenson chose John Cooper as a guardian, at Southampton, Long Island, on March 14: "Thomas Steevens aged about 16 yeares, his parents being deceased, and something being left unto him by them, hee the said Thomas doth make choice of his loving friend John Cooper to bee his guardian." [4]

1663 The will of Ellis Cook in Southampton, dated September 5, included a bequest "unto my servant Thomas Stevens one heifer of about one yeare old to bee delivered unto him at the expiration of his apprentisship, provided hee carry himselfe as hee ought in his place dureing his time of service." The will indicated that Ellis Cook's wife Martha was the sister of John Cooper [chosen as guardian of Thomas Stevenson in 1663]. [5]

1666 On May 30, [son] Thomas Stevens of Southampton [Abigail Stevenson's brother] sold to Daniel Whitehead Jr, of Mashpeage Kells, lands, houses, and upland, that formerly belonged to his father Thomas Stevens. The land was in Mashpeage Kell, between land belonging to Loras Peterson and Peter Forman. Daniel Whitehead Jr sold the land to Loras Peterson on 20 April 1667. [6]

1675 The marriage of Thomas Stevenson to Cook has been reported on October 20, 1675.

1687 Thomas Stephens & Co at Quaquanantuck, with 264 barrels of whale oil, was one of fourteen whaling companies in Southampton. [7]

1690 The heirs of Ellis Cook sold Lot 7, on Cutting's Creek, in Assop's Neck, to Captain Thomas Stephens. [8]

1694 John Mowbray agreed to be a school teacher in Southampton, Long Island. Thomas Stevenson and Matthew Howell were witnesses. Lieutenant Stehens was named as a student. [9]

1699 On May 12, "John Watson of Nottingham, Burlington Co. [New Jersey], yeoman, [sold] to Tho: Stevenson of Newtown, Queens Co., N.Y. for 250 acres on Assunpinck Creek in Monmouth Co., conveyed to grantor by his father William Watson, April 1699, he having bought the land of James and John Johnston of Monmouth Co., April 20, 1691, and May 4, 1699." [10]

1700 The death of Thomas Stevenson has been reported as on November 26, 1700.

1709 Marriage of [grand-son?] Nathaniel Stevenson, son of Thomas Stevenson of Long Island and Mary Rockhill, daughter of Edward Rockhill, both of Chesterfield monthly meeting, accomplished, having their parents consent. 7th day, 2nd month, 1709. [11]

1710 Thomas Stephens was clerk for the town of Southampton. [12]

1734 The death date of Thomas Stevenson has been reported as 1734.

A biosketch reports the following. [13] However, this summary might conflate this Thomas with Thomas, son of Edward Stevenson. We show Thomas Stevenson who died in 1734 with a grandson named Jennings as a son of Edward Stevenson.

Thomas, son of Thomas and Maria (Bullock-Bernard) Stevenson, was born probably about 1648, and died in 1734. He inherited a part of his father's plantation in Newtown, where he lived and died. He held in succession the various offices that are within the province of a small town. From 1676 to 1678 he was overseer, the equivalent of mayor, of Newtown, and the last year also served as constable. March 3, 1684, he and his brother Edward were among the commissioners "to look out for a place of settlement next to the Dutch." October 20, 1685, he was commissioned justice of the peace of Queens county, and in the succeeding year was one of the granters to whom the new charter of Newtown was given. May 16, 1706, he was a member of the boundary dispute commission, and in 1713 he was a member of the committee to defend Newtown in its land suits. In religion Thomas Stevenson was first a Congregationalist, but after his second marriage became affiliated with the Society of Friends, and about this period began to buy land partly in Monmouth county, East Jersey, but mostly in Burlington county, West Jersey. To this land four of his sons removed. His other children remained on Long Island. He married (first), February, 1672, Elizabeth, only daughter of Captain William Lawrence, by his first wife, whose name is unknown. Her stepmother. Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Smith, of Mishaguakt, Long Island, married (second) after Captain Lawrence's death, Sir Philip Carteret, first governor of East Jersey, and Elizabethtown, New Jersey was named in her honor. After her second husband's death her stepmother married Colonel Richard Townley, of Elizabethtown. Thomas Stevenson married (second) Ann, who is believed to have been a Field. Children, four by first marriage: 1. Thomas, born about 1674; died about 1719: married Sarah (Jenings) Pennington, eldest daughter of Governor Samuel Jenings, of West Jersey. 2. William, born in 1676, died in 1724; married Ann Jening, sister to wife of his brother Thomas. 3. John, referred to below. 4. Elizabeth, died unmarried, November 27, 1703. 5. Nathaniel, born about 1685. died in 1736; married Mary Rockhill. 6. Daniel, born 1692, died 1754; married Elizabeth Willett. 7. Stephen, died about 1731; married Jane Clement. 8. Susanna, born July 12, 1694, died March 23, 1723; married Thomas Betts. 9 Ann, died May 19, 1724; married, November 10, 1715, Samuel Thorne.

"Susanna, daughter of John and Margaret (Wood) Stevenson, was born in Hunterdon county, New Jersey, in 1736. .She married, in April, 1757, William, son of Thomas and Edith (Coate) Newbold, referred to above." [14]

A history of New Jersey named Thomas Stevenson in New Jersey [15]:

The land of Warren county was obtained from the Indians by what is known as "The last purchase made by the Council of Proprietors above the branches of Rarington between the River Delaware and the bounds of the Eastern Division of the said Province." For this purpose, Governor Robert Hunter, on December 5, 1712, "Lycensed and authorized . . Daniel Coxe, Thomas Gardner, Joseph Kirkbride, Thomas Stevenson, Peter Fretwell and John Wills, to call togeather the Indians or native inhabitants that profess to be or call themselves owners of any tract or tracts of Land in the Western Division of the said province and to treet with, bye, purchase and accept of a deed or deeds of sale from said Indians or natives in behalf of themselves and of such others of the proprietors of the said western division as they shall associate to themselves before the making of such purchase eranging of such deed or deeds such quantity or number of ackers of land or lands yet unpurchased as they by virtue of those proprietyes are entitled to take up or to make further purchase of, provided the said purchase be made and entered in the proprietors' office of this province within two years after the date hereof and for soedoing this shall be a sufficient warrant." In accordance with this warrant, the Commissioners called together the Indians of what is now Warren and part of Sussex counties, and on August 18, 1713, secured four deeds from the Indian owners of that territory. The deeds were recorded on December 4, 17 14, on the last day allowable by the commission from Governor Hunter. The following is an abstract from the Indian deed for the Southern part of Warren County. It Is recorded In book BBB of deeds, page 144, in the office of the Secretary of State at Trenton: "On August 18, 1713, Sasakamon, Wowapekoshot and Wenaccikoman, Indian Sachemas and owners of land in the western division of New Jersey sold to Daniel Coxe, Matthew Gardner, Thomas Stevenson, Joseph Kirkbride, John Budd, John Wills, and .Peter Fretwell all of them proprietors and commissioners empowered by his excellency. Col. Robert Hunter, Governor of the province of New Jersey to purchase lands of the Indians, for and In consideration of ten guns, fiveteen blankets, fiveteen kettles, twenty matchcoats, twenty shirts, eight strouds, ten paire of stockings, three paire of shoes and buckles, ten pound of powder, twenty-five barrs of lead, ten hatchets, twenty knives, rive pounds in silver money, three coates, ten hilling hoes, ten pounds of red lead, ten looking glasses, fivety awles, one hundred botls, fiveteen paire of tobacco tongs, five gallons of rum, ten tobacco boxes, and one hundred needles, all that tract of land bounded with the River Delaware on the south and southwestwardly sides on the north with the land late Matamyska's now sold to the proprietors, on the eastward by the land purchased of the Indians by Col. Loursmans and the last purchase made by the proprietors on the lower side of the Musconetcong river. …

A biosketch of grand-son Hiram Stephens, son of Halsey (born 1802 in Quogue), son of Edward, son of Thomas, has been published. [16]


Footnotes:

[1] Henry B. Hoff and Harry Macy Jr, "Thomas Stephens of Southampton," Suffolk County Historical Society Register (1996), 115-121, at 115.

[2] George Rogers Howell, The Early History of Southampton L. I., New York, with Genealogies (New York: J. N. Hallock, 1866), 281, [GoogleBooks].

[3] Janet and Robert Wolfe, Genealogy Page for Thomas Stevenson, son of Edward Stevenson, [JRWolfeGenealogy].

[4] Henry B. Hoff and Harry Macy Jr, "Thomas Stephens of Southampton," Suffolk County Historical Society Register (1996), 115-121, at 115.

[5] Henry B. Hoff and Harry Macy Jr, "Thomas Stephens of Southampton," Suffolk County Historical Society Register (1996), 115-121, at 115.

[6] Henry B. Hoff, Long Island Source Records from the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1987), 118, [AncestryImage], [GoogleBooks].

[7] Peter Ross and William Smith Pelletreau, A History of Long Island, Vol. 2 (1905), 496, [GoogleBooks].

[8] Peter Ross and William Smith Pelletreau, A History of Long Island, Vol. 2 (1905), 337, [GoogleBooks].

[9] Peter Ross and William Smith Pelletreau, A History of Long Island, Vol. 2 (1905), 299, [GoogleBooks].

[10] William Nelson, Documents relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey. Archives Vol. 21. (Patents and Deeds, 1664-1703) (1899), 530, citing West Jersey Records, Liber B, Part 2, 699, [HathiTrust], [GoogleBooks], [InternetArchive].

[11] Charlotte D. Meldrum, Early Church Records of Burlington County, New Jersey, Vol. 2 (1995), 44.

[12] Peter Ross and William Smith Pelletreau, A History of Long Island, Vol. 2 (1905), 318, [GoogleBooks].

[13] Francis Bazley Lee, ed., Genealogical and Memorial History of the State of New Jersey, Vol. 4 (1910), 1304, [HathiTrust], [GoogleBooks].

[14] Francis Bazley Lee, ed., Genealogical and Memorial History of the State of New Jersey, Vol. 4 (1910), 1305, [HathiTrust], [GoogleBooks].

[15] George Wyckoff Cummins, History of Warren County New Jersey (1911), 10, [InternetArchive].

[16] Chapman Publishing Company, Portrait and biographical record of Suffolk county (Long Island) New York (1896), 922, [GoogleBooks].