One of our ninth great grandfathers was Rowland Stebbins born November 5, 1592 in Essex, England. (That's right, England.) He married Sarah Whiting in 1618, and they left England out of the port of Ipswich on April 30, 1634 on the “Francis of Ipswich” with their children, Thomas, age 14, Sarah, age 11, Elizabeth, age 6 and John, age 8. They were part of the Puritan emigration. The Rowland Stebbins family initially settled in Roxbury but later moved to Springfield, Massachusetts. Sarah died in 1649 and Rowland in 1671.
Son John Stebbins (1626-1679) is our 8th great grandfather. He owned saw mills in Springfield was a measurer of land in 1659-71. He served on a committee to lay out highways in 1660, served as a juror in 1661 and was a selectman 1675-78. He owned a covenant in the church, and served on the church building committee. He was chosen bailiff in 1664 responsible for clearing cattle and swine from public meadows. He also contributed ten bushels of wheat to the Harvard College fund 1672-73. He was married twice and had 13 children. He and his first wife Ann Munson were actively involved in the witchcraft accusation against Hugh and Mary Parsons of Springfield. John Stebbins was also keeper of a sawmill, and it is believed that he was killed by some "runaway logs" in 1679. Some in the community suspected his death was the result of witchcraft.
One of the 13 children was his first son named John born 1646. John Stebbins II married Dorothy Alexander in Boston in 1683. (They are our seventh great grandparents). They lived in Deerfield, Massachusetts and had six children: Abigail, John III, Samuel, Thankful, Ebenezer and Joseph.
In the winter of 1704, a group of about 300 French soldiers and Native Americans from various tribes attacked the English settlement at Deerfield. About 50 people were killed and approximately 112 were taken captive and forced to march to Quebec, about 300 miles away. The Stebbins family home was burned and all were taken captive. Abigail was 17 and recently married to a Frenchman, which most likely caused the Stebbins family to be treated with some kindness. Thankful's parents and youngest brother, John, were redeemed and returned to the colonies two years later. Thankful and her four siblings chose to remain in Canada.
On April 23, 1707, 15 year old Thankful was baptized into the Roman Catholic church, and from then on became known as "Thérèse Stebenne". She married 4 years later to Adrien Charles Legrain dit Lavallée at Boucherville. She was well liked and respected by the community of Chambly, where she and her husband lived and had 11 children. One week after the birth of her last child, on the 11 July 1729, young Thankful died. She was not buried in the parish church cemetery of St-Joseph-de-Chambly, but rather at Saint Louis, at The Fort Pontchartrain (Fort Chambly).
I recently had an opportunity to go to Deerfield, Massachusetts and pay respects at the Old Burying Ground where John Stebbins and Dorothy Alexander lie in unmarked graves. We also visited the "new" Deerfield rebuilt after the raid. I never guessed that I had Puritan ancestors.
"Aye, call it holy ground,
The spot where first they trod!
They have left unstained what here they found
Freedom to worship God."
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| Old Burying Ground at Deerfield, Massachusetts |
Ancestors:
Rowland Stebbins and Sarah Whiting
John Stebbins and Ann Munson
John Stebbins and Dorothy Alexander
Thankful (Therese) Stebbins and Adrien Charles Legrain-Valee
Charlotte Legrain-Valee and Jean Baptiste Jean-Viens
Margaret Viens and Abraham Desroches
Joseph Desroches and Elise Bessette
Azilda Desroches and Arthur Noel Morin
