Stevens/Petersen/Roberts /Francis
While there is a scarcity of information about the Petersen and Roberts ancestors, there is quite a lot of data available about the lives of our forebears on the Francis line of the family. The part of the Francis ancestors on this page are almost uniformly English (with the exception of the Dutch Mills family) with many first arriving during the Puritan Great Migration.
See all links in Francis Family TreeThe Francis Family
For two hundred years, before the first Francis moved west to Ohio, the Francis family members were New Englanders making their homes in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Francis family ancestors were soldiers in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and the Civil War.
May Francis married John Roberts on January 1, 1888 in Breyton, Tennessee.
********John Wesley Francis married Mary Daniels on January 20, 1862 in Portage, Ohio.
Click to access full size image
During the Civil War, John Wesley Francis was an officer in the Ohio 14th Battery and was wounded at the battle of Shiloh in SW Tennessee April 6-8, 1862.
He worked as a carpenter at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Working conditions must have been unsafe. This from his diary: "Returned art building via the Manufacturers and Government buildings and at the former place two painters had just fallen from a scaffold on which they were working. One was killed and the other so badly injured he probably die also. The patrol wagon was called and I saw them placed into it and draw away. Some terrible accidents have befallin workmen on that building since its construction was commenced a year and a half ago. The public would be greatly surprised and shocked were it to know the truth. But it will never know, and perhaps tis best. It would do no good, and not restore the dead to life, which reached into the hundreds."
On January 15, 1893 he wrote: "Last night was the coldest of the season. The milkman said it was 30 degrees below zero this morning. Loy was the only one that went to S. S. and church. The sun shone brightly but it was bitter cold. Reports from the South show cold weather but this is the last winter I want to spend in the north. I guess we will all be glad to get home in Tennessee."
On January 20, 1893 he wrote: "This is the 31st anniversary of our marriage (to Mary Daniels). And I drew the grand prize in the lottery of life. And it has proved a great blessing. May the good Lord spare us many years yet, and may we so live as to be deemed worthy of that reward. “A home in heaven. Where there is no pain, no parting”."
On January 24, 1893 he wrote: "The Department was paid at One o’clock for the first half of month. I received $33.25 for 95 hours." (35 cents per hours or about $9/hour in today's dollars)
On February 14, 1893 he wrote: "It rained hard this morning and I did not go to work. I went downtown after dinner and bought Loy a pair of pants and some Abbott Bros. Rheumatic cure for myself. I have been trouble with Rheumatism in my right limb for over a year. The knee is badly swollen and stiffened and I am afraid i it will never return to its normal condition." (result of Civil War injury?)
On February 21, 1893 he wrote: "G. T Beauregard the last of the Confederate Generals died last night in New Orleans where he has resided since the close of the war. He was the commander of the Confederate forces at the Battle of Pittsburgh Landing (Shiloh), Tennessee where I received my wounds."
In the following section of the Francis family tree John's father, grandfather, and great grandfather were all named James.
********James Francis married Mary Keep on November 12, 1832 in Lee, Massachusetts. Sometime in the 1830s the family moved west to NW Ohio. James worked as a blacksmith there.
********James Francis seems to have been married twice. There are records to show that he married Pamela Foster on May 12, 1840 in Southington, Connecticut. But this would be too late for them to be the parents of James, the son. My unsubstantiated opinion is that James, the father, was married around 1810 to the unknown mother of James, the son. The elder James was a merchant in Southington. He served in the War of 1812 in Capt. Goodman's Company.
********James Francis married Sarah Coe in 1778 in Connecticut. He was among list of men who marched for the "Relief of Boston" in the "Lexington Alarm' in Capt. John Chester's Co. Later in war was a private in the 9th Company, 2nd Connecticut Regiment under Capt. Chester and Col. John Spencer. Finally in 1777 he was in the First Troop of the Connecticut Light Dragoons under Capt. James Webb and Col. Elisha Shelton. There he was promoted to Corporal. He was at the battles of Brandywine and Germantown. Later he was a captain of a local military company. After the war he made his living as a merchant.
********Josiah Francis married Millicent Stoddard on February 26, 1746 in Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut. He followed after his father to be a farmer in Newington.
On March 25, 1774, British Parliament passed the Boston Port Act, closing the port of Boston and demanding that the city’s residents pay for the nearly $1 million worth (in today’s dollars) of tea dumped into Boston Harbor during the Boston Tea Party of December 16, 1773. History records that Josiah Francis, living in Newington/Wethersfield, Connecticut, assisted Boston sufferers of that bill. I interpret this to mean that he was instrumental in raising donations. Wethersfield contributed 34 bushels of wheat, 243 of rye, and 390 of Indian Corn to the people of Boston as an example of growing nationalism at the time.
********Thomas Francis married Abigail Griswold on March 19, 1718 in Wethersfield, Connecticut. Thomas move away from Wethersfield down the road to farm in Newington. He was an appraiser of cattle. After Abigail's death he married Sarah Smith on June 14, 1758.
********John Francis married Mercy Chittenden on January 16, 1683 in Wethersfield, Connecticut. John was a farmer in Wethersfield and a sergeant in the Colonial Army. He also held the jobs of fence viewer, surveyor of highways, constable, and school-rate collector.
********
English connection
Robert Francis married Joan Sipperance about 1650. Robert's name first appears as a resident of Wethersfield in 1645. He probably came into the Connecticut Valley after first arriving in the Massachusetts Colony. He established a farm near the town and became a prominent member of the first Congregational Church there.[1]
Robert's wife Joan has been described as a cantankerous women. She had been an indentured servant and was constantly being dragged into court for slandering people and for being slandered against. Her main claim to fame was being the person brought charges against Katherine Harrison for witchcraft in 1670. It was a classic case of witchcraft accusation -- Joan had just lost a child (which she accused Katherine of killing), Harrison was an older widow whose land bordered the Francis' and who had been involved in disputes with Robert for years. Often, women who were accused of witchcraft (and who did the accusing) were also guilty of slander charges earlier. Harrison was acquitted (after spending significant time in jail), however she was kicked out of town and fled to New York. For other family connections with witches click here.
Stevens/Petersen/Roberts /Francis/Stoddard
The Stoddard Family
The Stoddard family were long time Connecticut residents.
Millicent Stoddard married Josiah Francis in Wethersfield, Connecticut on February 26, 1646.
********Nathaniel Stoddard married Sarah Buck on September 26, 1728 in Wethersfield, Connecticut. They settled in Newington, Connecticut
********Nathaniel Stoddard married Mary (last name unknown) in 1692. Mary seems to have died in the birth of their son, Nathaniel.
********
English connection
John Stoddard married Mary Foote in 1642. John was in Wethersfield prior to 1643. The first record of him concerns appointment as a juror in 1642-3 at the Connecticut Colony Particular Court. To have been a juror means he was then an approved resident of the town and probably a freeman of the town, if not also of the Connecticut Colony. Nothing his known of his English parentage.
Stevens/McKay Connection
Mary Foote was the daughter of Nathaniel Foote. Nathaniel Foote is the nexus for many connections with both the McKay and Stevens families.
Stevens/Petersen/Roberts /Francis/Stoddard/Buck
The Buck Family
The Buck family is closely associated with Wethersfield, Connecticut.
Sarah Buck married Nathaniel Stoddard on September 26, 1728 in Wethersfield, Connecticut.
********Samuel Buck married Sarah Butler on January 23, 1690 in Wethersfield, Connecticut. Both of them died in 1709 leaving a number of dependent children including Sarah who would have been only eight years old.
********
English connection
Henry Buck married Elizabeth Churchill on October 31, 1660 in Wethersfield, Connecticut. Henry arrived in America from England with his brother, Emmanuel, in the summer of 1647. They were natives of Norfolk County, England. Henry was an early settler of Wethersfield having settled there by 1658. Elizabeth and Henry had nine known children. Henry was constable, blacksmith and a farmer in Wethersfield. He was given land for his blacksmith shop on the common and a house.
********William Buck came to New England on the Increase in 1635 when he was fifty years old. He was a plough-wright. He was allocated 20 acres in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is said that William had a total of 9 sons all of whom eventually joined him in New England. There is no record of William having a wife in New England so she must have died before his emigration.
Stevens/Petersen/Roberts /Francis/Stoddard/Buck /Butler
The Butler Family
The Butler family can trace their roots back to Hervey Fitzwalter who was the progenitor of the Butler/Boteler family and likely the brother in law of Saint Thomas Becket.
The American Butler, Olmstead, and Loomis families all put down roots in Connecticut.
Sarah Butler married Samuel Buck on January 23, 1690 in Wethersfield, Connecticut.
********Samuel Butler married Elizabeth Olmstead in 1664 in Wethersfield, Connecticut. They settled in Wethersfield, where he was chosen town schoolmaster in 1668. In 1689 he was selectman and later was ensign in the military company. Samuel was a deacon at Wethersfield.
********Elizabeth was the daughter of Capt. Nicholas Olmstead and Sarah Loomis who were married in Fairstead, Essex, England on September 28, 1640. Nicholas came to the America in 1632 on the ship Lyon with his father James and other relatives. James was one of the founders of Hartford, Connecticut. Nicholas served in the Pequot War in 1637, and in King Phillip's War in 1675. Nicholas is a direct ancestor of Frederick Law Olmstead and Frederick Law Olmstead, Jr. both famous landscape architects, the former the designer of New York's Central Park and the latter the designer of Forest Park in Portland.
Sarah Loomis is the daughter of Joseph Loomis and Mary White. They came to America on the ship Susan and Ellen in 1638. They were among the first settlers of Windsor, Connecticut. Joseph has many famous descendants including the Mormon founder Joseph Smith and actor Henry Fonda.
Richard Butler married Elizabeth Bigelow. Richard came from England to Newtown (Cambridge), Massachusetts, on the Hester in 1632. In 1642 became a member of Rev Thomas Hooker's church at Hartford where he was among the first settlers with his brother William.
Stevens/Petersen/Roberts /Francis/Stoddard/Buck /Churchill
The Churchill Family
The Churchill family is associated with the Foote family, a McKay ancestor. Both families were early Wethersfield, Connecticut settlers.
Elizabeth Churchill married Henry Buck on October 31, 1660 in Wethersfield, Connecticut.
********
English connection
Josiah Churchill married Elizabeth Foote in 1638 in Wethersfield, Connecticut. He was one of the earliest settlers of Wethersfield, Connecticut. Wethersfield is generally considered to be the first permanent English settlement in Connecticut. Josiah came to America as a sailor from England about midyear 1635. He was listed as a soldier in the latter part of the Pequot Indian War. The 50 acre lot that Josiah had at the west end of Wethersfield, a generation later became known as the parish of Newington.
McKay-Stevens Connection
Elizabeth is the daughter of Nathaniel Foote and Elizabeth Demming who are also ancestors of the McKays and among the first settlers of Wethersfield, Connecticut.
Stevens/Petersen/Roberts /Francis/Griswold
The Griswold Family
The Griswold family in this branch are distant cousins of Edward and Matthew Griswold.
Both the Stevens and McKay families have connections that can be traced back to Michael, Matthew and Edward.
Liverpool, Lancashire, EnglandAbigail Griswold married Thomas Francis on March 19, 1718 in Wethersfield, Connecticut.
********Jacob Griswold married Abigail Hand on November 30, 1696 in Wethersfield, Connecticut. Jacob served as collector in 1715.
********Thomas Griswold married Mary Howard on November 28, 1672 in Wethersfield, Connecticut. Thomas was a surveyor of highways (1675) and a constable (1690).
********Mary's parents were Henry Howard (Hayward) and Sarah Stone. Henry arrived in New England in 1634 aboard the Francis. He came first to Cambridge, to Hartford in 1636, to Wethersfield in 1649, and finally back to Hartford in 1663. He was a malster.
Sarah Stone was the sister of Rev. Samuel Stone, the co-founder (along with Rev. Thomas Hooker) of Hartford, Connecticut.
Michael Griswold married Ann (last name unknown). He and Ann had nine children between 1646 and 1666. Michael was a mason by trade and a yeoman owning lands in Wethersfield as early as 1640. Michael held the office of constable, assessor and appraiser of lands. One area today in Wethersfield is called Griswoldville, centered on land left by Michael to his son, Jacob.
There is much argument, speculation, and conjecture as to whether any relationship exists between Michael, Edward and Matthew Griswold. Extensive search has been made through the years without result. It has been generally thought they were brothers but at the present time no authentic proof has been found to determine this question or support this theory. In fact, the records and circumstances rather tend to the contrary. Edward and Matthew were much alike in figure, ability, disposition, and business acumen; while Michael was very much unlike the general makeup of the other two. For now, I will leave Michael as a cousin until proven otherwise.
The home of Michael Griswold is still standing on Garden Street in Wethersfield, Connecticut although it was rebuilt by Michael's son and later descendants.
Stevens/Petersen/Roberts /Francis/Griswold/Hand
The Hand Family
The Hand family members were early Long Island, New York settlers and connect to the Petersen family twice.
Abigail Hand married Jacob Griswold on November 30, 1696 in Wethersfield, Connecticut.
********Stephen Hand married Sarah Stratton about 1660, probably near their home in Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. They moved about 10 years later to the head of Stephen's Creek (today known as Duck Creek) in Wainscott, Long Island. They had eight children. There is still a road near East Hampton called Stephen Hands Path, first built in 1668 when Stephen granted the town permission to put a 12-foot-wide highway through his woodland, but "only to drive carts and oxen in yoake & to ride & to lead a horse through; not to drive cattle through out of yoake."
********Sarah's parents were John Stratton and Sarah Bancroft who were married before 1645 probably in Southampton, Long Island. John was one of the first settlers at East Hampton in 1649. He acquired considerable real estate on Long Island. He was also a slave owner as shown in his will listing in his estate "2 negro and childe."
The Stratton family can trace their English roots back to Bryan de Staunton born in 1040. Mauger, Bryan's grandson, was awarded the Manor of Staunton by the Lords of Belvoir as a reward for defending Belvoir Castle against William the Conqueror. A tower at the castle is still named Staunton Tower. When a member of the royal family visits Belvoir the head of the Staunton family presents them with the gold key to the tower.
John Hand married Alice Gransden in England. They came to America aboard the ship The Peter Bonaventure from Maidstone, Kent, England in 1635 with John's father, John Sr., and their first son. They first settled in Lynn, Massachusetts. John Hand Sr. was a merchant and returned to England to obtain his property and was murdered at sea on the return trip in about 1640. John Jr. and his family then relocated to the whaling settlement at Southampton, Long Island. John's name shows up on the whaling list there from 1644. In 1648, he was one of the company from Southampton to found a new plantation in what is now East Hampton.
An interesting connection between the Francis side of the family and the Petersen side is that Henry Petersen's brother Martin married Ethel Hand who is also a direct descendant of John and Alice Hand.
Stevens/Petersen/Roberts /Francis/Chittenden
The Chittenden (Chatterton) Family
The Chittenden/Chatterton family seems to have first arrived in northern New England, in this case the Piscataqua River area on the border between Maine and New Hampshire, and over the next three generations made their way south into Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Mercy Chittenden married John Francis on January 16, 1683 in Wethersfield, Connecticut.
********William Chittenden/Chatterton married Mary Clark in 1662 in New Haven, Connecticut. William first appears in New Haven records in 1646. He took the oath of fidelity in 1657 and received land there in 1679. He was a husbandman, i.e., a farmer. The social status of a husbandman was below that of a yeoman. The meaning of "husband" in this term is "master of house" rather than "married man". He was a rector at St. John's Episcopal Church.
The following trial took place in New Haven on March 1, 1669/70. William Chatterton was the plaintiff and Grace Mattock the defendant. Grace had accused William of rape and he accused her of defamation and slander. He won the case.
"In an action of slaunder and defamation, ye sd defend haveing accused ye sd plaintiffe of haveing Carnell knowledge of her sometime since, on or neare ye Roade way by david Atwaters, (as she saith) to his great wrong to ye value of twenty pounds dammage, The plaintiffe declared, That ye defendt had wronged him in soe saying that which shee could not make out, but after sd, yt which was not soe;
He sd yt he could speake it with a safe Conscience, yt which shee sd was not soe. – The defendt being called to speake, declared That he and shee being going from ye towne together, which they came beyond the neck bridge, hr went leaning on her almost all ye way to Goodman Atwaters; & then a little beyond his house goodm Chatterton held her up against a post and tooke up her Coates; she told yt shee would tell her father, but he sd he had done her noe wrong; shee sd they was but a little while there, and soe shee went away before, & he came after her and overtooke her & askt her why shee went noe faster; shee told him yt she was weary; he bid her ly downe, & soe he layd her downe on a stump or log & was naught with her, and he bid her yt shee should tell noebody; shee was askt wt time this was? She answrd a little after it was darke about halfe an houre; She was askt if shee was willing? She sd noe; but shee was afrayed of him; soe they both went home together, but goodwife Chatterton was gone to her mothers, and he went & sate downe & fell asleepe: She was told yt she heard yt he denies it. She was asked whoe she told of it? She sd her sister Turner [Mary Turner, wife of Isaac Turner], she though quickly after? Goodw: Turner sd, That shee told her yt shee & he was goeing along together, & he would have been naught with her, and layd her upon a log, & shee got up & ran away, & told him yt he had a wife of his owne. Goodman Tod [Grace’s father, Christopher Todd] sd yt he hearing something of it told Goodm Chatterton of it, & he answrd yt if any sd soe, he would make them prove it.
The defendt further sd that a little after her father had told him of it, yt in ye meadowes he sd to her, That if shee told of if he would knock her of ye head & yt shee would be hanged: She was asked whoe else shee told of it? She sd Good: Ives, & alsoe Goodw: Culver as ye death of Wm Chattertons child, shee was soe affrighted yt shee could hold it noe longer: The plaint: was askt if he went home with her at yt time? He answrd, That shee went before, but he thinkes he overtooke her, but he utterly denied yt which shee accused him withall.
The tesimonies of Goodw: Ives & Goodw: Culver, &c. were read: & the Jury haveing Considered ye Case brought in yr Verdict as all agreed: That they find for ye Plain: six pence dammage & Costs of Court. The Court accepted of ye sd Verdict & ordered it to be ye Judgement of ye Court."
William's will included "One Gun & sword" valued at 30s.
********Michael Chatterton married Martha Vinel in 1639 in New Haven, Connecticut. Not a lot is known about Michael's life. Michael was born in 1614 in Wapping, Kent, England and died in Scituate, Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1676. Michael appears on the New Hampshire records as one of the servants sent over by Capt. John Mason, coming between 1631 and 1640. He was in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1640 as a parishioner in the local church and in Connecticut by 1645 as a creditor.
Martha's father, Stephen Vinal, was an early resident of Scituate but died not long after his arrival there.********
Thomas Chatterton married Rebecca Bamfort in about 1595 in Hawkhurst, Kent, England. He came from Portsmouth, England aboard the Ann in 1631; he settled at Piscataqua, Strawberry Bank, New Hampshire and later relocated to Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Stevens/Petersen/Roberts /Francis/Chittenden/Clark
The Clark Family
The Clark family were early New Haven, Connecticut settlers.
Mary Clark married William Chittenden in 1662 in New Haven, Connecticut.
********
James Clark married Sarah Harvey. They sailed from London on the Hector, arrived in Boston on June 26, 1637. James and his brother, John, were original settlers of New Haven, and signed the fundamental agreement there in 1639, with 107 other settlers. James was surveyor of highways, a constable and a fence viewer.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill is the 7 x great grandson of James Clark.
Stevens/Petersen/Roberts /Francis/Coe
The Coe Family
The progenitor of the American Coe family, Robert Coe, was in involved in the settlement of a number of communities in Massachusetts, New York and Connecticut. His descendants settled in more permanently in Stratford and Durham, Connecticut.
Sarah Coe married James Francis in 1778 in Connecticut.
********
Josiah Coe married Hannah Smith in 1761 in Connecticut. Josiah lived his life as a farmer in Durham, Connecticut. It was Josiah's second marriage, having been married to Sarah Burr before her death. She was a second cousin of Vice-President Aaron Burr.
********Joseph Coe married Abigail Robinson in Durham, Connecticut on November 21, 1708. He lived in Durham, Connecticut, where he settled in 1706, being a pioneer there. He was prominent in town affairs, serving in town offices, and as representative in the Connecticut Assembly, 1728. In 1722, he was commissioned ensign, then a lieutenant in 1725, and finally a captain in 1729.
********John Coe married Mary Hawley on December 2, 1682 in Stratford, Connecticut. His father died when he was two years old and he grew up in New Haven with his mother & step-father. At 21 years of age, he returned to Stratford to claim the land that he inherited from his father.
John Coe was commissioned ensign of the Foot Company of Stratford in 1698, lieutenant in 1706, and captain in 1709.
Here is a letter from the war to his wife:
"Westfield Mass.
Aug. 23 d 1708.
My Dear Wife :
come to bring my harty love and elections to you and to tell you of my earnest desiar to imbrace you in the arms of my love hoping they may find you and ouers in health.
I have been very well ever since I left you for which I prays God. The post from Albani last weeke brings news that the enimy disagre and the french indians are turned bak; the scouts from dearfield have not yet discouvered the army. We look for a post from Albani tomorrow after which we are in great ops of being drawn ofe or the greater part of us. I am just now agoing to Northampton to wait on our govener which makes me in so much hast. So I remain til death your loving husband
John Coe.
To Mrs. Mary Coe Living at Stratford, these dd."
Back from the war in December 1709, John and a partner agreed to build a dam at the Falls of the Pequonnock River as long as they maintained a sawmill there.
John and Mary are the 4 x great grandparents of Prime Minister Winston Churchill
********
English connection
Robert Coe married Hannah Mitchell in 1650 in Stratford, Connecticut. Robert immigrated with his father & perhaps his step-mother to Boston aboard the Francis in 1634. The family moved frequently... to Watertown, Wethersfield, Stamford, and several villages in Long Island, NY. When his father moved to Long Island, Robert, Jr. who was 17 yr. old stayed behind and was in Stratford in the Colony of Conn. before 1650 where he married Hannah. He died at the age of 32.
********Robert Coe married Mary Crabbe in 1623 and she died and was buried at Boxford, England in 1628. At Boxford, he was chosen 'questman' or parish officer of the Boxford church and his occupation was overseer of cloth. Robert came from England to Massachusetts Bay in 1634 with his second wife and five children from his first wife, Mary. In America he was a settler who couldn't settle, having a hand in the establishment of five different settlements in Connecticut and Long Island, New York. He was one of the first settlers of both Wethersfield and Stamford, Connecticut having moved from Watertown, Massachusetts with his family. In the autumn of 1643 he and others formed the first English settlement in Hempstead, Long Island. In 1652 he aided in establishing Middleburg (now Newtown), Long Island and in 1656 he started a settlement at Jamaica, Long Island. From October 1669 to September 1671 he served as high-sheriff of the County of Yorkshire (the name of New York after it was taken by the British before it became part of Queens County).
A Geography Digression: Milford, Connecticut
Many families on this page have connections to early Milford settlement. On August 22, 1639, The First Church of Christ in Milford, now the First United Church of Christ (Congregational), was organized in New Haven by the Reverend Peter Prudden and a company of fifteen families.
The Non-Conformists or Puritans had arrived in Boston in 1637, from England (mostly Hertfordshire). A year later they had heard through some of their members who had participated in the Pequot War about an area where they might be able to settle. They sailed to the mouth of the Quinnipiac River, what is now New Haven, and held their first religious service under an oak tree on Sunday, April 25, 1638, with the founding settlers of that community, which was led by Rev. Davenport.
Desiring a church and a colony of their own, the Prudden group purchased land for this purpose from Wepawaug Native Americans in February 1639, but they made no attempt to settle the land that winter. Their church was organized before moving to Wepawaug, which is now Milford.
Originally, the government of the town was a Theocracy - a small republic independent of all outside authority. God was their only King and the Bible their only law book. Only church members were permitted the right to vote and hold office. When Milford, as part of the New Haven Colony, merged with Connecticut Colony in 1665, the law was changed and ownership of property became the basis of citizenship in place of church membership.
Stevens/Petersen/Roberts /Francis/Coe/Smith
The Smith Family
The Smith family shows two examples how the small populations in early New England led to many inter-connections within families in our tree. John Smith married Ruth Briscoe, granddaughter to Nathaniel Briscoe (see Northrup below). John Smith married Grace Hawley, sister to Joseph Hawley (see farther below).
Hannah Smith married Josiah Coe in 1761 in Durham, Connecticut.
********James Smith married Hannah Northrup on March 30, 1728 in Milford, Connecticut. James and Hannah are cousins.
********John Smith married Ruth Briscoe in June, 1699 in Milford, Connecticut.
Ruth's father was James Briscoe who married Sarah Wheeler on November 6, 1676 in Milford, Connecticut. James is the brother of Sarah Briscoe who married Samuel Northrup (see next section).*********Sarah's father was the English immigrant William Wheeler who died when she was just three years old. Sarah's mother (also names Sarah) married William Brooks of Milford, and took her children there to live.
John Smith married Phebe Canfield on January 23, 1672 in Milford, Connecticut. Like his father, he was known as Sergeant Smith, probably because of his position in the local militia.
********Phebe was the daughter of Thomas Canfield and Phebe Crane. Thomas was a sergeant of the train band and was a representative of the General Court in 1674 and 1676.
Phebe Crane was the daughter of John Crane and Mary Daggett. Sources say that they married 1634. John would be age 40 and Mary would be age 19, which suggests that John had earlier wife(s). In 1642, John is recorded as having 26 acres of land in Roxbury. The latest date in which his name appears is 1649, as Deputy to the Great and General Court.
John Smith married Grace Hawley in 1642 in Milford, Connecticut. John may have immigrated with the Eaton-Davenport Company to New Haven in 1639. He was a settler in Milford by 1640, and presumed to have come from Hertfordshire, England. He was called "Sergeant" because at that time he was likely a member of a trainband that helped to fortify the town in case of trouble. In the early American colonies the trainband was the most basic tactical unit of the local militia. His inventory was taken December, 1684 leaving a large estate for that time of 513 pounds, 3 shillings, and 9 pence.
Grace was part of the Hawley family that lived in Parwich, Derbyshire, England making her the sister to Joseph Hawley.
Stevens/Petersen/Roberts /Francis/Coe/Smith /Northrup
The Northrup Family
The Northrup, Briscoe, and Gunn families all have connections to Milford, Connecticut.
Hannah Northrup married James Smith on March 30, 1728 in Milford, Connecticut.
********Samuel Northrup married Sarah Briscoe in 1687 in Milford, Connecticut. He became a Freeman on May 11, 1671.
********Sarah was the daughter of English immigrant Nathaniel Briscoe and Mehitable Gunn who married in about 1646. Nathaniel Briscoe was a founder of Milford.
Mehitable was the daughter of Jasper Gunn and Maryann (last name uncertain, possibly Baldwin). She was also married to Benjamin Fenn and Nicholas Camp. Jasper Gunn was a miller and physician who came to Massachusetts Bay in 1635 on the Defence. He first settled in Roxbury; moved to Milford by 1641, Hartford by 1648, and Milford again in 1659.
Joseph Northrup married Mary Norton in Milford, Connecticut in Apr 1646. He landed in Boston July 26, 1637, and settled at New Haven in April, 1638. He later moved on to Milford, Connecticut.
Stevens/Petersen/Roberts /Francis/Coe/Smith /Northrup/Norton
The Norton Family
The Norton family was among the early settlers in Connecticut.
Mary Norton married Joseph Northrup in Milford, Connecticut in Apr 1646. Mary came to New England with her parents when she was about ten years old.
********Francis Norton married Mary (last name unknown) Francis and Mary immigrated on June 26, 1637 to the American Colonies, with Reverend Peter Prudden's group from Yorkshire, England. Rev. Prudden preached in Hertfordshire, England until 1637. That was when he was driven out by persecution. He and his group arrived in Boston and traveled to New Haven, Connecticut. Francis and Mary initially moved to New Haven as well. In 1639, Francis was living in Wethersfield, Connecticut. He was a sea captain. Sometime before 1658, Francis and family moved to Branford, Connecticut. They later ended up in New Haven again. Francis died from drowning at 61.
McKay/Stevens Connection
Francis Norton is the uncle of McKay ancestor John Norton. Francis Norton, is also the uncle of another Stevens ancestor, George Norton.
Stevens/Petersen/Roberts /Francis/Coe/Robinson
The Robinson Family
The Robinson and Kirby families settled Middletown and Durham, Connecticut.
Abigail Robinson married Joseph Coe in Durham, Connecticut on November 21, 1708. Abigail's mother died when she was only four years old.
********David Robinson married Abigail Kirby on March 6, 1686. Abigail died six years later and David married Mary Atwater setting up an interesting chain of relationships: David and Abigail's daughter Abigail married Capt. Joseph Coe; their son David Coe married Hannah; their son Eli Coe married Rachel Miller; their son Eli Coe married Sarah Ward. Sarah Ward is the great granddaughter of David Robinson and his second wife Mary Atwater: their daughter Hannah (Atwater) Robinson married Benjamin Miller Jr; their daughter Mary Miller married William Ward; their daughter Sarah Ward married Eli Coe. Eli Coe is the great-great-grandson of David Robinson and his first wife Abigail Kirby.
David removed from Guilford to Durham, Connecticut, soon after 1700, and he and Caleb Seward were the first two planters in Durham, which was incorporated in 1708. In later years he suffered from mental illness, but lived to the age of eighty-seven years.
David's wife Abigail was the daughter of John Kirby and Elizabeth Hinds. John had arrived in Massachusetts in 1635 aboard the Hopewell at the age of twelve. He lived first in Plymouth, later in Hartford and Wethersfield. He was among the first settlers of Middletown, Connecticut in 1654. There is a Kirby Road in Cromwell, Connecticut near to where he settled. After John's death Elizabeth married a second time, October 27, 1681, to Abraham Randall of Windsor, Connecticut.********
Thomas Robinson married Mary (last name unknown). It is unknown when Thomas arrived in America but we know that he arrived in Guilford, Connecticut by 1665 when he purchased a house lot from the son of Capt. Miles Standish. The lot was in the Robinson family for 263 years. Thomas became one of the wealthiest men of the town. He was styled "Gentleman" in the town records. By 1684 he was living in Hartford.
Stevens/Petersen/Roberts /Francis/Coe/Hawley
The Hawley Family
The Hawley family is closely associated with early Connecticut settlements in Stratford and Wethersfield.
Mary Hawley married John Coe on December 2, 1682 in Stratford, Connecticut.
********Joseph Hawley married Katherine Birdsey in 1646 in Wethersfield, Connecticut. Based on his age at the time (43), this might have been a second marriage but there is no known record of a prior marriage or children. Joseph referred to Katharine in his will as his “now” wife. He came to America around 1635. That he had a homestead in England is indicated by his will in which he says, "I give to my sonn Samuel Hawley all my lands and buildings in Parwidge in Darbyshere in Old England, to him, his heirs and assigns."
Joseph was educated and had a recording style similar to that of a governmental functionary in London when he took over as Town Recorder in Stratford. In his recording, he used French capital letters and a lot of abbreviations. He was Treasurer of Stratford; was chosen by the town several years to "keep an ordinary" (or tavern keeper); served on committees to survey lands and adjust boundaries; in 1687 was on a committee to draft a "Patent" for the town; was elected twenty-nine times a Deputy to the General Assembly of Connecticut (election twice a year) serving from 1665 to 1687; was appointed "Commissioner" for Stratford; and was Deacon of the First Congregational church. In his will, Joseph described himself as a “yeoman”. This speaks to his social class more than his occupation, as a yeoman was a freeholder who owned his own land and was considered one step down from the gentry. Joseph Hawley was among the first ship owners and builders at Stratford, selling foreign cloths and other mercantile goods. His first ship was launched on 27 October 1678 and was called the John and Esther.
Stevens/Petersen/Roberts /Francis/Coe/Hawley /Birdsey
The Birdsey Family
The Birdsey/Birdseye family were settlers in New Haven.
Katherine Birdsey married Joseph Hawley in 1646 in Wethersfield, Connecticut.
********
Joseph (Edward) Birdseye came to America with his father and brother (both named John) in 1636 and settled first in New Haven, Connecticut.
********On his arrival in New England Deacon John Birdseye relocated from New Haven to Wethersfield and finally to Stratford. He is a direct ancestor of Clarence Birdseye considered the founder of the modern frozen food industry.
Stevens/Petersen/Roberts /Francis/Coe/Mitchell
The Mitchell Family
The Mitchell family progenitor, Matthew, was an early success story in New England.
Hannah Mitchell married Robert Coe in 1650 in Stratford, Connecticut. Her parents came to New England with their family in the spring of 1635 and settled at Wethersfield, Connecticut where her father was a prominent man.
********Matthew Mitchell married Susan Wood in South Ouram, Yorkshire, England on April 16, 1616. A dissenter of the Church of England, his ancestors three generations earlier moved from Scotland to Yorkshire. They came to Massachusetts Bay in 1635 in the ship James of Bristol. Most of their belongings were lost in a shipwreck upon arrival in America. He was a merchant. It took some time to find a place to put down roots: they first settled in Charleston Massachusetts; moved to Concord in 1635, Springfield in 1636, Saybrook also in 1636, Wethersfield in 1637, and Stamford in 1641. Matthew died about ten years after arriving in the New World.
Susan had been first married in 1611 to Thomas Butterfield who died three years later.
General History
Relations with Native Americans
History
Migration
Schleswig-Holstein immigration
Details