Allen line: Captain Thomas Stebbins 1687-1758

What's an ancestor without a mystery?  I haven't found many of those, and Thomas Stebbins is no exception.  My question is simple, but the answer is elusive.  I'd like to know why he was called "Captain"?  In the book of wills, his will is labeled "Captain Thomas Stebbings".  Now, the will book was made at some point after the death of our subject, so it's possible that he wasn't really a "Captain" at all, and that the recorder of the book of wills used a title that applied to a different Thomas Stebbins, because there were certainly several of them running around Massachusetts at the time.

Or, he did earn the title and we need to do more research.  Based on his age, I would guess that he probably served in Queen Anne's war, possibly on the aborted invasion of Canada (to take it from the French) or in King William's war, with the same aim.  There is also the strong possibility that he responded to one or another of the native American attacks on Deerfield. 

However, that is the middle of the story, or the lack of a story, for Captain Thomas Stebbins.  The beginning of the story is his birth on March 7, 1687 in Springfield, Massachusetts (Massachusetts Bay Colony, actually),  His parents were Edward and Sarah Graves Stebbins, and he was in the fourth generation of men named Stebbins to live in New England.  He was raised in Springfield, lived and died there, and except for whatever he did to be designated as "Captain", he probably never left the town. 

He belonged to one of the more well known families in Springfield, and grew to fill his father's shoes at least partly.  He married Mary Ely, daughter of Joseph and Mary Riley Ely, on May 1, 1711.  He and Mary had at least five children together, and life was pretty good for the Stebbins family.  He held several minor offices in town but was also constable at one point, and served on committees to audit the town accounts.  As was expected of Puritan boys, he could read, write, and do at least some arithmetic.

Thomas died  December 4, 1758, about a month after writing his will.  Mary died less than two years later, on October 14, 1760.  I haven't located an inventory, but Thomas left his oldest son, Caleb, his "gun, sword and belt" so we know he treasured those items.  He doesn't specifically mention any land or dwellings, just his "estate".  He left about 5 pounds to each of his daughters (Ruth got a little more than Mary did) and the rest of his estate, after his wife's death, was to be divided between the sons.  It's hard to imagine someone in Springfield not owning land, so I'm going to guess that Thomas did, too.  He likely inherited at least some of it from his father, although I'm not finding even a will for him. 

That is what we know, and don't know, about Thomas.  I would certainly like to learn more about him, because he probably met and conquered more challenges than we can imagine. 

The line of descent is:

Thomas Stebbins-Mary Ely
Ruth Stebbins-Samuel Hitchcock
Margaret Hitchcock-Richard Falley
Samuel Falley-Ruth Root
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook

Their descendants