Holbrook line: John Stevens 1637-1691

As is often the case, there's much I don't know about John Stevens.  But we do have a few facts that will help us place him in a time and a location, with family around him and work to be done.  So although it's a very faint and not detailed picture of his life, at least it's something.

John was born September 10, 1637 in Boston, Massachusetts, when Boston was just a few years away from being total wilderness.  So by definition, at least in his early years, he would have seen native Americans on the streets of his town, and he was most likely a Puritan.  His parents were Henry and Alice (maiden name unknown) Stevens.  An account of his father in "The Great Migration" indicates that his father was a mason and was likely a servant from at least 1635 to 1640, when his master left permanently for England.  Henry was one of those who were able to live above the subsistence level that was the lot of many servants, and he had died with a decent estate. 

John, however, was another story.  We don't know for sure why or how he ended up in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, which was probably at the time about 40 miles north and west of Boston.  But it was in Chelmsford that he married Elizabeth Hildreth, daughter of Richard and Elizabeth (possibly Hinchman) Hildreth.  I can't make a guess as to what his occupation was, other than farmer, based on his inventory.  He and Elizabeth had at least five children in Chelmsford. 

He is referred to as "Ensign" but we don't know when or how he acquired that title.  He would have been the right age to have served in King Philip's War but I didn't find anyone I could positively identify with our John Stevens then.  There was one John Stevens in that war, who had either lost an arm, or had it badly damaged, in the conflict.  But it seems that he was likely of a different community than our John.  Like most towns, there is little reference to the war or its aftermath in the town records, but John did sign a petition in 1676 asking for lower taxes because the town had suffered so grievously in the war.  We know that Chelmsford did suffer at least one raid but it's not clear whether the town was then abandoned, or whether the people simply lived in garrisons. 

John was made a freeman, meaning he had property, could join the church if he hadn't already, and could now vote, on May 3, 1665, shortly after his December 15, 1664 marriage to Elizabeth.  So he had some status in the community.  His farm was located about two miles west of the meeting house, at the foot of "Francis" hill.  Five generations of the family lived there after John, so likely the family watched and perhaps participated in the Revolutionary War from this home. 

From a couple of tax lists I reviewed, it looks like John was neither well off nor dirt poor.  His "rates" or taxes, were maybe a tad below the average charge, but were not at the lowest amount, by any means.  He doesn't seem to have been elected to town office, which again indicates that he didn't have much status in the town.  Still, he was a freeman, and not everyone achieved that distinction

John died April 6, 1691 in Chelmsford.  If he left a will, I've not been able to locate it.  I did find his inventory, which looks like that of many farmers-animals and tools, some household goods, several properties, arms and ammunition.  Since he wasn't yet 60 years old, he was probably still a member of the training band, which explains the arms.  The estate was valued at a little over 195 pounds, significantly less than the amost 500 pounds his stone mason father had left when he died less than a year earlier.

That's what we know of John.  He seems to have stayed out of trouble and out of the public limelight, while taking care of his family and serving his colony.  He didn't get rich along the way, but he probably never let his family go hungry.  He deserves to have a few paragraphs written about him, all these years later.

The line of descent is

John Stevens-Elizabeth Hildreth
Joseph Stevens-Elizabeth Tidd
Elizabeth Stevens-William Snow
Lucy Snow-Josiah Whittemore
Josiah Whittemore-Betsy Foster
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants