Allen line: Joseph Stebbins 1652-1728

 The Allen line has a lot of Stebbins names in it.  Joseph is one of them.  Fortunately, he is pretty well documented.  He is of Springfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony, which is the location of many of our Allen family lines.  

Joseph was the son of Thomas and Hannah Wright Stebbins and was born at Springfield October 24, 1652, when the village was just sixteen years old.  He lived and died in Springfield, and had family all around him, both his own and his in-laws.  He was one of at least 9 children born to his parents, so he was never without siblings to play and work during his childhood.  It should be noted that Springfield was very much a frontier town during the earlier years of Joseph's life.  Even into the 1690's his siblings were receiving bounty payments for wolf heads, and there were other wild animals in the area, too.  However, as time went on the fur trade, which was the reason for the founding of the town, became less and less important as the stocks of wild animals diminished.

Joseph was granted land by the town in February of 1673 (as well as later grants) and married Sarah Dorchester, daughter of Anthony and Martha (last name debated; either Chapman or Kritchwell) Dorchester on November 27, of that same year.  Perhaps he had time to build a home for them before the wedding.  Joseph and Sarah had at least nine children together,and some lists show ten.

The wedding was about eighteen months before King Philip's war broke out.  Joseph Stebbins of Springfield is listed in "Colonial Soldiers and Officers in New England"  and due to his age of about 23 at the time the war broke out, we can probably guess that he participated in some fashion in that conflict, although I've not found his name on any other list for the period.  We do know that he was an ensign (sort of a junior lieutenant) by 1694 and ended his life being called "lieutenant", so he was active in the militia at some point.  To return to King Philip's War, if he wasn't in any of the known battles he was in one of the garrison houses, defending the residents who had stayed in town.  

Joseph held several positions of trust during his lifetime.  He was made a freeman in 1681 and was a surveyor for the highways, a constable, a fence viewer, town treasurer, moderator of town meetings in 1716 and after (the first person who was not a Pynchon to have that privilege), a selectman for several years and also a representative to the General Court.   I have read that people of a higher social status were the ones who were elected to positions like selectman and representative to the General Court, so the Stebbins name was one that was appreciated in the town.  He must have been something of a diplomat, too, because he was appointed to committees to help decide various issues, including the management of turpentine resources.  

Joseph died October 15, 1728, shortly before his seventy-sixth birthday.  We are fortunate to have his will and inventory, which tell us quite a bit about how he lived.  He refers to himself as a husbandman in his will, which is pretty modest of him.  Husbandmen didn't usually own land, and in his will he gives land in Springfield, Enfield, and Brimfield to his sons.  His wife Sarah was to have 1/3 of his real and personal property during her lifetime, and daughters were given 25 pounds, less whatever they had already received.  (In our ancestor Martha's case, she received 10 pounds so had already received approximately 15 pounds worth of property, perhaps as a wedding gift.)  His personal property is valued at a little over 225 pounds, which combined with the land he owned, was a sizeable estate.  

One thing I loved about his inventory is that it listed his books, although I can't read all of the titles.  He had a Bible of course, and a dictionary, a book of Psalms, several books of sermons, a spelling book, and various other titles.  This was a not insignificant number of books for the time, and it's nice to think that his children had access to them as they grew.  

He had other items I found interesting, too.  Why would someone need five gallons of molasses, for instance?  His household goods, including several pieces of pewter but no silver, are listed as are all his farm animals and implements.  The only gun I notices was one "old musket".  He also had horses, various cattle, shoats and pigs, and sheep, in a greater quantity than one would think a 75 year old man would need.  

Sarah was well taken care of by the will, and she lived until 1743, when she was about 93 years old.  

We can be proud of Joseph.  He was quite literate, he raised a family and helped build his community, was a part of the church and a protector of the town, as well as a civil servant.  His life is one to be honored.

The line of descent is:

Joseph Stebbins-Sarah Dorchester

Martha Stebbins-Samuel Lamb

Eunice Lamb-Martin Root

Martin Root-Ruth Noble

Ruth Root-Samuel Falley

Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr

Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott

Edith Knott-Edward Allen

Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook

Their descendants