Holbrook line: Henry Stevens, Immigrant

Henry Stevens is another man of mystery, prior to his immigration to Massachusetts Bay Colony on the Defiance in 1635.  His age on the records is given as 24 at that time, so his birth date would be about 1611, and it's probably safe to say his origins were in England.  The ship sailed from London, which may or may not mean he was from somewhere in the southeast section of the country.  Alice Stevens, believed to be Henry's wife, came at the same time on a separate ship, the Abigail.  We don't know why they sailed on separate ships and that is a mystery I'd like to solve.  At any rate, it appears that they were married before they came to America, perhaps shortly before.

Their first home was in Lynn but they were in Boston by 1641.  Alice was admitted to the Boston church on June 18, 1643, and Henry Stevens was admitted February 8, 1651/2.  Sometime between April 11, 1649 and February 1651/52, Alice had died and Henry was married to Mary Buckmaster.  Their first child was born May 28, 1652, so Henry wasn't a widow for long. Henry and Alice's first three children were baptized on the same day that Alice became a member of the church (having children baptized was sometimes a prime motivator in joining a church; at least one parent had to belong to the church.)  John, James, Joseph, Deborah and Deliverance were the children of Henry and Alice.  Henry's children with Mary were Joanna, Henry, Thomas, Joshua, John, Samuel, Silence, and Mary.  This was quite a family to raise!  Son John was nearly 33 years old when Mary, the last child, was born in 1670.

Fortunately, Henry had a good trade.  He was a mason, and likely moved from Lynn to Boston when he realized there was more work available at Boston. (Robert Charles Anderson suggests that Henry was a servant to John Humfrey, who left to return permanently to England, about the time that Henry moved to Boston.  He further suggests that Henry, as a servant to Humfrey, had burned down Humfrey's bar.  My inference is that this was likely an accident, because years were added to Henry's servitude, rather than Henry being imprisoned or even sentenced to death, as would have happened if it were considered a crime.

Henry had at least some education because he signed his name on deeds, and when he died his estate included books.  He became a freeman on May 26, 1652, and was appointed to committees to set boundaries between towns.  He was also a constable at least twice, and a tithingman.  One of the deeds refers to Henry Stevens as a husbandman, so he must have done some farming, or at least owned farmland, also.

When Henry died on June 11, 1690, James and Joseph had predeceased him, as Henry left small bequests to their children.  His estate totaled 411 pounds 10 shillings, of which 381 pounds was real estate in several different locations.

I have not been able to find what became of Mary.  Information on various genealogy web sites gives her death as 1684.  If this is accurate, then Henry, who wrote his will in 1688, had remarried and his third wife was also Mary, for he mentions her by name in his will.  This would be a mystery that a descendant of Henry and Mary might want to try to solve.  Our tree comes through Henry and Alice, so my interest is in identifying Alice.

The line of descent is:

Henry Stevens-Alice
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