If the ancestry you are referring to pertains to that of John Stephenson/Stevenson (b. May 12, 1656; Isle of Wight County, VA will devised November 23, 1726, proven February 27, 1726/27), then you should know that much of what is being perpetuated on the internet through Ancestry and other sites has little basis in fact. John Stephenson of Isle of Wight County, VA was not the son of John Stevenson and Elizabeth Boyd of Glasgow, Scotland, nor the grandson of James Stevenson and Janet Hunter.

Recent research has revealed that John Stephenson/Stevenson was in Lancaster County, VA prior to his appearance in Isle of Wight County, VA. On October 27, 1677, Christian Stephenson, widow, granted consent to her son John Stephenson to sell the land of his late father John Stephenson located on Slaughters Creek in Lancaster County, VA. She relinquished her right of dower and thirds to Thomas Paynes, and appointed John and Rowland Lawson as attorneys to acknowledge the consent in court. She further certified on the same date that her son John was 21 years of age on May 12th last, indicating that he had been born on May 12, 1656. Christian's consent does not state that she was a "of Lancaster County" nor where she resided, and the fact that she appointed attorneys to acknowledge her consent in court suggests that she may have lived elsewhere or abroad.

It appears that John Stephenson (1656-1726/27) came to Virginia to settle his late father’s affairs, and was in Lancaster County, VA prior to May 8, 1678. On that date, a certificate was issued to Francis Emmanuell for some headrights assigned by Robert Griggs. One of them was a John Stephens. On September 11, 1678, Robert Griggs, who was a member of the court, presented a certificate that John Stevenson, a servant to Lt. Col. John Carter, had been brought before him for running away, and that he had been absent from his master for 14 days. The court ordered that John Stevenson serve Carter another 28 days. Then on February 12, 1678/79, the court ordered that John Steventon, a servant of Robert Griggs "comeing into this Countrey wth:out Indenture," serve seven years indenture from his arrival.

Two days previous on February 10, 1678/79, John Stephenson “of Ile of Wight County in Virginia” conveyed to Robert Griggs and Thomas Paynes the 700 acres on Slaughters Creek formerly belonging to his late father John Stephenson. The land had been conveyed to the elder Stephenson on July 12, 1654 by William Clapham, Jr., and had formerly been a patent granted to Epaphroditus Lawson on September 3, 1649. William Clapham, Jr. had married Elizabeth (Madestard) Lawson, the widow of Epaphroditus Lawson. This deed, together with Christian Stephenson’s consent document of October, 1677, were both recorded in Lancaster County, VA during February Court, 1678/79. When Christian Stephenson issued her consent for the sale of the land in October, 1677, she had relinquished her dower and rights to Thomas Paynes. However, Griggs was not mentioned at that time. It is possible that Griggs was included in the February 10, 1678/79 deed as a partial payment by John Stephenson for his indenture to Griggs.

The headright claim for John Stephenson's transportation to Virginia somehow later ended up in the hands of Rowland Bulkly. Bulkly claimed John Stephenson as one of his headrights when he acquired a land patent on Currowaugh Swamp in Isle of Wight County, VA on October 22, 1682. In the Lancaster County court entries of September 11, 1678, Robert Griggs also presented certificates for a number of other servants of John Carter, besides John Stephenson, who had run away. One of them was Titus Turner. Turner was also claimed as a headright by Bulkly in the 1682 land patent. The fact that Bulkly claimed both John Stephenson and Titus Turner as headrights for his Isle of Wight County, VA land patent in 1682 further confirms that the John Stephenson indentured in Lancaster County in 1678 is identical with the man who later appears in Isle of Wight County, VA. We know that John Stephenson was in Isle of Wight County, VA by February 10, 1678/79 based on the Lancaster County, VA deed. On April 3, 1680, John Stephenson acquired land in Isle of Wight County, VA when John Wakefield and his wife Sarah deeded 150 acres to him.

While it remains to be confirmed, the elder John Stephenson might possibly be identical with John Stephens, who appears in the records of Old Rappahannock County, VA. The name Stephenson/Stevenson was often abbreviated as Stephens/Stevens in early colonial records. In some other Lancaster County, VA deed references, our John Stephenson is also referred to as Mr. Stephens or Mr. Stevens concerning the 700 acres he had bought from William Clapham, Jr. in 1654. John Stephens of Old Rapphannock County, VA acquired a patent for 1000 acres of land on the Rappahannock River opposite the land of Col. Henry Fleete on March 13, 1657. John Stephens' will was written March 5, 1661/62 in Old Rappahannock County, VA, and submitted to court on February 5, 1677/78. It was recorded on February 28, 1677/78. The will indicates that John Stephens was bound for England, but makes no specific references to a wife or children. The will left 500 acres from Stephens' 1657 patent for 1000 acres to John Fulcher, son-in-law of Richard Webley, Gentleman. The other 500 acres from the patent was left to Alexander Dudley, son of Richard Dudley. Stephens left Richard Webley 500 acres of land on the Rappahannock, which had been sold by Walter Granger to John Stevens on April 13, 1661. Stephens also left Webley one half of his hogs in Rappahannock, and bequeathed to Webley and Richard Dudley jointly all the remainder of his estate and debts there. Clement Herberts and Thomas Liddle were witnesses to will in 1661, but they were evidently dead in February 1677/78 when the will was submitted for probate. John Stevens apparently also had a patent for 653 acres formerly owned by John Paine granted to him by Governor Francis Morrison on October 16, 1660. On February 25, 1661/62, he sold this patent to Capt. Walter Sherland and David Warren, mariners, of Bristol. The conveyance was witnessed by Richard Webley and Richard Dudley, and recorded on March 5, 1661/62, the same day that Stephens executed his will. On February 2, 1677/78, just three days before the John Stephens’ will was submitted to Lancaster County court for probate, Alexander Dudley conveyed to Joshua Lawson the 500 acres which had been bequeathed to him by Stephens.

The fact that John Stephens devised a will in 1661 to dispose of his lands and wrap up his affairs in Virginia so that he could return to England, together with the fact that the will was probated and recorded in Old Rappahannock County, VA in February, 1677/78 makes a potentially compelling case for John Stephenson (md. Christian) and John Stephens of Old Rappahannock County, VA possibly being the same individual. The will of John Stephens was probated only about four months after Christian Stephenson gave her consent in October, 1677 for her son John Stephenson to sell the land of his late father in Lancaster County, VA, and would have roughly coincided with the time of the younger Stephenson's arrival in Virginia.

In Peter W. Coldham's "The Complete Book of Emigrants," there is a reference in the records of the PRO to a John Steventon being aboard the ship "Ann" commanded by Benjamin Cooper and bound from London to Virginia. The ship sailed sometime between October 14-December 6, 1677. There could possibly be a problem with this, because Christian Stephenson's consent was issued on October 27, 1677, which may possibly be after the "Ann" had sailed. Presumably, son John Stephenson would have carried a copy of his father’s will and his mother's consent document with him to Virginia. This record could conceivably be reference to John's voyage, though it is very difficult to say for certain.

In the parish of St. Dunstan and All Saints Church in Stepney, Middlesex, England, just on the eastern outskirts of the City of London, there are parish register entries for a John Stephenson, shipwright, with a wife named Christian. St. Dunstan and All Saints was known as being the parish church of mariners. The register records the burial of an infant daughter on September 9, 1642, and the burial of another infant daughter on July 12, 1643. In both burial records, John and Christian Stephenson are recorded as living on King Street. In the case of the 1643 infant, the surname is rendered as Stevens, but it is the same couple. There is also a record of the baptism of their daughter Anne Stevenson on November 1, 1648. At that time, John and Christian lived on Pope's Lane. I have found no christenings for any other children of this couple, nor a burial for John Stephenson/Stephens. Much later in the same register, there is a burial recorded for a Christian Stevens of Ratcliffe, widow, on April 29, 1685. Ratcliffe was a hamlet in Stepney Parish. The fact that she is called a widow at that time is interesting, since we know Christian Stephenson was a widow by October, 1677. Of course, none of this evidence proves that the family in Stepney is identical with the family of John and Christian Stephenson referenced in Lancaster County, VA records, but it is certainly a lead worth further investigation.

John STEPHENSON -- Isle of Wight Co, VA

Replies: 18

Re: John STEPHENSON -- Isle of Wight Co, VA

mv66nc (View posts)

Posted: 17 Jan 2012 7:35AM

Classification: Query

Don,

I forgot to add in my previous posting that the haplogroup I1 does have highest concentration in Scandinavia, and in the UK it is most prevalent in Scotland and northern England. It is certainly probable that our Stephenson ancestors ultimately originate in northern England or the lowlands of Scotland. Do bear in mind, however, that the more immediate immigrant origins of our line may or may not be based in those areas of the UK. Our Stephenson ancestors may have internally migrated within the UK prior to the 17th century. Most genetic results reflect deeper ancestral origins within the human family tree, but may not necessarily be very enlightening as to specific origins within recorded history which can be verified through documentation. The key to genetic testing will be to find UK participants with a very close match to the y-chromosome DYS values of our specific line, and whose ancestral origins are also well documented in a specific locality. Perhaps by going through a British testing firm, you will have a better chance of such a match, since a large percentage of participants using FTDNA tend to be American.

Mark

John STEPHENSON -- Isle of Wight Co, VA

John STEPHENSON -- Isle of Wight Co, VA

Replies: 18

Re: John STEPHENSON -- Isle of Wight Co, VA

mv66nc (View posts)

Posted: 19 Jan 2012 2:36PM

Classification: Query

Don,

Do let me know when you get your results. I would be most interested in knowing more about any fairly close UK participant matches that might result. If you are able to post your results on ysearch.org when they come in, that would be incredibly helpful too.

As I mentioned previously, the documentary evidence we presently have shows that our John Stephenson (d. 1727; md. Elizabeth Edwards) arrived in Lancaster County, VA in 1678 to dispose of his father's land on his mother's behalf. He sold the Lancaster County land in 1679, and was designated as being in Isle of Wight County, VA at that time. The elder John Stephenson (md. Christian) had come to Virginia prior to 1654, but apparently must have returned to the UK since there is no further record of him in Lancaster. If the earlier John was indeed identical with John Stephens of Old Rappahannock County, VA (which I suspect he was), then he returned to England about 1661/62. I think the family in Stepney Parish near London has some possibilities, but much more original research is needed. There is a John Stevens of Lymehouse in Stepney who left a will in the right time frame, but he doesn't appear to be Christian's husband.

Gary's closest matches at the 37 marker level through FTDNA have all been based in the US so far. Several of his closest matches have done tests to the 67 marker level, however. Would be interested to see how they match up with your pending results when they come in as well.

Keep me posted.


Mark