2.AIRARD2FITZ-STEPHEN (STEPHENS1) was born Abt. 1036 in Normandy, France, and died in At sea.
Notes for AIRARDFITZ-STEPHEN: Stevens Genealoge. Some Descendants OF THE Fitz Stepben Famile IN ENGLAND AND NEW ENGLAND. BY C. ELLIS STEVENS, LL.D., D.C.L. F.S.A. (EDINBURGH) KNIGHT COMNANDER OF THE ORDER OF CHRIST OF PORTUGAL. NEW YORK-PRIVATELY PRINTED 1904 Introduction THE Norman house of Fitz Stephen originally took its cognomen from the Christian name borne in honor of St. Stephen, the first martyr of the Church. In the development of English surnames allusion to landed estates, to Christian names, or to occupations was characteristic--usually with corruption or alteration in process of time in either sound or spelling, or both, and almost invariably in spelling. The family of Le Despencer, for instance, with whom a branch of the Stevens family is connected, took designation from the high office at court of Dispenser or Lord Steward of the royal household, held by the earlier ancestors. The name grew to be Despencer, then De Spencer, and finally Spencer, by which corrupted form are now known the men of this blood--the Dukes of Marlborough and Earls Spencer. The "de" in most Norman surnames has long since been dropped. The De Wessingtons have become Washingtons, the De Walgraves, by curious confusion, Waldegraves; the De Winterwades, Wentworths; and a similar process of change has been usual. In like transition the name Fitz Stephen became Fitz Stephens, and then Stephens. And as spelling was long unsettled, the alphabetical letters being used with wide liberty, if somehow they conveyed the intended sound--the name came to be spelled in a variety of ways. The principal spellings, Stephens and Stevens, have been used interchangeably in repeated instances, as applied to the same individuals, both in England and America. The later American forms of Steevens and Stevens, as settled by distinctly traceable processes evidenced by old family documents, are well-known corruptions of the original. Among other spellings on both sides of the Atlantic may be mentioned Stephenes, Stepheyns, Stephyns, Stevyns, Steveens, Steevens, Steevans, Stevins and Schyvyns. The essential point in genealogy, of course, is actual blood descent; and alterations in the structure or spelling of a name, or even entire change of name, is of but incidental consequence. Varied form in the name is one of the well recognized marks of an ancient family.
Airard Fitz- Stephen, a nobleman of Normandy in France, immigrated to England with William the Conqueror in 1066. When William the Norman invaded England, Queen Matilda presented him with a magnificent ship called the "Mora" commanded by Airard Fitz Stephen, a nobleman of Normandy. A son Thomas commanded the "White Ship." Thomas Fitz Stephen had two sons: 1st was Ralph his heir, founder of the English line; 2nd Stephen, founder of the Welsh and Irish lines.
The Battle of Hastings in 1066 Duke William of Normandy left St.Valery in Normandy with about 600 ships and 10 to 12,000 men Sept 27th in 1066. William and his barons had been recruiting and preparing the invasion of England since early spring of that year. He was a seasoned general and master tactician, using cavalry, archers and infantry and had fought many notable battles. Off Beachy Head, his ship, the "Mora", arrived ahead of the fleet.. William waited and ate a hearty breakfast. As his fleet straggled into place behind him they moved eastward to the first sheltered bay to provide protection for his armada. Pevensey and Bulverhythe were the villages on each promontory. Pevensey, to the west, was protected by an old Roman Fort and behind the fort there was much flat acreage to house his large Army. To suggest this landing was not pre-planned, is not in keeping with the preparatory time taken by William, or his track record. There had been much intelligence gathering in the past few months. The bay, wide enough for maneuverability of this large fleet, was flat shored. William is said to have fallen on the beach, grasped the sand, and declared "This is my country" or words to that effect. Next, the ships were disembarked without resistance. They included 2,500 horses, prefabricated forts, and the materiel and equipment was prepared for any contingency. The ships shuttled in and out of the bay with the precision of a D Day landing. A Fort was built inside Pevensey Roman Fort as an H.Q, while the army camped behind it. William and FitzOsborn scouted the land He was unhappy with the terrain but it had proved to be a satisfactory landing beach. Taking his army around Pevensey Bay he camped 8 miles to the east, north of what is now known as Hastings all of which was most likely pre-planned. He camped to the east outside the friendly territory of the Norman Monks of Fecamp who may have been alerted and were waiting for his probable arrival. William waited. Perhaps he was waiting to know of the outcome of the battle to the north. In those two weeks William could have marched on London and taken it. He was obviously waiting for something? Harold, far to the north in York at Stamford Bridge, was engaged in a life and death struggle against his brother who had teamed up with the Viking King Hadrada to invade England. Whether this was a planned Norman tactic, part of a pincer movement north and south, is not known, but students of Norman and Viking history might find it very feasible. The timing of each invasion was impeccable, and probably less than coincidental. Harold managed to resist the invasion to the north and killed both commanders. He was advised of the landing to the south by William. Bringing the remnants of his Army south, Harold camped outside London at Waltham. For two weeks he gathered reinforcements, and exchanged taunts, threats and counterclaims to the Crown of England with William. Finally he moved his army south to a position about six miles north of where William waited. Perhaps one of the most devastating events preceeding the battle was Harold's sudden awareness that he had been excommunicated by the Pope, and that William was wearing the papal ring. It is most likely this had been arranged by fellow Norman Robert Guiscard who had conquered most of southern Italy and was patron of the Pope who was indebted to him for saving the Vatican. Harold's spirit flagged. William was leading what might perhaps by called the first Crusade. The whole world was against Harold. William moved up to Harold's position and set up in what was then the conventional European style. Archers, infantry and cavalry in the rear. A set piece, each assigned to their own duties. . Harold waited. He and his brother Gyrth arranged a mass of men along a high ground ridge 8 deep, 800 yards long . A fixed corridor of tightly wedged humanity. Strategically, given the relative equipment of each side, it was hopeless from the start. To William it was almost a formality. Harold's men were hemmed in by their own elbows. William, with total mobility, held his Breton, Maine and Anjou contingents to the left of the line, the Normans the main thrust, the Flemish and French to his right. The flanking movements paid off. How long the battle took has varying estimates. Some say as little as two hours. Some as long as six hours. The latter seems more reasonable simply because of the numbers involved. .
This battle would later be called Senlac, a river of blood. It demolished most of the remnants of the Saxon fighting men of the Island at very little cost to William. Thus began a three century Norman occupation of England, Wales and Scotland, and later Ireland.
"Stevens - Stephens Genealogy and Family History" Author: Clarence Perry Stevens Call Number: CS71.S844 This book contains the history and genealogy of the Stevens-Stephens family of North Carolina.Bibliographic Information: Stevens, Clarence Perry. Stevens-Stephens Genealogy and Family History. Privately Published. 1968.
PREFACE This, we believe, is the first family history to link some of the large branches of the Stevens-Stephens family, Henry of Stonington, Conn., Thomas of the North Carolina Colony, their father, Nicholas, an officer under Oliver Cromwell in England, Richard of Taunton, Mass., Cyprian of Lancaster, Mass. and Thomas of Stow and Plainfield, Conn.; being descendants of Thomas Stephens of London, England, living in 1634 and his father Anthony Stephens of Wiltshire in the 16th century. Their descendants, known and unknown, number many thousands of people. In the first edition, published in 1950, the North Carolina line is correct as far back as Thomas Stevens, d. 1751 in Craven Co., N. C. But it appears now this Thomas was the younger son of Capt. Nicholas instead of the son of his nephew Richard of Taunton, Mass. Both men had the same name, were about the same age, had wives with exactly the same name "Mary Caswell" and the records show the brother of Mary came to North Carolina and settled in South Carolina. But, nevertheless, from later research by M. J. Gavin, we conclude this was not the same Thomas, and so change the genealogy accordingly. Except for two generations the ancestor is the same anyway. I indicated in the first edition there was some doubt about this link. In addition to those noted in the first edition, we wish to thank those who have sent in genealogical records and data, especially Mrs. Ruhlin Overlease (deceased) and family, Rushville, Ind.; Mr. Charles Holloman of Raleigh, N. C.; Brig. Gen. M. J. Gavin (deceased) et ux.; Mrs. Veraldine Benton, 201 Fulwood Blvd., Tifton, Georgia; Lane Stephens Wilcox of San Jose, California; Mrs. Stephen A. Breed, Cambridge 38, Mass.; Mrs. Vivian Swent, San Francisco, California; Ethel Stephens of Indianapolis, Indiana; Brig. Gen, Jesse F. Stevens of Boston, Mass., John J. Stephens of Brooklyn, N. Y. (not related); and Miss Alice E. Johnson of Ann Arbor, Mich. Clarence Perry Stevens, 2038 Edmart St., Escalon, California, Veraldine Sharp Benton, 201 Fulwood Blvd., Tifton, Ga. 31794.
INTRODUCTION A family history has certain values. It is more than a hobby. We have noticed that many of the younger people have little interest in their family history; but as they grow older there comes a time when they want to know about it, often after relatives are deceased who could have told them about it: Who begot my ancestors? What are my racial and national origins etc.? Family records have come in handy in settling estates and proving heirs, sometimes lost heirs, and they save money for those who wish to join certain patriotic societies, as the DAR or SAR. They are also useful when sending birthday cards to relatives if the date is forgotten; and they have been used to establish a birth date for one who seeks to establish eligibility for social security payments. Dr. White, who attended President Eisenhower, has said facetiously that if you want to avoid heart trouble, choose your ancestors carefully. The tendency to live long is also inherited; so if you will look over your ancestry, you may get a good idea of how long you may live, barring accidents. We are what we are largely because of our ancestry. Those who do not have the time or money to do research or secure it should appreciate the information given in this book; for if anyone can link to a listed name herein, he or she may, in a few minutes, trace their line back for about four centuries in the Stevens-Stephens genealogy.
The name Stevens, or Stephens, is said to derive from the Greek word "Stephanos" meaning a crown. Stephens mottos are several, which however, are only variations of "I live in hope". The motto of our Norman line is "Deus Inteisit" meaning "Let God be in our Midst." (Would not "may" be better than "let"? Of course, our coat of arms is that of our ancestor Thomas2 Stephens of London, described later herein. The arms illustrated in the genealogies by Dr. Barney and C. Ellis Stevens are similar but a little different. There has been much confusion over the spelling of our name before 1850 and even today if you spell it Stevens do not assume that you are certainly not related to a person named Stephens. Many of our proven relatives in, or stemming from, Owen County, Indiana, still spell it Stephens. Before 1840 and the establishment of public schools, most people were illiterate and the spelling was rather phonetic so cousins sometimes spelled their names different and sometimes the same person spelled his or her name different at different times, so remember this in tracing a line. Apparently the family took the name from St. Stephen, the martyr. In France it became Fitz-Stephen or Estienne and in English Fitz-Stephen. Then after a while the Fitz was dropped and apparently it became Stephenson and later the on was dropped leaving Stephens. Other spellings have been Steevens, Stephenes, Stephyns, Stevins but anyway its spelled, its a grand old name. In this book marriages are not confined solely to those still listed in church registers and county recorders' offices. These are only some of the evidence in proving parents along with common law marriage etc. It has been said that some ancestral patriotic ganizations expect an official record of ancestors official marriages from a candidate for membership. If true this can result in injustice to many fine people for in the past there has been much confusion as to what constitutes marriage. Note also that official marriage registers are not proof beyond all doubt as to a child's parents as several court cases show. A so-called illegitimate child is defined as "one born out of wedlock"; but wedlock is not so easy to define. Webster's Unabridged Dictionary takes over half a column trying to define the word. Different nations and even states have different definitions. Let us notice some history. Strange as it may seem, there are few modern books on marriage. One recent book by Dr. D. S. Bailey, an English clergyman, tells us 1 marriage was originally a civil rather than a religious ceremony. In the early Christian church (and secular government) it consisted simply in an exchange of consent before witnesses after a contract and dowery (p. 84) and no permit or blessing from the clergy was used. (Vide Quaker marriages). It was a civil right of the people. Even after the Roman church became powerful enough and united with the state, to have a monopoly in most of Europe, no permit was required from the clergy before the 9th century (p. 74). About this time some of the clergy conceived the idea it would add to their power and wealth if they had authority over marriage. Naturally, if people had to get clerical permits for marriage they could also be forced to join the church and pay money to the bishops. By the 11th century a clerical permit (blessing) was rather well established (p. 117) which, of course, showed the churches authority in permitting anyone to marry. What right did they have to this authority? Why, none at all; they just usurped it. Then the tyranny over marriage began in earnest. In the 12th century any marriage between people more related than sixth cousins was prohibited (p. 143). If the reader will count up his or her sixth cousins, I think that he or she will come up with some 10,000 to 40,000 people. There were also other "impediments" such as a prohibition against marrying a deceased wife's sister or the widow of a maternal uncle. These of course, were no blood relation, nor were those of "spiritual affinity", added later. This is a sample of the list too long to give here. Also by the 12th century the clergy were branding innocent children as illegitimate and began hunting witches. One delusion was about as bad as the other. Thus they established a sort of taboo, which to a certain extent has come down to the present time against the so-called illegitimate child. The writer recalls a classmate whose innocent child was called illegitimate. This fine boy was so persecuted by his school mates that he committed suicide when he was 14 years old. People should be on their guard so that their thinking is not influenced by this superstitous taboo. Then in the 17th century religious liberty was established in England by the great Cromwell and his brave soldiers, including, of course, our Capt. Nicholas Stevens and some of his kin. They were tired, as Milton said, of "the clergy meddling with marriage", so they outlawed marriages "blessed" by the Roman clergy which, in effect, made such marriages illegitimate in England unless there was also a civil ceremony. In fact I think only a civil marriage had any legal validity. This was a long step toward the separation of church and state we are supposed to have in the U. S. A. today. So if before 1800, no official marriage record is found or a birth is marked "base" or "spurious", it may only mean that the persons did not belong to and use the official national church. So far as I know, no official record has been found for the marriage of 2) Thomas Stephens, Jr. perhaps due to the Civil War in England, but we have the affidavit of Jonathan Lincoln in 1768 saying that 2) Thomas and his wife came to Taunton, Mass. "and others of ye family" so that is good enough for me. Official records of marriages were few or few are left in North Carolina before 1776. None has been found for 12) Thomas Stevens, or his son John but in their wills they name their wives. That should be sufficient, even if only a contract or common law marriage. Many of these people lived on the frontiers far from any justice or clergyman and if they were competant to legally marry, I doubt if anyone has any ethical right to deny that they were married. The majority of U. S. states still recognize English common law marriage.2 The Stevens (Stephens) family certainly is a "first family" in America. The first recorded Stevens arrived in 1585 long before Jamestown and Plymouth were settled. His name was Thomas Stevens who was a member of the Lost Colony which settled Roanoke Island off the coast of North Carolina in that year. Apparently the members of this colony were massacred or carried off by the Indians and perhaps mixed with the Indians and so were lost. I do not know that this man was related to Anthony1 Stephens but the name Thomas Stephens certainly was common in our early history. But I think we can claim Capt. Richard Stephens (or Stevens) immigrant in the George to Jamestown Colony in 1623, just three years after the landing from the Mayflower at Plymouth. He arrived with two servants so he evidently was a man of some means. Under his name is the oldest remaining land grant record from the Jamestown Colony. With the possible exception of some which may remain from the early Plymouth records, that is doubtless the oldest English land grant in the United States. He was collaterly related to practically all of the Stevens lines listed in this book. He was the father of Samuel Stevens, the second colonial governor of the North Carolina Colony. Capt. Nicholas Stevens, the ancestor of many of us was an officer in the English Civil War under the famous Oliver Cromwell, rated by leading authorities as the best military genius of the 17th century and the greatest ruler of England. On examination, their English constitution called the Instrument of Government, which was established by Cromwell and his officers, shows the source of at least 90 percent of our own U. S. constitution. 2 Groves, E. R., "Marriage" p. 76, Holt, N. Y. 1933
In the American colonies, to mention only a few of the Stevens clan, 10) Henry Stephens, immigrant to Taunton, Mass. was a soldier in King Philips (Indian) War. Some say he was a Colonel but I find no proof of that; Capt. Phineas Stevens was a hero of Fort No. 4 in New Hampshire in the French and Indian War and a grandson of 15) Cyprian Stevens. Darius Stevens was killed while fighting bravely at the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolution and he was a descendant of 13) Richard Stevens of Taunton, Mass. and of Thomas Stephens of London, England. Joseph Stevens, a descendant of 10) Henry Stephens, was with Washington at Valley Forge. Several other relatives were soldiers and officers in the Colonial Wars and it has been claimed by some that over a thousand people of Stevens descent fought in the American Revolution. Stevens Point, Wisconsin was named after George Stevens, a descendant of 10) Henry Stephens of Stonington, Conn. and Thaddeus Stevens, M. C. deserved more credit than our historians have given him for helping to free the slaves and helping make laws to establish their civil rights. It is not that we should be snobbishly proud, although a reasonable pride is proper in our family as in our nation; but rather that those living should be inspired to greater achievements by these makers of history and that we should cherish, defend and try to better apply the democratic ideals our ancestors labored and suffered to secure for us.
THE STEPHENS FAMILY IN ENGLAND It is rather well proved that the ancestors of the large Stephens family came to England with William the Conqueror in 1066 from Normandy in France. The province was so-called because the Norse Vikings had settled there about 912 A. D. after Charles the Simple had "given" it to Rolf or Rollo, the leader of the Norseman. This was only some 88 years before Norseman Leif Ericson discovered America, so we can't be too sure some of our relatives were not with him when he called here in 1000 A. D., centuries before Columbus was born. Although Fitz Stephen (later the Stephens) family was of Norman (Viking) blood except insofar as a few had intermarried with the French, I conjecture there is little of it left now in their descendants. In case any reader should be interested in so-called royal relationship, I include the following data: Considering that both Stephen of Blois and Airard Fitz Stephen were Norman noblemen they were evidently collaterally related, i. e. descended from a common Stephen ancestor. They were both named Stephen since "Fitz" only means "son of." This Stephen of Blois married Adela, daughter of William the Conqueror, and their son was Stephen, King of England 1135-1154. Therefore any descendant of Airard is probably some little relation to King Stephen and if willing to spend some time and money on research in France might prove the links between Stephen of Blois and Airard and thus his or her links to said king. Our immigrant ancestor to England, Airard Fitz Stephen was born probably about 1036 and was in command of the ship Mora in the fleet conveying the Norman forces to England in 1066 for the Battle of Hastings. 1 A son of Airard Fitz Stephen was Thomas Fitz Stephen who died 1120 in the wreck of the White Ship or Blanche Nef, of which he was in Command. It was said to have been the finest ship in the Norman navy. While Dante Gabriel Rossetti is perhaps better known for his somewhat naughty poem entitled "Jenny", he also wrote the "Ballad of the White Ship"2 which is historically accurate. An abstract from it follows:
"The rowers made good cheer without check; The lords and ladies obeyed his beck; The night was light and they danced on the deck. But at midnight's stroke they cleared the bay. And the White Ship furrowed the water-way. As white as a lily glimmered she Like a ship's fair ghost upon the sea. And under the winter star's still throng From brown throats, white throats, merry and strong. The knights and ladies raised a song; A song, - nay a shriek that rent the sky Of three hundred living that now must die. An instant shriek that sprang to the shock As the ship's keel felt the sunken rock. Pale Fitz-Stephen stood by the helm `Mid all those folk that the waves must whelm; A great King's heir for the waves to whelm, And the helpless pilot pale at the helm!
With prayers in vain and curses in vain, The White Ship sundered on the mid-main, And what were men and what was a ship Were toys and splinters in the sea's grip.
He clutched the yard with panting stare, And we looked and knew Fitz-Stephen there. He clung, and `What of the prince?' quoth he, `Lost, lost' we cried. He cried, `Woe on me!' And loosed his hold and sank through the sea." -(Dante Gabriel Rossetti) 1 Strickland's Queens of England, I, 116; Taylor's Mss. 2 The Poetical Works of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 192 et seq.
Perhaps I should say here that it would be difficult to trace any farther back than the Fitz-Stephen family in France for want of records and the fact that the Norse had a peculiar (to us) way of naming people; i. e., if a man was named Eric Johnson and had a son Thor, the son's surname or last name would not be Johnson but Ericson so the surnames of each descendant changed which would seem to make research somewhat more difficult even if a few records could be found. I shall now list some descendants of Airard Fitz-Stephen as compiled from official records and books by Dan V. Stephens4 and C. Ellis Stevens5 and others. In a few places it may be a little doubtful as to which father is the father of a given son but it seems reasonably certain that all descend from Airard.
SOME OF THE NORMAN STEPHENS FAMILY IN ENGLAND
Airard Fitz-Stephen, probably born about 1036, a nobleman of Normandy in France, immigrated to England with William the Conqueror in 1066. A son was Thomas, d. 1120, who commanded the White Ship, "the finest in the Norman navy. His eldest son was Ralph who lived under Henry I. His eldest son was Ralph who was high Sheriff of Glouchestershire. He -m- a Berkeley and received the feudal barony of Wapley. He d. 1190 and a son was Fitz-Ralph Fitz-Stephen who accompanied Richard Coeur de Lion in the third crusade. He was succeeded by his son John Fitz-Stephen who -m- a Bradestone. His son was Henry Fitz-Stephen who lived in the reign of Edward III and held the lordship of Winterbourne together with Lord Bradstone. A son was Henry Fitz-Stephen who lived under Edward III. A son was John Fitz-Stephen, Baron of Winterburne, who d. 1374 leaving John Stephens, Esq. of St. Brivals, County of Glouchester. (With this generation the Norman prefix "Fitz" which means "son of" was dropped. Apparently "Stephens" was formed from "Stephenson" by dropping the "on"). He -m- a Spelly of Lewynsmede. A son was Richard Stephens, d. 1390, Baron of Lewynsmede, who -m- a dau. of John Castel of Bristol. They had three children, the eldest son was John Stephens, Baron of Lewynsmede and a Member of Parliament in the reign of Richard II. He was Lord Mayor of Bristol in 1403 and -m- a dau. of Robt. Dedroke. His eldest son was John Stephens, Baron of L. under Henry V. He -m- Alice(???) and was succeeded by a son Thomas Stephens, Esq. a member of Parliament in 1422. A son was John Stephens, Esq., M. P. for Bristol in the reign of Henry VII and during the War of the Roses. A son was Henry Stephens, Esq., who lived in Forcester Co. Glouchester in the reign of Henry VIII and Edward VI. He -m- a dau. of Edward Lugg and d. 1552 leaving eight children including Richard. His eldest son was Edward Stephens, 1523-1587, Lord of Eastington Manor -m- Joan Fowler, who died the same year as he did and both are buried in Eastington Church. They had sixteen children of whom we have the names of three males and three girls. I omit the lines of James d. 1590 and Richard d. 1599 as the male line is thought to be extinct. The third son was Thomas Stephens, 1558-1613, of Lypiatt Park, a lawyer who practiced in London, -m- Elizabeth Stone. He was appointed by King James I as Attorney General for Prince Charles (later Charles I) and acquired extensive estates. There is a conflict of authority here as Dan V. Stephens says that Thos. -m- Elizabeth, dau. of John Suirir of London. Thos. et ux. are buried in Stroud Church Gloucestershire. One son was an M. P. in 1645 named John, whose grandson Thomas -m- Anne Neale, a cousin of the illustrious Oliver Cromwell. The eldest son of Thomas 1558-1613 was Sir Edward Stephens, d. 1670 -m- Ann Crewe. Lypiatt Hall still survives in fairly good condition. The Gunpowder Plot is said to have been made in one of its rooms. During the Commonwealth, the family sided with the parliamentary republicans and one of the family, John, I believe, was thrown out of parliament in "Pride's Purge". Edward and Ann had the following children: 1. Thomas b. 1618/9 whose line is thought to be extinct. 2. John b. 1622, d. 1643 in England -(Foster's Alumni Oxoniensis, p. 1418) (of Oxford University). This is the son C. Ellis Stevens claimed immigrated to Guilford, Conn. Mrs. C. S. Holmes disproved it. 3. Edward, of whom nothing further is known. 4. Anne (Stephens) Parker.
For our claim I refer to Edward Stephens, 1523-1587 of Eastington in Gloucester County (or shire) -m- Joan Fowler. They had some sixteen children of whom four are officially listed in Visitations of Gloucestershire 1623, viz. Thomas b. ca 1558, Richard b. ca 1562 -m- Margerett Seintloe (dau. of Ed.) of Kingston in Wiltshire (Wilts County); Margeria, and James. It is my thesis that our Anthony was one of the twelve other unnamed children as his son Thomas had a son Thomas and a grandson Richard; and that Anthony simply moved over into Wiltshire. The coat of arms seems to be the same except for the demi-lions.
