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Rowland Stebbins

Rowland Stebbins

Male 1592 - 1671  (79 years)    Has 4 ancestors and more than 100 descendants in this family tree.

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  • Name Rowland Stebbins 
    Birth Oct 1592  Stebbins Parish, Bocking Parish, Essex, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Christening 5 Nov 1592  St.Mary's, Bocking, Essex, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Death 14 Dec 1671  Northampton, Hartford, Massachusetts, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I161227  Geneagraphie
    Last Modified 4 Feb 2003 

    Father Thomas Stebbens,   b. 1566, Bocking, Braintree, Essex, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 16 Oct 1660, Essex, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 94 years) 
    Mother Ellen,   b. Abt 1565, Bocking, Braintree, Essex, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1612, Bocking, Braintree, Essex, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 47 years) 
    Marriage 1591  Bocking, Braintree, Essex, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F170254  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Sarah Whiting,   b. 30 Nov 1591, St.Mary's, Bocking, Essex, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 4 Oct 1649, Springfield, Hadley, Massachusetts, USA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 57 years) 
    Marriage 30 Nov 1618  St.Mary's, Bocking, Essex, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
    +1. John Stebbins,   b. Between 1625 and 1626, St.Mary's, Bocking, Essex, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 7 Mar 1678, Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 53 years)
    +2. Lieutenant Thomas Stebbins,   b. Abt 1620, Ipswich, Suffolk, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 15 Sep 1683, Springfield, Hampden Co., Massachusetts, USA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 63 years)
    Family ID F64727  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 4 Feb 2003 

  • Notes 
    • 1830 Census: 5 NOV 1592 Baptised - St Mary's, Bocking, Essex, England 7
      1840 Census: 1634 Departed Ipswich, England 1634 "Good Bark Francis" landed at Boston, MA 7
      1850 Census: 1635 Settled at Agawam, MA (Springfield, MA) 7
      1860 Census: 1664 Established as a Freeman 7
      1870 Census: 1664-69 moved to Northampton, MA 7

      Children:
      Thomas STEBBINS b: BET. 1619 - 1620 in Ipswick, Suffolk County, England
      Sarah STEBBINS b: ABT. 1623 in Bocking, Essex, England
      John STEBBINS b: 1626 in Bocking, Essex, England
      Elizabeth STEBBINS b: ABT. 1628 in Bocking, Essex County, England
      Mary Winche STEBBINS

      Ipswich, England - Founder of Springfield, Hampden, MA
      Occupation: Surveryor

      The STEBBINS COAT OF ARMS - The various Coasts of Arms granted to thisfamily7 are described as follows:

      STEBBING: (of London, Middlesex County and Wisset, Suffolk CountyEngland (ref Burke's General Armory page 967 and states... "Quartery, orand gules, on a bend sable, five bezants. Crest, a lion's head erased,argent." This coat of arms and crest was also used by the STEBBINGS ofWoodrising, Norfolk County, England and their motto being "Quiescam."

      STEBBINS: "Ardent, a Griffin segreant azure, langued and memberedgules, between three cross crosslets. It is further alluded toi asfollows: "A Coat of Arms in the Northampton, MA family of STEBBINS isexpressed in these words: "He beareth Argent a Griffin rampant with wingsdisplayed between three cross crosslets azure, by the name of STEBBINGS."(This taken from a Memoir of the Stebbins Family, published 1851 page13). This is given as it was taken by Zebina Stebbins (689) from a bookof Heraldry in Boston, MA between the years 1780 and 1790. Reitstap(Armorial General, Volume 2, page 828), who probably got this informationfrom the "Memoir of the Stebbins Family," expresses it in French asfollows: "STEBBINS ou STEBBING Angl. Etats-Unis. D'arg. a un griffond'azur, acc. de trois croisettes de gu."

      STUBBING: (of West Broughton, Derby County, England. MARGARET,eldest sister and co-heir of THOMAS STUBBING of West Derby, 1611; marriedGeorge Buxton, Esq. of Bradborn, England.) Quarterly, azure and argent,five bezants in bend. Crest: A lamb segant proper. Collared gules,reposing the dexter foot on a trefoil slipped vert. (Berry's Dictionaryof Heraldry Volume 2 and Burke's General Armory page 983).

      SAINT MARY'S CHURCH, Bocking, Essex County, England (see pictures) waswhere Rowland Stebbins was baptised and then in November 30, 1618 hemarried Sarah Whiting. In about 1634 they imagrated to the colonieslanding in Boston, MA. The first Dean (or Rector) of this church wasPeter de Wakering (1232-1249 AD). The Dean at the time of Rowland'sbaptism was John Mullins (1577-1609). The Dean than probably marriedRowland Stebbins and Sarah Whiting was Dean John Barkham (1616-1643).From the very first Dean in AD 1232 thru AD 1997 there were a total of 63Deans (or Rectors). All told St Mary's Church has been serving theircommunity for about 765 years (1997). The grave yard on the premises hasmany head stones that have long sense lost their inscriptions. (SEE PHOTOALBUM)

      STEBBINS EMIGRANTS (Greenlee, Volume I, page 50, published in 1904)...
      "Although no one has found any direct evidence as to the birthplace ofROWLAND STEBBINS, the ancester of probably the majority of the UnitedStates Stebbbins descendents, there is a strong probability that he wasborn in or near the parish of Stebbins, Essex County, England. While inEngland he is said to have a friend of William Pynchon, who was born atSpringfield, Essex County, England (which is about 10 miles fromStebbing), in 1590, being only four years older than Rowland. WilliamPynchon came to New England in 1629, and was the principal founder ofRoxbury, MA, where Rowland settle upon his arrival in New England in 1634or 1635. In 1636 William Pynchon purchased Agawam (afterwards namedSpringfield) from the Indians. From 1636 to 1646 the settlers of Agawamwere mostly young unmarried men, yet we find Rowland Stebbins there in1639 with his family. In his will, "my much honored friend Capt. JohnPynchon," who was a son of William Pynchon, the founder of Springfield,MA."

      SARAH (WHITING) STEBBINS is referred to in the New England Historical andGenealogical Register, Volume 9, page 171 as having been "buried 4 (8)1649" Springfield, MA records at Boston, MA. Sarah Stebbins is recordedto have died at Springfield, MA.

      The first authentic records we have of Rowland Stebbins and his familyare in "The Original Lists of Persons of Quality," the title page isshown in Greenlee, Volume I, page 52. This book is commonly known asHotten's List of Emigrants (page 281) and the rocords are as follows :

      ************
      "IPSWICH. A Note of all the names and ages of all those which did nottake the oath of allegience or supremacy, being under age, shipped in ourport in the Francis, of Ipswich. Mr. JOHN CUTTING bound for New England,the last day of April, 1634" are as follows:

      WILL WESTWOOD
      John Lea, aged 13 years
      Grace Newell, aged 13

      ROBERT ROSE
      John Rose, aged 15 years
      Robert Rose, aged 15 years
      Eliz. Rose, aged 13 years
      Mary Rose, aged 11 years
      Samuell Rose, aged 9 years
      Sarah Rose, aged 7 years
      Danyell Rose, aged 3 years
      Darcas Rose, aged 2 years

      WILL FREEBOURN
      Mary Freebourne, aged 7 years
      Sarah Freebourne, aged 2 years
      John Aldburgh, aged 14 years

      JNO. BERNARD
      Fayth Newell, aged 14 years
      Henry Howard, aged 7 years

      ABRAHA. NEWELL
      Abraham Newell, aged 8 years
      John Newell, aged 5 years
      Isaac Newell, aged 2 years

      EDWARD BUGBY
      Sara Bugbie, aged 4 years

      JOHN PEASE
      Faith Clarke, aged 15 years
      Robert Pease, aged 3 years
      Darcas Greene, aged 15 years

      ROWLAND STEBING
      Thomas Stebing aged 14 years.
      Sarah Stebing aged 11,
      Eliz. Stebing aged 6,
      John Stebing aged 8 and
      Mary Winche aged 15.

      MARY BLOSSE
      Richard Blosse, aged 11 years

      THOMAS SHERWOOD
      Anna Sherwood, aged 14 years
      Rose Sherwood, aged 11 years
      Thomas Sherwood, aged 10 years
      Rebecca Sherwood, aged 9 years

      ROBERT COOE
      John Cooe, aged 8 years
      Robert Cooe, aged 7 years
      Benjamin Cooe, aged 5 years

      RICH. PEPPER
      Mary Pepy, aged 3 and half
      Stephen Beckett, aged 11 years

      ELIZ. HAMOND
      Eliz. Hamond, aged 15 years
      Sarah Hamond, aged 10 years
      John Hamond, aged 7 years

      Ipswitch Custom House, this XIIth day of November, 1634
      Edward Mann, Compt. (Persons of Quality - 1600-1700 Edited by John CamdenHotten 1968, page 280).

      Nicholas Fennings, aged 22 years;
      William Westwood aged 28 and his wife Bridgett aged 32;
      Cleare Drap aged 30;
      Robert Rose aged 40 and his wife Magery aged 40;
      John Bernard aged 36 and his wife Mary aged 38;
      William Frebourne aged 40 and his wife Mary aged 33;
      Anthony White aged 27;
      Edward Bugbye aged 40 and his wife Rebecca aged 32;
      Abraham Newell aged 50 and his wife Frances aged 40;
      Fust Houlding aged 23;
      John Pease aged 27;
      Robert Winge aged 60 andhis wife Judith aged 43;
      John Greene aged 27;
      Robert Pease aged 27;
      Hugh Mason aged 28 and his wife Hester aged 22;
      Rowland Stebing aged 40 and his wife Sarah aged 43;
      Thomas Sherwood aged 48 and his wife Alice aged 47;
      Thomas King aged 19;
      John Mapes aged 21;
      Mary Blosse aged 40;
      Robert Cooe aged 38 and his wife Anna aged 43;
      Mary Onge aged 27;
      Thomas Boyden aged 21;
      Richard Wattlin aged 28;
      John Lyvermore aged 28;
      Richard Pepy aged 27 and his wife Mary aged 30;
      Richard Houlding aged 25;
      Judith Garnett aged 26;
      Eliz. Hamond aged 47;
      Thurstan Clearke aged 44.

      (NOTE: the spelling of the above names is as they were listed in theoriginal documents which we copied exactly as we read them to be.)

      These persons above took the oath of allegence and supremacy, at hisMaties Custom House in Ipswich, before His Majesties Officers, accordingto the Order of the Lords and others of his Majesties Most HonorablePruvy Councell, the 12th of November, 1634 (signed) Tho. Aerisir andwitnessed Edw. Mann, Compt. (Persons of Quality - 1600-1700 Edited byJohn Camden Hotten 1968, pages 281).

      ************
      "ROWLAND STEBBINS died in Northampton, MA December 14, 1671, but no stonewas erected to designate the exact spot of interment. Dr. DanielStebbins, about the year 1806, had the early burial ground atNorthampton, MA examined to discover the precise spot where the remainsof Rowland Stebbins were buried, but, failing in this attempt, in 1840 hecaused a granite cenotaph to be erected to his memory, in the center ofhis family square in the new burying ground, on the east side of which isthe following inscription. ROWLAND STEBBINS - The supposed ancestor ofall of the name in America, came from the west of England to Springfieldwith his sons John and Thomas, about 1668 removed to Northampton andthere died 1671. DANIEL STEBBINS of the 6 generation from Thomas, wasborn Apr 2, 1766." (Greenlee Volume I, page 56)...
      ************
      LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT of Rowland Stebbins,
      dated the first day of the first month, 1669
      "Know all men by these presents, that I Rowland Stebbins of Northamptonin Hampshire, in the Colony of Massachusetts: having my perfect memory,through the goodness of GOD, though very weak and sick in body, waytingfor my great Change, w'ch I desire the Lord in mercy to fit me for -- doemake and ordayne this to be my last will and testament -- viz In fe Icommitt my soule to God, that made it, and to the Lord Jesus Christ thatredeemed it, by his most precious blood: and doe hope it shall be unitedto him forever, and my body to be in comly and decent manner buryed,hoping at the Great Day of the Resurection, the Lord Jesus will changethe vile body, and fashion it like to his Glorious body and so shall beforever with the Lord.

      Also I do make my beloved Son John Stebbins to be my full and SoleExecutor which I hope will be faithful in all things committed to histrust -- Also will and desire is that all my Just debts and funeralexpenses be satisfyed & paid, and as concerning my outward and worldlyEstate, that the Lord in his mercy hath given unto me I dispose of inthis manner:

      Viz. I give and bequeath unto my beloved Son Thomas Stebbins he severalchildred twenty Shillings apiece, to be paid within three years after mydecease those that be of age, the Sons to be twenty-one years -- anddaughters Eighteen years. I give and bequeath to my son John's Childrenthat is to say to John Stebbins his first born an Iron pott, my bed andbed clothes and all that belongs to it. My best Jackett & wascotte, myold coate and worst paire of gray stockings. I give and bequeath toBenoni Stebbins my best Breeches and new cotton wescotte & twentyshillings -- I give and bequeath to my son John's son Samuel my oldKersey Sute and twenty shillings. I give and bequeath to my son John'sother six Children to be paid unto them when they come to age twentyShillings apeece. I give and bequeath to my son in Law Merricks threedaughters, twenty Shillings apiece, to Sarah, Mary and Hannah to be paidwithin three years after my decease. I give and bequeath to my belovedDaughter Elizabeth Clarke three pounds to be paid within three years andto her three Children twenty Shillings apeece to be paid within threeyears after my decease, and to Mary the Bell Metal Skillet. I give andbequath to Mary Maunde ten shillings to be paid within a yeere after mydesease. I give and bequeath to my son John Stebbins my Great Brass pottand be best coate, and to my son Johns Wife my best stockings, and as forthe rest of my Estate that remaynes my will is, that it should be equallydivided between my two beloved sons Thomas Stebbins and John Stebbins.

      Also my desire is that my much honored friend Cap't John Pynchon and mybeloved brother Robert Bartlett, would be in the overseers of this mylast will and testament. That this is my last will and Testament Ideclare by setting my hand and Seale the first day of the first monthAnno Domini 1669-70. My will is that my son John Stebbins doe keepe thismy last will and testament.
      signum ROWLAND STEBBINS

      Signed and Sealed in ye presence of William James, Thomas Hanchett, sen'r.

      **************
      THE AMERICAN GENEALOGIST Whole Number 124, Volume 31, No. 4; starting atpage 193, dated October 1955 by John Insley Coddington, F.A.S.C., ofWashington DC published the following and we quote its entirety:

      THE STEBBINS FAMILY OF COUNTY ESSEX, ENGLAND,
      AND ROWLAND, MARTIN, EDWARD AND EDITHA
      STEBBING OR STEBBINS OF NEW ENGLAND.
      "Reference is made to five accounts of the four above-named membersof the Stebbing family of Essex, England, who settled in New England inthe 1630's. These accounts are, first, the large and excellent work byRalph Stebbins Greenlee and Robert Lemuel Greenlee, THE STEBBINSGENEALOGY, 2 Vols., Chicago, 1904; secondly, the account of RowlandStebbing (or Stebbins) in Frank Farnsworth Starr, VARIOUS ANCESTRAL LINESOF JAMES GOODWIN AND LUCY (MORGAN) GOODWIN OF HARTFORD, CT, 2 Vols,Hartford, 1915, Vol 2, pp 21-28; thirdly, the (very brief) account ofEditha (Stebbing) (Day) (Maynard) Holyoke in Charles Edwin Booth, ONEBRANCH OF THE BOOTH FAMILY, New York, 1910, p 181; fourthly, the muchbetter and more complete biography of the said Editha and of herhusbands, Robert Day (1), John Maynard (1) and Elizure Holyoke (2) inDonald Lines Jacobus and Edgard Francis Waterman, HALE, HOUSE AND RELATEDFAMILIES, Hartford, 1952, pp 509-511 and 644-645; fifthly, my articles,"The Family of Frances (Tough) (Chester) (Smith) Stebbing, Wife of EdwardStebbing, of Hartford, Connecticut," in THE AMERICAN GENEALOGIST, ante,Vol 30, pp 193-204.
      Most of THE STEBBINS GENEALOGY is concerned with the descendents ofRowland Stebbing or Stebbins, who came to America with his wife Sarah onthe ship FRANCIS of Ipswich, county Suffolk, which sailed from Ipswich"the last of April" 1634. Rowland Stebbing settle briefly at Roxbury,MA., then at Springfield, MA., and later removed to Northampton, MA wherehe died 14 Dec 1671, leaving four children, from whom the majority ofthose who bear the name of Stebbins in America are descended. But THESTEBBINS GENEALOGY also contains (Vol2, pp 1117-1119) a section of MartinStebbins, who settled at Roxbury, MA by 1639, later moved to Boston, anddied there about October 1659; and a section (vol 2 pp 1005-1014) onEdward Stebbing, who came to New England before 29 March 1632, settled at"New Town" (later Cambridge), moved in 1636 to Hartford, served as deaconof the church there, and died there, in 1668. THE STEBBINS GENEALOGYalso includes (vol 1, pp 13-50) a section entitled "Stebbins in England,"in which there are many interesting and valuable items, such as anoutline of the history of the parish of Stebbing in Hinkford Hundred,county Essex, from which the family undoubtedly derived its surname;pedigrees of the gentry families that successively held the manor ofStebbing; Stebbing, Stubbing and Stybbing, extracts from the ParishRegisters of several parishes in Essex, Suffolk and London; full copiesof the wills of four Stebbing residents of Essex and abstracts of thewills of thirteen Stebbing residents of Suffolk, and the like. But thecompilers of this fine genealogy were not so fortunate as to discover theparishes in which Rowland, Martin, Edward and Editha Stebbing werebaptised.
      The renown American genealogist, Frank Farnsworth Starr, whileworking for the late James J Goodwin of Hartford, found the records ofthe baptisms of Rowland and Martin Stebbing in the gragmentary ParishRegisters of St. Mary's Church, Bocking, Essex County. The BockingRegisters also contained references to the Fitch and Goodwin families whesettled in Connecticut, showing that a number of residents of Bockingjoined the Puritan emigration to New England in the 1630's. Mr. Starrsubsequently edited the Parish Registers of Bocking and they were printedin a very small edition at Mr. Goodwin's expense. After pointing outthat the existing Registers are sadly lacking in cointinuity (theBaptisms began in July 1561, with gaps from March 1571 to May 1583, fromApril 1588 to October 1592, from October 1599 to October 1602, and from1639 to 1655; the Burials began in November 1558, with gaps from August1580 to September 1583 and from 1627 to 1655), he lists the followingseven Stebbing records :
      1561 Gulielmus Stebinge sepultus est 28 May
      1592 Rowlandus Stebing filius Thomae baptizatus 5 November
      1594 Marinus Stebing filius Thomae baptizamus 28 April
      1603 Johannes Leavens et Elizabetha Stebbin nupti 16 June
      1618 Rowlandus Stebbing & Sara Whiting nupti 30 November
      1624 Gulielmus Stebbing filius Martini Stebbing
      sepultus est 3 September
      1625 Elizabetha Stebbing filia Rowlandi Stebbing
      sepultus est 15 June
      The parish of Bocking is bounded on the south by that of Braintree.In this parish, Mr. Thomas Hooker, the future founder of Hartford,Connecticut, often preached during his ministry in Essex, and among theinhabitants of Braintree were Mr. William Wadsworth, Mr. John Talcott,and the families, who came to New England on the LION in the summer of1632, and accompanied Mr. Thomas Hooker to Hartford in 1636. The parishRegisters of St. Michael's Church at Braintree prior to 1660 haveunfortunately been lost, but, as will be seen below, there were alsomembers of the Stebbing family in Braintree in the 1620's.
      Mr. Frank farnsworth Starr also compiled for Mr. James J Goodwin theENGLISH GOODWIN FAMILY PAPERS, 3 vols., Harford, 1921, which consist of amass of English records collected by Mr. Starr in the course of hissearch for the ancestry of William and Osias Goodwin, of Bocking, whoalso came to New England in 1632, and settled at Hartford in 1636. Herewe find the following references:
      Vol 2, p 1148 : Braintree Vestry Book Abstracts, 6 Sept 1619 :Notice given to William Stebbing of a wench intertained at John Beckwithsdwelling on Cursing greene that is supposed to have a greate belly whichthe Constables have warning to look after.
      Vol 2, p 1166 : Braintree Vestry Book, 18 Apr 1625 : The sidesmenof the parish include Edward Stebbing and William Wadsworth.
      Vol 2, p 1169 : Braintree Manor Rolls, Easter Monday 1628 : Homageincludes Ed(wa)r(d)us Stebbing.
      Immediately to the south of Braintree is the parish of Black Notley,and adjoining the latter to the southeast is the parish of White Notely.The late C. A. Hoppin once confided to Dr. Arthur Adams that he was surethat Edward Stebbing, the Hartford settler, was born in one of the twoNotleys. Accordingly, I commissioned Miss Helen Thacker of London toexamine the parish Registers of both Notleys and abstract all Stebbingrecords. Miss Thacker found that the Registers of White Notley, whichbegan in 1541, contained no Stebbing entries whatever. But those of SS.Peter and Paul's Church, Black Notley, which commence in 1570 and wereexamined through 1640, contained the following records :

      BAPTISMS
      1593 - Ellin Stebbing the Daughter of Willm Stebbing was baptised theXI day of Nobember 1593.
      1594 - Edward Stebbing the sonne of Willm Stebbing was baptised theXXIIII day of February 1594 (1594/5).
      1596 - Amy Stebbing the daughter of Willm Stebbing was baptised the 11day of December 1596.
      1598 - Elizabeth Stebbing the daughter of Willm Stebbing was baptisedthe VII day of May 1598.
      1599 - Thomas Stebbing the sonne of Willm Stebbing was baptised theVII day of Marche 1599 (1599/1600).
      1603 - Margret Stebinge the daughter of Willm Stebinge was baptisedthe XVIII day of Marche 1603 (1603/1604).
      MARRIAGES
      1583 - John Lawson and Elizabeth Stebbing were maried the X day ofSeptember 1583.
      1584 - Henry Stebbing and Susan Bacon were maried the XIX day ofOctober 1584.
      1587 - Henrie Stebbing and Margett Coppin were married the XXIIII dayof March 1587 (1587/1588).
      BURIALS
      1585 - Susan the wife of Henrie Stebbing was buried the XV day ofSeptember 1585.
      1590 - Dennis the daughter of Thomas Stebbing was buried the XIX dayof November 1590.
      1600 - Thomas Stebing was buried the first of September 1600.
      1603 - Thomas Stebbyng was buried ye XXI of January 1603 (1603/1604).
      1606 - Ellen Stebbinge widdow of Thomas Stebbinge was buried the 26thday of January 1606 (1606/1607).

      Miss Thacker reported the following lacunnae in the Black NotleyRegisters: in the Marriages, the bottom portion of a page cut out afterAugust 1606; marriages began again in November 1606 at top of next page.Owing to this cut there is also a gap ( on the other side of the page)between August 1608 and March 1608/9. Another cut occurs at top of pageafter Spetember 1632, and entries begin again in May 1633. This cutcauses a gap on the other side of the page from February 1635/6 to April1636. In the Burials, a page covering parts of 1602-3 was defaced andunreadable; there was a part of 1604 that was unreadable and also a partof 1625.
      Miss Thacker was further commissioned to search the Feet of Fines inthe Public Record Office in London, to try to find a record of disposalof property in Essex by Rowland, Martin or Edward Stebbing at the time oftheir emigration to New England. Nothing was found. Moreover, no willwas found belonging to Thomas Stebbing of Bocking (the father of Rowlandand Martin) or to William Stebbing of Black Notley and Braintree (thepresumed father of Edward), and there was no record of the Stebbingfamily in the Lay Subsidies of Hinkford Hundred, Essex, in the reigns ofElizabeth I, James I or Charles I.
      Bearing in mind the limitations of our genealogical data, we mayventure to set forth tese brief summaries concerning Rowland, Martin,Edward and Editha Stebbing:
      1. ROWLAND STEBBING, baptised at Bocking, co. Essex, 5 Nov 1592, sonof Thomas Stebbing of Bocking and older brother Martin Stebbing. Hemarried at Bocking, 30 Nov. 1618, Sarah Whiting, whose baptism does notappear in the existing Register of Bocking. Their five known childrenwere presumably born and baptised at Bocking, but none of the baptismsand only one burial of a child of a Rowland Stebbins appear in thefragmentary Registers of that parish.
      Rowland Stebbing and his family sailed from Ipswich, co. Suffolk, onthe Francis, "last of April" 1634. The shipping list gives Rowland's areas 40, wife Sarah, 43, and children Thomas, 14, Sarah, 11, John, 8, andElizabeth, 6. On arrival in New England, they settled first in Roxbury.Rowland Stebbing was one of the early settlers of Springfield, MA., movedthere about 1639, and received land in the second division of that town,24 Dec. 1640. Sarah (Whiting) Stebbing was buried at Springfield 4 Oct.1649. Rowland had a seat in the meeting-house at Springfield in 1663,and some time after Feb. 1664/5 he moved again, to live with his son Johnat Northampton, MA., where he died 14 Dec. 1671, leaving a will dated 1March 1669/70. The inventory of his goods and chattels, taken 2 Jan.1671/2, amounted to Pounds9-5-2; the inventory of his lands, taken 11Jan. amounted to Pounds75-3-2; and debts amounted to Pounds 46-2-0 wereowing to him (Stebbins Genealogy, vol 1, pp 51-59)."

      Rowland was an intimate friend of William Pynchon, thefounder of Springfield, Ma.,
      who also came from Bocking, England. In 1639 after the warbetween the Agawam and Pequot
      Indians ended, he moved to Springfield, Ma. and built a homejust north of Union Street.

      The exact date that Rowland and his son iohn moved toNorthampton, Ma. is not known.
      He was in listed as townsman of Springfield in Feb 1664 and hiswill is dated 1 3an 1669
      in Northampton.

      Rowland Stebbin's will was dated 1 Jan 1669 and made his sonJohn Stebbins executor and
      friends John Pynchon and Robert Bartlett overseers. Sums ofmoney were given to the seven
      children of of his son Thomas and to the nine children of hisson John. The balance of his
      estate was divided equally between sons Thomas and John.

      Dr. Daniel Stebbins erected a granite cenotaph in memory of RowlandStebbins in 18~
      in the center of his family square in the new buryingground as he was unable to discover
      the exact place where the remains were buried.

      The inscription is almost illegible, so the year of his removal
      positive. The inscription reads as follows -

      ROWLAND STEBBINS

      The supposed ancestor of all the
      name in America, came from
      the west of England to
      Springfield with his sons
      John & Thomas about 1668
      removed to Northampton
      & there died 1671

      DANIEL STEBBINS

      of the 6 generation from Thomas, was born Apr 2, 1766 to Northampton is not the exact spot of Rowland1s internment was accidentally discovered in 1850, some fifty rods north of the present cenotaph. A small marbleslab has been placed at the head of the grave, with no inscription save the name RowlandStebbins.

      Inscription on a monument erected in 1938 reads asfollows -

      IN MEMORY OF ROWLAND STEBBINS

      son of Thomas Stebbins
      Born in Bocking, Essex County, England
      In the year 1592
      Married Sara Whiting Nov. 30 1618
      in England
      Came to Roxbury, Mass. in 1634
      Settled in Springfield, Mass. in 1639



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