EIGHTH GENERATION
|
NOTES: Vermont Genealogy April Vol 2, No 2, (mentions marriage) at Addison (between) Roger Stevens of St. John's in the province of Quebek and (157) Polly Mix of Addison Page: page 78
-- http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=saby&id=I2307 Col. Stephen Burrit and (156) Roger Stevens Jr. had worked together out of St. John's as secret agents for the British during the American Revolution (see below). In 1793, Col. Burritt, his three brothers and their wives floated down the Rideau River on a raft, looking for a spot for a settlement. When they got to a certain rapids, they saw the potential for a mill. The community that grew there later became known as "Burrit's Rapids". The story goes that, soon after settling there, the Burritts were dying from fever when they were rescued by a band of local Indians, nursed back to health, and even had their crops harvested for them. Ever after, the Burritt home was a welcoming place for Indians.(REF: http://www.rideau-info.com/friends/rideaucorridor.html)
There is a tradition of there being Native Americans in my family tree; a good candidate would be (78) Guy Stevens' little-known wife (78) Margaret.
"The Petition of Martha Burritt Daughter of Roger Stevens U.E. -
"Humbly Sheweth,
That your Petitioner is desirous of Availing herself of an Order of the Govenor in Council bearing date the 9th of November 1789 wherein the Sons and Daughters of Such Loyalists as Joined the Royal Standard before the Treaty of Separation in the year 1783 are entitled to 200 acres of Land - - - That your Petitioner considers herself coming under this description . . . . Granted her Matilda Martha Burritt 27 March 1793 PAC RGI L3 67 Certificate Granted 27th March 1793 200 acres."
-- http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~russellgs/notes/not0044.html#NI11630
"A regional road commemorates his name. In 1790, (156) Roger [III] was the first settler in what was to become Carlton Co."
"In the public Archives in Toronto there is considerable information on [Roger III]. There are several Petitions that reveal the amazing vision of this individual who had already suffered much - ostracism, jail, threat of flogging and execution, and the loss of the mother of his two young daughters, all because of outspoken support for government under the British Monarchy rather than that of the American Revolutionary Forces. In 1784 he was granted land along the St. Lawrence, but he left the security of the "front" when he learned, perhaps from the Indians, of the "Great Falls" on the north side of the Rideau where he envisioned a settlement where his mills would support a growing population in a then unknown Wilderness..."
"Early in the American conflict, Roger Jr., declared his allegiance to Britain and was imprisoned in Litchfield, Conn. He escaped, General Burgoyne, and then became part of the Secret Service, [spying for the British in rebel territory, disguised in civilian clothing. Roger's property was sold to defray the expenses of the American army. According to his grand-nephew, Dr. Stephen Stevens, `He was given a terrible death sentence, also with forty lashes on his bare body with Beech branches, should he be captured, and possibly death.'] He had married Martha Doolittle and had 2 daughters before the mothers untimely death 3 Dec 1782 at Dorchester, St. Johns, Lower Canada. (District of Montreal). While in the Secret Service he worked with Stephen Burritt who became his son-in-law. Stephen & Martha Burritt with an infant son settled on his wife's new grant on the north side of the Rideau in Marlborough Twp within a mile of her father.
"In December [1793], (156[1]a) Martha had another son, Edmund, the first white child born in Carleton County. *"Our STEVENS Story on the Move" by Elizabeth Stevens Stuart."
-- http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~russellgs/notes/not0043.html#NI11604
In the Autumn of 1793, Roger mysteriously drowned; later that same year, his new wife (157) Polly reported that "her home and moveables had burned" (including title deeds, etc.). In 1784 he had been granted land along the St. Lawrence, but he left the security of the "front" when he learned, perhaps from the Indians, of the "Great Falls" on the north side of the Rideau where he envisioned a settlement where he planned to construct mills to support a growing population.
William Merrick was with Roger when he drowned in what was to become known as Stevens Creek. Two years later, in 1795, Merrick applied for Roger's property, stating that he had bought it from him. William built new mills there, which formed the nucleus of a community that would later be called "Merrickville". The Merrick family remained the driving force in local business and politics for years to come.
Vermont had been claimed by both New York and New Hampshire, and was the scene of a bitter dispute in the early 1770's. At that time, Ethan Allen and "the Green Mountain Boys" actively fought the New Yorkers, who were oppressing Vermonters who had received land grants from New Hampshire At one point, the Governor of New York laid a bounty of £100 on Allen's head. The two parties briefly put aside their differences with the outbreak of the American Revolution, though, and Allen and his men rendered useful service to the Patriot cause -- including an abortive attack on Quebec, in which (625a) Benjamin and (313ii) Ephraim Stevens were captured.
In 1777, Vermont declared itself an independent republic. When the Continental Congress refused to recognize her independence, Allen negotiated with British Maj. James Rogers about the possiblity of making Vermont a Canadian province. For this, he was accused of treason, though the charge was later dropped. After the Treaty of Paris, hostilities continued in Vermont, up until her admission as a state in 1791. According to Dr. Stephen Stevens, grandson of (313i) Abel Stevens, "The New Yorkers and the French and Indians destroyed everything possible, burned homes, took people captive, murdered many, until it became a fearful place to live in...." According to Stevens, this was the reason so many of his family moved to Canada, where (156) Roger Stevens Jr. had received land.
156. Roger Stevens Jr.
REF: http://www.geocities.com/jonell.geo/stevens.html
MYSTERIES OF THE RIDEAU
"BUCK, ...EPHRIAM, Woburn, m. 1 Jan. 1671, Sarah Brooks, had Sarah, [[vol. 1, p. 284]] b. 11 Jan. 1674; Ephraim, 13 July 1676; John, 1 Jan. 1679, d. in few days; John, again, 7 Feb. 1680; Samuel, 13 Nov. 1682; (313ii[1]) Eunice, 7 July 1685; Ebenezer, 20 May 1689; and Mary, 28 Oct. 1691."
iii. Ephraim Stevens was active on the American side in the war 1775, and fought at Quebec city and was imprisonned there, In 1779 he was in a Quebec jail with cousin (625a) Benjamin Stevens. They escaped but were picked up and later exchanged 1782.
312. Roger Stevens
i. Abel Stevens followed his brother, (156) Roger Stevens Jr., into Augusta Twp., Leeds, Ontario in 1793, when it was unknown to whites and unsurveyed.He built a mill on Upper Beverly Lake, and a 31 mile road. He also discovered an iron ore mining area near by, the only one in the province, and laid out a blue print for its operation. He established a nonconformist church in 1803, based on the doctrine, "The Bible itself is sufficient for Faith & Practice; Church & State should be separate". He walked alone from one end of the province to the other, and back and forth to VT, bringing over 100 families to settle in Bastard and Kitley Twps. He was not discouraged by the mysterious death in of his older brother Roger, with whom he had closely collaborated throughout the Revolution, or with the loss to the family of that brothers valuable 400 acres north of the Rideau.
& Susna Jones
-- James Savage, "A Genealogical Dictionary Of the First Settlers of New England Before 1692" c/o http://www.usgennet.org/usa/topic/newengland/savage/b. ABT 1759 Quaker Hill, Dutchess, NY
(1773-) BEF ABT 1793 (ABT 1772-AFT 1840, brother) ABT 1797 of Augusta
"Daniel Rockwell spent his childhood in Connecticut, later moving to Vermont. He was an American soldier in the Revoluntionary War and fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill. All of his property was destroyed by the British Army. Later, he and (315i) Anna moved to New York where he died."
-- http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:1013791&id=I0327 c/o Loralei Baldwin fm circe@fmte.com INDEX
314. prob. Sgt. Zebediah Mix
REF: http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:1502756&id=I31282;
http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=lanastl&id=I12567;
SRC: Anna Chesebrough Wildey, "Genealogy of the Descendants of William Chesebrough, Founder of Stonington, Ct.", New York: Press of T. A. Wright 1903
= siblings
STEVENS & DOOLITTLE LINES continued
Return to Generation Four
