Frances Stebbins

Biographical Summary:

"...Frances Tough (c. 1595-97 -- 1673) was born ca 1595-97 at Burrough-on-the-Hill , Leicestershire, England. She was the daughter of Ralph Tough of that place...."

"...She died at Hartford between 16 November 1673 (date of will) and 23 December 1673 (date of inventory). In her will she called herself "aged and weak of body." (This will is transcribed in the Stebbins genealogy.) Their two children were Mary and Elizabeth..."

"...Frances married (1) Sampson Chester, on 26 November 1617 at the Church of St. Anne's, Blackfrirs, London They had were four children..."

She married (2) Thomas Smith, on 25 February 1627/8 at Bermondsey near London. He died before early 1629..."

She married (3) Edward Stebbins, about 1629 probably in England. Children:

1. Daughter Elizabeth Stebbins married Thomas Cadwell.
2. Daughter Mary Stebbins married Walter Gaylor..."

SOURCE: Four American ancestries: White, Griggs, Cowles, Judd. Volume 1; By Peter H. Judd. p 807-808.

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GEDCOM Note

{Puritan Great Migration}
[Category:Puritan Great Migration]

Biography

Frances (Tough) (Chester) (Smith) Stebbing

Unless otherwise cited,information from John Insley Coddington, "The Family of Frances (Tough) (Chester) (Smith) Stebbing, wife of Edward Stebbing of Hartford, Connecticut, in The American Genealogist, vol. 30:193-212</ref> was born the daughter of Ralph Tough of Burrough-on-the-Hill, Leicestershire, England.: Birth: between 1595 and 1597, Burrough-on-the-Hill, Leicester, England : There are no church records for the period in which Frances Tough was born.

She married first, at the Church of St. Anne's Blackfriars, London, 26Nov. 1617, Sampson Chester, citizen and merchant tailor of London, originally from Blaby, Leicestershire, and they had four children by Nov. 1623.
: Sampson Chester was brother of John Chester who married Dorothy Hooker, sister of Thomas Hooker, the famous Puritan preacher who founded Hartford, Connecticut. Coddington, page 194

Children of Frances Tough and Sampson Chester:

• Margaret: baptized Church of St. Anne's Blackfriars, London, 28 Oct.1618 Coddington, p. 199
• Joanna: baptized Church of St. Anne's Blackfriars, London, 21 Jan. 1619/20. Coddington, page 199-200
• John: baptized St. Mary Magdalene's, Bermondsey, Surrey, England, 23may 1621. Coddington, page 200
• Abigail: baptized St. Mary Magdalene's, Bermondsey, Surrey, England,5 Nov. 1623. Coddington, page 202. This daughter was buried at Bermondsey 8 Sep 1636. Coddington, p. 196.

Sampson Chester evidently died between 1623 and when Frances married a second time, to Thomas Smith at Bermondsey (near London), 25 Feb. 1627/8. Coddington, page 194. Thomas Smith died by the early part of 1629. Coddington, page 195.

Frances Tough (Chester) (Smith) married Edward Stebbins by about 1629.: "This marriage did not take place at Bermondsey, and there is no record of it in the Boyd Marriage Index at the Society of Genealogists inLondon."

She came to Massachusetts Bay with him in 1633, or perhaps at a later date after he was established. Edward died before August 19, 1668. (Coddington suggests she came after the 1636 death of her youngest Chester child, Abigail.)

Children of Frances Tough and Edward Stebbing:

• Mary: born about 1630, married at Hartford, Connecticut, 29 April 1648, Walter Gaylord. Coddington, page 202.
• Elizabeth: born about 1631/2, married (1st) about 1649, Robert Wilson of Windsor and later Farmington, who died at Farmington 21 July 1655. Married (2nd) about 1658 Thomas Cadwell of Hartford, Connecticut whodied there 8 Oct. 1694. Find-a-Grave Memorial 34128320 Coddington, page 203. Elizabeth had fourteen children, two with her first husband Robert Wilson and twelve with her second husband, Thomas Cadwell.

A daughter, Lydia Stebbins, is falsely attributed to Edward and or Frances Stebbins in various trees. See her profile for details of how this confusion came to exist, and documentation of why Lydia Stebbins is a

"Legend" Frances died at Hartford, Connecticut between 12 November 1673 (date of codicil to will) and 23 December 1673 (date of inventory). The Family of Frances (Tough) (Chester) (Smith) Stebbing, wife of Edward Stebbing of Hartford, Connecticut page 193

Erroneous Interpretation of Codicil to Will

These notes may be edited and/or deleted as per the preference of the profile managers once they have had opportunity to read and collaborate on them. Dellinger-332 15:52, 12 June 2016 (EDT)

Why do we often see trees with "Lydia Stebbins" married to John Chester, or John Wilson, Jr.? Did either of them marry a daughter of Edward Stebbins? The short answer is: no they did not. did Edward Stebbins OR his wife Frances have a daughter named Lydia? Again - no, definitely not.

The longer answer is in a misinterpreted codicil to the will of Frances Tough who married Sampson Chester, Thomas Smith and Edward Stebbins aka Stebbing. She left some clothing to her grandson's wife but, in combination with other wills, this was misunderstood until Coddington brought together enough evidence to sort it out.
:: Deacon John Wilson of Hartford, 1650-1698, eldest son of Robert Wilson and Elizabeth Stebbing, married Lydia Cole, who received a bequest of clothing in the 1673 codicil to the will of Mrs Frances Stebbing. page 204, in TAG Vol 30 (1954) by Coddington

::: QUOTE: By some curious error, James Savage in Geneal. Dict. Of New England, under “Stebbins,” says that Lydia was a dau. of Edward and Frances Stebbing, whereas of course she was in fact theirgranddaughter-in-law. [Quoted from page 204, in TAG Vol 30 (1954) by Coddington] ::: In Wilson’s will, he called Edward and Thomas Cadwell (his half-brothers) “my Cousins.” [Clearly this innocent mistake on Wilson's will compounded the confusion over the identity of Lydia Cole.] ::: To further confuse the issue, the identity of John the son of John Wilson and Elizabeth Stebbins, has been conflated and mixed with the identity of John Chester the son of Sampson Chester and Frances (Tough) (Smith) Stebbins. John Wilson is a nephew of John Chester, who is a half brother to Elizabeth Stebbins. The Memorial History of Hartford County, Connectiut, 1633-1884, database, Internet Archive, extracted from J. Hammond Trumbull Editor, The Memorial History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884 (Boston,Massachusetts: E. L. Osgood 1886), page 261. (NOTE: some of the factsin this source are proven erroneous in TAG Vol 30, pages 193 - 212)

Sources

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/34128320/frances-stebbinsFind A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 29 April 2018), memorial page for Frances Tough Stebbins (1596–1673), Find A Grave Memorial no. 34128320, ; Maintained by Linda Mac (contributor 47062703) Unknown.
• The American Genealogist. New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .) The Family of Frances (Tough) (Chester) (Smith) Stebbing, wife of Edward Stebbing of Hartford, Connecticut, by John Insley Coddington, F.A.S.G. of Washington, D.C. (Part I) and Mrs. Florence E. Skillington ofLeicester, England (Part II) Vol. 30, page 193-212
• Frances Stebbins: Four American ancestries: White, Griggs, Cowles, Judd. Volume 1; By Peter H. Judd. p 807-808.
• Source S32 Repository: #REPO6 Ancestral File Number: 2P9Q-1M, Ancestral File Number: 1PLK-VKN* Repository

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GEDCOM Source

North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 1,61157::0

GEDCOM Source

1,61157::378508

GEDCOM Source

North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 1,61157::0

GEDCOM Source

1,61157::378508

GEDCOM Source

@R1450729002@ London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Church of England Parish Registers, 1538-1812 1,1624::0

GEDCOM Source

London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; Church of England Parish Registers, 1538-1812; Reference Number: P69/ANN/A/002/MS04509/001 1,1624::10221172

GEDCOM Source

North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 1,61157::0

GEDCOM Source

1,61157::378508

GEDCOM Source

@R1450729002@ London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Church of England Parish Registers, 1538-1812 1,1624::0

GEDCOM Source

London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; Church of England Parish Registers, 1538-1812; Reference Number: P69/ANN/A/002/MS04509/001 1,1624::10221172