A Guided Tour of Our Ancestors and Their Worlds

Ushering this paper to its completion was a great joy. The desired information about my family was pouring out of my resources with amazing speed and nearly perfect timing. The original plan was to gather some genealogical facts about a few relatives and organize them into a 25-page paper. I was in awe at what the LORD did to turn this paper into a much larger document with remarkable detail about my relatives, some of whom were present in the American colonies.

Every step of this genealogical adventure guided me through diverse layers of people and cultures that informed and intrigued me beyond my expectations. This knowledge of my ancestors’ lives and times has given me a better sense of who I am as a person and a family member. I continue to process the lessons learned from their lives. I hope you are similarly blessed. I am grateful for this knowledge, and I give credit and praise to God for sharing this with me and my family.

When the enormity and complexity of this writing job became clear, I solicited help from family members. Our eldest son, Doug, was interested in helping with the work of taking a massive amount of raw data from dozens of sources and converting it into flowing and edifying prose. Doug spent a few months going over my first efforts to get the information in chronological order and create an interesting and thoughtful storyline. Although Doug was trained in computer science and never showed much interest in language arts, he told me he had done considerable work as a “wordsmith.” My wife, Alice, was as confused as I was with this self-description so she looked up his resumé and found Doug did, indeed, identify himself as such. When I read his suggestions for this paper, it was clear that this moniker was appropriate. If you like the way the words are put together, it was probably Doug’s work.

Alice, proofread this document numerous times with a good eye for detail. Alice’s greatest contribution, however, was her ability to read the horrible handwriting of my 4th great-grandfather, Abner Cheever, and other ancient documents. I marveled every time she could decode the mysterious scrawl that was beyond my reach. I am grateful for her willingness to help with this important job because the many letters of Abner Cheever are the highlight of this document, as you will discover.

Finally, our youngest son, Jeff, also took an interest in this project. Even though Jeff earned a college scholarship in writing and majored in professional writing, he was interested in the technical work of putting this genealogical document online as a PDF file. The process for doing that with such a long and complex document was beyond my ability. He purchased the web domain, made a name for it, and created a beautiful and professional document that is easy for anyone to read on-line. Also, the document is now easy to edit as more family history emerges.

With gratitude,

Bruce Stevenson

This paper is my attempt to provide useful genealogical and historical information for those of us who descend from the union of Ada Mae (Burgess) Stevenson (1927-2022) and Robert Glenn Stevenson (1926-2011). It is not only offered to my children but to their children and all subsequent generations. The following questions will be addressed: Where did our ancestors come from? How did they live their lives? What were their families like? What was their culture like? Were they people of faith? It is hoped that the information learned from the lives of our ancestors provides a lens through which we can view the contexts we currently face, the future challenges that will appear, and the ways we can address our personal and family circumstances.

Part I of our story begins with a detailed description of the Cheever family which was prominent in the lineages associated with my mother. First, we will look at the Cheever ancestors who developed from an English immigrant, Ezekiel Cheever, a college educated Puritan who made his appearance in colonial Massachusetts circa 1636. The colonial era Cheever generations have been written about in some detail by historians and genealogists, so the information is more detailed than is typical for this historical period.

Part II presents information about another immigrant family from England named Hammond. They, too, were part of my mother’s ancestral lines and immigrated to Massachusetts Bay colony in the 1630’s. The Hammond immigrant in which we are most interested is a widow named Elizabeth Penn Hammond. She and her four children were early colonists from the extensive Hammond family of London. She and a few other Puritans immigrants (including their pastor) settled in the Boston area. We will follow her descendants for a few generations until the Hammond family intersects with the Cheever family through the marriage of Rev. Samuel Cheever and Thankfull Hammond in 1781. The Cheever/Hammond union opened a genealogical pathway that takes us to other interesting early colonizers in New England.

Part III marks the transition from our New England Cheever/Hammond roots to the Indiana Cheevers that lead to my mother. From the Cheever/Hammond union (1781) it appears that 5 children resulted. The child of primary interest is Abner Hersey Cheever (1787), who decided to leave New England with his wife and young son to head west. Abner, like many from his family, was well educated and enjoyed the status of coming from an influential line of educators, theologians, and ship captains. The mariners of the Cheever family do not appear in my lineage. Abner documents his journey to the Midwest and his eventual settlement in Jennings Co, Indiana through letters written to his sister, Thankful Cheever Webster. Abner’s sister had the same first name as their mother but spelled with one “l” instead of two “l’s.” Abner’s 18 letters to Thankful were written between 1816 (the year Indiana achieved statehood) and 1837. This written account provides a dramatic depiction of Abner’s material and spiritual journeys during this time frame. Abner’s journey is deeply emotional and profoundly memorable. The remainder of Part III is about Abner’s descendants who were linked to Sand Creek Township in Jennings and Decatur counties in Indiana. Abner’s Indiana descendants who constitute my direct lineage are:

• Abner’s son, William F. (1814)

• William F.’s son, William A. (1841)

• William A.’s son, Clifford H. (1877)

• Clifford’s daughter, Neva Etta Cheever Burgess (1902)

• Neva’s daughter (my mother), Ada Mae Burgess Stevenson (1927)

All were born in Indiana. All lived in Sand Creek Township. The lives of these Ezekiel Cheever descendants will be explored.

Part IV addresses the lineages of those people who constitute the Stevenson side of our family. The family surnames most directly associated with Ernest Stevenson (my grandfather), and Ernest’s wife (my grandmother) are: Moss, Long, Jeffers, and Barber. Following these family lines back in time yielded little reliable genealogical information. Thus, focus was placed on known and easy to track relatives who were farming families near the Clay County location of my grandparents’ farm. Part IV begins with the Moss family for my grandfather’s line; and the Barber family for my grandmother’s line. The Moss family intersected with the Stevenson family with the marriage of Anna Moss and William Stevenson. Our story then backtracks to William’s grandfather and father in England. William’s father, Stephen Stevenson, was a coal miner from Staffordshire County, England, who immigrated to America in 1852 and worked as a coal miner in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Two of Stephen’s male offspring (William and Moses) eventually moved to Clay County, Indiana where their offspring intermarried with other farming families in Clay County. During my father’s generation, my dad was one of several who left their family farms to pursue other careers. Part IV documents the tethering of our Clay County Indiana relatives to the land and the eventual untethering from the land of my family line. Attention is also paid to indications of religiosity among my paternal ancestors.

In a search for people from my Indiana clan who had distinguished themselves on a larger stage than Clay County, Indiana, one gentleman, known as Major Charles Wesley Moss (1820-1900), emerged. The details of his exciting life will be shared.

Part V of this paper contains personal recollections of my paternal grandparents and my parents. These are the relatives I knew best when I was growing up. Some of the stories are recollections of tragic situations and some are mundane. Some are experiences relevant to my understanding of the religious influences in my life. As you read Parts I through V, you will occasionally be asked questions as a way of encouraging reflection on the challenges and possible meanings to be found in our relatives’ lives. You will be asked to consider the purposes and activities of you own lives, and how they relate to your various relationships.

Part VI uses the letters of Abner Cheever (summarized in Part III) as a beginning point for the closing thoughts and questions about the dilemma of living between the challenges of the material and spiritual worlds. This is a tension experienced by all people in all places and times. The stories provided in this paper about our ancestors may be able to inform and unite us as families, and encourage us to honor God in our efforts to live according to our callings. This paper closes with a quotation and a challenge: “A proper understanding of our family history may serve as a warning, a prescription, an encouragement, or a map forward; but it always serves as a blessing from God when our history is viewed as something worthy of meditation for the development of discernment and wisdom.” This was one of my conclusions from the information that is reported herein. I offer a challenge for you to look for personal applications as you consider the questions emanating from the diverse personal and family experiences of our ancestors.

Bruce Stevenson

Our story begins with the grandparents of Ezekiel Cheever in England. Ezekiel’s grandfather was James Cheever. He lived in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England circa 1560-1616. Nothing is known about his parents. James died in Mansfield at the age of 56 and James was a “Yeoman.” The classification of Yeoman originally referred to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. These yeomen would eventually become a social stratum of commoners below the landed gentry, but above the husbandmen (non-owner farm hands who often lived on the property.) This stratum later embodied the political and economic ideas of the English and Scottish enlightenments, and transplanted those ideas to the early modern era. On September 14, 1582, when James was 22, he married Agnes Walker, in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. They had four children:

• William Cheever
• Richard Cheever of Canterbury, Kent, England
• James Cheever
• Christopher Cheever

William Cheever was born circa 1584 to James and Agnes Cheever. He was a "Skinner" by trade. On June 4, 1613, "William Cheever admitted to Freedom" and became a skinner in his own right.

On January 6th, 1613, he married Margaret Newman in All Hallowes Church, Lombard Street, London. A note with their marriage record states "not in the due place," indicating they were probably married by license but not in the Church of England. They were the parents of Ezekiel Cheever.

Ezekiel was born on January 25, 1614 in London, Hampstead, Middlesex, England. To the left is a portrait of Ezekiel.

Ezekiel is an example of how one could emigrate from England to America in the 17th century and rise far beyond what his station in life would have been had he remained in England. His grandfather was a yeoman and his father was a skinner; but, Ezekiel was most noted as Headmaster of the Boston Latin School. All his sons graduated from Harvard College in Cambridge, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, and some became noted ministers in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Quite a rise in a single generation.

When Ezekiel Cheever was born, his family circumstances were good enough for him to receive a classical secondary education that prepared him for Emmanuel College, Cambridge University. One account says he attended a secondary school attached to Christ's Hospital in 1624. By another account, about which there is some doubt, he attended the well-known St. Paul's School in London.

The colleges making up Cambridge University attracted such future leaders as Oliver Cromwell, who headed the Puritan Revolution in England. Other Cambridge-educated Puritans who left England for the New World and became leaders in America included William Brewster, John Winthrop, and John Cotton. Ezekiel Cheever entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge University in 1633. Emmanuel College was founded as a Puritan institution in 1584 and was the model for Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Ezekiel felt called by God to teach the Puritan children in the New England colonies. He arrived in Boston in June, 1637. He was 23 years old and single. In 1638, Cheever married Mary Culverwell, his first wife. Soon after marriage, he went to New Haven, Connecticut and taught school. His wife, Mary, died in 1649, leaving him with five young children. In 1650 he left New Haven after 12 years as its schoolteacher. It was probably while in New Haven that he wrote a Latin grammar textbook, Accidence. It was a highly popular textbook in colonial Latin grammar schools and was used long after his death in 1708. The twentieth edition was published in 1838.

In 1650, Cheever moved his family back to Massachusetts and on November 18, 1652, he married Ellen Lathrop. Ellen is the sister of Captain Thomas Lathrop, a war hero who died during King Philip’s War (a war with a coalition of native American tribes). Ezekiel and Ellen had five children. One of their sons, Rev. Thomas Cheever, graduated from Harvard in 1677 and is my direct ancestor in the line to Headmaster Ezekiel Cheever. More is reported about him below. Another of Ezekiel’s sons, also named Ezekiel Cheever, was a resident of Salem Village during the time of the infamous Witch Trials. His involvement in the trials is reported along with Thomas Cheever’s history below.

On December 29, 1670, Ezekiel Sr. was invited to become Head Master of the Boston Latin School. He taught in New England a total of seventy years, the last thirty-eight as master of the Boston Latin School (the most famous college preparatory school for young men for more than a century). Five signers of the Declaration of Independence and four presidents of Harvard College attended the Boston Latin School. Its many famous pupils included Benjamin Franklin, Cotton Mather, John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Wendell Philips, Henry Ward Beecher, Edward Everett Hale, and others. Ezekiel died in Boston, Suffolk Co., on August 21, 1708. He was 94 and was buried in the Granary Burying Ground, Boston, Suffolk Co., MA. His death record in the Boston vital records reported this: “Cheever, Ezekiel, schoolmaster, b Jan. 25, 1614, in London, d. Aug. 21, 1708 …” At his funeral, Cotton Mather gave the eulogy. In it, Mather praised Cheever for his "untiring abjuration of the devil.”

If you would enjoy reading material written by Ezekiel Cheever, he wrote three essays on scriptural prophecy entitled, Scriptural Prophecies Explained. In Three Short Essays. I. On the Restitution of all Things. II. On St. John’s First Resurrection. III. On the Personal Coming of Jesus Christ. Printed in Boston in MDCCLVII (1757.) Also, this item is available on Amazon.com by searching for the above title. Finally, there is an appendix to this book which contains Cheever’s poems. When I received the book, I immediately turned to the appendix to read them. Imagine my disappointment when I saw that every poem was written in Latin!

Would you like to learn more about the life of Ezekiel Cheever and his descendants? A genealogist named John Tyler Hassam wrote a book entitled, Ezekiel Cheever and Some of His Descendants (Part First) Boston: Printed by David Claff & Son 1879. It is available for loan upon request or can be purchased through Amazon.com. Search for Ezekiel Cheever And Some Of His Descendants (1879), or click on the link above. This book contains many details of Ezekiel’s life including court transcripts of a 10-year legal battle over his second wife’s inheritance at the death of her brother, Captain Thomas Lathrop. Captain Lathrop died in the Battle of Bloody Brook during King Philip’s War (First Indian War.) Captain Lathrop had no children, and Ellen Lathrop, his sister, was the closest living relative. Ellen and Ezekiel believed they were entitled to the inheritance; however, Captain Lathrop’s wife believed she was the heir. I won’t tell you who won the court case. This book also contains transcripts from the church court charges against Ezekiel for improper conduct in church and the disciplinary action against him. Some of this story is quite humorous. It seems Ezekiel was observed covering his face and head with a handkerchief while laughing during a service.

The second (and final) part of Hassam’s series will be used in the report on Rev. Thomas Cheever, Thomas Cheever, Jr., and Rev Edward Cheever. It is entitled: Ezekiel Cheever and Some of His Descendants (Part Second). Boston: Printed by David Claff & Son 1879. The document does not appear to be in print at this time; but while searching for it, I found a free copy to read online through Internet Archive. You can read the document online without charge by searching: Ezekiel Cheever and some of his Descendants : part second : Hassam, John T. (John Tyler), 1841-1903. Free Download through Internet Archive

If you prefer easier reading, there is a wonderful 6-page scholarly article written by Franklin and Betty J. Parker in January of 1996. It is entitled: Ezekiel Cheever (1614-1708), New England Colonial Teacher. You can read or download it by searching for the above noted title; or click the link below to get a readable copy on your computer. Ezekiel Cheever (1614-1708), New England Colonial Teacher.

For Your Consideration

Consider Ezekiel Cheever as a young man in a barely settled New England colony, far from family, friends, and country. Additionally, Ezekiel was left with five young children when his wife died in 1649.

• Ezekiel felt called of God to educate the Puritan youth in a foreign country. Would you be willing to leave your country and your family to fulfill your calling from God?
• Why do you think the calamity of losing his wife and having to raise 5 young children without her did not derail Ezekiel’s faith and mission to educate the Puritan youth?
• What evidence do you see that God was with Ezekiel throughout his life?
• Can you name an experience that testifies to God’s guidance and support in your life?

Thomas was born on August 23, 1658 in Ipswich, MA. He graduated from Harvard College in 1677 and was ordained at Malden on July 27, 1681.

Thomas faced charges of "scandalous immoralities" and was given a "loving dismission." His father Ezekiel attended the trial and "pathetically desired his soul might speak" but was not permitted.

He was later ordained as the first minister of Rumney Marsh. He died in Chelsea on November 27, 1749 at age 91. His brother Ezekiel Jr. gained notoriety for his part in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692.

Thomas bought over 111 acres of farmland and was the Representative for Lynn in 1726–1727 and 1740–1742. Historian Hassam reported he was "an enterprising man, and the Church, Town, and County records give ample evidence of his ceaseless activity."

With Ebenezer Merriam, Thomas built in 1723 the first mill on Saugus River.

Edward graduated from Harvard College in 1737 — the third and last of our Cheever ancestors to do so. He became pastor of the Third Church of Lynn in 1739.

One account notes he "carelessly neglected to keep records" during his ministry. Edward died August 17, 1794, at age 77.

Samuel married Thankfull Hammond on May 27, 1781 — merging the Cheever and Hammond lines. Despite being viewed as "uneducated," one diarist wrote: "This Doctor was a smart Preacher. He did not read and call it Preaching: but he Preached."

A raging battle over theology grew in Hartland, Vermont. Samuel tried to force members to pledge they would "not hold religious fellowship or communion with the Universalists and the Methodists." This split the congregation.

He died in December 1814 in Stillwater, New York, "in the midst of his valuable work."

Elizabeth Penn Hammond was a widow who emigrated from London with four children to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1630s. The Hammond line intersects with the Cheever family through the marriage of Rev. Samuel Cheever and Thankfull Hammond in 1781.

This union opened a genealogical pathway to Mayflower passengers Francis Cooke and Richard Warren.

The Hammond family genealogy reveals connections to some of the earliest European settlers in New England, including direct descent from Mayflower passengers Francis Cooke and his son John Cooke, as well as Richard Warren.

Abner fought in the War of 1812, married Polly McClay, and lived with his sister Thankful in Vermont. In 1816, he set out westward with his young family.

His 18 letters to Thankful, written between 1816 and 1837, document this extraordinary journey — from wagon troubles on the Ohio River, to teaching school in Kentucky, to the devastating death of his wife Polly: "Polly is no more... torn from my pleading bosom."

Despite crushing losses — deaths of his first wife, multiple children, and relentless illness — the letters trace a deepening spiritual faith. "After wading through deep water of afflictions and drinking deeply of the cup of woe, He has once more caused His face to shine upon me."

He became a licensed Methodist circuit preacher. His final letter reads like the Book of Job — persecution, stolen livestock, and the death of his son Horace. Yet he wrote: "I cannot think of it as unfair because God had prompted my heart to seek after Him."

His gravestone reads: "I've borne the burden in the heat of the day... I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith."

Frank began the journey from Vermont to Indiana at age two. The death of his mother on his fourth birthday was the peak of his chaotic early life. He met Amelia Jones when her family purchased 160 acres next to Abner's property. They married in 1834.

Amelia was fondly called "Grandma Cheever" by those in the Fish Creek Church. Frank died April 11, 1874 at age 59. Amelia outlived him by 25 years.

William Abner was born in 1841 in Sand Creek Township. He served in the Civil War and returned to farm the family land — cementing the Cheever identity as Indiana farming people.

Clifford continued the multi-generational farming tradition established by his great-grandfather Abner when he first settled in Jennings County in 1817.

Neva was the daughter of Clifford Hayes Cheever. She married Frank Burgess. Through Neva, the Cheever line that began with James Cheever in 1560s England continued into the 20th century.

The first featured family is named Moss. George Moss was born October 17, 1786 in Virginia. He married Lydia Bilderback in 1808. They moved to Indiana in 1823. George "purchased from a squatter a claim" for "one two-year-old colt" and became one of the large landowners of Clay County.

Lydia "practiced midwifery and treated women and children for thirty years." She traveled "through unbroken wilderness, the roads being but bridle paths" and treated over 2,500 patients. She "is probably the only woman in Clay County to deliver a woman in childbirth with instruments."

C.W. Moss fought at Buena Vista in the Mexican-American War, was elected sheriff, named Sugar Ridge Township, and founded the town of Ashboro.

When the Civil War broke out, he again enlisted — despite promising his family he would not. At the Battle of Marks' Mills, his horse was shot out from under him. He was captured and imprisoned at Camp Ford, Tyler, Texas.

After a prisoner exchange, he volunteered to care for 40 ill men unable to travel. While in Indianapolis, he "had command of the troops that guarded the State Capitol while the deceased President Lincoln lay there in state."

His obituary: "An Octogenarian, Pioneer, Soldier of Two Wars, County Officer, An Intelligent, Upright, Christian Farmer Citizen."

John Coleman Moss served in the same regiment as his uncle C.W. Moss. Both were captured at Marks' Mills. John wrote a riveting chapter about the escape of four prisoners and their journey by foot from Camp Ford in Tyler, Texas to Fort Steele, Arkansas.

Three generations of coal miners beginning with James Stevenson in Staffordshire County, England. The English government's coal miners were struggling financially, leading to a massive exodus to the United States in the 1850s.

Stephen left England in 1852 aboard the "DeWitt Clinton." Betty Welsby arrived in 1857 aboard the "City of Washington." They married October 15, 1858 in Ohio.

They lived in "patch" communities — remote mining settlements with company-owned stores. They eventually settled in Vienna, Ohio. Stephen willed 25 acres each to sons William and Moses — and $50 to son James from his first marriage, who had somehow found his father from England.

Will grew up in a coal mining "patch" community. He made his way to Clay County, Indiana, where he married Anna "Annie" Moss, daughter of Major C.W. Moss. They married December 29, 1888.

Annie birthed 12 children; 10 survived. This marriage united the Stevenson and Moss lines.

The Barber family was among the farming families of Clay County. Aaron Gleason Barber and the Long family formed part of the interconnected web of families near Cory, Indiana.

The intersection of the Long and Jeffers farming families in Clay County would eventually connect to the Stevenson line through the marriage of Ernest Stevenson and Sarah Marie Long.

These five farming families — Barber, Moss, Long, Jeffers, and Stevenson — were deeply intertwined through marriage and geography in Clay County, Indiana.

Ernest Lloyd Stevenson was the third of William and Annie's children. He married Sarah Marie Long, connecting the Stevenson family with the Long farming family. Their son Robert would be among the first to leave the family farm.

Robert came from the Stevenson/Moss paternal line — generations of English coal miners, Indiana pioneers, and Clay County farmers. Ada Mae descended from the Cheever/Hammond maternal line — Puritan educators, New England ministers, and frontier settlers.

Robert was one of several who left the family farm, marking the "untethering from the land" that Bruce documents in this paper.

Bruce Stevenson is the author of this family history, connecting 400 years of ancestors from England to Indiana. His work is animated by a conviction that "a proper understanding of our family history may serve as a warning, a prescription, an encouragement, or a map forward; but it always serves as a blessing from God."

The stories of our ancestors may inform and unite us as families, and encourage us to honor God in our efforts to live according to our callings.

This paper closes with a challenge: look for personal applications as you consider the questions emanating from the diverse personal and family experiences of our ancestors.

A comprehensive list of ancestors featured in this family history, organized by family line.

Documentation of the direct ancestral line connecting our family to Mayflower passengers Francis Cooke and Richard Warren through the Hammond family.

DNA ethnicity estimates and genetic match information that corroborates the genealogical research presented in this report.

The complete collection of eighteen letters written by Abner Hersey Cheever to his sister Thankful between 1816 and 1837, documenting his journey from New England to the Indiana frontier.

Reproductions and transcriptions of primary source documents referenced throughout this family history, including census records, military records, land deeds, and church records.