Thomas Stephens, Gent., 2nd son of Anthony and Kathrine, was born in 1585 in London. He was a haberdasher. He married Mary, daughter of Peter Walle of Spargrave, Cheshire in Northwest England.

"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.
Published 1968

A) Thomas2 Stephens, b. ca. 1585, of London, England, haberdasher -m- Mary Walle, dau. of Peter Walle of Spargrave, Cheshire, Eng. He had a nice coat of arms, illustrated herein, and was of the gentleman class. The two crescents on the arms indicates he was a second son. There was another Thomas "Stevens" in the Tower Ward of London but he had no child named Nicholas and the other children were different, and I know of no other Nicholas in London at that time. All records indicate that
10) Henry and 12) Thomas were sons of 1) Nicholas. A large black and white print about 9 inches by 14 can be obtained as a photostat from the Library of Congress. This gives the arms ;and pedigree. The Tower Ward. Stevens is spelled Steuens as the "v" at that time was interchangeable with the "u". Since no other Thomas is given it would seem there was no other Stephens-Stevens of that name in London at that time. A Thomas in London subscribed 20 pounds to the Virginia Company and his name appears at a meeting there in 1622. (Colonial Documents. State Paper Office, London.) This was likely our Thomas. It has been ;suggested by some that 15) Cyprian was the son of Thomas the armourer to the king but a
certified copy of the oath of Nicholas Sherman as Chief Armourer to the King shows he succeeded Thomas Stevens, the Armourer in 1629, so obviously this Thomas could not have been the father of 15) Cyprian and his brother Thomas, b. 1644. Some have referred to A) Thomas as Col. Thomas. I have nothing to either prove or disprove it. The children listed in said Visitations of London in 1623 were:
*1. 1) Nicholas3 Stephens (or Stevens), b. ca. 1620 -m- Elizabeth Starkey - eldest son.
*2. 2) Thomas, Jr. b. ca. 1622 -m- but wife unknown.
3. 3) Anthony3 b. ca. 1624, prob. in Lancaster County, Va., by 1656.
4. 4) Mary, not traced.
5. 5) Rebecca N.T.

SOME COGNATE FAMILIES
Of the descendants of A) Thomas2 Stephens, b. ca. 1590, "the haberdasher" of London, England. Since they furnish us with about half our genes, we should pay tribute to our maternal ancestors as well as the males. The life of these early day women was, for the most part, a continual process of child bearing as well as heavy work, or as Veraldine (Benton) said in a recent letter to this writer, the work they did and "the distances they traveled without good roads and modern equipment would kill their present descendants. They had to be tough to just live. That they prospered and increased means they were smart as well as tough."

Colonel Thomas Stevens (1) of Devonshire, England, was the father of the three emigrants from whom a large part of the Stevens families of Massachusetts are descended. He was the progenitor of Charles F. Stevens, and George A. Stevens, of Worcester. He was the armorer of Buttulph Lane, London, who was contracted with the Massachusetts Bay colony and government in March, 1629, for a supply of arms. He was a member himself of the Massachusetts Bay Company, gave fifty pounds to the common stock and sent three sons, Thomas, Cyprian and Richard, and one daughter to New England. Mary Stevens married Captain Whipple, of Ipswich. Thomas and Cyprian came in 1660 with Captain Green. Cyprian went to Chelsea and later to Lancaster. Richard was the father of Samuel Stevens of Marlboro. Colonel Stevens had another son, William, who remained in London. Colonel Stevens was one of the signers of the instructions to Captain Endicott before coming to New England. Richard Stevens, one of the sons settled in Concord, MA, and died there in 1683. His wife and daughter returned to England to live. Thomas Stevens came first at the age of twelve in the ship "Abigail" from London in 1635.
PRENAME SURNAME AGE PASSAGE ROLL #
Alice Steevens 22 Abigail, 1635 161
Henry Steevens 24 Defence, 1635 30
Thomas Steevens 12 Abigail, 1635 7 (left in mid-July)
Robert Stevens 22 Planter, 1635 7
----William Lackey Stephens; http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/s/t/e/William-Lackey--Stephens/index.html