The surname Sturdevant is an English nickname for messenger. It is derived from the Middle English verb "Sterten" which means 'start', and the Anglo-French adverb, "Avant" which means 'forward'. So the literal translation is 'start forward', which became the nickname for a messenger. This information was provided by Lynne Tann-watson of Leicestershire, England.
There are at least 4 different major spellings of the name in the United States today: Sturdevant, Sturdivant, Sturtevant, and Sturtivant. The various spellings are likely due to the lack of education in those early times. It may also be due to the proliferation of the same first names, as a means to distinguish the individuals. A problem prevalent to our line of Sturdevants as we will see. Robert Sturtevant in a book called "Descendants of Samuel Sturtevant" notes that "...we find enlistments in the Revolutionary War (1775-1783) under sixty nine various forms of spelling of the name. " This is just for the soldiers from the state of Massachusetts. But no matter the spelling, it is believed that they are all related in some way.
Arrival in America
The first Stur__vants in America came over from England during the early period of colonization. The first documented arrival is that of Roger Sturdevant, age 21, who arrived in Virginia in 1634 and is listed as a passenger on the ship Bonaventure. We are still tracking Roger down. At that time, Virginia was used to denote many places in the New World.
There is also Samuel Sturtevant who showed up in Massachusetts about 1640. Samuel was born sometime between 1618 and 1624 in Kent, England. He married Anne Lee, born 1625, in Plymouth. They had a daughter Anne, who was born in 1648. Samuel died in October of 1669, and his wife died in 1697. Thanks to Jeanette Sturtevant Newton, a descendant of Samuel's, for this information.
We do not know whether the pursuit of religious freedom is the reason Roger and Samuel came over, just as we do not know whether the two are directly related. Stories about the relation between Roger, Samuel, and William abound on the internet; my favorite is that they were brothers, kidnapped from London, and sold for the cost of their passage to the New World. We just do not know the relation between them. We can only surmise that surely they are linked in some manner. How they are linked and how they got here, is the story of the Stur__vants, and hopefully, someday that wonderful tale will be told.
William is the first Sturdevant documented in our line. He showed up in Norwalk, Fairfield County, Connecticut in 1675, where he is listed as marrying a woman named Mary in that year. Norwalk is on the coast of Connecticut, along Long Island Sound, and only 40 mile NE of New York City. It was founded in 1640 and incorporated in 1651.
We do not know where he came from, who his parents were, what he did, or even the last name of his wife. He is believed to have been born in 1650 or 1654 in England, but no documentation of this has been found, and I do not as yet know where this information came from.
William is believed to have died 1/1/1715 in Norwalk or Norfolk. We have seen a "remembrance" of his will, as witnessed on Christmas Day, 1714, and signed by Stephen Buckingham and Andrew Messinger on July 30, 1715. Short and to the point, it designates that his wife was to have her "thirds", John and Jonathon already have what he desired them to have, Sarah and Elizabeth should get 20 pounds apiece, and youngest son Joseph whatever is left. Moreover, Sarah's husband Arnold was not to have any of her share. There also exists a list of possessions in his estate.
William and Mary had 5 children:
- John I b. 7/20/1676
- Sarah b. 4/9/1678
- Elizabeth b. unknown
- Joseph b. 1683
- Jonathon b. 1684
The first John Sturdevant was born to William and Mary Sturdevant in Norwalk 7/20/1676. John is believed to have lived in Ridgefield CT, and died there on July 27, 1718. As with William, the identity of John's wife is somewhat of a mystery. We do know that he married Mary Ferris or Mary Ferris Jackson in 1709 in Fairfield, Fairfield County, Connecticut. I include the two names because I have found her listed both ways. It is believed that Mary was the widow of a man named Jackson, before marrying John. However, Mary Ferris and Mary Jackson may be two separate individuals.
Mary b.1676 was the daughter of Zachariah Ferris and Sarah Read. Zachariah most likely came to Connecticut from Charlestown, Massachusetts as part of King Phillips war against the Indians. He fought in the Narragansett War of 1676, and was killed in taking of Port Royal from the French in 1710. I include these links to illustrate the turbulent times of this period in Connecticut history.
John Sturdevant and Mary Ferris (Jackson) had 4 children:
- John Sturdevant II b. 2/16/1710
- Elizabeth b. 2/15/1713
- Samuel b. 2/15/1715
- Bulah b. unknown
This John Sturdevant was born in 1710 in Ridgefield, Fairfield County, CT, and the date and place of his death is unknown. John married a Keziah Abbott. Keziah was born in Norwalk 4/17/1711, and was a descendant of one of the first settlers of Norwalk, George Abbott. John and Keziah had 11 children:
- John Sturdevant III b.1732
- James
- Sarah
- Jane
- Noah
- Joel
- Caleb
- Samuel
- Nathan
- Timothy
- Elizabeth
The above information was provided by Elaine Sturdevant, a descendant of Nathan's.
This John, (by the way I only use the numbers to distinguish the John's, I do not know if they were named John Sturdevant the First, Second, or Third) was born in 1732 in Ridgefield, Fairfield County, CT. He was married 7/5/1758 to Mary Sanford, and died 7/16/1816 in Shaftsbury, VT.
Mary Sanford, b. 5/19/1734, in NewTown, Fairfield County, CT was the daughter of Jonathon and Hannah Platt Sanford. Mary died 8/22/1809. They apparently lived in Brookfield or Danbury, CT., before moving to Shaftsbury. Both John and Mary are buried in Shaftsbury. John bought 57 acres of land along the Shepaug River, known as Shepaug Neck, in New Milford, CT for his son John Jr., in 1765.
We believe John and Mary had 3 children for sure:
- Samuel
- Stephen
- John Jr. b. 3/28/1762