BIBBINS/BEVAN HERITAGE

It is clear that the Bibbins family name dates back to Arthur (1686-1788)
who adopted this spelling sometime around the birth of his eldest child in 1710.  His
name originally was Bevin or Bevan.

His father, also Arthur, lived in West Tisbury, Martha's Vineyard MA from at
least 1677 (when he was arrested for a breach of the peace) until July 1694 when he
moved to Glastonbury CT where he died on December 15, 1697.

William Weaver in his History of Ancient Windham said "Family tradition has
it that four brothers who wrote their names Bevens or Bevins came to this country landing
first at Martha's Vineyard from whence they went to Glastonbury".

James Savage in his Genealogical Dictionary of New England lists 3 Bevans or
Bevens without clarifying whether they were related:
    1.  Arthur,Glastonbury, d 12/15/1697 leaving widow Mary and 12 children.
		[We have a copy of his will that supports this.]
    2.  Benjamin, Farmington CT, had Benjamin and John there baptized 12/1/1689.
    3.  Roland, Boston, before 1660 sold his estate to Daniel Stone.

Holmes in the Directory of Ancestral Heads of New England Families repeats what
Savage said but lists the 3 men in a way to imply they were brothers.  He
goes on to say that Bevans or Bevens is "From Welsh a contraction of Ap Evans or Ivan the
son of John from Ap-Son and Ivan-John."

Charles Banks in his History of Martha's Vineyard  expands a bit.  He also
cites the 1677 court records involving Arthur, and then states that he was married when he
first arrived.  (It should be noted that Arthur"s oldest son, John, was born in 1676.)
Banks continues: 
	"The name is undoubtedly a Welsh petronymic derived from Evan with the
	prefix 'Ap' meaning 'son of' producing the name Ap-Evan which became Bevan."   
	"An Arthur Bevan lived in the parish of Yate, County Gloucester, England, and 
	4 miles from that parish in Herton there lived a Luce family for many generations.  
	It is significant that Arthur Bevan came to West Tisbury in 1677 as neighbor to 
	Henry Luce."

Banks in his Topographical Dictionary of 2885 English Emigrants to New England 1620-1650 lists Arthur Bevan of Yate to Glastonbury CT, Tisbury MA.  The ship or date of arrival was not mentioned, but this Arthur apparently arrived by 1650.

Calvin Sherman, whose mother was a Bibbens (which was a spelling change for this branch), in his write-up on the descendants of Rev. Samuel Bibbens of Weedsport NY states "The first of this family name [Beven] came to America between 1650-1670 when three brothers came from Wales to New England.  All of them are said to be strong, rugged men over six feet tall.  They apparently spelled the name Beven......our ancestor was Arthur who was born in Wales about 1645-1650."  He does not cite his sources.

Since Savage introduced Ro(w)land's name as a potential relative of Arthur, we found the following: 
    1.  Peter Coldham in English Adventurers and Emigrants 1609-1660 abstracted from
        the High Court of Admiralty cites a case of 3 Feb 1650/51 concerning the
        Diligence of Boston in which Roland Bevan of Boston, mariner age 26, (thus born
        about 1624/25), had been in the company of the ship Diligence when it was
        captured off Cape Cod in 1645 by a French man-of-war, and the company was set
        ashore on an uninhabited island.
    2.  The New England Historical and Genealogical Register (vol II p.108) notes
        "February 26,1667 - Licky Austin, widow,binds son Thomas to Capt. R. Bevans
        for seven years in New England commencing with the arrival of the Desire at
        Boston" and later Capt. Roland Bevans transferred Thomas Austin to Job Lane 5
        June 1667.
    3.  "Captain" Rowland Bevans in 1669 received a grant of 400 acres on the
        Pokomoke River in Somerset/Worcester Co. MD from Lord Baltimore which he
        named "Warwick".  He married in 1670 and again in 1672, had several children
        and died in 1709.  Descendants of Rowland of MD say he was the Boston ship
        captain.

If Banks was right then Arthur was likely born before 1630, could have been
Roland's brother and had 12 children starting in his mid 40's (possible but uncommon
then).  If Sherman was right on Arthur's birth (which is more likely based on the birth
years of his children), then Arthur was 20-25 years younger than Roland.  I speculate
that Roland was the father of Arthur (and possibly of Benjamin), that they were born around
1650, that Roland lost his wife and that once the boys became old enough to support
themselves he got the grant from Lord Baltimore and started a new life and a new family to
support it. 
This does not preclude the possibility that Roland also had brothers named Arthur and
Benjamin who immigrated with him.  Roland's will made no mention of Arthur, but Arthur
pre-deceased him by 12 years.

                                                        C. H. Bibbins - May 1997