Stephen West

Stephen West (say 1723 – after 1778) was my 6th-great-grandfather and a Canadian politician who served in the Nova Scotia General Assembly in the 1760s. He was born in Tisbury, Massachusetts, the son of Abner West (1683-06-09 – 1756) and Jane Look (1680-12-14 – 1765-03-13), and moved to Rochester, MA, and then to Cornwallis, Nova Scotia in or soon after 1760. He served in the French and Indian War. In some records, he is called Captain Stephen West.⁠^{⟮1⟯FamilySearch}⁠^{⟮2⟯FamilySearch} Despite his prominence, details of his life are limited.⁠^{⟮3⟯A Survey of the Descendants of Francis West of Duxbury (excerpt) by Carlton Prince West}

His granddaughter Sarah Pineo was the wife of Henry Gesner.

Early records

Stephen is not listed among his parents’ children born in Tisbury⁠^{⟮4⟯FamilySearch}, but he is mentioned in his father’s will⁠^{⟮5⟯Find a Grave memorial for Abner West}. His name is found on several land deeds, which help trace his movements:

1744-08-21 Stephen West of Homses Hole, Tisbury, MA is gifted land by his father Abner West of the same place.⁠^{⟮6⟯FamilySearch}
1744-11-20 and 1744-11-23 Stephen West and his brother Peter West both of Homses Hole are gifted land by their father Abner West of the same place.⁠^{⟮7⟯FamilySearch}⁠^{⟮8⟯FamilySearch}
1744-12-14 Stephen and his four brothers all of Homses Hole except Silas West who is of Plymouth are gifted land by their father Abner West.⁠^{⟮9⟯FamilySearch}
1749-12-19 Stephen West and his brother Peter West both of Homses Hole, Tisbury, MA agree on the division of their land gift from their father Abner West.⁠^{⟮10⟯FamilySearch}
1751-12-13 Stephen West of Holmes Hole buys land in Rochester from John Terry.⁠^{⟮11⟯FamilySearch}
1752-01-01 Stephen West of Homes Hole sells land in Rochester to William West (probably his cousin).⁠^{⟮12⟯FamilySearch} His wife Margery consents, yielding her “right of dowry and power of thirds”.
1752-02-04 Stephen West of Homes Hole sells land to his brother Peter West.⁠^{⟮13⟯FamilySearch} Margery West is a signer. Stephen’s father Abner West and grandfather Thomas West are named.
1752-07-10 Stephen West of Homes Hole sells land in Tisbury to Isaac Cottle, with Margery his wife signing and appearing.⁠^{⟮14⟯FamilySearch} There is a reference to holding it “in inheritance”.
1754-12-14 Stephen West of Rochester sells land to Ebenezer Holmes.⁠^{⟮15⟯FamilySearch}
1760-03-13 Stephen West of Rochester sells land on which he lives in Rochester to Elijah Briggs.⁠^{⟮16⟯FamilySearch} Margery consents, again as her right of dowry and thirds.

Homes/Holmes/Homses Hole is a part of Tisbury in Martha’s Vineyard now called Vineyard Haven.

Family

His wife was named Margery (say 1730 – 1771-01-08).⁠^{⟮2⟯FamilySearch} Some claim her maiden name was Gibb or Gibbs. I can find no credible source for this, but it would neatly explain the unusual forename name of his grandson Gibbs Pineo. There was a Gibbs family in Rochester around this time, but none of them are known to have been named Margery.

These were their children; early dates are estimates, with birth order not certain:

Rebecca West (c.1750 – ⊥ 1803-05-23)⁠^{⟮17⟯FamilySearch}, married David Pineo in Cornwallis on 1767-11-12.⁠^{⟮1⟯FamilySearch} They were my 5th-great-grandparents as the parents of Sarah, wife of Henry Gesner. See James Pineo for David’s origin and their 10 children.
Abner West (* say 1753), married Anne Farrell in Cornwallis on 1784-11-10.⁠^{⟮18⟯FamilySearch}
Elijah West (* say 1756), married Esther Loomer in Cornwallis on 1777-12-11.⁠^{⟮19⟯FamilySearch}
Stephen West (* say 1760), married Eleanor(?) Godfrey in Cornwallis on 1794-09-01.⁠^{⟮20⟯FamilySearch} His wife’s forename is not stated on the record but is claimed to be Eleanor. His birth is often given as 1769, but I am supposing this is estimated from his marriage. I provide here an earlier estimate which better fits in this family.
Mary West (* 1764-02; day of month is blank)⁠^{⟮21⟯FamilySearch}, married Ezekiel Sibley.
Jane/Jean West (* 1766-12-25)⁠^{⟮21⟯FamilySearch}, fate unknown.

An alleged gap in the births of Stephen’s children has led to the suggestion that he had two wives.⁠^⟮22⟯ However, this is based on estimated birth dates, which I cannot find a justification for; I have different estimates and conjectured birth order, which reduces these gaps, and anyway there may be unrecorded children who died young. The marriage records of both Rebecca⁠^{⟮1⟯FamilySearch} and Elijah⁠^{⟮19⟯FamilySearch}, apparently the oldest children, both state that their mother was Margery.

DNA

Stephen’s mitochondrial haplogroup has been identified as J2b1a from a test on a living first cousin, nine times removed.⁠^⟮23⟯ This line goes back to Elizabeth (Godfrey) Bunker, whose origins are unknown, although there are two promising baptisms who may be her. However, some have raised doubts about Elizabeth being the mother of the Bunker children, proposing instead Jane Godfrey.⁠^⟮24⟯

Death

Several sources say Stephen died on 1771-01-08, but this is Margery’s death date, and she is called a “wife” rather than a widow.⁠^{⟮2⟯FamilySearch} They could have died on the same day, but there is no record of this. Carlton West⁠^{⟮3⟯A Survey of the Descendants of Francis West of Duxbury (excerpt) by Carlton Prince West} cites a source that Stephen signed a church covenant on 1778-07-15, so if this is correct, he was alive then.

Ancestry

His ancestry is not known beyond the great-grandparents, although there are theories. Particularly, George Bunker’s parents are likely Timothy Bunker and Elizabeth Hawkins.⁠^⟮25⟯ Also, note the uncertainty mentioned about Elizabeth Godfrey. More work is needed here.

Stephen West

Abner West

Thomas West

Francis West

Margery Reeves

Elizabeth

Jane Look

Thomas Look

Sarah Mary Miller

Elizabeth Bunker

George Bunker

Elizabeth Godfrey

See

Wikipedia article on Stephen, but as of 2025-12-21, it has little info and gets his mother’s maiden name wrong, using her first marriage name (Cottle) instead.

Stephen West

Early records

Family

DNA

Death

Ancestry

See

Footnotes

Galen’s family resources wiki