As we have seen, the family legend states that Thomas Van Stain, whose family were merchants who owned and traded a number of vessels around the ports of Europe, travelled to England in the Betsey Caynes, changed his name to “Stone”, settled down and fathered twenty-one children after being married three times. One of his sons, James is said to have married his cousin Lucy Caynes (or Cairns) the daughter of Sir John and Lady Grace Caynes.
As far as I have been able to ascertain there is no evidence to substantiate most of these assertions.
Our knowledge of the Stone family does start with a Thomas Stone and his son James as you see elsewhere in the website.
Thomas Stone was not born in Holland but in Bitton Gloucestershire in 1679 and married Mary Hiyet on the 28th May 1699 at St Mary’s Bitton.
Their youngest son James was born in 1724 and was married twice. First to Anna Cennick (the sister of John Cennick an early Moravian evangelist) and their thirteen children include the ancestors of the Stone family. After Anna’s death in 1767 he married Lucy Caines in 1769 and they had two daughters. In case you are wondering Lucy’s father was called Isaac.
One of James and Anna’s sons, Thomas who was born in 1753 married another Lucy Cains on the 25th December 1790 at St James’, Bristol and her parents were Robert and Sarah Cains. It is their eldest son Thomas who married Ann Withers on the 13 July 1817 at St John’s, Bedminster before coming to Hobart in October 1819.
As far as I know the families of the two Lucys are not related, nor is their any connection with Sir John and Lady Grace Caynes.
In the Introduction to “Early Pioneers of Tasmania” by Margaret and Richard Stone it was unfortunate that James’ son Thomas and grandson Thomas and their respective wives have been confused, resulting in the omission of a complete generation.
