!BURIAL: Record of Sidney Cemetery

BIOGRAPHY: Sandy Rosequist <Sandra_Rosequist@atk.com> writes: "All I have prior to John Nobel Stephens is an unsubstantiated family history. I have John Nobel Stephens, who was the son of George and Wealtha Stephens. According t o my records her (Wealtha's) maiden name was Buck. They (George and Wealtha) were supposed to have been born in Shaftsbury, England and arrive d in the U.S. prior to 1800. Also, I have John's birthdate as March 18, 1801 in Shaftsbury , VT. John was also supposed to have been married before he married Almira Story. He was sa id to have been married to Wealtha Palmer who died in 1831. The marriage of John and Wealth a supposedly produced three children: Martin Luther Stephens Mary Stephens and Lucy Stephens (maybe this Lucy died so he used the name again in the next batch of kids ) Like I said, all this is unsubstantiated. The first real evidence I've had of some of t his information was John Nobel Stephens land purchase in Indiana."

CENSUS: 1850 census of Chester, Wabash, Indiana shows: John N. STEPHENS 49/VT and children: M ixon STORY(19/NY/stepson), Lorenzo (17/NY/stepson), Jacob 12/IN, Margaret 10/IN, Martha 7/IN , Lucy 2/IN.

CENSUS: also: Enumerated September 10, 1850 Chester Township, Wabash County, Indiana Page 378

Caleb Stephens Age - 54 Farmer Value - 1,400 Born - New York Melinda Stephens Age - 50 Born - New Hampshire Lydia (could be an R.) Stephens Age - 16 Born - Ohio William W. Stephens Age - 14 Born - Ohio Harriet Stephens Age - 11 Born - Ohio Margaret Stephens Age - 9 Born - Ohio Martha Stephens Age - unable to guess, but listed last. Looks like "Big /, little "--a fade d seven? Born - Ohio

*************************

CENSUS: Enumerated September 10, 1850 Chester Township Wabash County, Indiana Page 378 Too coincidental to pass up Three doors away from Caleb

Cynthian Stephens (f) Age - 27 Born - Ohio Living in the household of John and Delany Dunbar

CENSUS: 1870 census shows Joseph F. Stephens as James Stephens. He is living next door to hi s brother's family. This census shows the right age and place of birth to be Joseph. It als o shows Mary C. as his wife and his first two living children as Mary A. and Martha which ar e correct for Joseph F. Stephens.

CENSUS: 1870: James Stephens (really Joseph F. Stephens), 33, IN, Mary C., 31, PA, Mary A., 1 3, IA, Martha 11, IA, John L., 9k, IA, Lilly, 7, IA, Rosa, 5, IA, George W., 3, IA, Joseph 6/ 12, IA. also living with this family is John M. Thorn age 29 from New York and listed as Farmer.

!BURIAL: Record of Sidney Cemetery, Fremont, Sidney, Iowa

BIOGRAPHY: Joseph was a Civil War Vet.

BIOGRAPHY: From: Sandy Rosequist <Sandra_Rosequist@atk.com> I am researching the same famil y as you are... Joseph Fairbanks Stephens was born 9-15-1836 in North Manchester, IN. I found where his fath er John Noble Stephens purchased land in Indiana from the Ft. Wayne Land office on 9-2-1835 . They all moved to Iowa in 1856 after the marriage of Joseph and Mary Catherine Keller wer e married on September 7, 1856 in North Manchester, IN. According to personal records of Mar y Catherine (my gr-gr-grandmother), John Nobel Stephens, Joseph Fairbanks Stephens, Mary Cath erine (Keller) Stephens, Lorenzo D. Story along with L.D. Story's wife and daughter went by covered wagon west. They arrived i n Sidney, Iowa on October 29, 1856. Joseph F. and Mary C.had eleven children: Mary Angeline Stephens (Palm) b. 6/17/1857 d. 4/18/1921 Margaret Genevre Stephens (Siddy) b . 11/6/1858 d. 12/26/1907 John Lincoln Stephens b. 3/6/1861 d. 8/15/1950 Lillian Ann Stephens (Piper) b. 12/26/1862 d. 9/24/1933 Emma Rosella Stephens (Larimore) b . 1/6/1865 d. 1/18/1945 George Washington Stephens b. 4/6/1867 d. 5/10/1914 Joseph Wesley St ephens b. 9/26/1869 d. 1/26/1913 Walter Charles Stephens b. 12/12/1871 d. 4/10/1965 Wilia m Sumner Stephens b. 4/1/1874 d. 5/1/1924 Infant Daughter b. 10/2/1876 d. 10/3/1876 Homer Sherman Stephens b. 11/8/1883 Walter Charles Stephens was my Gr-Grandfather. I have an account written by Mary Catheri ne of their early days in Iowa. I would be happy to share information with you. Look forward to hearing from you, Sandy Rosequist Sandra_Rosequist@atk.com

BIOGRAPHY: History of the Stephens Family Mary Catherine Keller Stephens was born at Big Spring, Cumberland County, PA on Octobe r 19, 1838 and died at St. Paul, MN on April 13, 1933. She was married to Joseph Fairbanks Stephens on September 7, 1856 at North Manchester, I N. Later in the same year they moved to Sidney, IA some time after purchasing a 160 acre far m about four miles southeast of Sidney where they reared their family. They lived on this fa rm until 1897 when they established their residence in Sidney. In 1918 they moved to St. Pau l, MN where Mr. Stephens died on December 5, 1928. Mr. and Mrs. Stephens lived together for more than seventy-two years. There were eleve n children, five of whom were living at the time of Mrs. Stephens' death in 1933: John, Walte r, Homer Lillie (Piper), and Rose (Larimore). The other children were Joe, George, Will, Sid dy, Mary (Palm) and a daughter who died in infancy. In 1933 there were twenty living grandch ildren and nineteen great grandchildren. The following information was found among Mrs. Stephens' papers, mostly in her own handw riting: the rest was given orally: "My father, John Keller, was of German descent and my mother Barbara Wagner, born in 181 9, was of Dutch descent. The Kellers had married into the family of Kanagas, of German decen t, both families of whom had large holdings in the Cumberland Valley of Pennsylvania, rich i n land and water power. A spring of clear, pure sparkling water, wasting thousands of gallon s every day, was only a stone's throw from the house in which I was born. Sensing that thi s water could be harnessed for utility purposes, my father and grandfather made a dam about 2 00 feet from the spring's source, erected a flour mill, a saw mill, and one of plaster for gr inding limestone, the lime being used for fertilizer. The saw mill was used chiefly for maki ng barrels for the flour which was sent to Baltimore for further distribution. Grandfather d id not stop with this; he built a church high up over the spring with steps leading up to it . Under the spring he built a milk house, constructed so that the cold water could flow unde r the crocks of milk. At the side was built a room where the running water could be dipped u p for house use. He then built tenement houses for renters. When General Lee was marching his troops on toward Gettysburg in 1863, he camped part o f them on the enclosed clover fields of the farm on which my father was still living. The tr oops used to bring canteens to get water from this spring, known throughout the state for it s pure water. They confiscated the flour from the mill and made my mother bake it into brea d and biscuits. Then they helped themselves to the butter, milk and cream and were entirel y unconcerned as to whether there was anything left for the family's Sunday dinner. When th e soldiers moved on, all the horses on the place went with them, and without purchase. Now to give a few highlights in our early married life. Before marriage both Mr. Stephe ns and I taught school, he received $15 a month and I received $1.50 for each student for th e term. As was the custom, we boarded around from one place to another. It was mostly teach ing the three R's in those days, but you know, many of our smartest men and women came from t he little log school houses. I lived near the home of baby Thomas Marshall, later to become Vice-President of the Uni ted States under Woodrow Wilson. Little did I think, while caring for him as a baby , that h e was destined to become one of the Nation's best-known men. In after years I received a let ter from Mr. Marshall, together with his picture, on the margin of the picture being written, "This is t o Mrs. Stephens, the only living person who knew me as a baby." After marriage, on September 7, 1856 in North Manchester, Indiana, we started by covere d wagon with six horses for a trek to the west - - we knew not where. Our company consiste d of six, Mr. Stephens' father, John Nobel Stephens, Mr. L.D. Story (his half brother), wif e and daughter, Mr. Stephens and myself. It was a perilous journey with winter setting in, w ith rough, muddy roads - - sometimes no roads at all - - and with often dangerous swollen str eams to ford, there being practically no bridges. There were some ferries, including the Mis sissippi. We arrived in Sidney on the eve of October 29. As the weather was getting severe, we de cided to stop for the winter provided we could get shelter for man and beast. Mr. Wm. Spratl in, who had recently purchased a farm some three miles south, offered us what accommodation s he had, so we decided to stay for the winter. The house, with no floor boards save mothe r earth, was very cold, being weatherboarded outside, and inside lined with boards, with joi sts overhead. There were many peek-a-boos in the roof. My new rag carpet was laid over th e joists instead of under our feet. Cook stoves for cooking and heating, with green wood fo r fuel, was the best we could do. We were without milk, butter and cream during the entire w inter. The following year we traded our two watches for a cow and a hog and thereafter wer e never without milk, cream, butter and meat. The winter was decidedly cold. On December first it rained, on the second it froze an d sleeted, from the third on to the thirteenth it snowed, winding up with an awful blizzar d that meant the loss of many lives. In the spring we moved to the 90 acre farm known as th e Old Chestnut Place where Center School is located and where our first four children were bo rn. When returning from church one Sunday, we found our home burned to the ground - - nothin g but ashes remained, so all we had left were the clothes on our backs. Relatives and friend s began trekking westward from Indiana and other points, buying farms and engaging in buildin g operations. Some of the hardships endured during the next few years of pioneer life coul d scarcely be described. In the spring on 1864 we purchased from Mr. Thomas Thompson of Riverton, and later of Sh enandoah, the 160 acre farm between Sidney and Riverton, where the last seven children were b orn and where all were reared, save one, to manhood and womanhood. First, it was a one roo m log house where we lived for ten years, several of the children coming during this time. C omplements to the house were a stable, a well and a cave. Naturally enough there came durin g this period the log school house, used not only for regular school purposes, but for religi ous services, singing schools, literary societies, spelling bees, etc. People came for mile s to our entertainments, both from the rural communities and from the nearby towns. In 187 4 came the frame school house, the pride of the community. It likewise was used for many pu rposes. I remember that on one cold bitter Sunday in the winter, forty people were taken t o the Nishna River by the Baptist minister for baptism - - the ice being first cut out. Thes e meetings were very beneficial to our community, to old as well as young, so we were glad t o be able to raise our children under a wholesome, Christian environment. In 1874 we built an eight room frame house and had the pleasure of what was then a stric tly modern home, for a period of eight months, only to have it entirely swept away by the tor nado of June 17, 1875. Parts of this home were found more than ten miles away. All that wa s left could be carted away in a wheelbarrow. This catastrophe was only one of the year's in cidents. The hail and the grasshoppers did the rest, and did a clean job of it. Still we we re happy and praised God because our lives were spared. It may be interesting to know that in May, 1864, during the Civil War, I took my four ch ildren (Mary John, Siddy, and Lillie) for a trip back to the old family home in Pennsylvania . To make this journey it was necessary for me to go by wagon to Savannah, Missouri, the nea rest railroad station. While there I visited relatives and friend at Harrisburg and Pittsbur gh, and incidentally saw the city of Chambersburg burn to the ground, having been fired by th e Confederates. I have had the privilege of living through twenty-three presidential administration s - - from that of Martin Van Buren to what is now the termination of Herbert Hoover's Admini stration. During these years I have, through magazines and newspapers, kept in as close touc h as possible with both national and world affairs, thanks to my good eyesight and through in teresting, informed friends. Through correspondence I have also kept in touch with hundred s of relatives and friends from coast to coast, as in this span of years it just seems that e very state in the Union is dotted with many whom I know. I must confess that I am getting just a little old, as was evidenced by the fact that o n December 22, 1932 when rising from my chair, after having finished writing a long reminisci ng letter to a relative in Pennsylvania, I accidentally fell to the floor, breaking my leg ju st below the hip. I am now in the Midway Hospital, to a hospital the first time in my life a s a patient, where I am having the finest care. Thanks to my daughter, Mrs. Rose Larimore, my correspondence is still being carried on . She has been my aid and inspiration in contact ways for a number of years, and during th e last three weeks has written hundreds of letters for me. At this time I send my love and greeting to all with whom I have had the great privileg e of associating, including a close friendship with many whom I have known for a number of de cades. I am the eldest of a family of thirteen sisters and brothers, and the lone survivor . I am also the only living one of all the relatives and friends who came from the East to l ocate in southwest Iowa. If this shock should prove too great for me, I want you all to know that I am ready to b e taken into the arms of the Great Father, to whom thousands of relatives and friends have go ne before. I have tried to keep the Faith through all these years and to do what little I could fo r the betterment of those about me. May God continue to bless, cheer and comfort everyone. Mrs. Mary Catherine Keller Stephens January, 1933

!BURIAL: Record of Sidney Cemetery, Fremont, Sidney, Iowa

From: Dorman <rsdorman@dnai.com> 2. LUCY A.2 STEPHENS (JOHN N.1) was born 1848 in Chester,Wabash, Indiana, and died 1922 in Si dney, Fremont County, Iowa. She married EDWARD J. RICHARDS October 01, 1865 in Iowa, son of M ILTON RICHARDS and JANE JACKSON. He was born May 22, 1845 in Shelby County, Ohio, and died 1 913 in Sidney, Fremont County, Iowa. Notes for LUCY A. STEPHENS: Frances M. Richards, a daug hter of Milton, married Jacob. H. Stephens. and Mary Richards, daughter of Milton, married Lo renzo d. Story. Yes, Lucy A. Stephens is the sister of of Jacob and step sister of Lorenzo . Step sister: She was stepsister of Lorenzo Story, daughter of John N. Stephens Child of LUCY STEPHENS and EDWARD RICHARDS is:

3. i. EDWIN GRANT3 RICHARDS, b. 1867, Sidney, Fremont County, Iowa; d. 1932, Sidney, Fremon t County, Iowa.

Generation 3 3. EDWIN GRANT3 RICHARDS (LUCY A.2 STEPHENS, JOHN N.1) was born 1867 in Sidney, Fremont Count y, Iowa, and died 1932 in Sidney, Fremont County, Iowa. He married MAUDE GWYNETH VAUGHAN, da ughter of ARA VAUGHAN and ROSINA BAKER. She was born November 01, 1875 in Iowa, and died Abt . 1947 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Notes for EDWIN GRANT RICHARDS: Edwin was a schoolteacher an d a farmer. From what I was told by Eula, the oldest daughter of Lovey and David, (my sister) . They lived in Sidney, then Tabor, Iowa. Notes for MAUDE GWYNETH VAUGHAN: Gwynneth Maude Vaughan Richards. Everyone call ed her Maude G. I am still researching her family. Have not found much about her brothers an d sisters other than names. She was born in 1875 then she was about 28 ?- when Louella and A lma Maude were born, and when LOVEY IRENE was born, she would have been 37 years old, when Lo well, (moms' baby brother) was born she would have been 46 and Edwin would have been 54. Mo m did tell me her parents were "kind of old"when she was a teen. Also, there is a double sto ne in the Sidney, Iowa Cemetary. But no date of death for her. At the time of her death she w as living with her daughter Lovey and David, and their 12 children on 16th Avenue in Counci l Bluffs, Iowa. She had been 'not well' for the 2-3 years prior to her death. According to Eula, she s pent most of her time in her bed the last year. I imagine that my parents had their hands fu ll after the funeral, and they certainly had no money. I am still trying to find info on Gwy ennth Maudes family, her brothers and sisters: Kosseth(Kossith?), born about 1854, Rosina Elsie Vaughan, born about 1859. Florence G. Vaughan, born about 1865, (He married?) and Kantippi R. Vaughan born abt. Jan. 15 th ,1869 I was told that Gwynneth Maude, (Loveys mother), went to California to visit her brother Koss , about 2 years after Edwins' death, (abt. 1935 or 1936) SHE TOOK A BUS TO CALIFORNIA! and st ayed 4 months.

Children of EDWIN RICHARDS and MAUDE VAUGHAN are: i. LOVEY IRENE4 RICHARDS, b. February 02, 1912, Sidney, Fremont County, Iowa; d. December 30 , 1988, Council Bluffs, Iowa; m. DAVID ANDREW SHOEMAKE, Abt. 1927; b. May 17, 1907, Atchiso n Co. Missouri; d. August 15, 1981, Council Bluffs, Iowa.

ii. LOWELL RICHARDS, b. 1921, Sidney, Fremont County, Iowa; d. 1922, Sidney, Fremont County , Iowa.

iii. LOUELLA RICHARDS, b. Abt. 1899; d. Abt. 1909.

iv. ALMA MAUDE RICHARDS, b. Abt. 1902; d. Abt. 1909, Sidney, Fremont County, Iowa. Notes fo r ALMA MAUDE RICHARDS: She died of scarlet fever on the same day as her twin sister Louella..

!SOURCE: House of Grimmet "A Family Genealogy" by William L. Ordway

!MARRIAGE: marriage record of Marion, IN.

NAME: aka Elmira

SOURCE: Tombstone records of Bethany Cemetery in Garfield, Smith, Kansas

!SOURCE: Fremont County, Iowa Cemetery Records

!BURIAL: Record of Sidney Cemetery

BIOGRAPHY: In the census her name was given as Martha G. but in the information sent by Sand y Rosequist <Sandra_Rosequist@atk.com> her name is given as Margaret Genevre.

!SOURCE: William L. (Bill) Denney, 314 NW 108th Street, Vancouver, WA, 98685.

!DEATH: died at age 7 years

CENSUS: 1870 Census. Living with David Story were his wife, Ameilia and their four sons, Tho mas C., Charles F., Oliver M. and William. Also living with them were these dependents: Mar y Williams b. 1857 in Missouri, Jacob Williams b. 1866 in Missouri, and John E. Williams b. 1 870 (age 2 months) in Nebraska

Researchers: CONTACT_NAME: Stanley Thornton FYQA79A@Prodigy.com

!MARRIAGE: Marriage records of Fremont County, Iowa

!Source: Fremont County, Iowa, Cemetery Records

!MARRIAGE: Marriage records of Fremont County, Iowa

MARRIAGE: Marriage records of Fremont County, Iowa

!MARRIAGE: Marriage record of Greene, Ohio.

!MARRIAGE: Marriage record of Greene, Ohio.

Marriage record of Piatt, Illinois.

!SOURCE: Early Settlers of Sangamon County, IL.

!DEATH: Cemetery record in Salem, Henry, Iowa.

CENSUS: 1850 census of Salem,Henry,Iowa shows: David Thatcher, Charity and children: Rebecc a J. and Joseph.

Cemetery record in Salem, Henry, Iowa.

BIOGRAPHY: The History of the Early Settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois.

!MARRIAGE: Marriage records of Fremont County, Iowa

!MARRIAGE: Marriage records of Fremont County, Iowa