Leonard Stephens Letter, 27 Aug 1843

Beech Woods, Kenton County, Ky. 27th August 1843

Dear Brother William,

I wrote to you by old Mr. Garrett which letter I suppose you received. And perhaps should not have written to you at this time had it not been that an occurrence has happened in our family which I think it my duty to inform you of. The subject to write about at the present time is one that occasions me more sorrow & perturbation of mind than any thing that has ever turned up with me or I hope ever will again. Oh Brother, Your Sister Caty my dear wife is no more. She departed this life on this day week or last Sunday morning at about three o’clock. If I recollect rightly in my letter to by Uncle Anthony I gave you some account of her debility at that time since which she had gradually declined untill her death. She had been afflicted for near a year tho never seriously untill about three or four months ago, & untill quite recently we supposed she would recover. Doct. Hordern who attended her all the while never dispared of her recovery untill a few days before she died. Doct. Menzies however was of a different opinion he was called in several times & did not think she could be restored. She certainly suffered to a greater extent than any person I ever did see or ever expect to see again. She would frequently have spells of a difficulty of breathing that was almost heart rending to witness. She was first taken with a choking or difficulty of swallowing that was extremely disagreeable & she would frequently have to get up from the table & throw out the victuals from her mouth because she could not swallow it. There were two tumors or risings one on each side of her neck that shewed themselves for a considerable time. I had strong hopes that when they came to perfection or were ready to be opened that they would relieve her & that the disease would pass off in that way. I frequently spoke of it to her tho she did not seem to give into the idea except on one occasion.

On the Wensday morning before she died I was sitting by her about day light when she was so taken with one of her bad spells of breathing. She became so very bad that she said she should live but a short time & indeed thought she was dying. I became alarmed myself & was indeed fearful she would not survive but a short time. The children all being here were in a few minutes around her. She then seemed to possess an unusual degree of strength for her feeble state for she was extremely so, & she gave us an admonitory lecture that was by far the most affecting scene that I ever experienced. She took several of the children by the hand & fervently prayed that God would so order & direct that they might be qualified to meet him in a better world. She also took me by the hand & prayed that God would forgive any thing that had been amiss in either of us & bade me farewell. She stated that she had then done all that she could do & said that she was dying & that she was not afraid to die & prayed that the time might soon come & relieve her from her suffering & shouted glory several different times. Oh Brother William it made such an impression on my mind as never to be forgotten untill I cease to breathe or to possess conciousness. Altho it was truly a heart rending scene yet I am glad it occured because it manifested a degree of assurance that is certainly above all things in this world prefferable in such a trying time. When I contemplate on her very feeble state at the time & the very little of strength she had it does not seem as if there was certainly something supernatural about it.

Oh my brother remember me & my dear children at a throne of grace & oh if the prayers of my dying wife may only prevail & her unworthy husband & our children may only be prepared to meet God in peace what a happy state Oh that God in his goodness may so order & direct. Doct. Hordern being here at the time so soon as Caty was a little easier & composed enough he examined the largest tumor on her neck & informed me that it would do as he thought to open, but that he considered it rather a hazardous business & that he prefered to have Doctor Menzies present & that he would go to Florence for him which he did. They both then examined it again & concured in opinion as to the opening. Caty at first objected to its being done but I prevailed on her to consent & Doct. Menzies then lanced it. There was a copious discharge of yellow matter, & she became very relieved. She could breathe much freer & with considerably more ease. I then indeed had strong hopes that through those tumors the disease would exhaust itself & that her recovery would be the consequence. But alas how vain are all our calculations. She continued better untill friday morning when the difficulty of breathing returned to an alarming extent & continued so with intervals of quiet or easier spells untill she died. We were none of us expecting her to die when she did altho she herself said she was dieing yet we thought she was mistaken & that she would probably live several days longer than she did, for a short time before she appeared to be in a daze of sleep & seemed to be resting much easier than she had done for several hours. She finally raised up in the bed & her head began to drop forward untill it appeared as if she had lost the power to hold it up. When she was caught & laid back on the bed & only breathed about two or three times without scarcely strugling at all. I have been this minute because I thought you would like to know all the particulars. The Associations being then going on at Dry Creek I wrote to Robert Kirtley to come the next day & preach her funeral. He came but was quite too unwell to preach. Mr. Whitaker however came with him & preached, he took for his text the 13th verse of the 14th Chapter of Revelations which you can examine. We were all well enough pleased with his remarks.

I have heard within the course of today that Mr. Fish had received a letter from Tho’s giving as account of the death of Lunsford . Oh my Brother has the destroyer also been with you. I hope it is not the case, but if unfortunately it is so, I know how to sympathise with you. But God is good & it is our duty to submit to all his acts tho they may seen ever so grievous. There was also a death in this neighborhood on yesterday. Mrs. Hamilton died in child bed very suddenly. She had been delivered but a very short time & died very soon afterward. So you can inform old Uncle Anthony as she was his daughter. The burying took place as I understand this evening. My family through much mercy enjoys moderate health at present. My own health is not good. I have had a spell of the influenzy. I am not entirely restored. I do hope this may find you all in the enjoyment of good health. Brother William write to me so soon as you get this as you may well imagine we stand in the need of the comforting advice of our friends. Oh that I could be with you, were it only a for short time it would indeed be a great comfort to me. Lucy is with us & I suppose will stay as I don’t see how I could do without her. Present me affectionately to sister Betey & all your children. And for yourself accept assurance of true brotherly regard.

Your Brother till death,
Leonard Stephens

Notes:

Thomas J. Hordern (1800?- —), born in England, had lived in Boone County since the 1820s. Return.

Probably Samuel G. Menzies, a Boone County resident in 1840. Return.

The name of Robert Kirtley (1786-1872) appears frequently in the marriage Records of Boone and Kenton Counties, as do those of his sons, Robert E. and James, who followed him into the Baptist ministry. The family is profiled in J. H. Spencer, A History of Kentucky Baptists (Cincinnati: J. R. Baumes, 1885), 1: 299-303. Return.

William Whitaker (1793-1872) was active in the North Bend Baptist Association. Spencer 2:148. He did a thriving business in weddings, judging by marriage notices in The Licking Valley Register during the 1840s. See Kentucky Genealogy, 20: 148-149. Return.

"And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord henceforth; Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them." Return.

Probably Ezra Keeler Fish (1804-1879), who had married John Stephens' daughter, Mary Jane (1832- 1897) in 1830. However, another of John's daughters, Eliza Ann (1819-1907), had married Ebenezer Fisk (1818?-1853). Return.

Lewis Lunsford Stephens (1813-1843), William's second son. Shortly before his death, he and his wife Emily Mays, deeded land for the Middle Grove Christian Church. Return.

Margaret Garrett (1801-1843), was the eldest daughter of Anthony S. Garrett (see above). She had married John Hamilton in 1833, the second marriage for both. (Thanks to Jerry L. Garrett for the information.) Her daughter, Margaret Hamilton, married Leonard's widowed nephew, Ezekiel Pickens Stephens. Return.

Leonard's daughter, Lucy Waller Stephens, who had married sixteen months earlier Alexander Frank Hughes, may have been awaiting the birth of their daughter, "Lutie" Hughes. See below, 20 Feb 1866. Return.

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