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| 1820 United States Census Notes for James STEPHENSON | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simpson Co., Kentucky, Family 321, 1 male over 45, 1 female over 4520 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Will | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| COPY OF ORIGINAL WILL OF JAMES STEPHENSON Simpson County, Kentucky In the name of God, Amen, I, James Stephenson, being weak of body but of a sound mind and memory; and calling to mind that it is appointed to all men once to die, do make and ordain this my last will and Testament, that is to say First, I will that all my just debts and funeral charges be paid out of my estate. Second, I will and bequeath to my beloved wife Mary Stephenson one-third part of all the land I now possess, including the Mansion house and other out houses and orchard, to hold and possess during her natural life, and at her death to be the property of John Stephenson our son. -- Third, I will that my son John Stephenson have the two thirds of the land I now possess not before disposed of in this my will; and the appurtenances thereunto belonging. -- Fourthly, I will and bequeath unto Johnathan Potts and Elizabeth, his wife, seventy-five dollars current money of Kentucky. -- Fifthly, I will that Anna Tarrants, John Stephenson, and Rhoda Hilton, have no share in the division of my moveable property, having previously given them that portion of my estate goods I desired them. Sixthly, I will that the residue of my personal property, including my negro man Bob, if not previously sold, shall be dealt by as the law directs, and to be divided between Mary, my wife, and Elizabeth Potts and Sarah M. Hudson and Mary Oliver and Nancy Barnes and Cynthia Bogan. -- Lastly, I nominate and appoint my wife, Mary Stephenson, and John Stephenson and James Bogan my Executors to execute this my last will. -- Witness my hand and seal this 27th day of December, 1820. The words are to be divided between in the Sixth ittum and third line underlined before signed. James Stephenson (seal) Teste Calvin Johnson, Jonathan Holcomb, Richard Owings [The following was on the reverse side of the above will.] Simpson County SS January County Court 1821. This instrument was produced into court and proven by the oaths of Calvin Johnson, Jonathan Holcomb and Richard Owings, subscribing witnesses thereto to be the last will and testament of James Stephenson dec'd and was thereupon ordered to record. >>>> On Monday night, May 2, 1932, Frank Stephenson, Appleton City, MO, found the pen copy of the original last will of James Stephenson among some old family papers in the possession of Reginald and Mayme (Gow) Porter, who reside on the east part of the Terry Stephenson farm, six and three-fourths miles due north of Mosby, MO, these papers having been left in the Terry Stephenson residence when it was vacated by the Stephenson family. Copied from the notebook of information compiled by Jewel Mayes and Frank Stephenson in the 1930s.224 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notes for James & Mary (Family) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| On April 20, 1768, James married Mary Young. Eleven children were born to the couple between 1769 and 1789. All but two lived to adulthood. Nine-year-old Nancy and four-year-old James, the oldest son, died in October of 1781. Their deaths occured just two days apart. The sorrowing parents changed the name of their three-year-old daughter, Frances, to Nancy shortly after their daughter's death. John was only ten months old, but his name was not changed. This gives credence to the tradition that James, John and William are all important family names. Their tenth child, Margaret, died in 1807, "being 20 years and 99 days old." The other children all lived to marry and raise families. James and Mary lived in South Carolina until about 1794. Travelling by way of Spartansburg, SC, through the Cumberland Gap, they moved first to eastern Tennessee where they lived for two years. They made their permanent home about six miles outside of Franklin, Logan Co. (now Simpson Co.), KY. Early land grants show a James Stephenson filing on a total of 600 acres of land between 1796 and 1807. All of the property was located on Sinking Creek or the Sinking Fork of Drake Creek. The land was referred to by the early settlers as "The Barrens." The area was almost totally free of timber, with most of the land being covered with cane. The pioneers felt that the cane-covered ground was probably not very productive and would not grow grass or crops. The first settlements were in the streaks of land covered with timber. Later, after the cane breaks were killed out, the pioneers found that the land was very rich and productive. James became a very prosperous farmer, raising tobacco, sheep and possibly wheat and corn. James was described as being "very tall and bony." He had dark hair and blue eyes. James was an educated man. One of his treasured possessions was a large family Bible in which he carefully wrote the names and birthdates of each of his children. His penmanship and spelling were excellent. James also owned a "Fair Leather Wallet" which was a combination pocketbook, bill book and memorandum account book in which he kept some of his figures and accounts. James and Mary were devout members of the Methodist Church. They were instrumental in establishing the "Stephenson Meetinghouse" only a short distance from their home. Their son, John, was the minister of the congregation. James injured his leg during a house raising. His leg never fully healed, but he always walked without using a cane. After the accident, he did begin to ride to his church meetings on horseback rather than walk. Although a large landowner, James was opposed to slavery, and neither he nor his son, John, ever owned a slave. James died January 17, 1821 while visiting his sisters in South Carolina. He was 77 years old. John was buried in South Carolina, but family tradition maintains that his body was disinterred and returned home for burial in the family plot in Logan County. Mary survived James by seven years. She died May 8, 1828. Her daughter, Cynthia, described her mother's final days in a letter to John and his wife: "Your mother departed this life 8th this inst. She was confined to her bed better than three months. The pains hurt her in her hips and she was sick. She suffered abundance more than anyone could of supposed she could of bore. She told all of us her senses a part of her trouble for about three weeks before she died. There was five weeks before she died that she never was taken off her bed, only as she was lifted in a sheet, nor sit up one minute. Your mother often wished to be restored to her health or to be relieved by death." Mary was buried in the family burial ground in Logan Co. (now Simpson Co.), KY. >>>> This history was written by Janis Clark Durfee in July 1983 from the information gathered in the 1930s by Frank Stephenson and Jewel Mayes. "The first church at Stevenson was a log church, which burned in 1815, and a brick church was built on the land that James Stevenson deeded to the Methodist Society o May 8, 1816. The church also burned in the early 1860s. A one-room school stood on the grounds, also, and it burned in 1938. The third and present church was built in 1865..." >>>> "Simpson County, Kentucky Families Past & Present," page 110, copy of article shared by Janis Durfee in March 1994 "... the building of the first Methodist Meeting House in Simpson County on 13.4 acres of land located at the Sinking Fork of Drakes Creek, donated by James and Mary Young Stevenson in 1816." >>>> "Simpson County, Kentucky Families Past & Present," page 357, copy of article received in March 1994 from Janis Durfee13 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Modified 13 Feb 1999 | Created 10 Mar 2005 by Reunion for Macintosh |