David Stevenson was born March 13, 1805, in Plattsburgh, New York, the son of John and Hannah [Phelps] Stevenson. David's mother died July 24, 1809, when David was three old. His father, John, subsequently married Martha [surname unknown]. Martha, was doubtless the "mother" who raised David.
The War of 1812 began when David was six years old. His father served in the war as part of the New York Militia and his older brother, Philo, enlisted in the military in 1814. During this war the Battle of Plattsburgh was fought in and almost totally destroyed their town. Much later, in a pension application, Philo stated that his bounty land warrant had been lost and had probably been destroyed when his father's house was burned. There are references to David's father in the early history of Plattsburgh, so David almost certainly grew up in this New York town on the banks of Lake Champlain.
In July of 1827 David married Hannah Silsby. David and Hannah had three sons: Harry, Justin and Albert, all born at Plattsburgh.
In 1831, when David was 26 years old, his father died. In his will John left bequests to his sons and daughter and then named David as his executor and recipient of the balance of his estate, with certain stipulations. One of these was that David should care for John's widow, Martha, during her lifetime. Martha died November 11, 1838.
David and his family [wife Hannah, sons Harry, Albert & Justin] moved to Clarksfield, Ohio "about 1838," according to one source, but it was more likely in 1839, after the death of his step-mother. His brothers, Philo and James, and his sister, Laura Parkhurst, are also found living in Clarksfield.
David first lived in a log house "back of Mr. Furlongs," then in another log house on the brow of the hill across the road from the Methodist Church. Next he built a frame house a little further east and a shoe shop across the road from the house. Several men were employed in the shop making boots and shoes. He "quit shoemaking and kept a small store" south of the Cobb Store, according to a handwritten family record left by his son, John Edwin. He next moved to a farm situated on the bank of the river about a mile from Clarksfield and was the shoe and bootmaker of the community. (This information came from various sources. The timing of the occupations is open to conjecture but all sources agree that he kept an inn, a store, and acted as a shoemaker)
David's wife, Hannah, died about 1841/2 and on April 8, 1842 David married Mary Bivens. Mary died in childbirth and her child did not survive. About 1844/5 David married Evaline Kress, daughter of Elijah and Susannah [Silsby] Kress. David and Evaline had three children: John, Susan and Rinaldo.
The California Gold Rush lured several young members of the Stevenson clan. David's three older sons and several of his nieces and nephews joined in the rush to the West with mostly sad results. His nephew, Oscar Philo [son of his brother, Philo] met with an accident and was killed, Albert [David's son] suffered a knee injury and was crippled for life, Amasa [a cousin] is buried in California, and William [another cousin] died there in 1855. David's other sons, Henry and Justin, evidently returned unharmed, as did Andrew and Amanda [children of Philo.]
David's son, Albert, left California in the fall of 1853 and returned home to Ohio. He worked for about a year in the grocery business In August of 1854 he married Cynthia Jane Carpenter. David, his family, and the newly married couple immediately started for Iowa. They made the trip with two teams, a covered wagon, and a spring wagon with a cover. They were four weeks on the way. One reference says they spent the winter at Center Point, Iowa, about 20 miles north of Cecar Rapids. Another says that soon after arriving, Albert and Cynthia homesteaded a farm on the southwest quarter of section six in Sumner Township, Bremer County, Iowa, and David's family spent the winter of 1854 in Linn County, Iowa, near Marion, and the following spring moved to Fredericksburg in then Bremer, now Chickasaw County, Iowa where David took up government land
. Their horses were exchanged for oxen. The Iowa virgin grass land had grass that grew five feet tall and sod so thick and tough that horses could not pull a plow through it. Oxen with a special steel plow were used to break the sod. Stephen Parkhurst, David's brother-in-law, and John Parkhurst, his nephew, are listed in September, 1854, as among the first settlers in LeRoy Township, Bremer County, Iowa. The first election in the township was held on April 12, 1855, at the home of Joshua A. Fowler. David Stevenson was one of the electors. Also attending this meeting and elected to various offices were his son Albert; brother-in-law, Stephen Parkhurst; and Stephen's sons, J.S. and J.N.
Stage coaches carried mail and passengers across the prairie. The closest post office to the Stevenson household was at West Union, twenty-five miles away. The intervening country was mostly unoccupied, and one reference states that for a space of twenty miles there was not one settler. The neighbors took turns going for the mail, sometimes walking the total distance. Since David was a shoemaker he obtained leather for his business from West Union. His son, John, was often sent by horseback to bring a supply of leather. John later said he liked to make the trip.
We find two copies of David's signature, one on a compilation of signatures on the flyleaf of the book, THE PIONEER HISTORY OF CLARKSFIELD, and the other as a census enumerator for LeRoy township, Bremer Couney, Iowa. David appears in the 1830 US Census of Plattsburgh, New York, the 1840 and 1850 US Censuses of Clarksfield, Ohio, and the 1860 and 1870 Censuses of LeRoy Township, Bremer County, Iowa.
David died in Bremer County on August 18, 1870. The Bremer County Courthouse in Waverly, Iowa, has a list of headstones in the Mentor-Fay Cemetery taken in 1983. The list includes David Stevenson, 1806 / 6-18-1870. His headstone is now missing but the one of his wife, Evelyn, was still in place in June of 1995.
A letter received from the Bremer County Courthouse, Waverly, Iowa, states that there are no will or probate records on file for David.
Information supplied by Betty Gibson
The War of 1812 began when David was six years old. His father served in the war as part of the New York Militia and his older brother, Philo, enlisted in the military in 1814. During this war the Battle of Plattsburgh was fought in and almost totally destroyed their town. Much later, in a pension application, Philo stated that his bounty land warrant had been lost and had probably been destroyed when his father's house was burned. There are references to David's father in the early history of Plattsburgh, so David almost certainly grew up in this New York town on the banks of Lake Champlain.
In July of 1827 David married Hannah Silsby. David and Hannah had three sons: Harry, Justin and Albert, all born at Plattsburgh.
In 1831, when David was 26 years old, his father died. In his will John left bequests to his sons and daughter and then named David as his executor and recipient of the balance of his estate, with certain stipulations. One of these was that David should care for John's widow, Martha, during her lifetime. Martha died November 11, 1838.
David and his family [wife Hannah, sons Harry, Albert & Justin] moved to Clarksfield, Ohio "about 1838," according to one source, but it was more likely in 1839, after the death of his step-mother. His brothers, Philo and James, and his sister, Laura Parkhurst, are also found living in Clarksfield.
David first lived in a log house "back of Mr. Furlongs," then in another log house on the brow of the hill across the road from the Methodist Church. Next he built a frame house a little further east and a shoe shop across the road from the house. Several men were employed in the shop making boots and shoes. He "quit shoemaking and kept a small store" south of the Cobb Store, according to a handwritten family record left by his son, John Edwin. He next moved to a farm situated on the bank of the river about a mile from Clarksfield and was the shoe and bootmaker of the community. (This information came from various sources. The timing of the occupations is open to conjecture but all sources agree that he kept an inn, a store, and acted as a shoemaker)
David's wife, Hannah, died about 1841/2 and on April 8, 1842 David married Mary Bivens. Mary died in childbirth and her child did not survive. About 1844/5 David married Evaline Kress, daughter of Elijah and Susannah [Silsby] Kress. David and Evaline had three children: John, Susan and Rinaldo.
The California Gold Rush lured several young members of the Stevenson clan. David's three older sons and several of his nieces and nephews joined in the rush to the West with mostly sad results. His nephew, Oscar Philo [son of his brother, Philo] met with an accident and was killed, Albert [David's son] suffered a knee injury and was crippled for life, Amasa [a cousin] is buried in California, and William [another cousin] died there in 1855. David's other sons, Henry and Justin, evidently returned unharmed, as did Andrew and Amanda [children of Philo.]
David's son, Albert, left California in the fall of 1853 and returned home to Ohio. He worked for about a year in the grocery business In August of 1854 he married Cynthia Jane Carpenter. David, his family, and the newly married couple immediately started for Iowa. They made the trip with two teams, a covered wagon, and a spring wagon with a cover. They were four weeks on the way. One reference says they spent the winter at Center Point, Iowa, about 20 miles north of Cecar Rapids. Another says that soon after arriving, Albert and Cynthia homesteaded a farm on the southwest quarter of section six in Sumner Township, Bremer County, Iowa, and David's family spent the winter of 1854 in Linn County, Iowa, near Marion, and the following spring moved to Fredericksburg in then Bremer, now Chickasaw County, Iowa where David took up government land
. Their horses were exchanged for oxen. The Iowa virgin grass land had grass that grew five feet tall and sod so thick and tough that horses could not pull a plow through it. Oxen with a special steel plow were used to break the sod. Stephen Parkhurst, David's brother-in-law, and John Parkhurst, his nephew, are listed in September, 1854, as among the first settlers in LeRoy Township, Bremer County, Iowa. The first election in the township was held on April 12, 1855, at the home of Joshua A. Fowler. David Stevenson was one of the electors. Also attending this meeting and elected to various offices were his son Albert; brother-in-law, Stephen Parkhurst; and Stephen's sons, J.S. and J.N.
Stage coaches carried mail and passengers across the prairie. The closest post office to the Stevenson household was at West Union, twenty-five miles away. The intervening country was mostly unoccupied, and one reference states that for a space of twenty miles there was not one settler. The neighbors took turns going for the mail, sometimes walking the total distance. Since David was a shoemaker he obtained leather for his business from West Union. His son, John, was often sent by horseback to bring a supply of leather. John later said he liked to make the trip.
We find two copies of David's signature, one on a compilation of signatures on the flyleaf of the book, THE PIONEER HISTORY OF CLARKSFIELD, and the other as a census enumerator for LeRoy township, Bremer Couney, Iowa. David appears in the 1830 US Census of Plattsburgh, New York, the 1840 and 1850 US Censuses of Clarksfield, Ohio, and the 1860 and 1870 Censuses of LeRoy Township, Bremer County, Iowa.
David died in Bremer County on August 18, 1870. The Bremer County Courthouse in Waverly, Iowa, has a list of headstones in the Mentor-Fay Cemetery taken in 1983. The list includes David Stevenson, 1806 / 6-18-1870. His headstone is now missing but the one of his wife, Evelyn, was still in place in June of 1995.
A letter received from the Bremer County Courthouse, Waverly, Iowa, states that there are no will or probate records on file for David.
Information supplied by Betty Gibson
David Stevenson was born March 13, 1805, in Plattsburgh, New York, the son of John and Hannah [Phelps] Stevenson. David's mother died July 24, 1809, when David was three old. His father, John, subsequently married Martha [surname unknown]. Martha, was doubtless the "mother" who raised David.
The War of 1812 began when David was six years old. His father served in the war as part of the New York Militia and his older brother, Philo, enlisted in the military in 1814. During this war the Battle of Plattsburgh was fought in and almost totally destroyed their town. Much later, in a pension application, Philo stated that his bounty land warrant had been lost and had probably been destroyed when his father's house was burned. There are references to David's father in the early history of Plattsburgh, so David almost certainly grew up in this New York town on the banks of Lake Champlain.
In July of 1827 David married Hannah Silsby. David and Hannah had three sons: Harry, Justin and Albert, all born at Plattsburgh.
In 1831, when David was 26 years old, his father died. In his will John left bequests to his sons and daughter and then named David as his executor and recipient of the balance of his estate, with certain stipulations. One of these was that David should care for John's widow, Martha, during her lifetime. Martha died November 11, 1838.
David and his family [wife Hannah, sons Harry, Albert & Justin] moved to Clarksfield, Ohio "about 1838," according to one source, but it was more likely in 1839, after the death of his step-mother. His brothers, Philo and James, and his sister, Laura Parkhurst, are also found living in Clarksfield.
David first lived in a log house "back of Mr. Furlongs," then in another log house on the brow of the hill across the road from the Methodist Church. Next he built a frame house a little further east and a shoe shop across the road from the house. Several men were employed in the shop making boots and shoes. He "quit shoemaking and kept a small store" south of the Cobb Store, according to a handwritten family record left by his son, John Edwin. He next moved to a farm situated on the bank of the river about a mile from Clarksfield and was the shoe and bootmaker of the community. (This information came from various sources. The timing of the occupations is open to conjecture but all sources agree that he kept an inn, a store, and acted as a shoemaker)
David's wife, Hannah, died about 1841/2 and on April 8, 1842 David married Mary Bivens. Mary died in childbirth and her child did not survive. About 1844/5 David married Evaline Kress, daughter of Elijah and Susannah [Silsby] Kress. David and Evaline had three children: John, Susan and Rinaldo.
The California Gold Rush lured several young members of the Stevenson clan. David's three older sons and several of his nieces and nephews joined in the rush to the West with mostly sad results. His nephew, Oscar Philo [son of his brother, Philo] met with an accident and was killed, Albert [David's son] suffered a knee injury and was crippled for life, Amasa [a cousin] is buried in California, and William [another cousin] died there in 1855. David's other sons, Henry and Justin, evidently returned unharmed, as did Andrew and Amanda [children of Philo.]
David's son, Albert, left California in the fall of 1853 and returned home to Ohio. He worked for about a year in the grocery business In August of 1854 he married Cynthia Jane Carpenter. David, his family, and the newly married couple immediately started for Iowa. They made the trip with two teams, a covered wagon, and a spring wagon with a cover. They were four weeks on the way. One reference says they spent the winter at Center Point, Iowa, about 20 miles north of Cecar Rapids. Another says that soon after arriving, Albert and Cynthia homesteaded a farm on the southwest quarter of section six in Sumner Township, Bremer County, Iowa, and David's family spent the winter of 1854 in Linn County, Iowa, near Marion, and the following spring moved to Fredericksburg in then Bremer, now Chickasaw County, Iowa where David took up government land
. Their horses were exchanged for oxen. The Iowa virgin grass land had grass that grew five feet tall and sod so thick and tough that horses could not pull a plow through it. Oxen with a special steel plow were used to break the sod. Stephen Parkhurst, David's brother-in-law, and John Parkhurst, his nephew, are listed in September, 1854, as among the first settlers in LeRoy Township, Bremer County, Iowa. The first election in the township was held on April 12, 1855, at the home of Joshua A. Fowler. David Stevenson was one of the electors. Also attending this meeting and elected to various offices were his son Albert; brother-in-law, Stephen Parkhurst; and Stephen's sons, J.S. and J.N.
Stage coaches carried mail and passengers across the prairie. The closest post office to the Stevenson household was at West Union, twenty-five miles away. The intervening country was mostly unoccupied, and one reference states that for a space of twenty miles there was not one settler. The neighbors took turns going for the mail, sometimes walking the total distance. Since David was a shoemaker he obtained leather for his business from West Union. His son, John, was often sent by horseback to bring a supply of leather. John later said he liked to make the trip.
We find two copies of David's signature, one on a compilation of signatures on the flyleaf of the book, THE PIONEER HISTORY OF CLARKSFIELD, and the other as a census enumerator for LeRoy township, Bremer Couney, Iowa. David appears in the 1830 US Census of Plattsburgh, New York, the 1840 and 1850 US Censuses of Clarksfield, Ohio, and the 1860 and 1870 Censuses of LeRoy Township, Bremer County, Iowa.
David died in Bremer County on August 18, 1870. The Bremer County Courthouse in Waverly, Iowa, has a list of headstones in the Mentor-Fay Cemetery taken in 1983. The list includes David Stevenson, 1806 / 6-18-1870. His headstone is now missing but the one of his wife, Evelyn, was still in place in June of 1995.
A letter received from the Bremer County Courthouse, Waverly, Iowa, states that there are no will or probate records on file for David.
Information supplied by Betty Gibson
The War of 1812 began when David was six years old. His father served in the war as part of the New York Militia and his older brother, Philo, enlisted in the military in 1814. During this war the Battle of Plattsburgh was fought in and almost totally destroyed their town. Much later, in a pension application, Philo stated that his bounty land warrant had been lost and had probably been destroyed when his father's house was burned. There are references to David's father in the early history of Plattsburgh, so David almost certainly grew up in this New York town on the banks of Lake Champlain.
In July of 1827 David married Hannah Silsby. David and Hannah had three sons: Harry, Justin and Albert, all born at Plattsburgh.
In 1831, when David was 26 years old, his father died. In his will John left bequests to his sons and daughter and then named David as his executor and recipient of the balance of his estate, with certain stipulations. One of these was that David should care for John's widow, Martha, during her lifetime. Martha died November 11, 1838.
David and his family [wife Hannah, sons Harry, Albert & Justin] moved to Clarksfield, Ohio "about 1838," according to one source, but it was more likely in 1839, after the death of his step-mother. His brothers, Philo and James, and his sister, Laura Parkhurst, are also found living in Clarksfield.
David first lived in a log house "back of Mr. Furlongs," then in another log house on the brow of the hill across the road from the Methodist Church. Next he built a frame house a little further east and a shoe shop across the road from the house. Several men were employed in the shop making boots and shoes. He "quit shoemaking and kept a small store" south of the Cobb Store, according to a handwritten family record left by his son, John Edwin. He next moved to a farm situated on the bank of the river about a mile from Clarksfield and was the shoe and bootmaker of the community. (This information came from various sources. The timing of the occupations is open to conjecture but all sources agree that he kept an inn, a store, and acted as a shoemaker)
David's wife, Hannah, died about 1841/2 and on April 8, 1842 David married Mary Bivens. Mary died in childbirth and her child did not survive. About 1844/5 David married Evaline Kress, daughter of Elijah and Susannah [Silsby] Kress. David and Evaline had three children: John, Susan and Rinaldo.
The California Gold Rush lured several young members of the Stevenson clan. David's three older sons and several of his nieces and nephews joined in the rush to the West with mostly sad results. His nephew, Oscar Philo [son of his brother, Philo] met with an accident and was killed, Albert [David's son] suffered a knee injury and was crippled for life, Amasa [a cousin] is buried in California, and William [another cousin] died there in 1855. David's other sons, Henry and Justin, evidently returned unharmed, as did Andrew and Amanda [children of Philo.]
David's son, Albert, left California in the fall of 1853 and returned home to Ohio. He worked for about a year in the grocery business In August of 1854 he married Cynthia Jane Carpenter. David, his family, and the newly married couple immediately started for Iowa. They made the trip with two teams, a covered wagon, and a spring wagon with a cover. They were four weeks on the way. One reference says they spent the winter at Center Point, Iowa, about 20 miles north of Cecar Rapids. Another says that soon after arriving, Albert and Cynthia homesteaded a farm on the southwest quarter of section six in Sumner Township, Bremer County, Iowa, and David's family spent the winter of 1854 in Linn County, Iowa, near Marion, and the following spring moved to Fredericksburg in then Bremer, now Chickasaw County, Iowa where David took up government land
. Their horses were exchanged for oxen. The Iowa virgin grass land had grass that grew five feet tall and sod so thick and tough that horses could not pull a plow through it. Oxen with a special steel plow were used to break the sod. Stephen Parkhurst, David's brother-in-law, and John Parkhurst, his nephew, are listed in September, 1854, as among the first settlers in LeRoy Township, Bremer County, Iowa. The first election in the township was held on April 12, 1855, at the home of Joshua A. Fowler. David Stevenson was one of the electors. Also attending this meeting and elected to various offices were his son Albert; brother-in-law, Stephen Parkhurst; and Stephen's sons, J.S. and J.N.
Stage coaches carried mail and passengers across the prairie. The closest post office to the Stevenson household was at West Union, twenty-five miles away. The intervening country was mostly unoccupied, and one reference states that for a space of twenty miles there was not one settler. The neighbors took turns going for the mail, sometimes walking the total distance. Since David was a shoemaker he obtained leather for his business from West Union. His son, John, was often sent by horseback to bring a supply of leather. John later said he liked to make the trip.
We find two copies of David's signature, one on a compilation of signatures on the flyleaf of the book, THE PIONEER HISTORY OF CLARKSFIELD, and the other as a census enumerator for LeRoy township, Bremer Couney, Iowa. David appears in the 1830 US Census of Plattsburgh, New York, the 1840 and 1850 US Censuses of Clarksfield, Ohio, and the 1860 and 1870 Censuses of LeRoy Township, Bremer County, Iowa.
David died in Bremer County on August 18, 1870. The Bremer County Courthouse in Waverly, Iowa, has a list of headstones in the Mentor-Fay Cemetery taken in 1983. The list includes David Stevenson, 1806 / 6-18-1870. His headstone is now missing but the one of his wife, Evelyn, was still in place in June of 1995.
A letter received from the Bremer County Courthouse, Waverly, Iowa, states that there are no will or probate records on file for David.
Information supplied by Betty Gibson
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