Memorials › William Benjamin Stephenson

William Benjamin Stephenson

9 Oct 1824 – 16 Aug 1888

Birth	9 Oct 1824
Death	16 Aug 1888
Cemetery	Hampton Cemetery Edhube , Fannin County , Texas , USA
Added by	Tony & Patricia Held on 12 Mar 2008
FaG	https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6099374

Bio

William Benjamin Stephenson (1824–1888) Birth and Early Life in Tennessee William Benjamin Stephenson was born on October 9, 1824, in Maury County, Tennessee, the eldest son of Moses Dunlap Stephenson (1795–1870) and Mary Blanton (1802–1870). Maury County, established in 1807, was a rapidly developing region of Middle Tennessee known for its fertile farmland and early settlement by families migrating from the Carolinas and Virginia. William's parents were part of that migration, descendants of South Carolina pioneers who had pushed westward following the Revolution. During William's youth, Tennessee was still deeply agrarian, and the Stephenson family's livelihood centered on farming. By the 1830s and 1840s, the family was well established in Williamson and Maury Counties, appearing in local tax and deed records. William grew up in a household of eight children, including brothers Calvin W. (1830–1894), Pinkney (b. 1835), and Leonidus Eliho Stephenson (1840–1914), and sisters Julia A. (1833–1856), Eugenia (b. 1837), and Elizabeth (b. 1844). Migration to Texas and Marriage Like many families from Tennessee seeking new opportunity, the Stephensons migrated to Texas in the 1840s, during the Republic's early years of settlement after its independence from Mexico (1836). Land was abundant, and migration from the southern states was heavy during this period. William's parents and siblings would later settle permanently in Fannin County, one of the early organized counties of the Texas frontier. On January 8, 1852, William Benjamin Stephenson married Sarah (Ann) Angeline Rogers (1821–1861) in Red River County, Texas, an adjoining region that was then a center for migration from the southern states. Together they built their home in Fannin County, where William began establishing himself as a farmer and landholder in the developing community of Bonham, a town founded in 1837 as a frontier settlement. Family and Early Years in Texas William and Sarah Ann were the parents of four children, all born in Fannin County: Harriet Eugenia Stephenson (1853–1900), born January 11, 1853, who would later marry into a prominent local family; Clinton O. Stephenson (1855–1928), born July 11, 1855, who remained in Texas as a farmer and landowner; Mary Cassandre Stephenson (1858–1932), born April 23, 1858, remembered for her strong Methodist faith and long life in the Bonham area; and Frances Elizabeth "Fannie" Stephenson (1860–1947), born August 30, 1860, who lived through Reconstruction and into the early 20th century. During this period, William's household is recorded in the 1860 U.S. Census for Fannin County (Beat 1), reflecting his occupation as a farmer with significant property holdings. The census reflects a prosperous mid-19th century agricultural life in North Texas, though it was also a time of rising national tension on the eve of the Civil War. Civil War and Loss The Civil War (1861–1865) deeply affected Fannin County and all of North Texas. Though detailed records of William's direct involvement are not found, the region was largely pro-Confederate, supplying men and materials to Texas regiments. Amid the turmoil of war, William suffered a personal loss with the death of his wife, Sarah Ann, around 1861. She was buried in Fannin County, leaving William a widower with four young children. Second Marriage and Later Life On June 5, 1864, William married Mary Josephene Garner (1837–1925), who was in her twenties at the time of their union. The marriage brought stability after the hardships of the early war years. Together they had four children, all born in Fannin County: Olivia T. Stephenson (1865–1933), born October 1865; Silas William Stephenson (1867–1904), born October 1867; John Dyer Stephenson (1869–1947), born March 10, 1869; and Helen Elwood Stephenson (1871–1885), born February 19, 1871. The 1870 census lists William as a farmer in Precinct 1, Fannin County, indicating continued success in postwar reconstruction years. His property was among those that contributed to the agricultural recovery of the region after the devastation of war. By 1880, William remained in the same precinct, continuing as a farmer with his wife and children, reflective of the generational continuity that marked much of rural Texas life during that era. The family's perseverance mirrored the broader recovery of Fannin County, which transitioned from a frontier region to a stable agricultural community by the 1880s. Death and Burial William Benjamin Stephenson died on August 16, 1888, in Bonham, Fannin County, Texas, at the age of 63. He was buried in Hampton Cemetery, one of the county's older burial grounds. His passing marked the end of an early pioneer generation that bridged the frontier period and the settlement of North Texas into a stable agricultural heartland. Community Recollections A Bonham newspaper account (early 20th century) provides valuable recollection of the Stephenson family's role in the community, referencing M. D. Stephenson and his sons William B., Calvin, Pinkney, and Leonidus E. The article highlights the family's prominence in early settlement, their contributions to local development, and their enduring memory in the Bonham region. These local records, preserved in historical collections, affirm the Stephenson family's position among the respected early settlers of Fannin County. Forefathers of William Benjamin Stephenson 1. Moses Dunlap Stephenson (1795–1870) Born in 1795 in South Carolina to Moses Stephenson (1759–1802) and Elizabeth Dunlap (1762–1856), Moses Dunlap grew up in the Waxhaws region, an area deeply tied to the Revolutionary era. He married Mary Blanton around 1820 and fathered eight children. Active in Williamson and Maury Counties, Tennessee, he appears in tax and deed records through the 1830s and 1840s, before migrating to Bonham, Fannin County, Texas after the Texas Revolution. By 1860, he was established as a landholder in Texas, where he lived until his death in 1870. 2. Moses Stephenson (1759–1802) The father of Moses Dunlap, Moses Stephenson was born in 1759 in Lancaster, South Carolina, son of John Stephenson (1718–1785) and Jean McClelland (b. 1726). He married Elizabeth Dunlap in 1783, and their union reflected the intermarriage of early Scottish-Irish Presbyterian families of the Waxhaws frontier. He lived through the Revolution and the rebuilding of South Carolina's frontier, dying in 1802 at age 43. 3. John Stephenson (1718–1785) John Stephenson, the family patriarch, was born in 1718 in the Scottish Borders and migrated to the southern American colonies, settling in the Waxhaws frontier region along the border of the Carolinas. He married Jean McClelland and had eleven children, forming one of the founding families of that community. John died in 1785 and was buried in the Old Waxhaw Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Lancaster County, South Carolina. His descendants continued the westward migration through Tennessee and into Texas, shaping generations of frontier settlement. Sources Census Records: 1830, 1850 Williamson County, TN; 1860–1880 Fannin County, TX (population and agricultural schedules) Marriage Records: Red River County, TX (1852); Fannin County, TX (1864) Deed and Tax Records: Williamson and Maury Counties, TN (1836–1848); Fannin County property listings Burial Records: Hampton Cemetery, Bonham, TX; Pace Cemetery, Bonham, TX; Old Waxhaw Presbyterian Church Cemetery, SC Family Heritage: Stephenson–Dunlap lineage (FamilySearch genealogical database) Local Source: Bonham newspaper clipping referencing M. D. Stephenson and sons (early 20th century recollection)

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