FAMILIES Q-U: STEVENS
In October of 2022, Joseph Black - who was living in Australia, at the time - sent an email to the Darrtown website webmaster that told of a connection between Darrtown and Joseph's great-great-great-great-great grandfather, William Stevens. To see the content of the email message that Joseph Black sent to the Darrtown webmaster, click the link at the right.
Some of my ancestors and family come from Darrtown and Milford township. My great great great great grandfather James Finley Stevens was from the area. He had siblings, including Eliza and Milton. Parents were William Stevens born Pennsylvania and Nancy C. born Ohio. James’s obit says mother’s maiden name was Kerman, maybe this was Kerman/Carmen? Would like further info on Stevens and the mother’s family. James F. was part of a larger migration of families from the area out West. Lived with Gardiner Darr in Iowa. James F. married Annie Greenblade born Pennsylvania, before or after the Civil War and had 3 children, Lulu (my great great great grandmother), Maggie, and Harry Greenblade Stevens. Found a newspaper article mentioning that Harry visited around Milford township, sometime in the 20th century. Visited his grandparents graves, etc.
Genealogy records and newspaper articles (cited below) helped verify that James Finley Stevens was the son of William and Nancy (Kermann) Stevens and that they lived in, or near, Darrtown in the middle of the 19th century. Records also show that, after migrating to Iowa, James Stevens returned, at least once, to visit the Darrtown community. If and when more information becomes available, it will be added.
William Stevens
1798-1862
Nancy (Kermann) Stevens
1805-1876
The following items provide additional confirmation of the connection between Darrtown, William and Nancy Stevens, and their descendants.
Click the link at the right of each item to see an image of the item.
ITEM 1: The 1850 U.S. Census Report confirms the presence of William Stevens, his wife Nancy, and their son, Benjamin, in Milford Township, Butler County, Ohio, in 1850. Note that their three names appear at the bottom of "image" (i.e., page) 3. The names of the other Stevens children appear at the top of page 4 of the report (shown in item 2, below).
ITEM 2: This image provides an enlarged view of item 1 (above) to verify the Stevens name, as handwritten in the census report.
ITEM 3: This image shows page 4 of the 1850 census report; the names of six other Stevens children appear at the top of this page.
ITEM 4: This image shows a typed summary of the Stevens family information that appeared in the 1850 census report (i.e., this combines the information that appears on page 3 and page 4 of the report).
ITEM 5: This image duplicates Item 3 above - WITH ANNOTATIONS ADDED. Names of Milford Township residents who are known to have lived in or near Darrtown are highlighted in this image. Assuming that the census taker listed families in the order of proximity (homes next to each other), then it follows that the families listed on this page (Darr, Wyman, Hansel, and McMechan) were neighbors of the Stevens family - which places the Stevens family in Darrtown or vicinity.
William and Nancy Stevens have been granted "pioneer" status, as they appear to be the first of their family to have lived in or near Darrtown.
ITEM 6: This image displays an 1855 map of Milford Township WITH ANNOTATIONS ADDED. The annotations highlight property once owned by Frederick Hansel and verifies its proximity to Darrtown.
ITEM 7: This image shows the 1860 U.S. Census Report, which confirms the presence of the William Stevens family in Milford Township, Butler County, Ohio, in 1860 - and includes info about Darrtown physician, Dr. Brookfield Gard.
Items related WILLIAM STEVENS, family members and descendants
The following link opens the William Stevens descendant chart. To access this info at Ancestry.com, contact the webmaster.
Prior to January 2023, the 1840 U.S. Census Report (see link at the right) was the earliest verification that William Stevens lived in, or near, Darrtown.
Given the 1840 census and the 1860 census (see list, below), it seems likely that the William Stevens family lived in or near Darrtown for a span of, at least, 20 years.
JAMES FINLEY STEVENS was the second oldest of eight children born to William and Nancy Stevens. Note that his life span included the Civil War years (1861-1865).
RESEARCH RESULTS...
The 1907 obituary of James Finley Stevens (see link below), ties his death to the "effects on a bullet, which had been in his lung, since 1862, received in a battle."
HARRY GREENBLADE STEVENS was the son of James Finley Stevens and Catherine (Greenblade) Stevens and he was the brother of Lulu (Stevens) Flynn.
A 1933 newspaper article reported that Harry Stevens visited a cousin in Liberty, Indiana and they subsequently drove to Darrtown, Ohio to visit the graves of their grandparents.
If you have information to share about the William Stevens family, please inform the Darrtown webmaster.
The "News item - annotated" link (available in the Harry Greenblade Stevens section below) confirms the J.F. Stevens' Civil War injury.
LULU (STEVENS) MILLSLAGLE / FLYNN was the daughter of James Finley Stevens and Catherine (Greenblade) Stevens and she was the sister of Harry Stevens.
The obituary of Mrs. Lulu (Stevens) Flynn that appeared in a 1941 Muscatine, Iowa newspaper is available at the following link.
James Finley Stevens' 1907 death certificate was donated by Joseph Black in 2022. The link at the right shows a larger view, with highlights.
The death certificate cites the cause of death as "interstitial nephritis."
MILTON STEVENS (1842-1890) was a son of William Stevens and the youngest brother of James Finley Stevens. He married Louisa Bridge on October 3, 1872.
Among the papers contributed by Joseph Black in November 2022, there was a collection of documents that addressed the pension that Milton Stevens' widow, Louisa, received as a result of Milton's service in the Civil War. Click the following link to see the documents.
ELIZA J. STEVENS (1844-1871) was the youngest sister of James Finley Stevens and she married John William Morton, a Civil War veteran.
Click the following link to see a Civil War era photo of Eliza Stevens' husband, John William Morton. Note: This link opens a scrollable window of information about the lives of John and Eliza (Stevens) Morton, including the fact that they had four daughters born to them at Darrtown.
Joseph Black also contributed a collection of documents related to the military service of James Finley Stevens during the American civil war. Click the link below to see information about his physical attributes; his date of enrollment; information about him being “wounded, back and lungs, dangerously," at the battle of Iuka, Mississippi, Sept. 18, 1862; and his discharge from service.
The death certificate also shows a contributory cause of death to be a "wound of lung 1862."
WILLIAM STEVENS was buried in the Pioneer section of the Darrtown cemetery. The following link leads to an image of his headstone.
Here is "a photo of Lulu's son, Fred Leroy Millslagle, who married Myrtle McCoy in Grinnell. I think he was quite close to his uncle Harry Greenblade Stevens, who visited Darrtown in the 1930s; Harry named his son Fred, Harry and Fred Millslagle were both barbers, and Fred often visited his Stevens side. Fred Millslagle died around 1952 in Rochester, NY."
Lulu had a son, Fred Leroy Millslagle. Joseph Black contributed the words at the right and the linked image.
In mid-January 2023, Joseph Black shared an image of an 1833 Milford Township tax assessment record that includes William Stevens. This document extends the Stevens family presence in Milford Township, by seven years, from 1840, back to 1833.
In mid-January 2023, Joseph Black shared an image of a death notice for Nancy (Kermann) Stevens - widow of William Stevens.
and
The following link shows info about the death of Nancy Stevens, widow of William Stevens.