Two of Richard Stephenson's sons and his two stepsons all distinguished themselves in the French and Indian War that preceded the American Revolution. As a reward, they were given lands in the former French Louisiana that stretched from the Mississippi River to the Appalachians.
William Crawford, stepson of Richard, Sr., was probably the first and most famous of the clan to settle at the confluence of the Ohio and Youghiogheny Rivers at a place called Stewart's Crossing, where he was busy helping settlers make safe passage. He and his brother Valentine Crawford were also kept busy carrying out the desires of their childhood friend George Washington to acquire and settle property in the area. John Stephenson settled there in 1788 and his lands abutted Jacob's Creek in modern-day Fayette County.
 |
| By Sayer, Robert, 1725-1794 -- Cartographer ;Anville, Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d', 1697-1782 -- CartographerRobert de Vaugondy, Didier, 1723-1786 -- Cartographer - a file already in Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain |
William Crawford, stepson of Richard, Sr., was probably the first and most famous of the clan to settle at the confluence of the Ohio and Youghiogheny Rivers at a place called Stewart's Crossing, where he was busy helping settlers make safe passage. He and his brother Valentine Crawford were also kept busy carrying out the desires of their childhood friend George Washington to acquire and settle property in the area. John Stephenson settled there in 1788 and his lands abutted Jacob's Creek in modern-day Fayette County.
John Stephenson's land is shown at lower left in this map from Ancestor Tracks. Northeast of his property is where Colonel Hugh Stephenson's widow Ann settled with her family. South of that, a plat for Benjamin Whaley was surveyed on the same day in 1790. Since Ann's maiden name was Whaley, this was probably her brother. Richard Stephenson Jr. and David Stephenson were other brothers who settled in that area. All of the men were mentioned several times in the correspondence of William Crawford with General Washington. William was often pressing a brother into service to help with the General's land management and development needs. General Washington visited himself in 1770 but his rising star and the demands of leadership kept him away after that.
 |
| John Stephenson |
Although the Stephensons gradually moved to the west from the estate that Richard Stephenson, Sr., established, there was one thing that always reminded them of home. At right on the map is the label "Bullskin Township". The Stephensons named the area after their homeland on the banks of the Bullskin Run in Virginia. The following clipping from the History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, explains this.
Next, we follow the Stephensons from Pennsylvania into Kentucky.
The Revolution was hard on the Stephenson and Crawford men. Col. Hugh Stephenson died of camp fever in 1776 as he was raising a new regiment of soldiers. His stepbrother Valentine Crawford was in charge of his estate, but Valentine died of pneumonia after falling through ice while traveling. Col. William Crawford, his brother, took the body back to Virginia and buried him next to his mother, Honora Grimes Crawford Stephenson, in Bullskin Churchyard. William was destined to live until 1782, but he died a horrible death at the hands of revengeful Indians in Sandusky, Ohio.
ReplyDelete