From the Stephensons to the Stuarts

 In the previous segment, I mentioned that Jemima Maudlin, Nelson Stephenson's wife, had a very interesting pedigree. Her great-great grandfather was Ezekiel Maudlin, who married a woman named Mary Hall. She was also a woman with an interesting pedigree. Her great-great-great-great grandfather was William John Hall (1517-1560), who married a woman named Mary Stuartel (1513-1570). 

In several places, Mary's father is listed as Alexander Stewart, oldest son (but illegitimate) of King James IV of Scotland. How could that be, since both the king and his son were killed at the Battle of Flodden in late 1513? This was a devastating battle, poorly planned by the Scots, and nearly all of Scotland's noble sons were slaughtered. At the time, Alexander was only 19 years old. 

It turns out that several reputable sources note that the king and his son were entertained for at least a week before the battle at Ford Castle in Northumberland in England. Its owner, Sir William Heron, was imprisoned at the time, and gave his wife permission to entertain the king and his son. Their daughter was also at the castle during that time. Distracted by Lady Heron, King James failed to plan with his troops and made several tactical errors. 

So it is possible, though implausible, that Mary Stuartel's father was Alexander Stewart. Even in this age of DNA revelations, it's nearly impossible to prove. If it were true, some of our direct ancestors would include the three previous King Jameses, King Robert II, Walter Stewart, the first High Steward of Scotland, and his wife, Marjorie Bruce, the daughter of Robert the Bruce, and de Brus himself. 

Robert Bruce (1274-1329)

Exploring the Maudlin, Hall, and Stuart Ancestors

Phyllis's Great Ancestors

Phyllis Stephenson would have been 94 yesterday, so I'm thinking about her and the Stephenson ancestors. Her great grandmother was Jemima (Maudlin) Stephenson. Jemima came from a long line of Maudlins who had come to North Carolina from Scotland and then to central Indiana when it was a young state. 

Jemima lived to age 89 years in Vernon Township, Indiana. This photo shows her sweeping her doorstep when she was in her last year of life. 

 

Jemima's grandfather, Mark Maudlin, had come to Vernon Township in 1818, according to the booklet "Stephenson Family History." They were Quakers, and Jemima's father Nathan was assessed $4.00 for refusing to take part in militia matters. 

When Nelson and Jemima died their bodies were interred in Old Mt. Tabor Cemetery, on land that had been homesteaded by Nelson's father Benjamine. He had also come to Indiana when it was newly designated a state, from Henry County, Kentucky, where his parents, William and Rebecca (Robinson) Stephenson, had a farm. Rebecca and Jemima's parents also rest at Old Mt. Tabor Cemetery. The grave monuments of Jemima and Nelson are tree statues, which were popular at the time. The monuments indicate that the Stephensons were members of Woodmen of the World, a fraternal order that provided life insurance and burial services. 

Following are some photos from the cemetery. 

Grave marker for Jemima (Maudlin) Stephenson, born August 16, 1824, died May 9, 1913. 

Grave marker for Benjamine Stephenson.

Grave marker for Mary (Grimes) Stephenson, Benjamine's wife.

The grave monuments of Jemima and Nelson Stephenson.

Scroll on Nelson Stephenson's grave monument.

Rebecca (Robinson) Stephenson grave stone.

The graves of Simpson Stephenson and his wife.

My grandfather, Charles Sylvester Stephenson, and his older sister Mayme would have known Nelson and Jemima, since they were born in 1881 and 1878, respectively. The other children were born in the years from 1912 to 1927, when Phyllis, the last of the children, was born. 

Remembering Phyllis, Part 1

Two years ago today, Phyllis Stephenson Crandell Florence left this mortal world at 11 pm. I knew her as Mom, but now I know a lot more about the child and young woman known as Phyllis Lee. She was the youngest daughter in a family full of daughters. (Only one son, Frank, grew to adulthood.) Her oldest sister, Ruth, didn't even know her mother was pregnant until Elizabeth went into labor. 

Ruth, Mayme, Helen, Dorothy, and Mary took on much of the child care of Phyllis after she was born in 1927. She felt very safe in the bosom of the family and reminisced about playing cards, singing songs around the piano, and caring for animals on the farm, near Hazelton, Kansas. Mother "Lizzie" took in sewing. Father Charles Sylvester, "Ves", worked on the farm in summers and for the railroad in winters. He was the only Stephenson son to live long enough to have a family. 

(Above, from left) Mary, Dorothy, and Phyllis Stephenson in a studio portrait.

Her sisters and brother doted on Phyllis. There are several portraits of the young Phyllis in her collection. The stock market crash of 1929 didn't affect her or her family. But in the 1930s, the Dust Bowl came and, eventually, the Stephensons moved into the closest large town of Wichita, Kansas. Ves went to work in a meat packing factory. He took the seats out of his car so he could deliver more meat. He moonlighted as a policeman at night. Lizzie continued taking in sewing.

The oldest Stephenson daughters had married by this time and were starting families of their own. Ruth and her husband moved away to Jackson, Mississippi. It was decided that Phyllis would move there too, because Ruth was lonely. They kept each other company, and Ruth saw that Phyllis received her high school diploma.

Back in Wichita, it was the end of World War II and soldiers were returning. They gathered at a night club called the Blue Moon, where famous jazz musicians like Benny Goodman, Lawrence Welk and Tommy Dorsey came to play. The Blue Moon was located on South Oliver Street, right on the runway of an airfield. Below, Phyllis is pictured third from left, with her sister Mary and Mary's husband Alan on the left, and on the right, her friend Mary Van Syoc and husband Van. John Dotson, owner of the Blue Moon, is seated next to Phyllis. 

Amidst the chatter, clinking of highball glasses, and jazzy music, Phyllis's sisters watched over her carefully, for Phyllis was not yet 21 years old. Another reason they watched over her was that they were looking out for a suitable husband for her. Times continued to be tight at the Stephenson household, Ves was getting up in years, and there was a short supply of available men returning from the War. Among them was Harry Morton Crandell, an Army Air Corps captain in his mid-30s, who had distinguished himself as an able pilot, ferrying soldiers, fuel and supplies from India to China and back over "the Hump" of the Himalayas and dodging Japanese submarine fire by flying high in the sky.

He couldn't get enough of flying, and took on any aviation job he could get: crop dusting, small aircraft flights, seeding clouds. He was regularly seen around the airfield, and it wasn't long before he was invited by his friend/business partner, Eddie Ottaway, to drop in to the Blue Moon for some R&R.

(Above) A postcard depicting the Blue Moon Ballroom and the airfield. 

Harry must have been charmed by the innocence, beauty, and sweet adoration that Phyllis gave him, and he was also swayed by the persuasive skills of her sisters. So, on February 4, 1948, Phyllis's 21st birthday, she and Harry were standing at the altar of the Methodist chapel in downtown Wichita, she in a smart suit and he in a dapper outfit, saying their vows. Eddie Ottaway was at Harry's side, and Phyllis's sister Mary was at hers.

A side benefit of the marriage was that Harry was able to move out of his childhood home full of daughters and a divorced mother. He was the oldest son (his brother Kenny was a Navy soldier) and his sisters and mother leaned on him for help. The newlyweds moved into a brick house on Royal Road and lived there until their family grew to a daughter (me) and a son, with another child on the way. Then, Harry's golfing buddy, Dick Brabham, an architect, designed a mid-century modern house on Brentwood Drive, and the family moved there. Across George Washington Blvd. was the house and pool of their friends Pauline and Eddie Ottaway. Phyllis and the children spent many summer days there. They also visited Joyland Amusement Park quite often, as it was owned by Eddie Ottaway.

Stephensons and Robinsons in a Buggy

This was posted by emeraldwitch01 on Ancestry.com:

From right are:

R L Robinson, Ruth Stephenson, Roscoe H. Robinson, Lizzie Hardesty Stephenson holding baby (Mayme?), and Dolly Hardesty Robinson. 

The location was the 101 Ranch in Bliss,  Oklahoma, and the photo was taken in 1913.

Crawford's Letters to Washington Hold Clue to Bullskin

I was reading the extensive correspondence between George Washington and William Crawford, gathered in the book The Washington-Crawford Letters, by C. W. Butterfield. Aside from being a distinguished military leader, Col. Crawford was one of the first settlers of the Ohio River Valley and helped many of the colonists who migrated there.

 They were the same age and had known each other since their teenage years. While he was much occupied in fighting the War of Independence, General Washington put Crawford in charge of surveying, acquiring, and developing his western lands in what is now Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Kentucky. It was a daunting task, as Washington desired to own many thousands of acres for farming and renting out to settlers. Many times, Crawford wrote that he had pressed his younger brother, Valentine Crawford, or one of his half-brothers into service to carry out Washington's wishes.

Who were Crawford's half-brothers? They were the sons of Richard and Honora Stephenson, whose property Washington had surveyed on the Bullskin Run in Virginia in 1750. The oldest was Hugh Stephenson, followed by John Stephenson, Richard Stephenson,  and James Stephenson. There was also a daughter, and the youngest son, Marquis Stephenson,
served as a private in the Revolutionary War. The older sons were officers, most notably Hugh, who was a Colonel and leader of the Virginia sharpshooters who hiked the famous Beeline March to join Washington near Boston at the beginning of the war. 

In 1776, Col. Hugh returned to Virginia to recruit more soldiers and there he died of "camp fever" (malaria). The executor of his will became Valentine Crawford, who also died not long after that by contracting pneumonia while falling through ice. Col. William Crawford wrote to General Washington some months later:

It is said that William took his brother's body back to Bullskin to be buried in the Bullskin Presbyterian Churchyard, beside that of his mother Honora. I read these words just before going to bed, and that night, I had a dream where I saw Honora, Richard, and Valentine lying in repose in their burial place, the same one that I had visited on the grounds of a racetrack two months ago. 

But, how could that be? I had found two marked gravestones there, with the names Thomson and Throckmorten incised on them. There were six other smaller gravestones, unlabeled or the letters had worn off after so long. But in my dream, the three bodies lay between the stones, as if there were three smaller footstones. 

So, here in these letters that Col. Crawford wrote, was proof of the location of my ancestors' graves! I am forever indebted to William Crawford for his diligent communication with George Washington. A mystery remains, however; where is Colonel Hugh Stephenson buried?

The Stephensons in Pennsylvania

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.

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.

Bullskin Run grave hunting adventure, Chapter 2

Early next month, I will be making another trip back to West Virginia to try to locate the graves of my ancestors, Richard and Honora Stephenson and their son, Col. Hugh Stephenson. I will visit and photograph grave markers on the property of the Summit Motorsports and also at Burns Farm, which is built on the foundations of Richard Stephenson's homestead, surveyed by George Washington in 1750. I will also visit the Edge Hill Cemetery in Charles Town, where another Revolutionary War hero, Col. James Stubblefield, is buried. There is also a squarish barren patch at 1636 Leetown Rd. in Charles Town that could be a deserted cemetery. I will explore all these places. Wish me luck!