Charles Otis Stevens (1827 - 1871)

Born 27 Mar 1827 in Massachusetts

Ancestors

Husband of Laura Jane (Messer) Stevens — married 1856 in Sacramento, California

Husband of Emaline Laverta (Pierce) Stevens — married 9 Oct 1864 in Dracut, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died 10 Jun 1871 at age 44 in Sacramento, California

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Biography

John Stevens sailed in April, 1638, from South Hampton, England, to the United States on the ship "Confidence" with his wife, Elizabeth, his widowed mother, Alice Stevens, his brother William, and two servants. He was born in Caversham, Oxford Co, England. He was the 5th settler of Andover, MA, where he died in 1662. His is the only tombstone erected in memory of the early settlers that remains in the old Andover burying ground. His wife died at Andover 1 May 1694, and left a very interesting will. The original will is dated 1 Oct 1687, with a codicil added 7 Sep 1691. She was very concerned about the disposition of her new iron pot, and at the bottom of the codicil she wrote, in her own hand, "I leave my new iornn poot to my grandaughter Elizabeth Woodman." That she was able to write is amazing, and that she was still doing so at the age of nearly 80 is even more amazing. It is interesting that the pot was still "new" four years later. It must have been quite a pot!

The Stevens family stayed in Massachusetts for two centuries, with a long line of Benjamins living in Metheun, Dracut, Haverhill, Billerica, and Andover. Massachuetts vital records have been preserved and numerous Stevens children are listed in those towns. Likewise, the wills of all our Stevens ancestors are available through county probate records.

Charles Otis Stevens, youngest son of Benjamin and Myra Kittredge Stevens, had the wanderlust and left MA for California in the early 1850's to try his hand at mining. He didn't find gold, but he found a way to make some money by carrying silver watches from MA to Sacramento and selling them for big prices. He made 3 or 4 trips, and "San Francisco Passenger Lists" shows the name C Stevens on the ship "Panama" from Panama on 6 Jul 1850, on the "Independence" from Nicaragua on 8 Jan 1852, and on the "Monumental City" from Nicaragua on 17 May 1852. Of course, there may have been other "C Stevens," so there is no way to know if all of these were our ancestor.

Charles Otis and his first wife, Laura Messer, had two children; only James Wendell survived. Laura died when Wendell was 4 years old, and Charles Otis married Emmaline Laverta Pierce in 1864 in Dracut, MA. They had three children, but Laverta died when they were all very young. Her mother came to California to raise the four children, but Wendell did not get along with her, so he boarded with a family in Danville, CA, and went to a military boarding school after his father died in 1871.

Wendell's half-brother, Charles Alexis Stevens, a banker and hardware merchant, died at the age of 41. There are several newspaper articles about his death. According to the first, it was suicide committed at the home of a beautiful young woman, but there were two shots fired into his heart. It turns out he was a married man with two young children, but he had been "paying attention to a young woman whose father had frequently expressed resentment." The fact that two pistols were found by his side lead the police to conclude that he was murdered.

James Wendell Stevens married Emma Daisy Putnam in Walnut Creek, California, in 1879. They immediately began the trek to Washington Territory, where they had six children. Wendell left his family and went back to California. Some stories had him involved with a red-haired maid, but his daughter, Myrtle Stevens Mount, was greatly offended by even a hint of such things, and she came strongly to his defense. At any rate, he died in Long Beach, Los Angeles County, CA, on 11 Apr 1935. Mrs. Belle Ray of Long Beach provided the information on his death certificate, and his address is the same as her's. He may have been living in a boarding house, but we'll never know the whole story.

Sources

• Sue Allen Kendrick

HOUSEHOLD

Charles O Stevens M 23 Massachusetts Henry M Stevens M 15 Massachusetts Joanna Stevens F 12 Massachusetts Edward A Stevens M 8 Massachusetts Abba E Stevens F 5 Massachusetts William K Stevens M 21 Massachusetts Myra Stevens F 19 Massachusetts Joseph Stevens M 17 Massachusetts Myra Stevens F 45 Massachusetts

CITING THIS RECORD

"United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDSM-3D8 : accessed 11 March 2016), Charles O Stevens, Dracut, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; citing family 1201, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

CHARLES O STEVENS Birth: unknown Death: Jun. 10, 1871

Family links: Parents: Benjamin Stevens (1790 - 1848) Myra Kittredge Stevens (1804 - 1880)

Spouses: Laura J. Messer Stevens (1830 - 1862) Emaline L. Stevens (____ - 1872)

Children: Charles Orville Stevens (____ - 1862)* Laura Jane Stevens (1862 - 1862)* Annetta Gertrude Stevens LaBaree (1868 - 1951)*

Siblings: Charles O. Stevens (____ - 1871) Edward A. Stevens (1811 - 1908)* Myra A Stevens Barney (1830 - 1919)*

Inscription: Farewell, aged 44 years 2 months

Burial: Alamo Cemetery Alamo Contra Costa County California, USA Plot: Section 40 Dahlia GPS (lat/lon): 37.83604, -122.01479

Created by: countedx58 Record added: May 18, 2005 Find A Grave Memorial# 10989637