Lawrence "Lon" Vest Stephens (December 1, 1858 – January 10, 1923) was an American politician, newspaper editor, and banker from

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. He served as State Treasurer of Missouri from 1890 to 1897, and as the 29th Governor of Missouri from 1897 to 1901.

Early life

Stephens was born in

Boonville, Missouri Boonville is a city and the county seat of Cooper County, Missouri, United States. The population was 7,964 at the 2020 census. The city was the site of a skirmish early in the American Civil War, Civil War, on July 17, 1861. Union forces defeat ...

. He was the son of Martha (née Gibson) and Joseph Lafayette Stephens, an attorney, banker, and railroad builder.Conard, Howard Louis
Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri: a Compendium of History And Biography for Ready Reference. Volume 6
New York: Southern History Co., 1901. pp. 71-74. His father was also an unsuccessful candidate for governor. He attended Boonville public schools, followed by three years at Cooper Institute. Next, he attended the Kemper Family School for three years.'
Lon Vest Stephens
" The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography'', Vol. XII, (1904), p. 309. via The Internet Archive While he was a student, his father taught him about banking and employed him as a bank messenger and teller. He also took a course in telegraphy, leading to a job with

Western Union The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Denver, Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the co ...

in Boonville. He enrolled in

Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University (Washington and Lee or W&L) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. Established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, it is among ...

, becoming interested in finance and economics. While there, he was a member of the Fraternity of Delta Psi (

St. Anthony Hall St. Anthony Hall or the Fraternity of Delta Psi is an American fraternity and literary society. Its first chapter was founded at Columbia University on , the feast day of Saint Anthony the Great. The fraternity is a non–religious, nonsectar ...

). He graduated with a law degree in 1877. After college, he traveled in Europe.

Career

After college in 1878, Stephens became a bookkeeper at the Central National Bank of Boonville, managed by his father. There, he rose to cashier, vice-president, and director. In 1879, he became the owner and editor of the Boonsville ''Advertiser''. In 1887, he became the receiver of the Fifth National Bank of

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

after it failed. He was also the financial agent of Cooper County and Morgan County. He increased his ownership of the Central National Bank, opened a bank in Bunceton, and was key in creating the Central Missouri Trust Company in

Jefferson City Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Missouri. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 United States census, ranking as the List of cities in Missouri, 16th most popu ...

. He also owned stockholder in the bank of

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and in various banks in St. Louis. He became aide-de-camp on the staffs of Governor John Marmaduke and Governor

David R. Francis David Rowland Francis (October 1, 1850January 15, 1927) was an American politician and diplomat. He served in various positions including Mayor of St. Louis, the 27th Governor of Missouri, and United States Secretary of the Interior. He was th ...

, eventually becoming paymaster-general.Lon V. Stephens, Ex-Governor of Missouri, Dead
. ''The St. Louis Star and Times''. January 10, 1923. p. 2. Retrieved May 14, 2022 – via

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. It is owned by The ...

. On March 12, 1890, Governor Francis appointed Stephens as State Treasurer of Missouri, to fill the unexpired term of Edward T. Noland. He was nominated for a full term by the Democratic State convention 1892, and won the general election. He remained in that office through 1897. While State Treasurer, he advocated for

bimetallism Bimetallism, also known as the bimetallic standard, is a monetary standard in which the value of the monetary unit is defined as equivalent to certain quantities of two metals, typically gold and silver, creating a fixed Exchange rate, rate of ...

, contributing money and time to promote the

silver standard The silver standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed weight of silver. Silver was far more widespread than gold as the monetary standard worldwide, from the Sumerians 3000 BC until 1873. Following t ...

. Over the course of two years, he wrote a weekly column, "Silver Nuggets," for his Boonville ''Advertiser''—however, he stepped down as editor of the newspaper when he became State Treasurer. These article were republished in a pamphlet and in Democratic newspapers by the Missouri Democratic central committee. After serving as governor, Stephens returned to his banking interests in Boonville, Jefferson City, and St. Louis. He retained the newspaper until several years before his death. Lon_V

Governor

In 1896, Stephens was nominated as the Democratic candidate for Governor of Missouri by acclamation, the first time that Missouri Democrats had done so. He used his knowledge of newspapers to advance his campaign, and that of

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator, and politician. He was a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running three times as the party' ...

who running for president at the same time. In the 1896 general election, Stephens won by a sizeable majority. As Governor, he supported funding for public schools and state universities. He also supported the expansion of insane asylums. He took on the state's prison system, turning it into a self-supporting institution and money-maker for the state. Other bills that he endorsed created a State Fair, a State Historical Society, and homes for Union and Confederate veterans. He also supported funding for the

St. Louis World's Fair The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds totaling $15 mill ...

. Stephens was in favor of

progressive tax A progressive tax is a tax in which the tax rate increases as the taxable amount increases. The term ''progressive'' refers to the way the tax rate progresses from low to high, with the result that a taxpayer's average tax rate is less than the ...

ation, increasing taxes on wealthy corporations in proportion to their value, and reducing the tax burden on farmers and small property holders. He also was strongly for anti-trust laws. One of his canvass speeches, "Why I am a Democrat," was published in newspapers across the country. While he was governor, he also continued to write articles for the Boonsville ''Advertiser'' through an anonymous column called "Sharps and Flats." Freed from his name, he shared his opinions of current political events. Stephens was also engaged in an ongoing military scandal with the

Missouri National Guard The Missouri National Guard (MONG), commonly known as the Missouri Guard, is a component of the Army National Guard and Missouri State Department of the National Guard. It is composed of Army National Guard, Army and Missouri Air National Guard, A ...

due to the organization and failed reforms of the regiments within. One of his notable critics was Colonel Edwin Batdorf of the 1st Missouri who'd engage in debates with Stephens during the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

. Batdorf would later file a dropped lawsuit in damages during Stephens' reorganization of the regiments which excluded Batdorf himself.

Personal life

Stephens married Margaret Nelson of Booneville on October 5, 1880. She was the daughter of Margaret (née Wyan) and James M. Nelson, who was associated with the Central National Bank of Booneville and was one of the wealthiest residents of central Missouri. The couple did not have children. In 1890, they moved to

. Around 1893, they move into Ivy Terrace, a Queen Anne style house on 500 East Capital Avenue in Jefferson City. They lived there until he became governor in 1897. He was a

Mason Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a worker who lays bricks to assist in brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cutti ...

and a member of the

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

. He was also a member of the

Methodist Episcopal Church, South The Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MEC, S; also Methodist Episcopal Church South) was the American Methodist denomination resulting from the 19th-century split over the issue of slavery in the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC). Disagreement ...

. He was a donor to Central College in

Fayette, Missouri Fayette is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Missouri, United States. It is part of the Columbia, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 2,803 at the 2020 census. History Fayette was laid out in 1823. ...

which named the Stephens Scientific Hall in his honor. After he retired from politics, the couple moved to St. Louis and lived on Cabanne Avenue. In his later years, he suffered from failing vision and poor health. Stephens died at his home in

in 1923 at the age of 64 from

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases (e.g. angina pectoris, angina, myocardial infarction, heart attack), heart failure, ...

. He was buried in Walnut Grove Cemetery in Boonville, Missouri with Masonic rituals. Ivy Terrace, his former home, was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1990.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Lon Vest 1858 births 1923 deaths Democratic Party governors of Missouri State treasurers of Missouri American bankers Editors of Missouri newspapers People from Boonville, Missouri Kemper Military School alumni Washington and Lee University alumni St. Anthony Hall Methodists from Missouri American Freemasons 19th-century Missouri politicians 19th-century American newspaper people 19th-century Methodists