Richard Stephens (September 7, 1755 – died July 2, 1831) was an

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

soldier, politician, slave-plantation owner and Breckinridge County,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, pioneer. He is the namesake of Stephensport, Kentucky, a river town and port along the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

.Johnson, E. Polk (1912)
''A History of Kentucky and Kentuckians: The Leaders and Representative Men in Commerce, Industry and Modern Activities''
Volume 3 ( Google eBook). Chicago, New York:

Lewis Publishing Company Edward Gardner Lewis (March 4, 1869 – August 10, 1950) was an American magazine publisher, land development promoter, and political activist. He was the founder of two planned communities that are now cities: University City, Missouri, and Atas ...

Early life and personal life

Stephens was born in the

Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia was a British Empire, British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colo ...

.Leonard, Elizabeth (2011)
"Lincoln's Forgotten Ally: Judge Advocate General Joseph Holt of Kentucky"

University of North Carolina Press The University of North Carolina Press (or UNC Press), founded in 1922, is a not-for-profit university press associated with the University of North Carolina. It was the first university press founded in the southern United States. It is a mem ...

. In Virginia, in September 1780, Stephens married Elizabeth Jennings, four years his junior and a native of

Fairfax County Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. With a population of 1,150,309 as of the 2020 census, it is the most populous county in Virginia, the most populous jurisdiction in the Washington ...

, Virginia. Elizabeth and Richard produced nine children: Ann (born 1781), Eleanor (born 1783), Robert (born 1786), Richard (born 1788), Elizabeth (born 1791), Sarah (born 1794), Daniel (born 1795), Mary Ann (born 1797), and Jemima (born 1801).

Career

Stephens served as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

for three years during the American Revolution. In February 1784, for payment for his service as an American Revolutionary soldier on the

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

line, twenty-nine-year-old Stephens accepted a 100,000-acre

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

on the Ohio River in Kentucky (Nelson, Jefferson, and Breckinridge County). Over time, Stephens added more land to his estate. By 1799, with over 100,000 acres (about 150 square miles), including a large plantation eight miles south of Hawesville, and a 2,000-acre tract of land that Stephensport was sitting on, and at least a dozen slaves, Stephens was the wealthiest landowner in Breckinridge County. Stephensport, plotted in 1803, was named in his honor. Stephens served in the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a ...

in 1819, and in the

Kentucky Senate The Kentucky Senate is the upper house of the Kentucky General Assembly. The Kentucky Senate is composed of 38 members elected from single-member districts throughout Kentucky, the Commonwealth. There are no term limits for Kentucky senators. T ...

from 1823 to 1827.

Death

He died in Breckinridge County.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Richard Place of birth missing 1755 births 1831 deaths 18th-century American planters Continental Army soldiers Farmers from Kentucky Kentucky pioneers Kentucky state senators Members of the Kentucky House of Representatives People from Breckinridge County, Kentucky People of Kentucky in the American Revolution People of Virginia in the American Revolution American slave owners 19th-century members of the Kentucky General Assembly

Early life and personal life

Career

Death

See also

References