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.
See also
*
List of people from Kentucky
The following list contains persons of note who were born, raised, or spent portions of their lives in the American state of Kentucky.
Authors and journalists
Explorers, pioneers, and military personnel
Film, radio, and television perso ...
*
List of slave owners
The following is a list of notable people who owned other people as slaves, where there is a consensus of historical evidence of slave ownership, in alphabetical order by last name.
A
* Adelicia Acklen (1817–1887), at one time the wealthi ...
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