Samuel Barron Stephens (1814 – August 4, 1882) was an American attorney and politician from the state of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

Biography

Stephens was born in

New Bern, North Carolina New Bern, formerly called Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 29,524, which had risen to an estimated 29,994 as of 2019. It is the county seat of Craven County and ...

, in 1814. After graduating from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which r ...

in 1832, Stephens and his family settled in the newly established

Florida Territory The Territory of Florida was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 30, 1822, until March 3, 1845, when it was admitted to the Union as the state of Florida. Originally the major portion of the Spanish ...

due to personal debts held by his father, Marcus Cicero Stephens, settling in

Gadsden County Gadsden County is a county located in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,826. Its county seat is Quincy. Gadsden County is included in the Tallahassee, FL Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

. Stephens established a successful law practice in

Quincy, Florida Quincy is a city in and the county seat of Gadsden County, Florida, United States. The population was 7,972 at the 2010 census, up from 6,982 at the 2000 census. Quincy is part of the Tallahassee metropolitan area. History Established in 182 ...

, and soon became both the city attorney and county attorney. In 1836, Stephens was mustered into the 1st brigade of the

Florida Militia Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to th ...

Marianna, Florida Marianna is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Florida, Jackson County, Florida, United States, and it is home to Chipola College. The population was 6,102 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. In 2018 the estimated populati ...

, during the

Second Seminole War The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between the United States and groups collectively known as Seminoles, consisting of Native Americans and Black Indians. It was part of a seri ...

, serving as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

and company captain. Stephens' company was mustered out of service in 1838. Stephens was a delegate at the

Florida Constitutional Convention of 1838 Florida Constitutional Convention of 1838 was convened on December 3, 1838 to fulfill the requirement for a United States territory being admitted to the union as a state. An act was passed by the Florida Territorial Council in 1838, and approved by ...

, and assisted in the writing of Florida's first constitution. A member of the Whig Party, Stephens was elected to the

Florida Territorial Council The Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida, often referred to as the Florida Territorial Council or Florida Territorial Legislative Council, was the legislative body governing the American territory of Florida (Florida Territory) before st ...

in 1841, representing Gadsden County. He served until 1842. In 1848, he was elected to the

Florida State House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted in ...

, serving only one term. In 1849, he was appointed by the Florida House of Representatives to be the solicitor for Florida's Middle Judicial Circuit Court, defeating Madison County attorney

Barton C. Pope Barton C. Pope (1813 – after April 5, 1862) was an American lawyer and politician from the state of Florida. Life Pope was born in Georgia in 1813 or 1814. Pope moved to the Florida Territory sometime between 1827 and 1844. In 1844, he purc ...

in the nomination vote. In 1861, Stephens sat as a member of the

Florida Secession Convention Florida participated in the American Civil War as a member of the Confederate States of America. It had been admitted to the United States as a slave state in 1845. In January 1861, Florida became the third Southern state to secede fro ...

. Stephens, who owned 24 slaves at the time, voted for Florida's secession from the Union. He was also a signatory of the Florida Ordinance of Secession. Stephens served in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

, and participated in the

Battle of Natural Bridge The Battle of Natural Bridge was fought during the American Civil War in what is now Woodville, Florida near Tallahassee on March 6, 1865. A small group of Confederate troops and volunteers, which included teenagers from the nearby Florida Milit ...

in 1865. A lieutenant at Natural Bridge, Stephens was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

by the end of the war. Stephens was also a prominent Freemason, serving as the Grand Master of the

Grand Lodge of Florida Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and com ...

in 1869, making him the highest ranking Mason in Florida at the time. Stephens died on August 4, 1882, in Quincy.

Personal life

Stephens's wife was Caroline Booth, a descendant of William Fitzgerald, a captain in the

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 a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of ...

. They had two daughters, Fannie and Caroline. Stephens was closely related with the Kenan political family of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

, and was a maternal descendant of

James Barron James Barron (September 15, 1768 – April 21, 1851) was an officer in the United States Navy. He served in the Quasi-War and the Barbary Wars, during which he commanded a number of famous ships, including and . As commander of the frigate ...

, a

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore, a ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and commander of the

USS Chesapeake USS ''Chesapeake'' may refer to: *, a 38-gun frigate in commission from 1800 to 1813 *USS ''Chesapeake'', a sloop renamed in 1799 while still under construction, launched in 1799, and sold in 1801 *USS ''Chesapeake'', a bark which served as a tra ...

during the ''Chesapeake''–''Leopard'' affair in 1807. Stephens's house in Quincy, the Colonel Samuel B. Stephens House, which was built between 1842 and 1850, is listed as one of Quincy's historic homes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Samuel Barron 1814 births 1882 deaths Date of birth unknown Florida Whigs Members of the Florida House of Representatives 19th-century American legislators People of Florida in the American Civil War 19th-century American lawyers American Freemasons Politicians from New Bern, North Carolina People from Quincy, Florida Confederate States Army officers Florida National Guard personnel 19th-century Florida politicians