Stephen C. Stevens (1793 – November 7, 1870)Minde C. Browning, Richard Humphrey, and Bruce Kleinschmidt,
Biographical Sketches of Indiana Supreme Court Justices
, ''

Indiana Law Review The Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law (IU McKinney) is located on the campus of Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in Indianapolis, Indiana, the urban campus of Indiana University. In the summer of 2 ...

'', Vol. 30, No. 1 (1997), section reproduced i
Indiana Courts Justice Biographies page
was an American judge,

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solici ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, and

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

who served in the

Indiana House of Representatives The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House mem ...

, the

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, and as a Justice on the

Indiana Supreme Court The Indiana Supreme Court, established by Article 7 of the Indiana Constitution, is the highest judicial authority in the state of Indiana. Located in Indianapolis, the Court's chambers are in the north wing of the Indiana Statehouse. In Dece ...

Biography

Early life and education

Born in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

in 1793, Stevens moved to

Brookville, Indiana Brookville is a town in Brookville Township, Franklin County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,596 at the 2010 census. The town is the county seat of and the largest community entirely within Franklin County. History Brookville was ...

sometime before 1812. In Brookville, Stevens worked a variety of jobs, including as a

tavern A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that h ...

keeper and

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

. While working as a shopkeeper, he was

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of ...

for selling a tin pan to a Native American but the indictment was eventually

quash A motion to quash is a request to a court or other tribunal to render a previous decision or proceeding null or invalid. The exact usage of motions to quash depend on the rules of the particular court or tribunal. In some cases, motions to quash a ...

ed. Stevens traveled to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

on business in 1814, during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It ...

. Stevens ended up joining American soldiers under General

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame a ...

, serving in the now-famous

Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815 between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the Fren ...

. During the battle Stevens was wounded in the head by a

musket ball A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually dis ...

, an injury which would trouble him for the rest of his life.

Political career, judicial service, and later life

Stevens returned to Brookville after the war and began studying law, being admitted to the Indiana bar in 1817. Also in 1817, he represented Franklin County in the

Indiana General Assembly The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Senate. ...

. During this brief first stint in the General Assembly, the famously short-tempered Stevens began a legal squabble with James Noble (one of Indiana's U.S. Senators at the time) which ended with the Franklin County Circuit Court fining both men five-hundred dollars. Stevens moved to

Vevay, Indiana Vevay ( ) is a town located in Jefferson Township and the county seat of Switzerland County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 1,683 at the 2010 census. History The first settlers who arrived in 1802 were Swiss i ...

in 1817, where he helped to organize a local branch of the

state bank A state bank is generally a financial institution that is chartered by a federated state, as opposed to one regulated at the federal or national level. State banks differ from a reserve bank in that it does not necessarily control monetary polic ...

. Stevens would serve as the branch's president until the bank failed, whereupon he returned to practicing law. Stevens returned to the state legislature in 1823, when he represented Switzerland County in the

. In 1824, Stevens became Speaker of Indiana House of Representatives before leaving the General Assembly again. He returned to represent Switzerland County in the House once more from 1826 to 1827. In 1828, he was elected to the

. He would serve as a senator until he was appointed to the Indiana Supreme Court by

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

James B. Ray. Stevens served as a Justice of Indiana Supreme Court from 1831, succeeding the retiring Justice

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. In 1836, Stevens resigned from the court to open a law office in

Madison, Indiana Madison is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River. As of the 2010 United States Census its population was 11,967. Over 55,000 people live within of downtown Madison. Madison is the larges ...

. He was succeeded by Justice Charles Dewey. Stevens was a prominent

, opposing and criticizing

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

throughout his life. He represented

African-Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

in court several times. A resolution he drafted calling for the emancipation of slaves was later adopted by the New School Presbyterian Synod. Additionally, Stevens was the candidate of the abolitionist Liberty Party during the 1846 Indiana gubernatorial election.

Personal life and death

Stevens was a Freemason and helped to found a local

Masonic temple A Masonic Temple or Masonic Hall is, within Freemasonry, the room or edifice where a Masonic Lodge meets. Masonic Temple may also refer to an abstract spiritual goal and the conceptual ritualistic space of a meeting. Development and history I ...

in Brookville in 1817. However, Stevens gave up Freemasonry when public opinion in the United States turned against the Masons following the widely publicized disappearance of William Morgan. Stevens would amass considerable wealth during his lucrative career as a collections attorney. However, he would lose all of his money following an unsuccessful investment in the burgeoning

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

industry in 1851 and 1852. After losing his fortune, Stevens began to suffer from

insanity Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to ...

and became deeply

delusional A delusion is a false fixed belief that is not amenable to change in light of conflicting evidence. As a pathology, it is distinct from a belief based on false or incomplete information, confabulation, dogma, illusion, hallucination, or some ...

. He was admitted to the Indiana Hospital for the Insane in Indianapolis. After an old friend, John Test, visited Stevens in the hospital and reported to Governor

Conrad Baker Conrad Baker (February 12, 1817 – April 28, 1885) was an American attorney, military officer, and politician who served as state representative, 15th lieutenant governor, and the 15th governor of the U.S. state of Indiana from 1867 to 1873. ...

about the former justice's poor mental state, Baker and his associates raised money to have a suit tailored and gifted to Stevens to commemorate his long and successful career in law. Stevens was moved by the present and gave a speech thanking those who gifted it to him. Days later, on November 7, 1870, Stevens died at the hospital at age 77.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Stephen 1793 births 1870 deaths Members of the Indiana House of Representatives American judges People from Brookville, Indiana Justices of the Indiana Supreme Court Liberty Party (United States, 1840) politicians American Freemasons