Carter Squire Stephens Family

Submitted by Colleen Hoffman

My great-great-grandfather, Carter Squire Stephens was born in Heilman (November 11, 1880) to Richard Stephens and Nancy (Brown). (death certificate and obit)

His father, Richard Stephens was born in Indiana in 1846 to William and Elizabeth (McClary) Stephens. William and Elizabeth were married December 20, 1867 in Warrick County. (Info given by Patricia Banks, descendant of William Whitfield Stevens, Richard's brother.)

According to Patricia and 1850 census records (Shelton Twp) and 1870 census records (Owen twp) the other members of the William and Elizabeth family were:
1. Minerva Stephens b. 1841
2. John W. Stephens b. 1842
3. Margaret Ellen Stephens b. 1844, m. 2.12/1860, d. bef.1900
4. Richard T. Stephens b.1846, m.12/20/1867, d. abt.1855
5. Sirona Ann Stephens b.1849
6. William Whitfield Stevens b. 5/20/1851, m. 7/9/1870, d.4/22/1925
7. Elizabeth Stephens b. 1853, m. 4/7/1872
8. Hannah Stephens b. 1855, m. 12/7/1870

Richard and Nancy Brown were married December 20, 1867 in Warrick County, Indiana. The members of the Richard and Nancy (Brown) Stephens household found on 1870 census records (Owen twp) and 1880 census records (Pigeon twp) and 1900 (Webster County Kentucky, Blackford twp) were:

1. Hiram T. Stephens b. 1870 (d. 7/17/1872 age: 2 yrs 3 mo 15 days - buried at Bethabra Cemetery, son of R. Stephens and Nancy Brown (Cemetery record))
2. James J. Stephens b. 1872, m. Maggie Spencer March 9, 1896; *lived in Gentryville, IN in 1946 (*info from brother Carter's obituary)
3. Truit Stephens b. 1874 (note from my grandmother says that he passed away at an early age. He was not mentioned in his brother Carter's obit).
4. Morilus Rigan Stephens b. 1878 (called Rig, and was living in Dallas Texas in 1946, according to brother Carter's obit)
5. Carter Squire Stephens (Squire Lee on 1880 census) b. 11/11/1880, m. Nora Francis Farris in Crook County, Wyoming 5/8/1907, d.5/31/1946 in Brownwood, TX
6. Floid Stephens b. 6/25/1882 (found in Indiana births 1880-1920 on Ancestry, born to R. Stephens and Nancy Brown)
7. (?)
8. L. D. "Deacon" Stephens b. 1888 (went to Wyoming and lived in Sundance - 1910 Crook County census - lived in Big Bend Oregon in 1946 according to brother Carter's obit).

Richard enlisted in the 65th Indiana Infantry, Co. E in 1862 while living in Folsomville. The regiment was organized in Princeton. He mustered out in 1865 and married Nancy Brown, and in 1867 they began their family together. On the 1870 census it shows that Richard and Nancy lived in Owen township and had no children yet. On the 1880 census it showed that Richard and Nancy lived in Pigeon twp and had 4 children: James J. (8), Truit (6), Morilus (2), and Squire Lee (7mo). They had lost a son, Hiram T. born April 2, 1870. He and Nancy also had a son, Floid, born June 25, 1882, and another, L. D. born in 1888. He had a farm in Heilman during the 1890's as confirmed in letters that he wrote to his brother, William Whitfield Stevens. Richard grew potatoes, corn, and wheat, according to the letters. He and wife Nancy split up sometime near 1900, and according to my grandma the family was divided. Richard took a long trip out west in the fall of 1900 leaving some of his sons in a place called Shenandoah. When he returned from that trip he moved from Heilman to Blackford just in time for the 1900 census and went into partnership in a business down there with another older man for a time. He had his son, Carter with him in Blackford during the 1900 census, and a niece, Nan. His son, Carter went off to business college in Evansville (note from my grandma) or possibly Shenandoah (note from other relatives) sometime between 1900 and 1905. After college Carter moved out west to Rapid City, South Dakota, married Nora Farris in 1907 and applied for a homestead land patent. Richard then moved from Blackford, Kentucky back to Indiana and took care of the Garvin Wood Park in Evansville for many years (according to relatives of Patricia Banks) before his death August 26, 1913. He died and is reportedly buried in Evansville.