Guide to the John and Mary Stephens collection MS.R.051

Finding aid prepared by Anne Nguyen, 2012; inventory added by Zoe MacLeod, 2020.
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
(cc) 2020
The UCI Libraries
P.O. Box 19557
University of California, Irvine
Irvine 92623-9557
spcoll@uci.edu


Contributing Institution: Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
Title: John and Mary Stephens collection
Creator: Stephens, John
Creator: Stephens, Mary
Identifier/Call Number: MS.R.051
Physical Description: 0.3 Linear Feet (1 half letter document box; 1 OS folder)
Date (inclusive): 1839-1923
Abstract: This collection consists of letters and documents belonging to John and Mary Sills Stephens, who settled in San Bernardino in 1874-1875. Mrs. Stephens preceded her husband by one year in coming to California from Wisconsin and her letters to her husband during her cross-country journey by train contain vivid descriptions, including a stopover in Salt Lake City to inspect the Mormon settlement and talk with Ann Eliza, Brigham Young's wife. Two letters by John Stephens in 1883 (one of them 82 pages in length) chronicle his early life in Wisconsin and the hardships encountered during the depression of 1873, as well as his later life in San Bernardino, where he witnessed the founding of Redlands and Riverside. Of particular interest is a letter to the Democratic Free Press of Appleton, Wisconsin (October 16, 1856) expressing Stephens' views on slavery.
Language of Material: English .

Access

The collection has not been processed. It may contain restricted materials. Please contact the Department of Special Collections and Archives in advance to request access.

Publication Rights

Property rights reside with the University of California. Copyrights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Head of Special Collections and Archives.

Preferred Citation

John and Mary Stephnes collection. MS-R051. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William Harvey Stephens, 1970.

Collection Scope and Content Summary

This collection consists of letters and documents belonging to John and Mary Sills Stephens, who settled in San Bernardino in 1874-1875. Mrs. Stephens preceded her husband by one year in coming to California from Wisconsin and her letters to her husband during her cross-country journey by train contain vivid descriptions, including a stopover in Salt Lake City to inspect the Mormon settlement and talk with Ann Eliza, Brigham Young's wife. Two letters by John Stephens in 1883 (one of them 82 pages in length) chronicle his early life in Wisconsin and the hardships encountered during the depression of 1873, as well as his later life in San Bernardino, where he witnessed the founding of Redlands and Riverside. Of particular interest is a letter to the Democratic Free Press of Appleton, Wisconsin (October 16, 1856) expressing Stephens' views on slavery.

box 1, folder 1

Writings of John Stephens undated

box 1, folder 1

Poem: "Breathe not her name" (poem, ms., 1 l.) undated

box 1, folder 1

Poem: "To Mip" "I scale the snow-caped mountain ..." Ms 2 pp. undated

box 1, folder 1

Poem: "The Cherokees' reply to the proposition that they should move across the Mississippi" Noted on verso: "The speech of the Cherokee Cheif" undated

box 1, folder 1

Poem: "The Indian" (newspaper clipping) undated

box 1, folder 1

Poem: "Lines for an album" (newspaper clipping) undated

box 1, folder 1

Poem: "At the altar" (newspaper clipping, Antwerp, Jefferson County, New York). "A poem by John Stephens of San Bernardino Cal. (formerly of Antwerp, N.Y.) recited by his twelve-year-old son Otto Tank Stephens, on his entering the San Bernardino Lodge of Good Templars, Oct. 8, 1883" undated

box 1, folder 1

Section of play: Begins "I have heard enough! Go back to that assembly of cowards and tell them to set their house in order, for the French Guards, with the Emperor at their head, will be with them in one hour". Ms 2pp. undated

box 1, folder 1

Narrative: "I am told that I have but five minutes to live" Ms. 2.5 pp. undated

box 1, folder 2

"John Stevens' account of his escape in 1823 at age 13 from farmer employer to whom he had been bonded, and poem written about the occasion, 1883" 2 c. of poem, both ms. One copy is attached to account 1883

box 1, folder 3

Speech on benevolence & intemperance. Ms, 20 pp. undated

box 1, folder 4

Temperance address. Ms, 24 pp. undated

box 1, folder 5

"The Porlier-Tank cottage; its history and the people who have lived in it" by Deborah Beaumont Martin. 1925. Laid in is postcard of cottage 1925

box 1, folder 6

ALS to Miss Jennie S. Harris from Wm. D. Stephens. Oct. 22, 1922. Ms, 3 l. (Relating to William Harvey Stephens acting with the Walter Hampden Shakespearean Company.) 1922 October 22

box 1, folder 7

ALS to Mr. Homer D. L. Sweet (cousin) from John Stephens. June 7th, 1883. (June 7-24, 1883) Ms. 82 pp. Laid in is brief ms. note 1883 June 7

box 1, folder 8

"4th of July speech. 1842; delivered again in 1859. 25 pp. Mainly a temperance speech." (from envelope) 1842

box 1, folder 9

ALS to Homer D. L. Sweet from John Stephens. Nov. 8, 1883. 12 pp. 1883 November 8

box 1, folder 10

4th of July speech. Signed by John Pompey. July 4, 1838. Ms. 32 pp. 1838 July 4

box 1, folder 11

Speech on intemperance delivered to Washingtonian Society undated

box 1, folder 12

4th of July speech, 1850. Includes section on intemperance 1850

box 1, folder 13

4 speeches. Ms. undated

box 1, folder 14

ALS from Mary Sill Stephens to John Stephens. Nov. 8, 1874. 12 l. 1874 November 8

box 1, folder 15

ALS from Mary Sill Stephens from John Stephens. Dec. 1, 1874. 11 l. (Covers events in Salt Lake City relating to Brigham Young divorce.) 1874 December 11

box 1, folder 16

ALS from Mary Sill Stephens to John Stephens. June 25, 1875. 8 l. 1875 June 25

box 1, folder 17

Photocopy of biography of William Delos Stephens, including portrait undated

box FB-022, folder 8

Certificates collected by William D. Stephens circa 1839-1843