Stephens Stuff to Pursue Later

Stop me before I google again.

 

STEPHENS, LAMONT LEVERN: Attorney; b Rockville, Neb Dec 8, 1887; s of William Harrison Stephens-Anna Martha Thoresen; ed Rockville; KSTC; U of N, LLB 1914; Order of Coif; m Elizabeth Lucretia Warren May 25, 1915 Ulysses; s Norman E; d Ruth; 1914 adm to Neb bar; 1914- prac law, Loup City; 1916-23 Sherman Co atty; 1925-29 Sherman Co judge; during World War chmn of Sherman Co legal advisory bd & 4-min man; chmn Sherman Co Bar Assn; Neb St Bar Assn; IOOF; AF&AM; Scot Rite 32o; RAM, past dep custodian 9 years; parents came to Sherman Co 1872; grandparents, William Harrison & Ruama Randall Stephens; great grandparents George S & Serah Wood Stephens; res Loup city.

http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/topic/resources/OLLibrary/who1940/co/sherman2.htm

 

Lamont L. Stephens

One of Nebraska’s able lawyers is Lamont L. Stephens who has been engaged in legal practice at Loup City, Nebraska, since 1914. He was born at Rockville, Nebraska, December 8, 1887, and is the son of William Harrison and Anna Martha (Thompson) Stephens. His father, who was a farmer and stockraiser, was born at Durand, Illinois, January 17, 1851, and died at Hot Springs, South Dakota, December 24, 1908. His mother was born in Norway, November 12, 1852.

William Harrison Stephens was the son of William Harrison and Ruama (Randall) Stephens, who were natives of Onondaga County, New York, Theirs was the first marriage recorded in Wayne District and occurred October 26, 1836.

Mr. Stephens attended the Roekville Public School, was a student at Nebraska State Normal College at Kearney, Nebraska, and received the LL. B. degree in 1914 at the University of Nebraska where he received the Order of the Coif. He opened a law office in Loup City immediately after his admission to the bar and has been a leader in professional affairs since that date.

He was married at Ulysses, Nebraska, May 25, 1915, to Elizabeth Lueretia Warren, who was born at Rising City, Nebraska. Three children were born to them, of whom two are living: Ruth, born April 29, 1918; and Norman, July 21, 1920. Lowell Warren, who was born November 12, 1916, died January 20, 1917.

Mr. Stephens is a member of the Nebraska State Bar Association, the Masons, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He served as county attorney of Sherman County, 1915-23, and was county judge there from 1925 to 1929. Residence: Loup City.

http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/topic/resources/OLLibrary/Nebraskana/pages/nbka0256.htm

 

Stephens Family Genealogy Forum

William Harrison Stephens, Camillus, NY
Posted by: Gary Studebaker Date: April 04, 2001
Looking for family origins and relatives:
William Harrison Stephens, Jr. B. 1-17-1841 in Il. Married Anna Martha Thompson (Thoreson)
William Harrison Stephens, Sr. B. 1-10-1815, Camillus, NY. Married Ruama Randall.
George Stephens, B. 9-11-1775, Schnectady, NY. Married Serah Wood.
William Stephens, married to Eunice(?). This family was related to Benedict Arnold. Wm. Harrison Jr. was my great grandfather who settled in Sherman County, Ne.

http://genforum.genealogy.com/cgi-bin/pageload.cgi?william,harrison::stephens::3689.html

 

Family of Joshua Randall and his wife Sarah Smith (!!)

Ruama Randall

Who Am I?

“Over 99.9 percent of the human genome (which means the complete set of genetic material in a person) is exactly the same across the species and around the world. All human variation, from height to hair color to freckles, comes down to just the 0.1 percent of our genetic makeup that differs. It’s a small world after all.” — Buzzy Jackson in “Shaking the Family Tree”

I’ve been doing genealogy research on and off (mostly off) since about 1999, when I first got online at home. Before that, I knew very little about my heritage. I basically knew my grandparents’ names and the names of two great-grandparents. My heritage was a big, yawning gap. I had an urge to learn more, to try to understand where I came from — what made me who I am.

When I was a kid, I tried a couple of times to ask my paternal grandparents, Acey and Winnie Stephens, where our family came from. I remember one time when I was trying to collect information for a homework assignment. My dainty little Grandma started to answer, “Well, honey, on my side we’re English and Irish and ….” My Grandpa, a blustery old cowboy, interrupted. “Those people were rapists and murderers! Don’t you tell people about them. You tell people you come from Bohemian royalty!”

I was mystified. I didn’t figure out what Bohemians were until I was in my twenties. (Mostly Czechoslovakian.) I still don’t know why my Grandpa thought the Brits were rapists and murderers. But through genealogy, I’ve learned that my Grandpa’s mother’s maiden name was Frances Zalud, which is probably where any royalty is hiding. I’ve also learned that he had a grandmother (Anna Martha Thoresen) who immigrated from Norway to Nebraska around 1864, a great-grandfather (William Harrison Stephens Sr.) who died in the San Francisco Gold Rush in 1850, a Dutch great-great-grandmother (Sarah “Sally” Smith Randall) whose ancestors settled Manhattan (AKA New Amsterdam), and a sixth great-grandfather (John Randall) who came from England to the colony of Rhode Island around 1666 — more than a hundred years before the Declaration of Independence was signed.

These are just a few of the threads that tie my Grandpa and me to the past. They give me context, pride, a feeling of belonging. Not that my heritage is any better than anyone else’s. Royalty or not, I believe we all have a heritage to be proud of — ancestors who lived and struggled and raised children and crossed continents and sometimes oceans. And if you go back far enough, we’re all related.

I’ve been reading “Shaking the Family Tree: Blue Bloods, Black Sheep, and Other Obsessions of an Accidental Genealogist” by Buzzy Jackson. Part memoir, part how-to, it’s a fun and fascinating romp through her family history journey.

“Those clever geneticists have been able to trace the origins of human beings back to two genetically specific human beings who lived tens of thousands of years ago [in eastern Africa]. Allow me to introduce your ancient ancestors: Y-Chromosomal Adam and Mitochondrial Eve … the oldest known ancestors of everyone on earth.”

It makes you wonder: Can’t we all just get along?