Ebenezer Stevens (August 11, 1751 – September 2, 1823) was a
lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
in the
Continental Army
The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
during the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
, a
major general
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
in the
New York state militia
The New York Guard (NYG) is the state defense force of New York State, also called The New York State Military Reserve. Originally called the New York State Militia it can trace its lineage back to the American Revolution and the War of 1812.
Th ...
, and a
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
merchant.
Early life
Stevens was born on August 11, 1751, in
Roxbury in what was then the
Province of Massachusetts Bay
The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the Thirteen Colonies, thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III of England, William III and Mary II ...
in
British America
British America comprised the colonial territories of the English Empire, which became the British Empire after the 1707 union of the Kingdom of England with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, in the Americas from 16 ...
.
[Library.marist.edu](_blank)
The Reese Family Papers, ''Marist College Archives and Special Collections''. He was the son of Ebenezer Stevens (1726–1763) and Elizabeth (
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Weld) Stevens (b. 1727), and his paternal grandfather was Erasmus Stevens, a native of Boston,
a lieutenant with the
Military Company of the Massachusetts.
Career
Ebenezer Stevens was a participant in what became known as the
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was an American political and mercantile protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1773. The target was the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, which allowed the British East India Company to sell tea ...
. A member of the Sons of Liberty, he began his career in Paddock's Artillery Company along with the likes of
Paul Revere
Paul Revere (; December 21, 1734 O.S. (January 1, 1735 N.S.)May 10, 1818) was an American silversmith, engraver, early industrialist, Sons of Liberty member, and Patriot and Founding Father. He is best known for his midnight ride to ale ...
and Thomas Crafts.
[Boston-tea-party.org](_blank)
The Boston Tea Party Historical Society. Together with other members of the company, and under the leadership of Jabez Hatch, he participated in the
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was an American political and mercantile protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1773. The target was the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, which allowed the British East India Company to sell tea ...
. His later recollections to his family debunked the myth that the participants had dressed up as Native Americans.
Revolutionary War service
Not long after the
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was an American political and mercantile protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1773. The target was the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, which allowed the British East India Company to sell tea ...
he moved to
Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
and there, upon receiving news of the
Battle of Lexington
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord ...
, volunteered for the Continental Army. He was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the Company of Rhode Island Artillery in May 1775, and fought in the
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peripherally involved in ...
under Major General
Nathanael Greene
Nathanael Greene (June 19, 1786, sometimes misspelled Nathaniel) was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. He emerged from the war with a reputation as General George Washington's most talented and dependabl ...
.
He was promoted to major of the Independent Battalion of Artillery on November 9, 1776.
Ebenezer was selected by George Washington to raise battalions against Quebec, Canada. Ebenezer was present at the surrender of the British General Burgoyne at Saratoga, New York, on October 17, 1777. He served under the French general the
Marquis de Lafayette
Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revoluti ...
in Virginia with distinction.
On November 24, 1778, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in Lamb's Continental Artillery Regiment (later the
2nd Continental Artillery Regiment
The 2nd Continental Artillery Regiment also known as Lamb's Continental Artillery Regiment was authorized on 1 January 1777 as Colonel John Lamb's Continental Artillery Regiment. As originally constituted, the regiment included 12 artillery comp ...
) to rank from April 30, 1778. In 1781 he was one of the artillery commanders at the
Siege of Yorktown
The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German battle (from the presence of Germans in all three armies), beginning on September 28, 1781, and ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virgi ...
. He was discharged from the army in June 1783.
After the war
Although it is stated in several sources that Stevens was a major general in the United States Army, there is no official documentation to support this notion. He was, however, a major general in the New York state militia after the Revolution and mobilized militiamen to defend New York City in case of British attack in September 1814.
He lived as a merchant in New York City.
[ In 1795 Stevens and ]Peter Schermerhorn
Peter Schermerhorn (October 1, 1749 – January 28, 1826) was a wealthy New York City merchant and land owner. He was the father of Abraham Schermerhorn and the paternal grandfather of Caroline Schermerhorn Astor.
Early life
Schermerhorn was b ...
purchased a water lot from William Beekman. Three years later, four buildings at 220-226 Front Street were built on the portion that had been filled in. Stevens, a fleet owner and liquor importer, operated out of 222 Front Street.Landmarks Preservation committee, "South Street Seaport Historic District Designation Report", 1977
/ref>
Personal life
Stevens was married twice. He married his first wife, Rebecca Hodgden (sometimes spelled Hodgdon), in Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
, on October 11, 1774. Rebecca was the daughter of Benjamin Hodgdon. Together, Ebenezer and Rebecca were the parents of:
* Elizabeth Stevens (1775–1777), who died young.
* Horatio Gates Stevens (1778–1873), who married Eliza Lucille Rhinelander (1789–1873), a daughter of William Rhinelander. He was also a major general
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
in the New York state militia
The New York Guard (NYG) is the state defense force of New York State, also called The New York State Military Reserve. Originally called the New York State Militia it can trace its lineage back to the American Revolution and the War of 1812.
Th ...
.
* Rebecca Hodgden Stevens (1780–1815), who married John Peter Schermerhorn, a brother of Abraham Schermerhorn
Abraham Schermerhorn (April 9, 1783 – February 3, 1850) was a wealthy New York City merchant who was also prominent in social affairs. He was the father of Caroline Schermerhorn Astor, known as the Mrs. Astor.
Early life
Schermerhorn was bo ...
(both sons of Peter Schermerhorn
Peter Schermerhorn (October 1, 1749 – January 28, 1826) was a wealthy New York City merchant and land owner. He was the father of Abraham Schermerhorn and the paternal grandfather of Caroline Schermerhorn Astor.
Early life
Schermerhorn was b ...
).
* George Alexander Stevens (1782–1807), who died unmarried, lost at sea.
After the death of his first wife in July 1783, he married secondly to Lucretia (née Ledyard) Sands (1756–1846) on May 4, 1784, in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Lucretia was the widow of Richardson Sands (younger brother of Joshua
Joshua () or Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' lit. 'Yahweh is salvation') ''Yēšūaʿ''; syr, ܝܫܘܥ ܒܪ ܢܘܢ ''Yəšūʿ bar Nōn''; el, Ἰησοῦς, ar , يُوشَعُ ٱبْنُ نُونٍ '' Yūšaʿ ...
and Comfort Sands
Comfort Sands (February 26, 1748 – September 22, 1834) was an American merchant, banker and politician.
Life
Comfort Sands was born in Cow Neck, Long Island on February 26, 1748. He was one of eight children born to John Sands (1708–1760) ...
). From her first marriage, Lucretia was the grandmother of banker Samuel Stevens Sands. Together, they were the parents of:
* Samuel Stevens (1785–1844), a prominent lawyer and commissioner of the Croton Aqueduct
The Croton Aqueduct or Old Croton Aqueduct was a large and complex water distribution system constructed for New York City between 1837 and 1842. The great aqueducts, which were among the first in the United States, carried water by gravity from ...
.
* William Stevens (1787–1867).
* Alexander Hodgdon Stevens
Alexander Hodgdon Stevens (September 4, 1789 – March 30, 1869) was an American surgeon who served as the second President of the American Medical Association from 1848 to 1849.
Early life
Stevens was born in New York City on September 4, 178 ...
(1789–1869), a surgeon who married three times; Mary Jane Bayard (1792–1823), Catherine Morris (1801–1838) (granddaughter of Lewis Morris
Lewis Morris (April 8, 1726 – January 22, 1798) was an American Founding Father, landowner, and developer from Morrisania, New York, presently part of Bronx County. He signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence as a delegate to the Continen ...
) in 1825, Phoebe Coles Lloyd (1818–1907).
* Byam Kerby Stevens (1792–1870), who married Frances Gallatin (1803–1877), the daughter of Albert Gallatin
Abraham Alfonse Albert Gallatin (January 29, 1761 – August 12, 1849) was a Genevan– American politician, diplomat, ethnologist and linguist. Often described as "America's Swiss Founding Father", he was a leading figure in the early years ...
, the 4th U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
who served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom
The United States ambassador to the United Kingdom (known formally as the ambassador of the United States to the Court of St James's) is the official representative of the president of the United States and the American government to the monarch ...
and France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
* John Austin Stevens
John Austin Stevens Jr. (January 21, 1827 – June 10, 1910) was a leader of business, an adviser of government and a student of the American Revolution. While he was born to a prominent banking family with political connections, it was his intere ...
(1795–1874), a banker who married Abigail Perkins Weld (1799–1886). Abby was a first cousin of Ebenezer.
* Henry Hewgill Stevens (1797–1869), who married Catherine Clarkson Crosby (1812–1882), sister of Clarkson F. Crosby
Clarkson Floyd Crosby (November 3, 1817 – February 22, 1858) was an American politician from New York.
Early life
Crosby was born on November 3, 1817. He was one of twelve children born to William Bedlow Crosby (1786–1865) and Harriet Asht ...
, in 1836.
* Mary Lucretia Stevens (1798–1877), who married Frederic William Rhinelander (1778–1836).
Stevens died on September 2, 1823, in Rockaway, New York
The Rockaway Peninsula, commonly referred to as The Rockaways or Rockaway, is a peninsula at the southern edge of the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, New York. Relatively isolated from Manhattan and other more urban parts of the ...
. He was buried at Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several bl ...
in Brooklyn.
Descendants
Through his oldest son Horatio, he was the grandfather of Mary Lucille Stevens (1817–1892), who married Albert Rolaz Gallatin (1800–1890), a son of Albert Gallatin
Abraham Alfonse Albert Gallatin (January 29, 1761 – August 12, 1849) was a Genevan– American politician, diplomat, ethnologist and linguist. Often described as "America's Swiss Founding Father", he was a leading figure in the early years ...
, in 1837. Albert Rolaz Gallatin was the older brother of Frances Gallatin, the wife of Ebenezer's son Byam (Mary's half-uncle).
Through his son Byam, he was the grandfather of New York bankers Byam Kerby Stevens Jr. (1836–1911) and Alexander Henry Stevens (1834–1916), himself the grandfather of Eugenie Mary (née Ladenburg) Davie, a Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
activist who served as a director of the Pioneer Fund
Pioneer Fund is an American non-profit foundation established in 1937 "to advance the scientific study of heredity and human differences". The organization has been described as racist and white supremacist in nature. One of its first projects w ...
.[Library.marist.edu](_blank)
The Stevens Family Genealogy, ''Marist College Archive and Special Collections''.
Through his son John, he was the grandfather of historian John Austin Stevens
John Austin Stevens Jr. (January 21, 1827 – June 10, 1910) was a leader of business, an adviser of government and a student of the American Revolution. While he was born to a prominent banking family with political connections, it was his intere ...
who founded the Sons of the Revolution
Sons of the Revolution is a hereditary society which was founded in 1876 and educates the public about the American Revolution. The General Society Sons of the Revolution headquarters is a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation
located at Willia ...
.[
Through his daughter Mary Lucretia, Stevens was the grandfather of Frederic W. Rhinelander,] president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
, and Lucretia Stevens (née Rhinelander) Jones (1824–1901), mother to novelist and decorator Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton (; born Edith Newbold Jones; January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937) was an American novelist, short story writer, and interior designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of the upper-class New York "aristocracy" to portray ...
(née Edith Newbold Jones) and Frederic Rhinelander Jones
Mary Cadwalader Rawle Jones (December 12, 1850 – September 22, 1935) was an American author, socialite, and social leader during the Gilded Age.
Early life
Mary, who was known as Minnie, was born on December 12, 1850 at Powel House, her family ...
.
References
External links
*
Stevens on the Boston Tea Party
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Ebenezer
1751 births
1823 deaths
Businesspeople from Boston
United States Army colonels
American militia generals
American merchants