Rockwell Rittenhouse Stephens (born February 16, 1900,
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
; d. October, 1982, in
South Woodstock, Vermont
South Woodstock is an unincorporated area, unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) in the New England town, town of Woodstock, Vermont, Woodstock in Windsor County, Vermont, Windsor County, Vermont, United States. Its elevation is ...
) was a journalist, author and ski instructor. He was an early member of the
National Ski Patrol
The nonprofit National Ski Patrol (NSP) is the largest winter education organization in the world. The NSP provides education, outreach, and credentialing related to outdoor recreation and safety. It is currently composed of more than 31,000 memb ...
, joining in 1938, receiving member No. 74.
Early life and family
Rockwell Rittenhouse Stephens was born February 16, 1900, the son of John Rittenhouse Stephens and his wife Cornelia Rockwell. Rockwell was the paternal grandson of William and Susanna (Rittenhouse) Stephens, of
Germantown, Pennsylvania. Susanna was descended from a first cousin of
David Rittenhouse
David Rittenhouse (April 8, 1732 – June 26, 1796) was an American astronomer, inventor, clockmaker, mathematician, surveyor, scientific instrument craftsman, and public official. Rittenhouse was a member of the American Philosophical Society ...
, after whom
Rittenhouse Square
Rittenhouse Square is a neighborhood, including a public park, in Center City Philadelphia. The park is one of the five original open-space parks planned by William Penn and his surveyor Thomas Holme during the late 17th century.
The neighborho ...
is named. Rockwell's maternal grandparents were Cleveland S. and Cornelia Rockwell.
Cleveland S. Rockwell
Cleveland Salter Rockwell (November 24, 1837 – March 22, 1907) was an American topographic, topographical engineer, cartographer, military officer, investor, and Landscape art, landscape painter. He spent his professional career as a surve ...
was an engineer for the U. S. Navy and a United States Coast Surveyor. In 1910, ten-year-old Rockwell Stephens was living with his mother Cornelia in a Philadelphia Ward 22 hotel. By 1920, Rockwell and his mother Cornelia had moved to Chicago. In 1918 his draft registration card, which was signed "Rockwell Rittenhouse Rockwell", indicated that he lived on University Avenue in Chicago, was a student attending University High School, and his nearest relative was "Mrs. Cornelia R. Rockwell" of the same address.
Rockwell was married to Isabella McLaughlin, daughter of
Andrew C. McLaughlin
Andrew Cunningham McLaughlin (February 14, 1861 – September 24, 1947) was an American historian known as an authority on U.S. Constitutional history.
Background
McLaughlin was born in Illinois and received his bachelor's and law degrees from the ...
, a Pulitzer Prize winning historian and past President of the
American Historical Association
The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world. Founded in 1884, the AHA works to protect academic freedom, develop professional s ...
. She survived him and continued to live at their house in Vermont until her own death in 1988.
Career
From 1921 to 1926 he worked at the ''
Chicago Daily News
The ''Chicago Daily News'' was an afternoon daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, published between 1875 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois.
History
The ''Daily News'' was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Dougherty ...
'', writing about sport, autos and travel. In 1930, Rockwell R. Stephens, occupation "College Secretary", was living in Cambridge, Massachusetts with his wife Isabella and their eight-month-old daughter Susanna R. Stephens. He was president of Ski Sport Inc. of
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
from 1933 to 1943. He joined the faculty of the
Putney School
The Putney School is an independent high school in Putney, Vermont. The school was founded in 1935 by Carmelita Hinton on the principles of the Progressive Education movement and the teachings of its principal exponent, John Dewey. It is a co-ed ...
,
Putney, Vermont
Putney is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,617 at the 2020 census.
The town's historic core makes up the Putney Village Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Histo ...
, in 1952, and Woodstock Country School, Woodstock, Vermont, from 1953 to 1962. After moving to Vermont, he became a frequent contributor to the magazine ''Vermont Life''.
Retiring to
,
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
, he became a tree harvester on his property there. His book on the subject "One Man's Forest" is still available, though there have been no recent printings.
One of his assignments at the Chicago Daily News was to report on routes for long-distance travel. Before the
U.S. Route
The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these hi ...
system and the
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...
, long distance automobile travel was dependent on a knowledge of State, County and Local highways, many not well signposted. Rockwell Stephens travelled these highways and reported routes based on landmarks.
He died October 18, 1982, at Woodstock, Vermont.
[Vermont Department of Health. Vermont Death Index 1981-2001. Burlington, VT, USA: Vermont Department of Health, 2001] He was survived by his wife Isabella, their two daughters and a son.
References
Bibliography
* (With Charles N. Proctor) "The Art of Skiing", Harcourt, 1933.
* (With Proctor) "Skiing", Harcourt, 1936.
* "One Man's Forest: Pleasure and Profit from Your Own Woods" — Stephen Greene Press (1974) 159 pages Hardback. Paperback.
External links
* New England Ski Museu
article* SkiRebel Magazin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Rockwell
1900 births
1982 deaths
People from Windsor County, Vermont