Rowland Stephenson (19 May 1782 – 2 July 1856) was a British banker and politician who precipitated the collapse of a bank and took refuge in America. The son of banker and great nephew of his namesake, MP for

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

(1787–1790), he had been born at sea when his family returned from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

when their business failed after the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. He joined Remington, Stephenson & Company on leaving

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

. He already had several properties in Essex, the manor of Cockermouth and How Hatch estate in

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Forest ...

, before adding to his property in

Romford Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romford ...

by buying

Marshalls Marshalls is an American chain of off-price department stores owned by TJX Companies. Marshalls has over 1,000 American stores, including larger stores named Marshalls Mega Store, covering 42 states and Puerto Rico, and 61 stores in Canada. Mar ...

in 1816.

Family life

In 1771, Stephenson's father, John (died 1822), married Mary Broadley, the niece of Royal Naval commander, Thomas Broadley. In 1776, John became a member of the King's Council in Pensacola, Florida—under British control since 1763—where he worked as a merchant and provisioning agent. During the American Revolutionary War, John's business collapsed and opted to return to London and become a banking partner in his uncle Rowland Stephenson's bank. It was during their return to London while still at sea that Mary gave birth to Rowland. Stephenson was baptised 2 August 1782 in Camden Town, Greater London. Stephenson married his cousin, Mary Eliza, on 23 April 1807. His eldest son,

Rowland Macdonald Stephenson Sir Rowland Macdonald Stephenson (9 January 1808 – 1895) was a 19th-century British railway engineer instrumental in the establishment of the East India Railway in British India. Early life Born in Bloomsbury on 9 January 1808, into a long-es ...

(1808–1895), became a civil engineer and managing director of the East India Railway Company, for which he was knighted in October 1856.

Banking career

He was treasurer of

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...

from 1824 until 1829, where he had an apartment.

Parliamentary career

After several attempts he was elected MP for the Leominster constituency from February 1827 to February 1830, although only after the candidate who had beaten him in 1826 was disqualified.

Banking scandal

Stephenson had apparently invested heavily in Thomas Hornor's

London Colosseum The London Colosseum was a building to the east of Regent's Park, London. It was built in 1827 to exhibit Thomas Hornor's "Panoramic view of London", the largest painting ever created. The design of the Colosseum was inspired by the Pantheon ...

and the bank was rumoured to want to remove him from partnership, when he was reported as having taken hundreds of thousands of pounds of securities and cash from Remington, Stephenson, & Coleman on 27 December 1828. He was then reported as cashing the securities, buying a brace of loaded pistols from a pawnbroker, and disappearing. The case achieved great notoriety: for example, his escape via Clovelly was included in a book of illustrations, and the American writer

James Fenimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonist and Indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought h ...

wrote of being asked in various places about why Stephenson had been allowed to remain in America after landing in Savannah, Georgia, being taken by bounty hunters to New York, but granted

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...

rather being returned England to stand trial.Gleanings in Europe (1836) V2,pp.147–149
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephenson, Rowland 1782 births 1856 deaths People from Essex English bankers People educated at Eton College Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Tory MPs (pre-1834) UK MPs 1826–1830 19th-century British businesspeople People born at sea

Family life

Banking career

Parliamentary career

Banking scandal

See also

References