Vernon K. Stevenson (January 22, 1812 - October 16, 1884) was an American businessman. He served as the president of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railway for 25 years, and as the president of the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

. He was a real estate investor in Manhattan, New York City.

Early life

Stevenson was born on January 22, 1812, in Russellville, Kentucky. He had three brothers, Maxwell, Volney and Leander Douglas. His sisters were Eleanor(m. Godfrey M. Fogg) Julia Emily(m. Dr. John Arnold Crowdus, Lemuel Swearengin),and Harriet J.(m. Patrick Boisseau) He moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1831. Stevenson's mother Eleanor Sharp was the sister of Congressman and Kentucky Attorney General and State Legislator Solomon Porcius Sharp was assassinated in 1835 in what became known as The Kentucky Tragedy.

Career

Stevenson began his career as a clerk in a dry goods store in Nashville. He later became head manager, and he invested in a store with his brother Volney. Stevenson was the founder of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railway in 1848. To fundraise for its construction, Stevenson sold stocks to investors in Nashville and

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

. Stevenson built the railroad with iron-rails from London thanks to George Peabody. It was completed in 1854, and Stevenson served as its president. He hired Edmund William Cole as superintendent in 1857, and Stevenson became "a kind of co-president, or president ex officio." Stevenson was elected as the "president" of the board of directors of the Winchester and Alabama Railroad in Winchester, Tennessee in 1857. In 1861, at the outset of the American Civil War of 1861–1865, Stevenson was appointed as the quartermaster for the Confederate States Army by General Albert Sidney Johnston. Shortly after the

Battle of Nashville The Battle of Nashville was a two-day battle in the Franklin-Nashville Campaign that represented the end of large-scale fighting west of the coastal states in the American Civil War. It was fought at Nashville, Tennessee, on December 15–16, 1 ...

in 1862, he moved to Murfreesboro, where he managed a portion of the tracks. However, the vast majority of the railroad was taken over by the Union Army. Stevenson sold the railroad to August Belmont in 1880, and it merged with the

Louisville and Nashville Railroad The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of the ...

. After the war, Stevenson moved to New York City and invested in real estate in uptown Manhattan. He was the owner of 44 Broadway, rented by the

Standard Oil Company Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...

Personal life, death and legacy

Stevenson's first wife was Maria L. Bass and they had one son Hugh Stevenson. His second wife was Elizabeth (Bessie) they had one son, Vernon King Stevenson Jr. Elizabeth was the daughter of John Childress who owned a farm near the modern-day campus of Vanderbilt University. His third wife was the daughter of surgeon Paul F. Eve. Stevenson had two sons and one daughter with her, Paul Eve Stevenson, Maxwell Stevenson, and Eloise Stevenson. Fun Fact: Actress Annie Potts Annie Potts Wikipedia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Potts of Designing Women, Young Sheldon, Pretty In Pink, and Ghostbusters Fame is a 4th Great Niece (or 3rd great grand niece) of V.K. Stevenson through his sister Julia Emily Stevenson and her first husband, Dr. John Arnold Crowdus of Franklin, Simpson County, Kentucky. Stevenson resided at 59th Street and 10th Avenue in Manhattan, New York City, and he was a member of the Manhattan Club. He was worth $5 million by 1884. Stevenson was a donor to the Democratic Party. He supported Andrew Jackson and Stephen A. Douglas, and he was friends with James K. Polk and

John C. Calhoun John Caldwell Calhoun (; March 18, 1782March 31, 1850) was an American statesman and political theorist from South Carolina who held many important positions including being the seventh vice president of the United States from 1825 to 1832. He ...

. Stevenson died on October 16, 1884, in New York City. He was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville. His tomb was designed as "an exact replica of Napoleon's tomb in Paris."

Stevenson, Alabama Stevenson is a city in Jackson County, Alabama, United States, and is included in the Chattanooga-Cleveland-Dalton, TN-GA-AL Combined Statistical Area. Sources listed either 1866 or 1867 as the year of incorporation, but that seems to conflict w ...

was named in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevenson, Vernon K. 1812 births 1884 deaths People from Russellville, Kentucky Businesspeople from Nashville, Tennessee Businesspeople from Manhattan 19th-century American railroad executives Confederate States Army officers Quartermasters Tennessee Democrats Burials at Mount Olivet Cemetery (Nashville)