William Stephens (January 28, 1671 - 1753), of Bowcombe, near Newport, Isle of Wight, and later Beaulieu, Savannah, Georgia, was an English Tory politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

from 1702 to 1727. He emigrated to Georgia and was

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the

Province of Georgia A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outs ...

between 1743 and 1751.

Early life

William Stephens was born on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, to Elizabeth and Sir William Stephens, where his father was lieutenant governor. He was educated at the

Winchester School Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of t ...

, and at

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...

. He then studied law at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

, but did not pass the bar. In 1696, he married Mary Newdigate, and the couple had nine children. He succeeded his father in 1697, but the family estates were heavily encumbered with debt.

Career

At the

1702 English general election The 1702 English general election was the first to be held during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Queen Anne, and was necessitated by the demise of William III of England, William III. The new government dominated by the Tories (Britis ...

, Stephens was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Newport (Isle of Wight). He voted for the Tack in 1704. He was returned again at the

1705 English general election The 1705 English general election saw contests in 110 constituencies in England and Wales, roughly 41% of the total. The election was fiercely fought, with mob violence and cries of " Church in Danger" occurring in several boroughs. During the pr ...

and voted against the Court candidate for Speaker on 25 October 1705. At the

1708 British general election The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland. The election saw the Whigs finally gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November ...

he was returned again as a Tory for Newport. He voted against the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. He was returned again at the

1710 British general election The 1710 British general election produced a landslide victory for the Tories. The election came in the wake of the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell, which had led to the collapse of the previous government led by Godolphin and the Whig Junto. ...

when there was a Tory landslide. He was listed as one of ‘Tory patriots’ who opposed the continuation of the war in 1711, and as a ‘worthy patriot’ who helped expose the mismanagements of the previous administration in 1711. He was also a member of the

October Club The October Club was a group of Tory Members of Parliament, established after the 1710 general election. The Club was active until approximately 1714. The group took its name from the strong ale they reportedly drank.Pat Rogers, �October Club (' ...

and acted twice as a Tory teller. His financial affairs were in a parlous state and he was soliciting Harley for a government post. Eventually in 1712 he was appointed a commissioner for victualling the navy with a salary of £500 p.a. He voted for the French commerce bill on 18 June 1713. In 1714, on the accession of King George I, he lost his post. Stephens retained the Newport seat at the

1715 British general election The 1715 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 5th Parliament of Great Britain to be held, after the 1707 merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In October 1714, soon afte ...

on his own interest and voted against the Administration in all recorded divisions. Having subsequently lost his electoral interest at Newport to the Government, at the

1722 British general election The 1722 British general election elected members to serve in the House of Commons of the 6th Parliament of Great Britain. This was the fifth such election since the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Tha ...

was returned instead for Newtown by Sir Robert Worsley. He did not stand for parliament in 1727 and in 1728 was financially ruined by extravagance. He sold all his property and absconded, until his friends found him the job of agent for the York Buildings Company in North Scotland at a salary of £200 p.a. He was invited to stand for Newport in 1732, but declined. In 1735, he lost his job as agent in Scotland when company sold their assets. In 1736, he went to the

Province of Carolina Province of Carolina was a province of England (1663–1707) and Great Britain (1707–1712) that existed in North America and the Caribbean from 1663 until partitioned into North and South on January 24, 1712. It is part of present-day Alaba ...

at the request of Samuel Horsey.''Men of Mark in Georgia''
/ref>

Political life in Georgia

The first settlers had embarked for Georgia in November 1732 and arrived on 1 February 1733 led by

James Oglethorpe James Edward Oglethorpe (22 December 1696 – 30 June 1785) was a British soldier, Member of Parliament, and philanthropist, as well as the founder of the colony of Georgia in what was then British America. As a social reformer, he hoped to re ...

. The initial optimism of a new colony did not last. Oglethorpe may have been pleased with the colony's progress so far, but the

trustees Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to t ...

disagreed. Growing frustration with Oglethorpe's brief and infrequent reports led to the appointment of Stephens as secretary to the board of trustees of the Province of Georgia. Stephens landed in Savannah November 1, 1737, and began to settle disputes among the colonists. He stayed several years in this capacity. Serving the state and the Trustees faithfully for years, through it all—- good, bad, and ordinary—- William Stephens remained president of Georgia. He attended almost every meeting of the president and assistants from when he was first appointed in October 1741 until his removal in September 1750, and he took a genuine interest in their proceedings.

Death and legacy

At almost 80 years old, Stephens was forced to retire in 1750 by his age, his colleagues and his health. The Trustees turned Georgia affairs over to Henry Parker, although Stephens technically continued to hold the post of president until April 1751. To satisfy the role of secretary, the Trustees chose

James Habersham James Habersham (26 January 1712 – 28 August 1775) was an English-born American merchant, planter, missionary, teacher and politician who lived the majority of his life in the Province of Georgia. Habersham is credited with opening the first dir ...

. With his son, Newdigate, Stephens moved out to his plantation a
Beaulieu
(or Bewlie, as Stephens referred to it, after Beaulieu in Hampshire) in mid-1750 and disappeared from public life. Less than three years later, he died of the illnesses associated with old age, apparently in 1753, although the details of death recorded by his son (including the date and descriptions of Stephens' condition) are, according to his biographer Julie Anne Sweet, somewhat fanciful.

References

, {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, William 1671 births 1753 deaths People from Newport, Isle of Wight English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707 Members of Parliament for the Isle of Wight British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 Colonial governors of Georgia (U.S. state)