Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 5).djvu/710

(i I-VI,.. 1 ;.",(;. He va- a descendant of Thomas Steens, of London, England, a suiiportrr and IVimd of the Massachusetts colony, whose father. Thoma- Stevens, of Devonshire, was one of the as- signees of Sir Walter Ralegh's patent of Virginia. He removed with his parents to Rutland, Mas-., about 1711, and when sixteen years old was carried as a captive to St. Francis by Indians, among whom he learned the savage mode of warfare. During King George's war he was commandant of Fort No. 4, which was erected at the farthest set- tlement mi Connecticut river, now Charlestown, N. II. When it was attacked in May, 1740, he routed the Indians in a bold sally, and on 19 June he defeated them in the open field. The fort was blockaded during the summer by French and In- dians, who attempted to carry it by assault in Au- gust. In March, 1747, Cap't. Stevens, who had evacuated the fort in the winter, resumed posses- sion with thirty men, and in April they sustained an attack of 400 Frenchmen and savages. He held the fort till the close of the war. In 1749 he was sent to Canada by Gov. William Shirley to nego- tiate an exchange" of prisoners. He went again in 1752 to treat for an exchange of prisoners, and with two ponies redeemed John Stark from cap- tivity among the Indians. After the renewal of hostilities he took part in Col. Robert Monckton's expedition against the French settlements in Nova Scotia, and died on the march to Beau Sejour. The journal of his trip to Canada in 1749 is printed in the " Xew Hampshire Historical Collections." Hi.- -on, Simon, soldier, b. in Rutland, Mass., 3 Sept.. 1737; d. in Charlestown, N. II., was lieu- tenant of ('apt. .lolui Stark's company in the ex- pedition against Ticonderoga in 1758, was taken prisoner, and in May, 1759, escaped from Quebec, sailed down St. Lawrence river in a captured schooner, and reached a British post after many adventures, which are recounted in his unpublished journal. During the Revolution he served as a loyal volunteer in the British army. Another son, Eiios, loyalist, b. in Rutland, Mass., 13 Oct., 17:!'.) : d. in Barnet. Vt.. in 1808, was carried off by the St. Francis Indians from Charlestown when ten years old, and held in captivity three months. He was a volunteer in the royal army on Long Island, and was engaged in foraging in privateers along the coast during the Revolution. In 1782 he joined the emigrant refugees who went to Nova Scotia. After several years he returned to Charles- low -ii. N. H. He subsequently settled at Barnet, Vt. lie kept a journal of the events in which he par- ticipated from 1777 till 1783. Enos's son. Henry, ant iqiiary. b. in Haniet, Vt., 13 Dec., 1791 ; d. I here. oO.luiy. 1807. was educated at IVaeham academy. Vt.. and early began to collect manuscripts, tracts, nev-pa per-, and printed volumes relating to Ameri- can history, especially that of Vermont. He was the founder and first president of the Vermont historical society. The most valuable part of his collection was placed for safe-keeping in the state- house at Montpelier. where in 1857 it was burned. He was a member of the legislature for two terms. Henry's son. EllOS, inventor, b. in liarnet. Vt.. '.'-' .Ian.'. 18Ki; d. there. 31 Jan., 1877, was gradu- ated at Middlebury college in 1838, and taught for the next seven years in Paradise, Pa. He assisted Dr. Samuel G. Howe in investigating the condi- tion of the idiots of Massachusetts in 1847-'8, and then returned to Barnet and engaged in agri- culture and dairy-farming. He invented a sys- tem of musical notation, apparatus for automati- cally recording atmospheric changes, an instru- ment for phrenological measurements.!!, legislative teller that was put in use by congress in 1853, and other intricate machines, originated an astronomi- cal theory of weather indications, and published pamphlets on astronomy, music, and phrenology, and many papers on agricultural topics. Another son, Henry, bibliographer, b. in Barnet, Yt.. 24 Aug., 1819'; d. in South Hampstead, England, 28 Feb., 1886. His early education was received at the school of his native village. In 1836 he attend- ed Lyndon academy, and he was afterward for a time at Middlebury college. He engaged in teach- ing at intervals, and also held a clerkship in the treasury department at Washington. In 1841 he entered Yale, where he was graduated in is-):;, and then studied law a short time at Cambridge. Mean- while he became much interested in his father's work, and devoted his attention to early colonial hi-lory and the historical relations between the states and England. Through his acquaintance with collectors of historical and genealogical books and manuscripts, and with an increasing knowledge of their wants, under their encouragement and sup- port, he visited London in search of Americana in 1845, and remained there forty years until his death. Having good recommendations, he speedily made' the acquaintance of the principal booksellers, and, to use his own expression, " drifted " one day into the British museum and presented to Sir An- thony Panizzi his letter of introduction from Jared Sparks. His coming was most opportune, for the authorities had just discovered that the museum was deficient in modern American books. The a-sislance of Mr. Stevens was immediately secured in supplying the deficiency, and from that time until his death he was their trusted agent for pro- curing North and South American books of all kinds, including state and national laws, journals and documents. As a result, the library of the British museum contains a larger collection of American books than any single American library. At the same time he was supplying many Ameri- can public and private libraries with the rarest of Americana. Many books supplied by him at mod- erate prices are now worth fifty times the amount that was paid him for them. He soon became an experienced bibliographer, giving special atten- tion to the early editions of the English Bible, and to early voyages and travels, especially those relating to America. In these two directions he became one of the highest authorities. John Car- ter Brown was one of his early correspondents, and he may be said to have formed the Lenox library, as he was James Lenox's agent to collect the rarest book treasures. He was an indefatigable bibli- ographer and a generous correspondent. He was constantly putting forth bibliographical brochures, and his catalogues are highly prized for their mi- nute accuracy and valuable notes, as well as for pe- culiar excellence of typography. He never forgot the state in which In- was born, but frequently signed himself Henry Stevens of Vermont, or wrote after his name the initials G. M. B., " Green Moun- tain Boy." He was a genial friend, full of quaint sayings and good-humor. In 1852 he was made a fellow of the Society of .antiquaries. In 1S77 he was a member of the committee for promoting the Cnxton exhibition, and catalogued the exhibit of Bibles. The same year he became a member of the Librarian's association and took an active part in all its meetings. He formed a large collection of documents relating to Benjamin Franklin, which was purchased by the U. S. government. He wrote extensively on bibliographical subjects, and left several unpublished essays, among which were in- vestigations respecting Columbus and a supple-