Page:The Stephenson Family (1906).pdf/20

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son, 1st, with the means to use in making his journey to England in search of work. The two stories told by parties of the same name and religion, who never even heard of each other, tend to establish the theory that the families who went from Ballymoney to South Carolina, and to England are one and the same family, centering in one common parent, Henry Stephenson, the shepherd, of Scotland. The history as related by Miss Stephenson, the daughter of John Stephenson, who was the fourth son of Robert Stephenson, 2nd, is found on page 104 of Samuel Smiles' History of George Stephenson, and his son, Robert, two engineers. It is as follows: "A tradition exists in the family that Robert Stephenson's father came across the border on the loss of considerable property. Miss Stephenson, the daughter of Robert’s third son, John, has stated that suit was commenced for the recovery of the property, but was dropped for want of the requisite means to prosecute it." The foregoing data have been obtained after much research.

There are some disconnected links in the chain of history here given. But it is believed to be correct as given. Should any one be able to suggest an error, I will gladly make the correction. My grandfather, Hugh W. Stephenson, was eight years old when the family sailed for America. He died in Alabama, 1841, when I was eighteen years old. We have no further account of Robert Stephenson, 1st.

Robert Stephenson, 2d, married to Miss Mabel Carr in the early part of 1778, at Wylam. They reared four sons and two daughters. James, the oldest, was born in March, 1779; the second, George, the engineer, was born in June, 1781; Ellen, Robert, John and Ann, born in 1792, were the other children. They all mar-