Benjamin Franklin Stevens (1824 - 1908)

Born 6 Mar 1824 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Catherine (Lincoln) Stevens — married 26 Jun 1850 (to 10 Apr 1908) in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States

Descendants

Died 10 Apr 1908 at age 84 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Carol Baldwin [send private message]

Biography

Benjamin Stevens was born in Massachusetts.

Birth and Parents

Benjamin, the fifth of fourteen children of Benjamin W. Stevens an Matilda S. Sprague was born on 6 March 1824 at Boston, Massachusetts.^[1]

In 1843, Benjamin entered the Navy as a Captain's Clerk and was attached to the frigate Constitution under the command of Captain John Percival. During his three years term of service, he made cruises to Asia, Africa, and South America. An account by him of this journey was published in The United States Magazine and was reprinted in 1904. On 9 April 1847, Benjamin was elected secretary of the New England Mutual Life Insurance Company, the first company in the United States authorized to do a mutual life insurance business. In 1864, Benjamin was elected vice-president and a year later president of the company.^[1][2]

Marriage and Children

Benjamin married Catherine Lincoln (1827-1909), the daughter of Ezra and Chastine (Hartwell) Lincoln on 26 June 1850 at Boston, Massachusetts.^[3] They had four children born at Boston:

1. Helen Lincoln Stevens (b. 1851; d. 1933) m. 18 Jun 1873 at Boston, MA, James Clark Jordan (1850-1910)^[4]
2. John Percival Stevens (b. 8 Apr 1853; d. 5 May 1854, Boston, MA)^[5][6]
3. Henrietta Stevens [Twin] (b. 11 Oct 1855; d. 1859, Boston, MA)^[7][8]
4. Henry Clifford Stevens [Twin] (b. 11 Oct 1855; d. 24 Mar 1871, Boston, MA)^[9][10]

Death and Burial

Benjamin Franklin Stevens died on 10 April 1908 from bronchitis and kidney disease in his 84th year at Boston.^[1][11][12]He is buried in Forest Hills Cemetery and Crematory at Jamaica Plain, Suffolk, Massachusetts.^[13]

Research Notes

• Benjamin Franklin Stevens was a Member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and has an obituary in the Journal in 1909.^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Read, Charles French. Benjamin Franklin Stevens. The New England Historical & Genealogical Register, Vol. 63. Boston, MA: NEHGR, 1909. Pages 11-14. https://books.google.com/books?id=_zcvhEe8L74C&pg=PA11 Page 11-14
2. ↑ Proceedings of the Rhode Island Historical Society 1905-1906. Providence, RI: Printed for the Society, 1908. Pages 51-52. https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofrh190510rhod/page/n579/mode/2up
3. ↑ "Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1925", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FH8V-B8V : 28 December 2022), Benjamin F Stevens, 1850.
4. ↑ "Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1925", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FH3Y-KBN : 28 December 2022), Benjamin F. in entry for James C. Jordan, 1873.
5. ↑ "Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1925", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FXC8-RWT : 12 November 2022), Benjamin F. Stevens in entry for John Percival Stevens, 1853.
6. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHQ6-366 : Wed Oct 25 16:27:50 UTC 2023), Entry for John P. Stevens and Benjamin F. Stevens, 5 May 1854.
7. ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQDT-7DQ : 16 March 2022), Benj. F. Stevens in entry for Henrietta Stevens, 1855.
8. ↑ "Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1925", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N7JQ-2M7 : 14 December 2022), Benjamin in entry for Hennetta Stevens, 1859.
9. ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQDT-BBR : 16 March 2022), Benj. F. Stevens in entry for Henry Clifford Stevens, 1855.
10. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHZW-NX2 : Wed Oct 25 16:40:24 UTC 2023), Entry for Henry C Stevens and Benjamin F Stevens, 24 Mar 1871.
11. ↑ "Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1925", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NWTX-W4M : 10 December 2022), Matilda Sprague in entry for Benjamin F Stevens, 1908.
12. ↑ "B.F. Stevens Passes Away", The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) Sun, Apr 12, 1908, page 17, Newspapers Clip: 138009676 (accessed 3 January 2024).
13. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/125829053/benjamin-franklin-stevens: accessed 03 January 2024), memorial page for Benjamin Franklin Stevens (6 Mar 1824–10 Apr 1908), Find a Grave Memorial ID 125829053, citing Forest Hills Cemetery and Crematory, Jamaica Plain, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, USA; Maintained by Saratoga (contributor 46965279).

Census Records

• "United States Census, 1860", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZCC-FBC : Wed Oct 04 03:37:21 UTC 2023), Entry for Benjamin F Stevens and Catherine Stevens, 1860.

• "United States Census, 1870", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MD3L-13B : Fri Oct 06 21:55:24 UTC 2023), Entry for Benj F Stevens and Kate Stevens, 1870.

• "United States Census, 1880", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHXK-MF8 : Tue Oct 03 20:10:05 UTC 2023), Entry for Benjamin F. Stevens and Catherine Stevens, 1880.

Acknowledgements

• Biography written in full with inline sourcing, family listed with sources and photo added following additional research by Carol Baldwin on 3 January 2024.