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GEORGE H. STEPHENS. 



George H. Stephens was born in Canisteo, on the place 

 where he now resides, June 19, 1803. His grandfather, Uriah 

 Stephens, was a native of Litchfield County, town of Canaan, 

 Conn. ; married Martha Eathbun, a native of Stonington, 

 Conn. Of this union were born before leaving that State: 

 Benjamin, died in the Eevolutionary war ; Mrs. Solomon Ben- 

 nett, Mrs. Daniel McHenry, Uriah, Jr., John, Mrs. Judge 

 George Hornell, Phineas, Elias, Elijah, William, and Benja- 

 min (2d). The family left Connecticut in 1766, and settled 

 in Stillwater, N. Y. ; afterwards in ^NTorthumberland Co., Pa. ; 

 thence to Tioga Point ; thence to Newtown, now Elmira, and 

 in 1789 the father and his sons, Uriah and John, explored the 

 Canisteo Valley, accompanied by his son-in-law, Solomon 

 Bennett, and James Hadley. That year, with others, they 

 purchased the upper and lower Canisteo, now Canisteo and 

 Hornellsville, and the same year Uriah Stephens, Sr., settled 

 here with his family ; the others settled the following year. 



Uriah Stephens, Sr., was a soldier of the Erench and Indian 

 war, and in the Eevolutionary war his son Uriah, Jr., took 

 his place, and served through the entire war on the Indian 

 frontier in Pennsylvania. Phineas Stephens was in the war of 

 1812, and ranked as major. Uriah Stephens, Sr., settled on 

 the place now owned by Thomas Hallett, which remained in 

 the family about eighty years, and on which he died, as also 

 did his wife, and they were buried on the farm. 



He was a member of the Presbyterian Church, his wife a 

 member of the Baptist Church, and both assisted in the or- 

 ganization of the first church and school in the town. This 

 family, whose posterity has become so numerous in the county, 

 was the first to settle and begin the various enterprises of the 

 Canisteo Valley. 



His father, Uriah Stephens, was very closely allied to the 

 most important public interests of the town and county, was 

 town clerk for several years, justice of the peace for eighteen 



years, supervisor for twenty years, and associate judge of the 

 county for six years. He was a man of good business ability, 

 temperate habits, and ranked among the prominent men of 

 Steuben County; and his integrity of character, and faithful- 

 ness to duty as an ofl&ccr of the public, won the esteem of all 

 who knew him. His early education was very meagre, but 

 he possessed much native ability and good, sound common 

 sense. He married Elizabeth Jones in 1785, while in the 

 Wyoming country, of which union were born three sons and 

 five daughters,— John E., Mrs. John Ayers, Mrs. Abbott, 

 afterwards Mrs. Bazey Baker, Mrs. Silas Corey, Mrs. Joshua 

 Stephens, Matthew, George H., and Mrs. Jerathmell Powers. 

 Of these children, only the subject of this sketch is living. 

 The father died Aug. 2, 1849, aged eighty-eight. The mother 

 died March 30, 1849, aged eighty-three. 



George H. Stephens has followed farming during his life 

 on the farm settled by his father on the Canisteo Eiver. He 

 married Harriet, daughter of Daniel Baker, Sept. 5, 1825. 

 She was born Sept. 6, 1802. Their children are George, 

 Caleb, Paulina (deceased), Shirene, Elizabeth (deceased), 

 Mary, Rhoda (deceased), Mrs. Edwin Poster, and Matthew. 

 Like his father before him, Mr. Stephens is a staunch member 

 of the Democratic party, and for some fifteen years has served 

 the people of his town as assessor. He was the first man who 

 joined the Morning Star Masonic Lodge in Canisteo, and has 

 been a member of that lodge for over half a century. 



Mr. and Mrs. Stephens have lived happily together for 

 upwards of fifty years, and for some twenty years of that time 

 have been members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and 

 contributors to that and kindred interests. They are now 

 among the old landmarks that point back to the early days in 

 the history of the town, and have lived to see schools and 

 churches established, railroads, the telegraph, and modern 

 machinery take their places in advancing civilization. 



