Find Family

The Stevens & Gathings Families of Hill County, Tx Home Page

Updated September 13, 2009

 JOHN DOUGLAS STEVENS
jdstevens1@myway.com

Edit Your Page
JOHN ALBERT STEVENS (1846-1922) married MARY ELIZABETH GATHINGS (1851-1930)in 1873. Both of their families were from North Carolina and migrated west about the same time, but using different paths.
The first documented record of OUR STEVENS FAMILY begins near Indian Trail, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina in 1779. EMANUEL and his wife SARAH ABBOTT are recorded in deed abstracts purchasing the first of several blocks of land along Crooked Creek and they are listed on the 1790 Census. A monument at the Union County Court House lists Emanuel as one of the residents of the area serving in the Revolutionary War. EMANUEL'S grandson SQUIRE STEVENS, JR and wife ELEANOR LANEY left North Carolina about 1845 and moved to Mississippi. In the 1850 Census SQUIRE and his family are found farming in Tishmingo County, Miss. The family then moved near Pittsburg Landing in what is today Camp County, Texas in 1852. Two of SQUIRE'S sisters, MARGARET STEVENS BIVENS and HANNAH STEVENS CARLOCK, along with their families also settled nearby. After the War Against Northern Aggression, SQUIRE and ELEANOR moved with son JOHN ALBERT to Hill County, Texas. In the 1870 Census both father and son are listed as Wagoners. JOHN had joined the Confederate cause when he turned 17 as a substitute for his father. When it was rumored the regiment was going into action, Squire replaced his son, but young John reenlisted under his own name. He served in Liken's Regt, 35th Texas Cavalry as a private for over two years. During the Dark Years of Reconstruction in Texas, JOHN was one of many who fought lawlessness and injustice by the Yankee Carpet Baggers and Horse Thieves in Hill County. Once this era of Texas History had passed, he worked at improving his property and assests around Oceola, north of Hillsboro, and later became Deputy U. S. Marshal for Hill and adjoining counties.
The GATHINGS FAMILY begins in Richmond County, Virginia with COBHAM GAYTHINGS. PHILIP GATHINGS, SR and his wife HANNAH are listed in the 1790 Census in Anson County, North Carolina. His grandson, PHILIP and wife ELZABETH ANN WHITE and their 3 year old daughter MARY ELIZABETH left Anson County and arrived in Hill County, Texas in 1854. PHILIP and his brother JAMES GATHINGS, who had come to the area about a year earlier and founded the community of Covington, bought several thousand acres of land. The brothers founded one of the first colleges in Texas and Covington became a thriving industrial center for several years. PHILIP was elected Justice of the Peace for Precint #6 in the 1850s.
JOHN and MARY had the following children:
1. ELEANOR (WATSON) STEVENS
2. PHILIP GATHINGS STEVENS - Died age 1-1/2
3. IDA (BYRN) STEVENS
4. ASTYNX DOUGLASS STEVENS
5. LILLY (KNOX) STEVENS
6. CHARLLOTTE (WEATHERRED) STEVENS - No decendants
7. SQUIRE ALBERT STEVENS - No decendants
8. JOSEPHINE (HART) STEVENS

THE DECENDANTS OF JOHN AND ELIZABETH ARE INTERESTED IN ALL OF THE SURNAMES LISTED ON THIS PAGE: I look forward to exchanging information with potential or known members of these families.

GEDCOM Trees (viewing trees requires 4.0 or later)

 

Family Photos

  • John A. Stevens (33 KB)
    Picture taken about 1912
  • Covington Cemetery, Stevens Monument (61 KB)
    Four generations of Stevens are here.
  • Stevens Group Picture at Reunion 2000 (55 KB)
    Descendants of Emanual and Sarah Abbott Stevens First Annual Reunion in Northeast Texas. Some attendees came from as far as Tenn.
  • Mary Elizabeth Gathings Stevens, ca 1870 (24 KB)
    Daughter of Philip Gathings and wife of John Albert Stevens. Picture sent to me courtesy of Marsia Hart.
  • REUNION 2001 (60 KB)
    Descendents of Emanuel and Sarah Abbott Stevens of North Carolina. This years Reunion was held near Monroe, NC. Of the almost 50 cousins attending, several were from Squire Stevens' son Amos who still live in the area. Others came from Texas, Tennessee, and Virginia. Our hostess were Sharon Tomlinson and Anita Barnes.
  • John A. Stevens Home in Oceola (38 KB)
    I do not know all of the details about the time John and his family lived here. I do not know if they owned the land, had the house built, or what time span. I do know they lived here. Can still be seen West of Hwy 171.
  • MONROE NORTH CAROLINA COURT HOUSE (64 KB)
    The monument on the front lawn of the Court House is "IN MEMORY OF THE REVOLUTIONARY SOLDIERS OF UNION COUNTY". Three of the names listed are Emanuel Stevens, William Houston, and John Secrest. The Stevens Family of Hill County are direct descendents of these three men.
  • Three Generations of Stevens (42 KB)
    Astynx Douglass Stevens, John Albert Stevens, II, and John Douglas Stevens, Sr. Taken in 1947 in front of A. D. Stevens' Home.
  • Josephine Stevens Hart (36 KB)
    Daughter of John A. & Mary Elizabeth Stevens, ca 1912. Picture sent to me courtesy of Marsia Hart.
  • MONUMENT OF SQUIRE AND HANNAH HOUSTON STEVENS (60 KB)
    This monument is found in the Wesley Chapel Cemetery near Indian Trail, Union County, North Carolina. The original headstone has long since gone, but the family of Squire's son Amos, replaced it with this one.
  • COVINGTON CEMETERY (74 KB)
    Front entrance of the Covington Cemetery. The land for the 10 acre cemetery in Covington was donated by Col. James Gathings. Many of the descendants and families of James and Philip Gathings are buried inside the iron fence. This website has a file of those buried in this cemetery.
  • CERTIFICATE OF ELECTION TO JUSTICE OF THE PEACE (358 KB)
    In 1856 PHILIP GATHINGS Was Elected To The Position Of Justice Of The Peace For Pct # 6, Hill Co, Tx. Copy Sent To Me By HenryEtta Wilson.
  • OLD JOHN STEVENS HIGHWAY (61 KB)
    Farm to Market Road 2719 was built early in the 1900's to help farmers of the Covington area get their crops to market in Itasca during wet weather when the blacklands can become impassable.
  • Mary Elizabeth Gathings Stevens (63 KB)
    Wife of John A. Stevens, taken ca1910.
  • Confederate States of America Soldier's Discharge (140 KB)
    Discharge of John A. Stevens from the CSA at the end of the "Struggle for Southern Independence". A copy of this discharge is on file in the Texas State Archives in Austin.
  • PHILIP AND ELIZABETH GATHINGS MONUMENT (198 KB)
    Philip Gathings, among the early settlers of Hill County, Tx, and his wife are buried in the Covington Cemetery. Photo provided by HenryEtta Wilson.
  • MAURINE STEVENS (50 KB)
    Daughter of A. Douglass and Mary Pierson Stevens about 1918.
  • Ella Stevens Watson (885 KB)
    Daughter of John A. and Mary Elizabeth Stevens. From an article in the Hillsboro, Tx Mirror about 1965.
  • Commission of Special Deputy U. S. Marshal (216 KB)
    Appointment of John A. Stevens as Deputy U. S. Marshal for the Northern District of Texas
  • 2002 STEVENS REUNION (61 KB)
    The THIRD REUNION FOR THE DESCENDANTS AND FAMILIES OF EMANUEL AND SARAH ABBOTT STEVENS was held in June 2002 at Jackson, Madison County, Tenn. Descendants of Emanuel settled in this area for several years before most of them moved on to Texas. Randy Winbush, a descendant of Martha Elizabeth Stevens Fincher was our host.
  • COVINGTON SCHOOL (33 KB)
    The Covington School was originally established in the 1860's by the Gathings brothers as a military college. This photo was found in the Covington Town Hall trophy case.
  • Philip Gathings (74 KB)
    Father of Mary Elizabeth Gathings Stevens, wife of John A. Stevens. Philip was an early pioneer of Hill County, Texas
  • John A. Stevens (35 KB)
    This picture was taken probably around 1900.
  • FIRST FAMILY OF HILL COUNTY, TX CERTIFICATE (186 KB)
    Anyone descended from an early settler of Hill County between the years 1853-1903 can make an application to the Hill County Genealogical Society for a First Family Certificate. Philip Gathings settled near Covington in the early 1850's.
  • PAINTING OF COVINGTON MAIN STREET (38 KB)
    This painting is found in the Covington Town Hall and Meeting Room.
  • Descendants of Squire Stevens, Jr. at Reunion 2000 (66 KB)
    Squire Stevens, Jr began his migration west about 1845, stopping in Miss for a few years before moving to Northeast Tex in the early 1850's. After the War Against Northern Aggression, he moved his family to Hill County, Tex.
  • A. D. and Mary Pierson Stevens Home (31 KB)
    This home, built in the 1930's, was on Hwy 171 about a mile south of Covington. Burned in the early 1960's.
  • John A. Stevens, ca 1880 (58 KB)
    The earliest known picture of JAS.
  • Philip Gathings Home (47 KB)
    This is the original home that Philip Gathings built in the early 1850's. Located on Hwy 171, about 1 mile south of Covington. Burned in 1970's.
  • COL. JOSEPH WHITE HEADSTONE / MEMORIAL (70 KB)
    Col. White was the grandfather of Mary Elizabeth Gathings Stevens. This marker is located in Anson County, North Carolina. Picture sent to me courtesy of James Gathings.
 

Related Files

  • COVINGTON CEMETERY (496 KB)
    This file contains may of the descendants of the founder of Covington, James Gathings, and his brother Philip Gathings. Both were early settlers and instrumental in developing the surrounding area.
  • JOHN STEVENS' LOVE FOR FRIENDS (9 KB)
    OBITUARY OF JOHN ALBERT STEVENS, 1846-1922
  • History of Liken's 35th Texas Cavalry Rgt. (36 KB)
    A chronilogical History of the Regiment of a young private, John A. Stevens, during the "War For Southern Independence" has been researched and assembled by his great grandson. The 35th was organized late in 1863 and most records of this unit were lost or destroyed at the end of the war.
  • GENEALOGICAL REPORT OF EMANUEL STEVENS (48 KB)
    The direct descendants of one branch of Emanuel and Sarah Abbott Stevens from North Carolina to Hill County, Texas.
 

Related Links

 
Created with Family Tree Maker

The content shown on this page has been submitted by a Genealogy.com customer, and is not subject to verification by Genealogy.com. Neither Genealogy.com nor its affiliates are responsible for the accuracy of any information contained on this page. The opinions expressed on this page are the author's alone and not the opinions of Genealogy.com.

Home | Help | About Us | Site Index | Terms of Service | PRIVACY
© 2009 Ancestry.com