| The bulk of this collection is composed of the correspondence of Edwin John Stevens (1819-1854), his wife Sarah Ennalls Hooper Eccleston Stevens (1822-1894), and their three children who survived to adulthood: Eliza May Stevens (1844-1912), Sarah Ennalls Hooper Stevens [known as "Sallie"] (1848-1902), Samuel Eccleston Stevens (1850-1920), and Edwin John Stevens (1853-1914). The elder Edwin John Stevens was the youngest son of Samuel Stevens, Jr. (1778-1860), who was Governor of Maryland from 1822-1825. Sarah Ennalls Hooper Eccleston was the youngest daughter of Thomas John Hugh Eccleston (1785-1868), who was himself the son of Thomas Firmin Eccleston (c. 1738-1785), a prominent government official in Dorchester County. Eliza May Stevens never married. Sarah Ennalls Hooper Stevens married Thomas Contee Bowie Howard in 1879. Samuel Eccleston Stevens also never married and was a railroad engineer for the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, and spent a great deal of time in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. The younger Edwin John Stevens married Cynthia Whiting-Magee in 1887 and was a part owner of Stevens & Harmanson, Wholesale Druggists, in Baltimore. Most of the letters in this collection concern domestic matters, such as the health and well-being of various family members. Additional correspondence and papers concerning the Stevens and Eccleston families can be found in the Francus Collection (MSA SC 1559), the Susan E. Harwood Collection of Stevens-Eccleston Family Papers (MSA SC 2280), and the Ranum Collection of Stevens Family Papers (MSA SC 2878) on microfilm (M 1508). The Francus Collection encompasses the year 1782-1895. The Susan E. Harwood Collection encompasses the years 1802-1856 and includes genealogical information for the Stevens family. The Ranum Collection encompasses the years 1834-1899 and includes information about the settlement of Governor Samuel Stevens in the early 1860s, including a list of "Negro servants" owned by Stevens at the time of his death. |
