This page is dedicated to my grandparents, Cleon and Jewel Tuttle Stevenson.

The Stevenson Family, c. 1897, Washington County, Illinois.

This picture was probably taken after the funeral of James Thomas Shanklin (d. Feb. 4, 1897), husband of Jane Stevenson Shanklin, dressed in black in the center row.

Back row, l to r: John "Jack" Stevenson (1876-1950), Edward (1879-1940, my g-grandfather), William (1864-1934), Samuel(1873-1938), Robert (1862-1927),Thomas (1858-1936)

Center row, l to r: Janet Stevenson Uhlman (1867-1926), Jane Stevenson Shanklin (1855-1912), Mary Ellen Stevenson Wisely (1870-1934)

front: Elizabeth Sands Stevenson(1837-1931) widow of Robert S. Stevenson(1821-1888) (my gg-grandparents)

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The Stevenson Clan, c. 1897

Click the photo for a larger copy.

(Back left is James Thomas Shanklin, son of james Thomas Shanklin and jane Stevenson...Others are identifiable from picture taken the same day, above. Please email the webmaster if you can identify others in this photo.)

Photo courtsey of Burt and marie Kellogg.

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My Stevenson ancestors originated in Renfrewshire, Scotland near the village of Barrhead. They worked as weavers and dyers, as did many of the area villagers in the 1700's, who processed the fine Scottish wool with homeade dyes and wove fabrics that were shipped around the world.

My ggggg-grandparents were Robert Stevenson, who married Christian REID in Paisley, Scotland in 1744. Their son, Michael Stevenson (b. 1761 in Paisley) married Margaret Pollock in 1784 in Neilston Parish, Renfrewshire.

Their son Michael Stevenson (1798-1884) and wife Janet Telford/Telfer, came to the U.S. with their family in 1840 and settled in Randolph County, Illinois. Their grandsons Tom, Edward, Sam, Jack, and William played in the "Stevenson Boys Band" in southern Illinois in the late 1800's.

The Stevenson Boys Band, c. 1896

Tom, Jack, Edward, Sam, and Bill Stevenson

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Stevensons of the Renfrewshire, Scotland area

My Stevenson ancestors lived in the area around Paisley and Neilston Parish, in Renfrewshire, Scotland, and were contemporaries of Robert Louis Stevenson's ancestors who attended the same parish. One of these Stevensons married into another nearby Stevenson family from the same time period, the family of James Stevenson, Burgess of Paisley in 1753. This line also includes names which are common to my direct line, such as Alice POLLOCK Stevenson. A fourth line descended from James Stevenson, who married Margaret Sproule in Neilston Parish in 1771. A fifth line from the same vicinity descended from Alexander Stevenson of nearby Glasgow, born about 1770. A sixth line originated with James Stevynson around 1336 who lived at the Balladoole Estate on nearby Isle of Mann. I have included at the links below, descendant reports of these Stevenson families. They are also included in the online gedcom database file. I would like to correspond with other researchers with links to the Stevensons from this area.

Sources for the Stevenson section of this webpage include: "The Stevenson Family, A Record of the Descendants of James Stevenson Burgess of Paisley in 1753" by Hew Shannon Stevenson, 1965; "The Lighthouse Stevensons" by Bella Bathurst, 1999; "Burke's Landed Gentry", Sir Bernard Burke, 1925; Files of Robert Louis Stevenson descendant, Nikki Diamond; the TMC website, by Camilla Von Massenbach; Andie Stevenson Carpenter; Ann Davis McCormick; Becky Uhlman; Frank Shay; Loren Stevenson; files of Alice Graham; Shirley McCauley Epplin; Burt and Marie Kellogg; Tami Peters; Genealogist Gordon Johnson of Aberdeen, Scotland; Lindley Wilmot; History of Randolph County, Illinois; Randolph County Births, 1792-1879; Randolph County, Illinois Information; (Preceeding books available from Rand. Cty. Historical Scty.); Illinois Census, 1850; Hemphill Historical Society.

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~ Click the blue buttons ~

Origins of the STEVENSON family name

My STEVENSON ancestors and allied families

STEVENSONs of Balladoole, the Isle of Mann. According to Burke's Landed Gentry, 1925 edition; "The family of Stevenson have been seated at Balladoole from a very distant date. The first recorded member of the family is John Stevynson, living c. 1336. The names of subsequent owners of the estate are to be found in land records in Castle Rushen".

Genealogy Report: Descendants of Robert Stevenson and Christian Reid, married 1744 in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland (my direct line)

Genealogy Report: Descendants of John / James Stevenson, (ancestor of author Robert Louis Stevenson), of Craig, Neilston Parish, Renfrewshire, Scotland (see book link below)

The Lighthouse Stevensons $19.20 - The 14 lighthouses dotting the Scottish coast were all built by the same family that produced Robert Louis Stevenson, Scotland's most famous novelist. A must-have for any Stevenson researcher or descendant. Available directly from Amazon.com.

Genealogy Report: Descendants of James Stevenson, married Margaret Sproule June 08, 1771 in Neilston Parish, Renfrewshire, Scotland

Genealogy Report: Descendants of James Stevenson, Burgess of Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland in 1752 (The definitive book on this STEVENSON line is "The Stevenson Family, A Record of the Descendants of James Stevenson Burgess of Paisley in 1753" by Hew Shannon Stevenson . NOTE: The author still has a handful of copies of this fine genealogy reference book, published in 1965. Please email him for a copy.

Genealogy Report: Descendants of Alexander Stevenson, b. abt. 1770, of Glasgow, Scotland. Some of this line emigrated to Australia. (Contributed by Tami Peters)

Genealogy Report: Descendants of Major Richard Stevenson, of Balladoole, Isle of Man, died 1683. The descendants of this line of Stevensons lived at Balladoole, also New Brunswick, Manitoba, Ontario, and other provinces of Canada, New Zealand, and Chicago, Illinois.

Genealogy Report and photographs: Descendants of james Stevenson of Scotland, Canada, and Michigan (Contributed by Dawn Hamilton Thurlow)

Genealogy Report: Descendants of Hugh Hemphill (b. abt. 1770 in County Londonderry, Ireland) and Sarah Lyons

Genealogy Report: Descendants of the parents of Samuel Lyons (b. 1763, County Antrim, Ireland) and Sarah Lyons

Genealogy Report: Descendants of Joseph McCauley, b. abt. 1796 probably in County Londonderry, Ireland

POLLOCK family history

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~ Family Photographs ~

Pollock Castle, Renfrewshire, Scotland, ancestral home of Margaret Pollock (b. 1761), wife of John Stevenson

Photograph - Stevenson Brothers - sons of Robert S. (1821-1888) and Elizabeth Sands Stevenson (1837-1931) front: Bill, Jack, Sam rear: Edward, Tom, Robert

Photograph - Edward Andrew Stevenson (1879-1940) m. Sadie McCauley (my g-grandparents)

Photograph - Sadie McCauley (1887-1971)

Photograph - Cleon & Jewel Tuttle Stevenson (my grandparents)

Photograph - Jewel Tuttle (age 2)

Photograph - Cleon and Ivan Stevenson c.1914

Photograph - Cleon Stevenson and His Pal

Photograph - Cleon Stevenson

Photograph - Gravel Hill School picture, Gran Cote Prairie, Washington County, Illinois, c. 1920's. My grandfather, Cleon Stevenson, is checked in the picture. He was b. July, 1909 which may help in attempting to date the photograph. Please email the webmaster if you can identify anyone else in this photograph.

Photograph - Four Generations: Cleon Stevenson, his mother Sadie McCauley, her mother Mary Hemphill McCauley (1856-1936), her father Hugh Hemphill(1822-1919) c. 1911

Photograph - McCauley Family - front: Archibald (1851-1920), Earl (1892-1964, m. Leona Frieman), Archie's wife Mary Hemphill McCauley (1856-1936). rear: Sadie (1887-1971, m. Edward Stevenson), Martha Winifred (1890-1961, m. Clarence Ross), Nina (1885-1967, m. Ralph Stolz)

Photograph - Mary Ella Stevenson Wisely, Bob Wisely, Elizabeth Sands Stevenson, Tom and Bill Stevenson (c. 1910)

Photograph - William A. Stevenson and farm near Tilden, IL

Photograph - Robert Smiley Stevenson

Photograph - Dr. N. G. Stevenson (1871 - 1945), Sparta, Illinois

Photograph - Dean Ornell Stevenson

Photograph - The Webmaster (left), Dean and Virginia Drury Stevenson, brother Doug and sister Renee'.

Photograph - The Webmaster

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~ Family Letters ~

~ Special thanks to Frank Shay for contributing the following letters. ~

Letter - 9 Aug, 1880, from Ellen Shanklin Dickey of Gran Cote Prairie, Illinois to her mother, Mary Wright Shankland. This letter mentions: McKinley, Smith, Hemphill, Dickey, Coulter and Morrow families. Click each page number to go to that page: Page 1, Page 2

Letter - 2 Jan 1882, From Ellen Shanklin Dickey to her mother. This letter mentions: Patton, Wilson, Coulter, McCauley, McDougal, McWilliam, and Morrow families. Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4

Letter - 10 Jul 1882, From Ellen Shanklin Dickey to her mother. This letter mentions: McBride, Ulrichs, McCauley, Gibson, Dickey and Morrow families. Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4

Letter - 27 Sep, 1885, From From Ellen Shanklin Dickey to her mother. This letter mentions: Morrow, Mearns, Beavers, Conningham, McCauley, Dickey, Skelly, Kennedy families. Page 1, Page 2

Letter - 7 Jan 1888, From Ellen Shanklin Dickey in Marissa, Illinois to her mother. This letter mentions: Mulholland, McCauley, and Silleys families. Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4

Letter - 21 Sep, 1891, From Ellen Shanklin Dickey to her brother, James Shanklin, who married Jane Stevenson. This letter mentions: Stevenson and McMillian families and the Marissa School Fever. Page 1, Page 2

Letter - 24 Oct, 1896, From Ellen Shanklin Dickey to her niece, Miss Mary Shankland, who married Wm. Frank Kohler Shay. This letter mentions: Millard and McCauley families, and has a rather opinionated commentary on politics during this election year, mentioning anarchists, Democrats, and Republicans. Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4

Letter - 25 Nov, 1887, From Janey Dickey to her grandmother. This letter mentions: Gillespie, McCauley, Garret, Parel, Gibson, Kingston and Aiken families, and dyptheria spreading through the area. Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4

Letter - 1 Aug, 1891, From Jennie Dickey of Marissa, Illinois to her grandmother. This letter mentions: Hemphill, Garret, Rigor, Combs, Little, Weinmann, Wilson, McMillian, and Kingston families. Page 1, Page 2

Letter - 6 Aug, 1963, From Mary McIntyre, dau. of John McIntyre and Elizabeth Cochran Stevenson, to James A. Shay. This letter mentions: Stevenson, Habler, Downie, Young, Telford, and Armour families, listing family notes of Scotland and Australia from her grandfather's notebook (Robert Holmes Stevenson, 1838-1922). Page 1, Page 2, Page 3

Letter - 19 Jul, 1963, From Virginia Stevenson, dau. of Robert Holmes Stevenson, Jr. (1865-1961) to James A. Shay. This letter describes the story of the family motto, "Not by heaven alone". Page 1

Letter - 5 Jan, 1859, From Elizabeth Hood Shankland of Crockedholm, Scotland, to her son, Robert Shankland (1821-1865) shortly after his emigration to America. This letter anticipates her own upcoming trip to America and sends news from Scotland, mentioning: Mckaye, Wiffe, Thompson, Hazleton, and Orr families. The original was too light to copy well, and has been retyped with exact spelling and grammer of the original. Page 1, Page 2

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The Gideon Family Page

The McCauley Family Page

The Caron Family Page

The Drury Family Page

The Pollock Family Page

The Gidley Family Page

The Mignier Dit Lagacé Family Page

Searchable Gedcom file including the Stevenson database

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To correspond with other STEVENSON researchers, please sign the STEVENSON guestbook below. Be sure to name your early Stevenson ancestors so others sharing common ancestors can find you. Separate Drury, Caron, McCauley, Pollock, Gideon, Gidley, and Mignier dit Lagacé guestbooks are on those family pages.

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