William S. Stephens and Sarah Ann Skiles

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Husband William S. Stephens ^{1 2}

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           Born: 29 Nov 1808 - Indiana Co, PA
     Christened: 
           Died: 28 Feb 1888 - Indiana Co, PA 3
         Buried:  - Conrad Cemetery, Indiana Co, PA

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         Father: Samuel Stephens (1769-1843) 4 5
         Mother: Miriam Pitman (      -1809) 1 6

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       Marriage: Feb 1857 3

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   Other Spouse: Mary Mattern (      -1853) 1 3 - 1832 3

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Wife Sarah Ann Skiles ^{1 3}

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           Born: 2 Feb 1825 - East Wheatfield Twp, Indiana Co, PA 3
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

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         Father: Ephraim Skiles (      -Bef 1880) 7 8
         Mother: Mary Rodgers (      -Bef 1880) 7 8

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Children

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1 M James Estep Stephens ^{1 3}

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           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: 1860 3
         Buried: 

         Spouse: Did Not Marry

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2 M Marlin Bingham Stephens ^{1 3}

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           Born: 10 May 1860 - Dilltown, Buffington Twp, Indiana Co, PA 9
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

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3 F Olive Frances Stephens ^{1 3}

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           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

         Spouse: Dr. Louis Henry Mayer (1862-      ) 10

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4 M John Harris Stephens ^{1 3}

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           Born: 1 Oct 1868 - Dilltown, Buffington Twp, Indiana Co, PA 9
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

         Spouse: Susan Thatcher Samuel (      -      ) 10
           Marr: 8 Nov 1899 10

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5 F Anna Stephens ^{1 3}

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           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: Jun 1873 3
         Buried: 

         Spouse: Did Not Marry

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General Notes: Husband - William S. Stephens

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He went east of the mountains in Pennsylvania, with his brothers, Abednego and Joseph, when he was not yet sixteen years of age, to work in the charcoal furnaces, where he was soon promoted to being a foreman and general overseer. He resided in the vicinity of Warriors Mark, Huntingdon County. In 1839 he returned to Indiana County and bought the old farm which had formerly been owned by his father, above Dilltown, the same farm which his father had sold nine years before to Thomas E. Thomas. In 1840 he purchased the homestead in Dilltown, with its mill sites, which was a dream of his boyhood, and was realized in manhood. The sawmill was put up that year, and he walked from his sawmill to the farm he had purchased more than one mile each morning and evening until he had his house on the homestead at Dilltown completed far enough to live in. James Wilson had a cabin built near, and operated the mill, furnishing lumber for the entire community. The new homestead was completed in 1843, and the gristmill was begun the same year by Jacob Gamble. William S. Stephens engaged in farming, lumbering and milling here until his death.
He was an energetic and progressive man, always keeping well abreast of the times. He was among the first in every movement which tended to the public good, and took an active interest in every project looking to the abolition of human slavery. Upon the breaking out of the Civil war, being then advanced in years, he could not take an active interest in the field, but he nevertheless gave every support within his power to the cause of freedom, four of his sons serving in defense of the Union. During his long and active life he always found time to listen with keen sympathy to the appeals of the less fortunate, and many of those upon whom the burdens of life were most heavy shared in his generosity; and throughout the community in which he was so well and favorably known his neighbors were wont to speak of him as "Uncle Billy." Many of the young men who went out from that little community and took their places among men of affairs, in business, education and the church, remember most kindly the many words of encouragement they received from him, as well as such substantial assistance as he was able to give them in their preparation for life's duties.
Dr. John Harris, president of Bucknell University, at Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, wrote the following tribute:
"My earliest recollections as a boy and man include prominently the personality of William S. Stephens. He was always interested in the school which we attended and was a frequent visitor. He was in sympathy with the young alike in their studies, their work and their sports. As the schoolhouse was on his land, we made entirely free with his pasture land for ball games and other sports. But we kept off his grain fields, not because ordered to, but because no one would trespass on or injure our 'Uncle William's' growing crops.
"He originated the Sunday school in the place, which has since grown into a church. Entirely free from personal ambition or desire for notice, he usually kept himself in the background, and let others hold the offices and receive the honors. In that way he became the arbiter in all disturbing questions which are wont to arise in a rural community, and earned the blessedness that comes to the peacemaker.
"For myself personally I owe him much. Left an orphan at the age of six, he became guardian and a second father to me, giving advice freely and kindly and aiding me in many ways. He was in the community 'the good gray head which all men knew,' and his massive form and genial face have a prominent place in the pictures that are a part of my memory of early years."
He was an active and consistent church member from his early youth until the time of his death. He was instrumental in building the Mechanicsburg Baptist Church.

1 —, History of Indiana County, Pennsylvania (Newark, OH: J. A. Caldwell, 1880), Pg 541.

2 J. T. Stewart, Indiana County, Pennsylvania - Her People Past and Present (Chicago, IL: J. H. Beers & Co., 1913), Pg 672.

3 J. T. Stewart, Indiana County, Pennsylvania - Her People Past and Present (Chicago, IL: J. H. Beers & Co., 1913), Pg 673.

4 —, History of Indiana County, Pennsylvania (Newark, OH: J. A. Caldwell, 1880), Pg 529, 541.

5 J. T. Stewart, Indiana County, Pennsylvania - Her People Past and Present (Chicago, IL: J. H. Beers & Co., 1913), Pg 671, 1224.

6 J. T. Stewart, Indiana County, Pennsylvania - Her People Past and Present (Chicago, IL: J. H. Beers & Co., 1913), Pg 671.

7 —, History of Indiana County, Pennsylvania (Newark, OH: J. A. Caldwell, 1880), Pg 422.

8 J. T. Stewart, Indiana County, Pennsylvania - Her People Past and Present (Chicago, IL: J. H. Beers & Co., 1913), Pg 674.

9 J. T. Stewart, Indiana County, Pennsylvania - Her People Past and Present (Chicago, IL: J. H. Beers & Co., 1913), Pg 675.

10 J. T. Stewart, Indiana County, Pennsylvania - Her People Past and Present (Chicago, IL: J. H. Beers & Co., 1913), Pg 676.