James Stephenson

James Stephenson (March 20, 1764August 7, 1833) was an American politician, soldier and slaveholder who as a Federalist served in the Virginia House of Delegates as well as in the United States House of Representatives. Early and family life Born in Gettysburg in the Province of Pennsylvania to the former Maria Reed and her husband (also) James Stephenson, the family moved to Martinsburg, Berkeley County, Virginia (now West Virginia) by 1790. His elder brother William Stephenson would move to Knoxville, Tennessee, as would their mother and sisters after their father's death in 1804. His younger brother Benjamin Stephenson (1769-1822) would move to Kentucky then the Illinois Territory, where he operated a general store and also served as a sheriff and militia leader before becoming a Congressman for the new state. On May 17, 1792, Stephenson married Ann Cunningham in Berkeley County, but records remain only of their youngest children, who remained in the area: George Benjamin Stephenson (1a physician; inherited the farm and moved to Washington D.C. during or after the American Civil War) and his sister Anne Stephenson Beckham (her husband, Harpers Ferry mayor Fontaine Beckham died in John Brown's raid and his death as well as the treason conviction led to the resulting executions). Career