Santa
Clara County
Biographies
HENRY LAMBERT STEVENS
A representative of the better class of German-American citizens of whom Santa Clara is justly proud is found in Henry Lambert Stevens, one of the pioneer railroad men of the country, at one time a provision merchant, and since 1870 the owner and occupant of his present farm of eighty-seven and a half acres near Evergreen. Mr. Stevens was born in Prussia, Germany, July 13, 1832, his parents, Henry and Katherine (Autmer) Stevens, were born in the same northern kingdom and came to the United States in 1841, locating in the then newly incorporated city of Chicago, Ill. In the rich soil of the suburbs the father set out many kinds of vegetables, and in the summer found a ready market for his products, a means of livelihood followed for the balance of his active life. He lived to be fifty-one years old, having been born in 1801. His wife survived him for many years, continuing to live in the lake city until her death at the age of eighty-eight.
Henry Lambert Stevens was nine years old when he came in a sailing vessel to the United States, and the greater part of his education was acquired by self-culture and reading, often studying at night after business hours in the store where he was employed as clerk. Being the third of five sons and four daughters, it fell to his lot to assume responsibility at an early age, for the truck garden business failed to supply the needs of so large a family. He assisted with the general support until attaining his majority, and then continued clerking in a grocery store in Chicago until 1853. During the latter year he became interested in railroading on the freight division of the old Chicago & Galena Union Railroad between Chicago and Freeport. For the first three months he served as brakeman on the night shift, and was finally promoted to the position of conductor of the night freight. His work was satisfactory, and upon resigning at the end of two years he was given an excellent recommendation by the company. From railroading he turned his attention to operating a stall and handling provisions in the old North Side market in Chicago, and, as was his habit, he lived always within his income, thus paving the way for larger ambitions.
In the meantime, in Chicago, in 1853, Mr. Stevens married Nancy Jane Edwards, born in Utica, N.Y., April 11, 1837, a daughter of Henry Edwards, a native of England. She died at her home April 10, 1900, honored and respected by all who knew her for her many fine qualities of head and heart. A faithful mother and wife and a loving companion and true friend, Mr. Edwards is deserving of mention among the pioneers of California, for he crossed the plains to California in 1852, having come from England as a young man, and in Chicago followed the trade of drover for several years. In this state he settled on a farm on the Almaden road, improved the same into a paying and modern property, and became what was considered a successful and progressive general agriculturist. So impressed was he with the advantages of California that he communicated his good fortune to his son-in-law, Mr. Stevens, who joined him in San Jose in 1857, and forthwith engaged in farming on the Reed tract near the town. In 1866 Mr. Stevens returned to Chicago to visit his old time friends, and while there allowed himself to be persuaded to make that his home, at least temporarily. Sometime after purchasing a grocery store he found that the climate did not agree with him, so in 1870 he returned to the west and bought his present place, forty acres of which is under orchard, prunes and apricots, and the balance devoted to hay and grain.
It is no exaggeration to say that Mr. Stevens has been one of the foremost promoters of fruit culture in the vicinity of Evergreen. He has given it a practical study, and is well aware of the pitfalls which beset the large and successful grower. He was one of the organizers and for seven years the president and manager of the East Side Fruit Growers' Union, but owing to the pressure of other interests was obliged to sever his connection with the union in the spring of 1900. At the present time he is a director and the vice-president of the Home Union Store at San Jose. He takes a keen interest in educational and church affairs, and is a trustee of the Evergreen Methodist Episcopal Church. Politically he is a Republican, but has never been induced to hold office, notwithstanding the fact that he is a stanch supporter of his party. Lizzie, Frank, and Lena, the three eldest children born to Mr. and Mrs. Stevens, are deceased. Charles is living with his father and particularly assuming the management of the farm, and Edward is the owner and proprietor of the Continental Laundry at San Jose. The family is increased by a grandson, Frank, adopted by Mr. Stevens, and who is the stenographer and bookkeeper of the Exchange. Mr. Stevens is credited with being a public-spirited and generous man, priding himself upon the cultivation and equipment of his farm, and enthusiastically promoting practical plans for the upbuilding of his neighborhood. Quiet and unassuming, he has the dignity and assurance of the well balanced and even tempered man, who has expected and deserved success, and has not been disappointed.
Transcribed
10-5-15 Marilyn
R. Pankey.
ญญญญSource:
History of the State of California &
Biographical Record of Coast Counties, California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A.
M., Pages 805-806. The Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
ฉ 2015 Marilyn R.
Pankey.