DeWitt W. Stevens was born Abt. 1842 in Michigan, and died Aft. 1874. He married Martha A. Camery on June 07, 1865 in Marshall Co., Illinois, daughter of Christian C. Camery and Nancy Messick.
Notes for DeWitt W. Stevens: 1860 Not in Marshall Co., Illinois as a Stevens or Stephens.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1870 Nashua Incorporated Village, Chickasaw Co., Iowa Pg 502 (stamped) Image 43 (ancestry.com online images) Household 95/94 Stevens, Dewitt 28 yo w/m cooper, b. Michigan Stevens, Martha 26 yo w/f house keeper, b. Ohio Stevens, Albert 4 w/m, b. Illinois Stevens, Emma 3 yo w/f, b. Iowa Stevens, William 7/12 w/m, b. Mar, Iowa
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1880 Winfield, Cowley, KS (see below)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In correspondence with Jan Camery Pientok during early 2002, Jeannine K. JSK1296@aol.com has provided some insight on Dewitt's whereabouts after 1870: ... Now to Martha. She mar. DeWitt Stevens in Marshall Co, on 7 Jun 1865 (have marriage cert). They were in Nashua, Chickasaw Co., IA by the 1870 census with 3 children: Albert DeWitt, b. 5 Mar 1866 in Henry, IL; Emma, b. Jun 1867 in IA (according to census); William, b. Mar 1870 in IA. Martha d. in Whitefield, Marshall, IL on 27 May 1872 - obit is a couple lines long - no cause of death given. Figure she was home to visit and d. for whatever reason.
DeWitt remarried on 17 Sep 1874 in Bloomington, IL (have marr. cert) to Anna R. Berkey. He evidently left his 2 older children with Nancy Messick Camery as they are living with her on the 1880 census while DeWitt is in Winfield, Cowley, KS with his new family. He had 3 more children with his second wife: Charles D., Delia, Raymond D. Anna d. 3 Nov 1900 in OK - they had gone there to be with their daughter - climate was supposed to better for Anna. They had been living in Champaign, IL for a while before that. DeWitt turns over guardianship of his youngest child Raymond to Delia and her husband in May 1901and takes off. When my gr grandfather Albert d. in Sept of 1917, his obit said that it was not known if DeWitt was still alive.
DeWitt is a mystery. Supposed to have been b. in MI. Had a brother Reuben about 12 yrs older than he. Reuben was b. in VT. I have chased this family all around. In 1850, there is an 8 yr. old DeWitt living in Washtenaw Co, MI with a family named Wait; there is a Reuben Stevens also liv. in Washtenaw Co, MI, listed as a cooper and b. in NY. DeWitt still in MI in 1860 and Reuben is now in Marshall Co, a cooper, place of birth not given; on every census after that, his birthplace is given as VT. Reuben went to Chicago to live and d. there in 1903. He, his wife and children are all buried in Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago. There are several possibilities re parents and one by one, I am trying to track them down. Looks as if DeWitt may have been orphaned early - perhaps why his track record with his own children was not great - didn't grow up with much sense of family. So where and when he d. is a mystery. Never found Martha's grave - as you said, she is not in Sugar Grove, unless she is in an unmarked grave. One of these days, I am going to get to Nashua and see if she is there. Also want to get my hands on a Nashua paper to see if there are any additional details re her death."
Jeannine K. JSK1296@aol.com
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More About DeWitt W. Stevens: Son of: Unknown.
More About DeWitt W. Stevens and Martha A. Camery: Marriage: June 07, 1865, Marshall Co., Illinois.
Children of DeWitt W. Stevens and Martha A. Camery are:
+Albert Dewitt Stevens, b. March 05, 1866, Henry, Marshall Co., Illinois, d. September 09, 1917, Johnson Twp, Carter Co., Missouri.
Nancy Emma Stevens, b. June 1867, Iowa, d. Bef. May 22, 1890, Arkansas City, Cowley Co., Kansas.
DeWitt W. Stevens (b. Abt. 1842, d. Aft. 1874)
Notes for DeWitt W. Stevens: