Yolo-Placer-Nevada County CA Archives Biographies.....Stephens, Lawrence David 1835 - 
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com December 5, 2005, 12:07 am

Author: Tom Gregory

LAWRENCE DAVID STEPHENS
    One of the most highly esteemed and public-spirited citizens of Woodland is
Lawrence D. Stephens, who since 1898 has been president of the Bank of Woodland,
having been a director since its organization in 1868, when his uncle, John D.
Stephens, was its chief executive. Born in Boonville, Cooper county, Mo., June
30, 1835, he spent his boyhood on the farm of his parents, James Madison and
Mary Ann (Adams) Stephens, receiving his early education in the district school
of his home community.

    Mr. Stephens is a descendant of an old and historic family who came
originally from England and settled in Philadelphia at the time of William Penn.
His grandfather, Joseph Stephens, was born in old Virginia, and was a farmer in
the Shenandoah Valley. He served in the Revolutionary war, after which he
removed to the state of Tennessee, where his son, James Madison, was probably
born, and he later became a pioneer farmer of Boonville, Cooper county, Mo.,
where he had gone in 1818. There James Madison made his home and died, having
followed the vocation of farming all his life. Of the eleven children born to
James M. and his wife, Mary Ann (Adams) Stephens, ten grew to maturity: Eliza,
Mrs. S. A. Howard, resides in Woodland, Cal.; Jane, Mrs. Allison, passed away
near Boonville, Mo.; Rhoda, Mrs. C. W. Bonynge, resides in London, England;
Zilpha is Mrs. George W. Chapman, of Winters; Kate, Mrs. Robert Hawxhurst, lives
in San Francisco; Lawrence D. is mentioned below; Joseph J. resides in Woodland,
Cal.; William H. H. is a farmer and lives on the old homestead in Cooper county,
Mo.; James M. is a resident of San Diego, Cal.; and Benjamin W. resides in Ft.
Worth, Texas.

    In April, 1852, when a lad of sixteen, Lawrence D. Stephens carried out a
resolve which had long been the desire of his heart— to travel to the far west
and make for himself a name which should reflect credit not only upon himself,
but upon the family name as well. An opportunity, without which, however, the
boy would doubtless have proceeded on his way unaided, occurred when his uncle,
Andrew J. Stephens, announced his intention of immigrating to California and
joining his brothers who for some time had been successful ranchers in Yolo
county. In company with five neighbors they set out, traveling a portion of the
way with a large train, but throughout the major part of the journey fraught
with dangers as well as hardships, they were compelled to proceed alone. After
several months' patient plodding and hoping they arrived safely at their
destination, the ranch of the Stephens Brothers, at Madison, where they remained
for a time. The following year the boy, for he was no more, rented a farm and
courageously began operations for himself. In 1853 he and his brother, J. J.,
purchased five hundred and twenty acres not far from Madison, which they stocked
with cattle and sheep and successfully conducted for the next ten years. During
the dry season of 1864, however, they suffered with the majority of cattle
owners in that section, and were forced to take their stock to Placer county,
where they camped in the foothills some distance north of Newcastle. In spite of
their efforts to save their herd the winter proved so cold that by the following
spring, when they returned to their home in Yolo county, they had lost all of
their stock with the exception of a solitary cow and thirty sheep.

    About this time occurred a circumstance which cost Mr. Stephens dearly,
especially since he had lost all his stock and was obliged to make a fresh start
in life. While on his way from Placer to Yolo county, a highwayman stopped him
on an unfrequented road between Yankee Jim's and Auburn, demanding his money.
With regret bordering on despair Mr. Stephens relinquished his sole capital of
$600, upon which he was permitted to continue his journey unmolested. Conditions
at this time, it will be remembered, were utterly different from those of the
early period of emigration, when prospectors journeyed about with valuable gold
dust, etc., without fear of robbery.

    Some time later, nothing daunted by his discouraging experience, Mr.
Stephens established himself in a new locality, where he continued to raise
cattle, selling his beef profitably to the mining camps of the section. In 1866,
however, he went to Grass Valley, a mining camp, leaving his brother to care for
his interests. Scarcely had he appeared in the midst of his new associates when
they unanimously chose him as superintendent of the Omaha Quartz Mining Company.
Throughout the next year Mr. Stephens filled his post, returning in 1867 to his
ranch in Yolo county. In 1873 he accepted the presidency of the Grangers'
warehouse at Woodland, which position he held for three years, when he engaged
in the grain business with J. J. Stephens and J. H. Harlan, a business that
continued for about eight years. May 10, 1876, he was united in marriage to Miss
Alice E. Hunt, whose father was W. G. Hunt, a pioneer. Immediately after the
wedding the young people proceeded on a tour through the East, including Mr.
Stephens' old home and as far east as the Philadelphia Centennial, Washington
and New York. Five years later, in 1881, Mr. Stephens, with his brother, J. J.
Stephens and J. H. Harlan as associates, purchased a parcel of land aggregating
three thousand acres, located ten miles south of Fresno. This they stocked with
cattle and also engaged in raising grain, their success being most gratifying.

  In 1898 occurred the death of John D. Stephens, and, as above mentioned,
Lawrence D. Stephens was elected president of the Bank of Woodland, which
institution had, since its organization, numbered him among its stockholders.
Incorporated November 9, 1868, the Bank of Woodland started on its career with
the following stockholders : John D. Stephens, H. F. Hastings, George Snodgrass,
John Hollingsworth, F. S. Freeman, C. Nelson, D. Q. Adams, G. D. Stephens, Frank
Miller, B. F. Hastings, O. Livermore, J. Wilcoxson, H. C. Hemenway, U.
Shellhammer, L. D. Stephens, Charles Coil and Charles G. Day. The original
officers were: J. D. Stephens, president; F. S. Freeman, vice-president and C.
W. Bush, cashier. Directors were chosen as follows: F. S. Freeman, Frank Miller,
J. D. Stephens, John Hollingsworth, C. Nelson, J. Wilcoxson, L. D. Stephens, H.
F. Hastings and C. W. Bonynge. Capitalized at $100,000, the venture proved so
successful that in 1870, at the annual stockholders' meeting, the capital stock
was doubled. A few years afterward, at a special stockholders' meeting, it was
raised to $500,000 and some years later, about 1880, it was increased to its
present capitalization of $1,000,000. On May 2, 1882, L. D. Stephens was elected
teller and acting president. Upon this occasion was presented the following
resolution by J. H. Harlan, second by F. S. Freeman:

   "RESOLVED, That the directors of the Bank of Woodland do hereby authorize and
empower Lawrence D. Stephens, the teller of said bank, to do anything in and
about the premises that the president of the bank has the power to do, requiring
the teller to give satisfactory bond of $50,000 for the faithful performance of
his duties." Owing to the death of John Hollingsworth. C. Q. Nelson was elected
a director at the annual meeting February 20, 1897. February 25, 1899, George D.
Stephens was elected to fill the vacancy caused by the death of the
vice-president, F. S. Freeman, John S. Craig having been chosen, September 7,
1898, to take the place of director John J. Stephens. In February, 1901, at the
regular annual meeting, the following directors were chosen to fill vacancies:
C. Nelson, C. Q. Nelson, J. S. Craig, J. H. Harlan (whose death occurred in
April, 1905), G. D. and L. D. Stephens and M. Michael. In February, 1902, C.
Nelson was elected vice-president to fill the vacancy caused by the death of
George D. Stephens in November, 1901, John L. Stephens taking his place as
director. In 1901 J. S. Craig took the place of C. F. Thomas, who had held the
post of cashier since his election in 1883. The paid-up capital which in about
the year 1880 had been increased to $962,100 has remained unchanged. In 1873 the
bank moved from its old quarters to a newly remodeled corner building, which it
still occupies. The present directors are: L. D. Stephens, J.. L. Stephens, C.
Q. Nelson, J. L. Harlan, J. S. Craig, C. M. Faris and L. H. Stephens.

    For many years Mr. Stephens held the position of secretary of the Capay
Ditch Company, which is now known as the Yolo County Power Company, capitalized
at $1,000,000, of which he is president. He was also actively interested in the
organization and work of the Woodland Building and Loan Association, serving as
its treasurer until it was dissolved. In 1901 he assisted in organizing the
Woodland Milling Company, whose buildings two years later were destroyed by
fire. Mr. Stephens is still largely interested in farming. His ranch near
Madison comprises over five hundred acres under the Yolo County Power Company
ditch, which is under cultivation to alfalfa, grapes and grain, and another
ranch, comprising six hundred and forty acres, which is under the canal he has
also devoted to the raising of grain.

    The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Stephens: Rowena Alice,
Mrs. Fairchild, of Woodland; Lawrence Hunt, director in the Bank of Woodland and
acting secretary of the Yolo County Power Company; William G., in the grain
business in Woodland; and John D., of Woodland. Throughout his career Mr.
Stephens has ever shown tact and consideration for others, and deservedly enjoys
the high regard of a host of friends and business associates. His home is ideal,
both as to grounds and dwelling, which bear the impress of the cultivated tastes
of its owner.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from

HISTORY OF YOLO COUNTY CALIFORNIA
WITH
Biographical Sketches
OF
The Leading Men and Women of the County Who Have Been Identified With Its Growth
and Development From the Early Days to the Present

HISTORY BY
TOM GREGORY
AND OTHER WELL KNOWN WRITERS
ILLUSTRATED COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME

HISTORIC RECORD COMPANY
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA [1913]

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