Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Stephens, John E, M D ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/il/ilfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Deb Haines http://www.rootsweb.com/~archreg/vols/00003.html#0000719 February 29, 2008, 1:07 am Author: Past and Present of Will County, IL; 1907 JOHN E. STEPHENS, M. D. Among the successful medical practitioners of Joliet is numbered Dr. John E. Stephens, who was born in Utica, New York, December 25, 1848, a son of William and Mary (Cox) Stephens. The father died during the early boyhood of his son John, but the mother survived until 1902. From a very early age Dr. Stephens has been dependent upon his own resources for a livelihood. When a youth of but nine years he left home and shipped on an ocean vessel, remaining at sea until the Baltimore riots of 1861. of which momentous events—that presaged the Civil war—he was a witness. Early in 1S62 he came to the middle west and at Davenport, Iowa, on Christmas day—the fourteenth anniversary of his birth—he enlisted in the Sixth Iowa Volunteer Cavalry. He accompanied General Alfred Sully on his expedition against the Indians, a military movement which continued for three years and in which connection he had a remarkable experience. He rode all over the Dakotas on horseback when there were no white citizens in that section of the country. His company held Sitting Bull as a prisoner of war in 1863 and the same year they established Fort Sully upon the frontier. On one occasion they encountered five thousand Indians in battle. In 1864 the expedition crossed the Yellowstone river and was the first to enter the Bad Lands, where they fought nine thousand Indians and established Fort Pice. They also discovered the first indications of gold in the Black Hills on Heart river. They suffered severe hardships that year and many men and horses died of starvation. The sufferings were indescribable. They took the first settlers into Montana, forming an emigrant train which made the journey under the protection of the military forces. When they arrived at Yellowstone they were suffering from the want of water, food and fuel and many of the men were buried on the bluffs there. To those who have known only the environments of civil life the hardships and sufferings endured by the soldiers upon the frontier are indescribable, for their experience shows nothing to parallel the conditions which were met by the brave soldiers of the northwest whose foe was the wily and treacherous red man. Dr. Stephens was mustered out at Sioux City, Iowa, in 1865 and returned to the middle west, having seen scarcely any signs of civilization for three years. He afterward studied and taught music for a period of seven years in various parts of the United States and then, determining upon the practice of medicine and surgery, he began preparation for the profession in 1S90 in Detroit. He remained there for a year and during the succeeding year traveled about the country, coming to Joliet in 1892. With the exception of two years spent in Chicago he has since resided in this city, engaged actively in the practice of his chosen profession. Dr. Stephens was married in 1892 to Dr. Jennie Carr, who had been engaged in the practice in Joliet for several years. They now have two children, Edward Carr and Gertrude, who are attending school in Joliet. Both Dr. Stephens and his wife are able physicians and surgeons and in this city have gained a liberal patronage in recognition of their skill and devotion to the needs of their patients. Additional Comments: PAST AND PRESENT OF WILL COUNTY, ILLINOIS By W. W. Stevens President of the Will County Pioneers Association; Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1907 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/will/bios/stephens2760nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/ilfiles/ File size: 4.1 Kb