Individual Details

From Our Stevens Heritage: "As a boy he came with his parents to La Motte, Iowa in Jackson Co. After his 18 year old brother, Jonas, was killed in the Civil War in 1862, and his father died at the seige of Vicksburg in 1863, he was determined to join the Northern Army. When the crops were harvested in Oct. 1864, his mother very reluctantly allowed him to volunteer. One can imagine the heartache of the mother as her third loved one joins the Union Army.
He volunteered as a substitute enlistment, a practice which was common in those days. For a sufficient consideration, usually $200, a man drafted to military service could pay a sibstitute to go for him. So at the age of 18 years at Davenport, Iowa, Jamier Edmund Stevens agreed with Abraham Beck of Otter Creek Township (Jackson Co.,) Iowa who had been drafted Sept. 23, 1864 to become his replacement in Iowa's 2nd. Cong. District on Oct. 3, 1864. Jamier enlisted for a period of one year and was assigned to Co. E. 10th Reg. Iowa Infantry. On Aug. 15, 1865 he was mustered out at Little Rock, Arkansa. He was given his rifle musket, which he later brought to Nebraska. His army papers describe him as 5 ft. 11 inches tall, with fair complexion and blue eyes.
On Nov. 25, 1869, Jamier Edmund Stevens and Julia Etta Sealey were married at La Motte, Iowa by the Rev. Carlos Wilcox. Julia Etta Sealey, the daughter of John and Mary Sealey, was born in Judson Co, New Jersey on March 25, 1850. She was the sister of James Sealey who later married Jamier Stevens' sister Luanna. Mr. and Mrs. Jamier E. Stevens established their first home a short way from his paternal farm home near La Motte, Iowa.
In 1873, they came by covered wagon to West Pleasant Home Precinct, Polk Co, Nebr. where they homsteaded on the land a mile east and two miles north of the present town of Polk, Nebr. ......... they erected a sod shanty. Trees were scarce and my grandfather extended the ridge pole of the soddy out far enough so the children could have a swing. Mrs. Stevens often said this soddy was not so beatiful to look at, but it was a real happy, earthly home. Mr. and Mrs. Stevens were active charter members of the early Methodist Church, located in a school building across from the Shiloh (or commonly called Cooper) Cemetery."

Birth	14 Jan 1846	Ohio
Marriage	25 Nov 1869	La Motte, Jackson County, Iowa - Julia Etta SEALEY
Burial	Jun 1880	Polk Cemetery, Polk, Polk County, Nebraska
Death	15 Jun 1880	Polk County, Nebraska

Spouse	Julia Etta SEALEY (1850 - 1905)
Child	William Arthur STEVENS (1870 - )
Child	Theodore Alphonso STEVENS (1872 - )
Child	Mary Luanna STEVENS (1875 - )
Child	Lillian Belle STEVENS (1877 - 1890)
Child	Unknown STEVENS (1879 - 1879)
Child	Jamier (Ed) Edmund, Jr. STEVENS (1880 - 1948)

Father	Artemus C. STEVENS (1816 - 1863)
Mother	Amartha Ann ALLEN (1827 - 1884)
Sibling	Jonas G. STEVENS (1844 - 1862)
Sibling	Rosetta Ann STEVENS (1847 - 1848)
Sibling	Alvira Delora STEVENS (1849 - 1869)
Sibling	Arvilla Jane STEVENS (1850 - 1851)
Sibling	Marilda Lusetta STEVENS (1852 - 1924)
Sibling	Martha Rosella STEVENS (1855 - 1910)
Sibling	Luanna Dorcas Matilda STEVENS (1857 - 1916)
Sibling	Albert Sylvester STEVENS (1860 - 1913)
Sibling	Alfred Sylvanus STEVENS (1862 - 1903)
Sibling	Susan STEVENS ( - )