Individual Details
(1746 - 1807)
Nickname:<NICK> Long John Also Known As:<_AKA> Stephens Name S uffix:<NSFX> Jr . BIOGRAPHY: The family records of the Long John l ine were partly written by J ames K. P. Stephens, a grandson of Long J ohn. They were revised in 1914 by Lan e Stephens. Some of the Long J ohn line still spell the name as "Stephens", but nearly all of the Ja mes line had change the spelling by about 1840 to "Stevens ". In Anso n County in 1765, 285 acres of land was sold to John Stephens, Jr . o n the south side of the Pee Dee River below the mouth of Brown Cre ek. By famil y tradition, he is said to have first married a niece o f General Nathaniel Gree n and settled in Anson County from which Mont gomery was formed in 1779. By 179 0 was in Montgomery County. In 177 9, the year their father died, John Stevens, Jr. sold to George Jeffe rson for 600 pounds, 285 acres in Anson on the Pee Dee River below Br own Creek. This was the same land he had bought from William Pic ket i n 1765, signed by his mark, which leaves doubt whether he was first ma rrie d before 1779. He apparently could not read and write, like so m any others the n. Anyway Long John made a fat profit on the land. Al l family records agree th at Long John was in the Revolutionary War a s a soldier under Francis Marion, th e Swamp Fox general, and perhap s came out a Captain. In official records, he is No. 8985 from the Sa lisbury District, which included Montgomery County, North Carolina (So urce: Roster f North Carolina Soldiers in the American Revolution, pag e 399). He was also an Indian scout who made expeditions to the wes t explor ing Kentucky and Indian Territory, as Daniel Boone did. Nephe w Isaac Stevens li ved near Long John until he was about 15 years old . He wrote the following abo ut one of Long John's Expeditions: "Short ly before the Revolution Long John St evens went on a scouting trip wi th a companion north from Boone's station and a cross the Ohio river a nd along a tributary, evidently White Water River in what is now Indi ana. Somewhere in this beautiful valley they were surprised by the Ind ians and Long John was captured. The Indians marched him through the w oods f or several days in a northwest direction till they crossed a la rge creek or sma ll river to the Indian camp. After a time, the Indian s tied Long John to a stak e while the other Indians, particularly th e maidens and squaws showed much curi osity in looking him over. Afte r a while the Indians began piling wood about th e stake and his hear t sank for they evidently intended to burn him. They tried to light th e fire but the wood was damp from a recent rain and it took a long t i me and in the meantime clouds appeared and a hard shower fell which ma de the w ood so wet that there was no longer any chance to burn him th at day. So Long Jo hn was saved from a horrible death, at least tempor arily. Drenched to the skin, Long John was left tied to the stake unt il night came and the Indians, after p lacing a guard at each side o f him, went to sleep. A little after midnight as h e was dozing he wa s suddenly awakened by feeling a hand touch his and realized that som e one was cutting him loose. He saw that an Indian maid had released h i m and was cautiously going away from him. He rubbed his numb hands f or a moment to restore the circulation and very carefully picked hi s way out of the camp p raying all the while that he would not step o n a stick which would make a noise and arouse the enemy. Thus he wen t for about a mile, then he ran and ran as fa st as he could but soo n slowed to a trot as he had had little if any food for d ays. He kne w it would not be long till they would discover his absence and be h o t on the trail. After a while he came to the big creek they had crosse d and wa ded down it for about half a mile trying to throw the Indian s off his trail. No w it was beginning to get light and he could hea r the red men yelling on his tr ail like hounds. He had a good star t but after a few hours he could tell by th e sounds that they were ga ining on him and he beg
Events
| Birth | 1746 | Cumberland County, North Carolina | | | |
| Marriage | Bet 1791 and 1802 | Rebecca Greene | |  | |
| Death | 1807 | Montgomery County, North Carolina | | | |
| Title (Nobility) | | Jr. | | | |
Families
Endnotes