On December 4, 1884, he married Miss Gracie D. Sleade, of St. Charles, Arkansas. She passed away in 1886. On January 18, 1888, he was married a second time, to his present wife, Miss Laura V. Halley, of DeWitt, Arkansas, daughter of John R. and Helm M. Halley. Her father was a large sugar planter in Louisiana. Two daughters, Effie B. and Clara C., have come to bless this marriage.
Dr. Stephenson is an active church and Sundayschool worker, a member of the First Methodist Church, South, of Little Rock. He holds membership in the Knights of Pythias, Odd Fellows, Ancient Order of United Workmen, Woodmen of the World. Knights of Honor, and is a thirty-second degree Mason. He is also a member of the Royal Arch and Council Masons, and a member of the Shrine, and an enthusiastic Shriner.
Dr. Stephenson has some inventive genius, which is shown by the fact that he has devised and placed upon the market a complete set of instruments for removing tonsils, consisting of scissors, forceps, and tongue depresser, which are manufactured now by three of the largest instrument makers in the world. He also devised a pair of scissors for operating on the nose, also scissors for removing growths from the throat, which is also on the market. As an evidence of the merit of these instruments, Dr. Stephenson has received inquiries concerning them from all parts of the United States. Indeed, an order came for a set from Budapest, Hungary.
As an evidence of the esteem in which Dr. Stephenson was held in his home town, Stuttgart, Arkansas, the local newspaper had the following to say relative to his departure for his new field of labor:
