(i I-VI,.. 1 ;.",(;. He va- a descendant of Thomas
Steens, of London, England, a suiiportrr and
IVimd of the Massachusetts colony, whose father.
Thoma- Stevens, of Devonshire, was one of the as-
signees of Sir Walter Ralegh's patent of Virginia.
He removed with his parents to Rutland, Mas-.,
about 1711, and when sixteen years old was carried
as a captive to St. Francis by Indians, among
whom he learned the savage mode of warfare.
During King George's war he was commandant of
Fort No. 4, which was erected at the farthest set-
tlement mi Connecticut river, now Charlestown,
N. II. When it was attacked in May, 1740, he
routed the Indians in a bold sally, and on 19 June
he defeated them in the open field. The fort was
blockaded during the summer by French and In-
dians, who attempted to carry it by assault in Au-
gust. In March, 1747, Cap't. Stevens, who had
evacuated the fort in the winter, resumed posses-
sion with thirty men, and in April they sustained
an attack of 400 Frenchmen and savages. He held
the fort till the close of the war. In 1749 he was
sent to Canada by Gov. William Shirley to nego-
tiate an exchange" of prisoners. He went again in
1752 to treat for an exchange of prisoners, and
with two ponies redeemed John Stark from cap-
tivity among the Indians. After the renewal of
hostilities he took part in Col. Robert Monckton's
expedition against the French settlements in Nova
Scotia, and died on the march to Beau Sejour.
The journal of his trip to Canada in 1749 is printed
in the " Xew Hampshire Historical Collections."
Hi.- -on, Simon, soldier, b. in Rutland, Mass., 3
Sept.. 1737; d. in Charlestown, N. II., was lieu-
tenant of ('apt. .lolui Stark's company in the ex-
pedition against Ticonderoga in 1758, was taken
prisoner, and in May, 1759, escaped from Quebec,
sailed down St. Lawrence river in a captured
schooner, and reached a British post after many
adventures, which are recounted in his unpublished
journal. During the Revolution he served as a
loyal volunteer in the British army. Another son,
Eiios, loyalist, b. in Rutland, Mass., 13 Oct., 17:!'.) :
d. in Barnet. Vt.. in 1808, was carried off by the
St. Francis Indians from Charlestown when ten
years old, and held in captivity three months. He
was a volunteer in the royal army on Long Island,
and was engaged in foraging in privateers along
the coast during the Revolution. In 1782 he
joined the emigrant refugees who went to Nova
Scotia. After several years he returned to Charles-
low -ii. N. H. He subsequently settled at Barnet, Vt.
lie kept a journal of the events in which he par-
ticipated from 1777 till 1783. Enos's son. Henry,
ant iqiiary. b. in Haniet, Vt., 13 Dec., 1791 ; d. I here.
oO.luiy. 1807. was educated at IVaeham academy.
Vt.. and early began to collect manuscripts, tracts,
nev-pa per-, and printed volumes relating to Ameri-
can history, especially that of Vermont. He was
the founder and first president of the Vermont
historical society. The most valuable part of his
collection was placed for safe-keeping in the state-
house at Montpelier. where in 1857 it was burned.
He was a member of the legislature for two terms.
Henry's son. EllOS, inventor, b. in liarnet. Vt..
'.'-' .Ian.'. 18Ki; d. there. 31 Jan., 1877, was gradu-
ated at Middlebury college in 1838, and taught for
the next seven years in Paradise, Pa. He assisted
Dr. Samuel G. Howe in investigating the condi-
tion of the idiots of Massachusetts in 1847-'8,
and then returned to Barnet and engaged in agri-
culture and dairy-farming. He invented a sys-
tem of musical notation, apparatus for automati-
cally recording atmospheric changes, an instru-
ment for phrenological measurements.!!, legislative
teller that was put in use by congress in 1853, and
other intricate machines, originated an astronomi-
cal theory of weather indications, and published
pamphlets on astronomy, music, and phrenology,
and many papers on agricultural topics. Another
son, Henry, bibliographer, b. in Barnet, Yt.. 24
Aug., 1819'; d. in South Hampstead, England, 28
Feb., 1886. His early education was received at
the school of his native village. In 1836 he attend-
ed Lyndon academy, and he was afterward for a
time at Middlebury college. He engaged in teach-
ing at intervals, and also held a clerkship in the
treasury department at Washington. In 1841 he
entered Yale, where he was graduated in is-):;, and
then studied law a short time at Cambridge. Mean-
while he became much interested in his father's
work, and devoted his attention to early colonial
hi-lory and the historical relations between the
states and England. Through his acquaintance
with collectors of historical and genealogical books
and manuscripts, and with an increasing knowledge
of their wants, under their encouragement and sup-
port, he visited London in search of Americana in
1845, and remained there forty years until his
death. Having good recommendations, he speedily
made' the acquaintance of the principal booksellers,
and, to use his own expression, " drifted " one day
into the British museum and presented to Sir An-
thony Panizzi his letter of introduction from Jared
Sparks. His coming was most opportune, for the
authorities had just discovered that the museum
was deficient in modern American books. The
a-sislance of Mr. Stevens was immediately secured
in supplying the deficiency, and from that time
until his death he was their trusted agent for pro-
curing North and South American books of all
kinds, including state and national laws, journals
and documents. As a result, the library of the
British museum contains a larger collection of
American books than any single American library.
At the same time he was supplying many Ameri-
can public and private libraries with the rarest of
Americana. Many books supplied by him at mod-
erate prices are now worth fifty times the amount
that was paid him for them. He soon became an
experienced bibliographer, giving special atten-
tion to the early editions of the English Bible,
and to early voyages and travels, especially those
relating to America. In these two directions he
became one of the highest authorities. John Car-
ter Brown was one of his early correspondents, and
he may be said to have formed the Lenox library,
as he was James Lenox's agent to collect the rarest
book treasures. He was an indefatigable bibli-
ographer and a generous correspondent. He was
constantly putting forth bibliographical brochures,
and his catalogues are highly prized for their mi-
nute accuracy and valuable notes, as well as for pe-
culiar excellence of typography. He never forgot
the state in which In- was born, but frequently
signed himself Henry Stevens of Vermont, or wrote
after his name the initials G. M. B., " Green Moun-
tain Boy." He was a genial friend, full of quaint
sayings and good-humor. In 1852 he was made a
fellow of the Society of .antiquaries. In 1S77 he
was a member of the committee for promoting the
Cnxton exhibition, and catalogued the exhibit of
Bibles. The same year he became a member of
the Librarian's association and took an active part
in all its meetings. He formed a large collection
of documents relating to Benjamin Franklin, which
was purchased by the U. S. government. He wrote
extensively on bibliographical subjects, and left
several unpublished essays, among which were in-
vestigations respecting Columbus and a supple-
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