Research topic: Stevens

Stevens family of U.S. inventors. John Stevens, 1749-1838, b. New York City, was graduated from King's College (now Columbia Univ.) in 1768. He studied law (1768-71) and soon joined his father, a wealthy landowner and merchant, in New Jersey politics. During the American Revolution he served as treasurer of New Jersey and later (1782-83) was surveyor general of the state. In 1784 he bought an extensive tract of land in what is now Hoboken, N.J., and, when his father died in 1792, he inherited a large estate. By the late 1780s, however, Stevens had turned his attention to steamboat... Read more