Hiram Sanford Stevens

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Hiram Sanford Stevens
John Goulder Campbell
Personal details
Born(1832-03-20)March 20, 1832
United States 1st Dragoons

Hiram Sanford Stevens (March 20, 1832 – March 22, 1893) was an American businessman and politician. He served two terms as

delegate in the United States House of Representatives and three times in the Arizona Territorial Legislature
.

Background

Stevens was born in

honorable discharge while at Fort Thorn.[2]

Following his discharge, Stevens proceeded to Tucson with only a brief stop along the San Pedro River.[1] There he operated a ranch near Sentinel Peak before opening a store in Sacaton in 1858. That year, on August 28, he was baptized at a Catholic church in Tucson under the name "Steven Augustus Hiram."[2]

Following the outbreak of the

brothers-in-law.[1] Stevens married Petra Santa Cruz while Hughes married her older sister, Atanacia.[2] The Stevens had two adopted children: Elisa and Thomas.[3]

From 1866 until 1872 Stevens was a post trader for Fort Buchanan and Fort Crittenden.[1] He was forced to close his operation when it was discovered he had been selling alcohol to the soldiers illegally.[3] In 1876, Stevens and Hughes formed Hughes, Stevens & Company. The firm was active in cattle, mercantile, and mining interests. At the peak of his career, Stevens also owned a sheep ranch in Colorado and was worth an estimated US$150,000.[1] This made him one of the richest men in the territory.[4]

Political career

Stevens's success in business prompted him to take an interest in politics. He served as Tucson city treasurer,

Board of Supervisors on multiple occasions.[3] In 1868, Stevens was elected to represent the 5th Arizona Territorial Legislature where he represented Pima County in the House of Representatives (lower house).[5]
The session even met in a building owned by Stevens.[6] Stevens was returned to the legislature twice more, serving in the Council (upper house) of both the 6th and 7th Arizona Territorial Legislature.[3]

In 1874,

Board of Supervisors.[8] Final results were 1,442 for Stevens, 1,076 for Bean, 638 for Smith, 13 for Hayden and 7 for Beardsley.[7]

Rumors of a possible

Washington, D.C., on March 3, 1875. The special session never materialized and Stevens kept himself busy in Washington looking after his business concerns. After the 44th United States Congress convened in December, the new territorial delegate introduced a series of legislative proposals.[9] Among these were requests for funds to construction of a territorial capital and penitentiary, creating of a port of entry in Tucson, and navigation improvements along the Colorado River.[10] One of Stevens' bills that was passed by the Congress allowed the territorial legislature to overrule the Governor's veto with a two-thirds vote.[11] A bill to allow for election of the territorial governor was defeated.[12]

Stevens announced he would seek a second term on June 21, 1876. His opponents were

poll tax. This was done despite the tax not being due till December 31 and the board's decision to accept the votes from several other towns with similar circumstances but that had voted for a different candidate.[11] A provision in territorial law required the Territorial Secretary to accept the vote canvas provided by the County Recorder thwarted the board's efforts and resulted in Stevens winning a plurality of the vote.[14] Final results were 1,194 for Stevens, 1,049 for Hardy, and 1,007 for Oury.[15]

The

Fort Lowell.[15] More important was a change in the size of the Arizona Territorial Legislature. With Arizona's population having grown to around 40,000, Stevens convinced the U.S. Congress to increase the size of the legislature from its previous nine member Council and eighteen member House of Representatives to twelve and twenty-four members respectively.[16]

June 7, 1878 saw Stevens announce his plans to run for a third term.[15] His reelection bid was unsuccessful as he placed third in a five-way race during the 1878 election.[17]

After office

Business activities occupied Stevens' time after he left office. The early 1880s saw him purchase a ranch near

moneylender, charging the prevailing rate of 2%/month.[18] When Tucson was considering conversion from gas to electric lighting in 1884, Stevens was a major opponent of the proposal. Following his death it was discovered he owned 100,000 shares of Tucson Gas Company stock.[18] In other activities, Stevens was the second President of Arizona Pioneers' Historical Society.[1] Tucson's first Protestant church was built on land he donated and he is credited with planting the area's first pepper trees.[18]

Stevens died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on March 22, 1893.[19] His business interests had taken a downturn with creditors filing for attachment four days before Stevens' death.[1] Stevens shot his wife, inflicting only a minor wound, and then turned a second gun on himself.[20] Later investigate decided his financial troubles were insufficient to explain the suicide and could only determine the action was taken during a period of severe mental distress.[2] Stevens was buried at Tucson's Catholic cemetery in one of the largest funerals the city had ever seen.[21] His remains were later moved to Tucson's Evergreen Cemetery.[22]

Legacy

Stevens Avenue, just north of downtown Tucson, was named in 1899, in his honor.[23]

Footnotes

  1. ^ While almost all sources indicate Stevens was born in Weston, Vermont, the coroner's jury reported he was born in Fort Covington, New York.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Goff 1983, p. 93.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Goff 1985, p. 75.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Goff 1985, p. 76.
  4. ^ a b Farish 1915, p. 198.
  5. ^ Wagoner 1970, p. 509.
  6. ^ Wagoner 1970, p. 72.
  7. ^ a b c Wagoner 1970, p. 85.
  8. ^ a b Goff 1985, p. 77.
  9. ^ Goff 1985, p. 78.
  10. ^ Goff 1985, pp. 78–79.
  11. ^ a b Wagoner 1970, p. 88.
  12. ^ Goff 1985, p. 79.
  13. ^ a b Goff 1985, p. 80.
  14. ^ Wagoner 1970, p. 87.
  15. ^ a b c Goff 1985, p. 83.
  16. ^ Wagoner 1970, pp. 88–89.
  17. ^ Wagoner 1970, p. 89.
  18. ^ a b c Goff 1985, p. 88.
  19. ^ "By His Own Hand". Arizona Republican. March 23, 1893. p. 1.
  20. Arizona Weekly Journal-Miner
    . March 29, 1893. p. 1.
  21. ^ "Laid to Rest". Arizona Weekly Citizen. April 1, 1893.
  22. ^ Goff 1983, p. 75.
  23. ^ Leighton, David (January 7, 2014). "Downtown route recalls Stevens, fancy-hotel owner, Congress delegate". Arizona Daily Star. pp. A2, A6. Retrieved March 1, 2024.

External links
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Richard C. McCormick
 Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives
from Arizona Territory
1875–1879 		Succeeded by
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