Writing on back reads:
"Jim Rufus + Bob Stephens
Sam died 1919
flu
typhoid
1897
James Oliver Sam Robert Wesley"
14? 9 16?
(Note: Though the writing on the back of the photo says "Rufus," I do believe the boys shown here are James, Samuel, and Robert Stephens. Rufus Stephens would have been 21 in 1897, too old to be in this photo.)
These brothers, photographed together in 1897, were three of Stephen Samuel Stephens and Susanna Elizabeth Liles Stephens' nine children. All nine were born in Randolph County, Alabama, where the family resided. The first three born were girls: Alice Estelle in 1870, Rebecca Isabelle in 1871, and Melissa Ozier in 1872. The first boy, William Anderson, arrived in 1874, followed by Rufus Whitten in 1876, Sarah Croma in 1879, Robert Wesley in 1883, James Oliver in 1884, and Samuel Marvin in 1888.
Here we see James, Samuel, and Robert, the youngest three siblings. Around the time the photo was taken, Robert was working with his father on the farm. By 1910, however, Robert was living in Georgia with his wife, Clara, and working as a dentist. Robert and Clara had three children: Jewell Irene, Catherine Frances, and Robert Marvin. He died of a heart attack in 1940 at the age of 57.
James also worked on the farm with his father as a teenager. Sadly, James died of typhus in 1902 at the age of 17. This came just six months after the death of his older sister, Rebecca, who may have passed from the same illness. He was laid to rest at Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church Cemetery in Wadley, Randolph County, Alabama.
In 1910, at age 20, the youngest brother, Samuel, was still at home on the farm. Soon, he left Alabama to join his brother Robert in Manchester, Georgia. There, he worked as an operator for the Atlanta, Birmingham, and Atlantic Railway. In December 1918, around his 30th birthday, Samuel became ill with the flu. It developed into severe pneumonia, and he passed on January 6th, 1919. He was buried with his brother, James, in Randolph County. They share a beautiful headstone.
If you know who these folks may be, let us know in the comments!
