Version 6.01

11 February 2025

David March © 2014

W STEPHENS

Webster Ben Stephens was born in November 1884 in Manitoba or Ontario to unknown parents. In a family history published in "Dundurn Memories" and digitized for free access on ourroots.ca, his name was given as Ben Stephens, he was born in Ontario and he was raised in North Dakota.

Webster married Lavina Manella (May) Fulk or Fults in 1907 in North Dakota. They had three children: Earl William (b 1908 in USA), Maurice Webster (b 1912 in Ontario -1983) and Olive (b 1915 in Saskatchewan - 1993). According to census records the family came to Canada in 1910. They were living in Carpenter Township, Rainy River District, Ontario in 1911. By 1916, they were living on a farm in 30-23-W2 in Wreford RM, Saskatchewan where Webster was a farmer.

In 1918 they were living at 133 Ave E North in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. They moved to the Dundurn area in 1920 and were living on 24-34-6-W3 in 1921. In 1922, the family split up. Earl remained with his father and Maurice and Olive were sent to Saskatoon to receive their education. Earl later moved to Flin Flon, Manitoba where he remained except for time spent in the services. Maurice originally went to Ontario and worked on the Great Lakes. He married Eleanore Mackie or Eleanor McKay and lived in British Columbia. Olive married Lloyd Goodwin. They farmed in the Dundurn area and moved to Saskatoon in 1956. Webster died on 15 January 1941 in Saskatoon and was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery.

This family tree can be found on Ancestry under the title 3rd Ave Stephens 2 Tree.

The name on the quilt looks like W Stphenos, but as it appears that an e was missed, we are presuming that the o was also an error that was, perhaps, hard to correct because the name was written on cloth. We could find no Stephenos surname, so are assuming the name was supposed to be Stephens. The only W Stephens listed in the 1918 Saskatoon Henderson Directory was Webster Stephens; thus he was the most likely signer. The surname in this tree was spelled different ways in different documents so perhaps Webster had a more limited education which may explain the varied spellings. A child, William Thomas Stephens, had an uncle, W O Springer, who was definitely a quilt signer. As W O Springer was living with his sister and her family in 1916 this child seemed a possible candidate. On the other hand, the names W O Springer and W Stephens were not signed close together on the quilt which sheds doubt that a relative signed the child's name. Related people often signed close together on the quilt. The only other candidate that could be found for this signature was William Tupper Stephens. He was not living in Saskatoon during the time that the quilt was signed, but according to census records and Saskatoon Henderson Directories, he lived in Saskatoon from 1911 to 1916 and returned in 1923. During the time of the 1921 census, he was in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan which is close enough to Saskatoon for visits to have been made. As he no doubt had strong ties to Saskatoon and may have had occasion visit Saskatoon while living in Prince Albert, his biography has also been included. If anyone has a document with the signature of Webster Stephens or William Tucker Stephens, it may help determine the identity of the signer. If the name belonged to the child, William, someone else must have put his name on the quilt as he was too young to write.

William Tupper Stephens was born on 26 July 1880 in Tennycape, Nova Scotia to Joseph W Stephens (b 1837) and Harriett L Robarts (b 1841). His siblings were Florence (b 1861), Harry F (b 1863), Bertha J (b 1864), Aline F (b 1865), Terrence (b 1873), Aubrey Daniel (b 1875) and Hedley (b 1878). He and his family lived in Walton, Nova Scotia until at least 1891. In 1901, William and his parents were living in Windsor, Nova Scotia.

William married Mary Maude Vaughan in Windsor on 4 November 1903. Mary was born to Charles Vaughan (1832-1916) and Mary Maude J (b 1842) on 20 September 1873 in Windsor. William and Mary had three children, the first of which was born in Nova Scotia: Dorothy Vaughan (b 1906), Florence Evangeline (Eva) (b 1908) and Mary Grace (b 1910).

The Stephens family moved to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan by the time of the birth of Florence - her birth was registered there. In 1911, the family was living at 316 Spadina Cres and William was in the grocers business. He was listed at 504 25th St E in the 1916 Saskatoon Henderson Directory. The 1921 census found the family in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan where William was managing a wholesale grocery company. He was listed in Saskatoon Henderson Directories at 221 Poplar from 1922 until at least 1935 and was manager of Codville Company during that time.

As Saskatoon is not far from Prince Albert, it was speculated that William may have had occasion to return to Saskatoon from time to time and that he may have signed the quilt at that time.

This family tree can be found on Ancestry under the title 3rd Ave Stephens Tree.

Candidate 2

Candidate 1