CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, INDIANA, Its People, Industries
and Institutions by Warder W. Stevens.  With Biographical Sketches of
Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old
Families.  Illustrated 1916, B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis,
Indiana. Hardin County.

     Warder W. Stevens, son of Henderson and Catharine (Hayden) Stevens,
was born on September 30, 1845, at Cecelia, Hardin county, Kentucky.  His
father was born near Corydon, Indiana, on April 27, 1824 and the mother in
Hardin county, Kentucky, on February 3, 1822.  The father died in January
1890, and the mother in December, 1898.
     William Stevens, the paternal grandfather of Warder W. Stevens, was
born in Washington county, Kentucky, in 1802, and was married to Keziah
Simpson, a native of Ireland, on June 3, 1823.  The marriage taking place
in Harrison county, Indiana.
     Daniel Hayden, the maternal grandfather of Mr. Stevens, was a native
of Pennsylvania, having been born in that state on June 22, 1780, and was
married to Hannah Shacklet in 1800.  After their marriage they moved to
Kentucky, whre they were among the early settlers of that section.  The
great-grandfather, John Hayden, the father of Daniel Hayden, was a soldier
of distinction in the Revolutionary War.
    The parents of William Stevens, the father of Henderson Stevens, came
to Kentucky in 1794 and suffered the hardships of many Indian battles, as
well as other difficulties of the early settlers.
     Warder W. Stevens received his education in the common schools of his
county and is a graduate of the high school of Corydon, having studing
under Profession May.  In 1867 he received the degree of Bachelor of Laws
at the University of Indiana, and later studied law for two years with the
Hon. S. K. Wolfe, at Corydon.
     In 1867 Mr. Stevens located in Salem, Indiana, and in 1868 was
appointed deputy county auditor, and the following year was appointed
county auditor by the county commissioners, and served in that capacity
until the fall of 1870.  From 1871 to 1972 he served the people of his
district as prosecuting attorney.  At that time he purchased the "Salem
Democrat", which he edited for the next twelve years.  He was also engaged
in agricultural and horticultural puruits having, at one time, the largest
individual pear orchard in the United States.
     For several years Mr. Stevens was a member of the state board of
agriculture and in 1899 was its president.  He was also a member of the
Indiana State Horticultural Society and was the president for four years. 
Much of the success of the farmers' institutes in the state was due to the
efforts of Mr. and Mrs. Stevens, who devoted much time and labor to the
work.  He was for several years lecturer of the state grange.
     Politically, Mr. Stevens is a prominent member of the Democratic
party, in which he has been a strong and active worker.  In 1894 he was
honored by his party by being elected presidential elector and later was
the nominee for lieutenant-governor and canvassed the state for his party.
     Since twenty-two years of age Mr. Stevens has been a member of the
Masonic order, having been ade a Mason by the Newland Lodge, at Salem, and
later took the charter degrees.  After taking up his residence in Oregon
he became a Knight templar and in 1909 a Shriner.
    Mr. Stevens was always interested in the welfare and the advancement
of the people of the community and his energies have always been exerted
in their behalf.  In 1892 he was the prime factor in the organization of
the Salem Farmers Club and the Salem Fortnightly Club, the latter of which
was the forerunner of the Salem Public Library Association, an
organization that has done much for all classes in Salem.
     In 1909 Mr. Stevens removed to Oregon, where he is a large
stockholder and the president of the Baker Mill and Grain Company, of
Baker City, Oregon.
     In 1913 Mr. Stevens turned over to the University of Indiana a
nucleus for a prehistoric and relic museum.  The collection included the
best exhibit of old-time agricultural implements and household articles in
the Middle West, and several thousand prehistoric specimens, such as axes,
tomahawks, spears, paints, ornaments, etc.
     On May 1, 1879, Warder W. Stevens was united in marriage to Alice
Caspar, who was born in Washington County, November 4, 1858, the daughter
of Lewis and Sarah (Collier) Caspar.  Lewis Caspar was born in Germany,
November 6, 1830, and died on November 5, 1869, while auditor of
Washington county.  Mrs. Caspar was born November 16, 1840, and died on
September 18, 1888.  They were the parents of the following children: 
Mrs. Alice Stevens, of Baker City, Oregon; Mrs. Anna Hobbs, of
Bloomington, Indiana, and Mrs. Harriet Rhetts, who died in December, 1911.
     Mr. and Mrs. Stevens are the parents of two children; Ray Caspar, who
was born on July 9, 1884, and died on October 9, 1898; Warda W., maried C.
B. Stout, of Paoli, on Novembr 1, 1906, and they have one child, Alice
Adaline, born on August 3, 1907.

Stevens Hayden Simpson Shacklet May Wolfe Collier Hobbs Rhetts Stout Caspar
=
IN Washington-KY Ireland PA OR Germany

http://www.rootsweb.com/~kygenweb/kybiog/hardin/stevens.ww.txt