ARCHIBALD F.  STEBBING

     Archibald F. Stebbing is the founder and promoter of the Stebbing Commercial and Secretarial School, in which connection he has developed an institution of farreaching effect and importance, being based upon the highest standards which are the result of wide personal experience in the business field. He was born on the 2nd of May, 1877, in St. Paul, Minnesota, and is a son of John William and Sarah (Diver) Stebbing. The father was born in Letton, Norfolk, England, and was a son of Filby Stebbing, a yeoman of that place. The paternal ancestry is traced back directly to Henry de Ferrier, who was one of the right hand men of William the Conqueror. For many generations after the conquest of England in 1066 by the Norman duke the family held important titles in England. The earls of Derby were the most prominent. Considerable estate in the county of Essex became the property of one of the members of the family in approximately the eleventh or twelfth century and a manor was established in that county at Stebbing. About 1200 a junior member of the Essex family settled in Yorkshire and for the sake of identification with the Essex family was known as John de Stebbing. The family being of Viking origin before the Norman period, and living for several centuries in that section of the east coast of England which had been the object of innumerable invasions by the Norsemen and was largely settled by them, intermarriage restored the Viking physical characteristics of the Stebbing family to a great extent.
     In the Diver line there are interesting traditions concerning the family. It is possible that the name was derived from Ivor—d'Ivor. It appears that prior to the reign of Queen Elizabeth the family as a clan lived in Spain, having journeyed thither from Persia at the suggestion of Moses, the Israelite, who was requested while on the journey to the Promised Land to give advice concerning one of the children who had been bitten by a snake. Moses, it is said, directed them to the isles of the north. What route was taken does not seem to be recorded, nor how long it took them to journey to the Spanish peninsula; but their arrival and settlement there seems to have been an accomplished fact. Further progress was halted, evidently, until the sailing of the. great Spanish Armada in the year 1588. This gave an opportunity to some of the family and they joined the would-be conquering forces, landing on the objective shores with less enthusiasm than they had anticipated. The Diver family were of good education and readily assimilated with the British. Nearly all of the Divers are professionals and have generally been identified with medical or military life. The parents of Mrs. Stebbing were Thomas and Jane (Harle) Diver, of London, England. It was in the year 1872 that Mr. and Mrs. John Stebbing came to the United States and for a time were residents of St. Paul, Minnesota, but in 1878 they returned to London together with their infant son, Archibald. In the year 1894 the family again came to the new world, bringing with them not only their son but a young daughter, Miss F. Edna Stebbing, whose birth had occurred in London.
     It was largely in the world's metropolis that Archibald F. Stebbing spent the days of his boyhood and youth and he there pursued a course of study in the Woodford Collegiate and Commercial School. He received his initial training in the business world in London, where for two years he was connected with banking. He accompanied his parents on their emigration to the United States in 1894 and in New Haven secured a clerical position in the City Bank, but it seemed to offer little outlook for the future, although he remained there for four years and faithfully performed every task that devolved upon him. He afterward turned his attention to railroad work and was connected with the New York, New Haven & Hartford and with the Grand Trunk and the New York Central Lines at Chicago. While with the Grand Trunk he was at Montreal, Canada. He was connected with all departments of clerical work in both the freight and passenger divisions and for a time was with the rate compiling department. In 1910 he returned to New Haven and established the Stebbing Commercial College, for in the meantime he had recognized the value of a standard institution of this character and, moreover, he was ambitious to conduct business on his own account. He opened the school in a small way and in fact for a time limited his teaching to evening work at his home. This soon became impracticable, so in the fall of 1910 he secured a small office in the center of the city and after a few years removed to larger and more commodious quarters in the Chamber of Commerce building. The school is now conducted under the name of the Stebbing Commercial and Secretarial School and in it instruction is given in shorthand, typewriting, bookkeeping and general office work. Both day and evening sessions are maintained and individual instruction is given as well as class instruction, thus insuring the pupil the best possible development, with a recognition of his powers and of his difficulties. Mr. Stebbing maintains the highest standard in the school and his pupils have made excellent records as they have gone out into the business world, thus showing the thoroughness and efficiency of his system. Mr. Stebbing acts as director of the school with his sister, Miss F. Edna Stebbing, as the secretary. He is thoroughly in earnest in what he undertakes and he accomplishes his purposes by persistent and intelligently thoughtout methods.
     Fraternally Mr. Stebbing is a Mason and he also belongs to the Relief Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He has membership in the Masonic Club and in the Chamber of Commerce. He is well known as a faithful member of the Episcopal church, being a lay reader of Christ church in New Haven. His license was originally issued by Bishop Williams of Connecticut in 1896. His entire life measures up to high standards, he is a man of excellent purpose, actuated at all times by lofty ideals, and throughout his entire career he has utilized every opportunity that has enabled him to press steadily forward to the goal of his ambition.

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