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There are several variants of the name: Stephenson, Stevenson, Stevensen and no doubt others. The variations of the name have no significance. The Stevensons are a Border family. The greatest concentration of the name is the area between Morpeth and Rothbury Further evidence of its location is that surnames ending in ‘son’ are most likely to come from the northern counties of England. All the same, it is reasonable to assume that the name could occur anywhere there was a Stephen who had a son, and there are pockets of the name in use in use in Roxburghshire, over the Border, in Scotland. So a person named Stevenson could have either Scottish or English roots, but it is more likely to be English. Famous Stephensons George Stephenson, known as ‘The Father of the Railways’, was born in Wylam, on the banks of the River Tyne, in 1761. He had no formal education and only learnt to read at the age of nineteen. He was a gifted young man, and it was he who invented the first successful steam engine, ‘The Rocket.’ The highlight of his brilliant career was when the nearby Darlington to Stockton Railway was opened in 1825, a train of eleven wagons, Stephenson driving the locomotive himself. In 1824, George and his son Robert formed a successful business in Newcastle constructing locomotives and other engineering works. Apart from working with his father on locomotives, Robert was renowned for his work in civil engineering and was responsible for the construction of many famous bridges. He died in 1859. Robert Louis Stevenson, the author, was born in Edinburgh in 1850. His works include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Dr Jekyll and My Hyde, and many, many others. He travelled widely and, after a visit to California, he wrote The Amateur Emigrant an account of this journey. There appears to be no website relating specifically to the Stephenson family. For further information it is suggested that ancestry websites are accessed. Further information will be added as it is processed. |