John Lloyd Stephens


Gender:
Male
Born:
November 28, 1805
Died:
October 12, 1852
Home Town:
Shrewsbury, NJ
Later Residences:
New York, NY
Biographical Notes:
John Lloyd Stephens was the son of Benjamin L. Stephens, one of the wealthiest men in New York City, and his wife Clemence Lloyd. He was not greatly interested in the practice of law and in 1834 went on a sea voyage which his doctor had suggested might ease an affliction of the throat from which he suffered. He sailed to Europe and passed the next two years travelling in Southern and Eastern Europe. Stephens wrote many letters home of his exploits and in 1837 published his first travel book. He was known affectionately by friends and family as "the American traveler."

In 1839, Stephens was sent on a diplomatic mission to Central America and traveled all over Guatemala, but he never found the government to which he had been accredited. The British artist Frederick Catherwood was traveling ...
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Additional Notes:
His travel books included:

Incidents of Travel in Egypt, Arabia Petraea, and the Holy Land (1837)

Incidents of Travel in Greece, Turkey, Russia and Poland (1838)

Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatán, Vols. 1 & 2 (1841)

Incidents of Travel in Yucatán, Vols. 1 & 2 (1843)

Education
Years at LLS:
1822-1824
Other Education:
Graduated from Columbia College in 1822 and received his Masters Degree from Columbia in 1828.

Profession / Service
Profession:
Arts; Political Office
Admitted To Bar:
1825
Training with Other Lawyers:
He read the law with Daniel Lord before attending the Litchfield Law School.
Political Party:
Democrat

Related Objects and Documents
In the Ledger:
help The Citation of Attendance provides primary source documentation of the student’s attendance at the Litchfield Female Academy and/or the Litchfield Law School. If a citation is absent, the student is thought to have attended but currently lacks primary source confirmation.

Records for the schools were sporadic, especially in the formative years of both institutions. If instructors kept comprehensive records for the Litchfield Female Academy or the Litchfield Law School, they do not survive. Researchers and staff have identified students through letters, diaries, family histories and genealogies, and town histories as well as catalogues of students printed in various years. Art and needlework have provided further identification of Female Academy Students, and Litchfield County Bar records document a number of Law School students. The history of both schools and the identification of the students who attended them owe credit to the early 20th century research and documentation efforts of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel and Samuel Fisher, and the late 20th century research and documentation efforts of Lynne Templeton Brickley and the Litchfield Historical Society staff.
CITATION OF ATTENDANCE:
Litchfield Eagle, October 6, 1823.

Catalogue of the Litchfield Law School (Hartford, CT: Press of Case, Tiffany and Company, 1849), 19.
Secondary Sources:
New York Herald and New York Tribune 14 Oct 1852.

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