Joseph Stevenson was born on 19 October 1787 to Edward Stevenson and Elizabeth Marriot in the village of Barsby, Ashby Folville parish, Leicestershire, England. He was christened at the church in Ashby Folville on 21 October 1787. The Stevensons have been in this village for several generations and are buried in the village cemetery.
He left Barsby and entered the coppering trade which is barrel making. He was in London and met a Elizabeth Stevens who was raised in the heart of London. They were married on the 28 June 1812 in St. Savior's Church, now known as Southwark Cathedral. Military records state that Joseph was brought up as a cooper and entered the service of the Board of Ordnance on 4 August 1807. This board was separate from the War Office and was responsible for suppling supplies to the arms of the Army and Navy. Joseph was in the civil branch of the military as a copper who mainly construction or repaired barrels of powder.
Joseph was servicing in Purfleet which is the marshes south bank of the Thames near Woolwich. In May 1808 he was appointed to be master cooper at the Colony of Gibralter to replace a Edward Edwards and this was later cancelled. Later that year he was given three months pay in advance and was to quickly leave Purfleet by stage coach to Portsmouth. Joseph went with Sir John Moore's expedition to Lisbon and march to Salamanca, Spain. He took part in the retreat to Corunna, Spain and came back to England in January 1809. He was laid up for three months with a fever. He resumed his employment at Purfleet until he was appointed Cooper at Gibralter on 26 April 1817. Joseph and his growing family stayed in Colony of Gibralter around until 1828.
Joseph partitioned the Board of Ordnance in London on 30 October 1827 requesting to be transferred to North America to the Canada area. The reason for this request was to give his four older children who were boys an opportunity to find trade. Gibralter was not offering substantial opportunities for his sons. He also stated that the climate in Gibralter had not been good on his health. In his letter he states his service at Purfleet and his experience with Sir John Moore's expedition in Spain. His request letter was received in the Board of Ordnance on the 29 November 1827.
In the spring of 1829 Joseph and his family of six children left the Colony of Gibralter and came to North America. The family arrived in New York in July and settled in Brooklyn and Albany for awhile. Joseph became an American citizen while in New York. His youngest child James was born in Albany and soon after he moved his family to Detroit and carried on his business as a cooper. He left his bass violin that the Methodist Chapel there when he moved his family to Pontiac, Oakland county Michigan. Here his son Edward writes they had 240 acres of land with a farm, garden and a lake. There were flowers, trees, shrubs, huckleberries and cranberries. Here Joseph built a sailboat for riding and to fish on the lake. On the trial run of the boat it capsized and Joseph was clinging to it when one of his older boys rescued him and brought him to shore. He suffered a short illness and past away in the fall of 1832 supposedly in September. He is buried in the Oakland Cemetery, Muskegon, Muskegon, Michigan.
While in Gibralter the family had joined the Methodist Church. Joseph was known for his violin playing in the church and when his son Edward visited the colony later in life, people still remembered Joseph's playing the violin. Joseph loved music and to share his talent.
Source: Joseph Grant Stevenson "Stevenson Family History Volume 1" Third Edition, Provo, Utah, 1955.
