William Thomas Stevens

(1887 - 1956) 

 
 

Early Years

William Thomas Stevens was born on October 6, 1887, in Des Moines, Iowa 1 , to May Francis Stevens, age 15. The birth father of William is unknown and an official birth record is yet to be located.

1900’s

By 1906, Fannie and William were living at 3315 Laclede Avenue in St. Louis, Missouri, and in February of this year Fannie married John S. Stevens. 2 William was 19 years old.

In 1908, the three of them were living at 1809A Cass Avenue. 21-year old William and his step-father John were both working as porters.3

On February 1, 1908, William married 18-year old Lizzie Steinigger.4 After their marriage, William and Lizzie continued to live with William's parents.

On December 7, 1909, Lizzie gave birth to a baby girl, whom they named for William's mother - May Francis Stevens.5 As a family of five, they all moved together to 4409 Vista Avenue.6

1910’s

In 1910, both William and his step-father John were working as clerks at a grocery store. 7

On November 5, 1912, a second daughter, Dorothy Faye, is born to William and Elizabeth. 8

Around this time, the family was living at California Avenue. William was working as a laborer, likely taking local odd jobs where he could find them. 9

On November 22, 1915, their eldest son was born - William Albert. 10

By 1916, William and his family were living at 2313 Lynch Street, and William was working as a beer bottler at Anheuser Busch once more.11

In 1917 they were living at 2919 S. 13th Street.12

1920’s

On October 14, 1920, William's step-father, John died at the age of 53 after a short illness.13

On April 7, 1923, a third daughter, Vivian Annette, was born to them.14 Unfortunately, shortly after her second birthday, Vivian became ill and died in infancy.15 She was buried in St. Matthew's Cemetery.16

On August 25, 1925, just over a month after the death of Vivian, Lizzie gave birth to their second son - Kenneth Oliver Stevens.17

By 1927, the family had moved to 2808 Salena.18

Their eldest daughter, May, had taken a job as a stenographer, and on February 4th, she married Arnold Klein.19 They had only been married for five months when May became ill and on July 4, 1927, she passed away at the age of 17. She was buried in St. Matthew's Cemetery next to Vivian.20 At the time, Lizzie was seven months pregnant with their sixth child.

On September 6, 1927, she gave birth to another daughter, Audrey Vera Stevens.21

On September 1, 1929, their youngest child was born - Lorraine Charlotte Stevens.22

1930’s

Bottling Plant at Anheuser Busch ca. 1933

In 1931, William and Lizzie divorced.23 He was 44 years old.

In 1932, President Franklin D. Roosevelt enters office with a landslide victory.

By 1933, William was living at 2016 Sidney Street.24 That December, prohibition officially ended.

By 1935, William had married Mary Bettlach.25 Around the same time, his mother, Fannie, remarried a man named Frank Ryan.28

1940’s

In 1941, news hit of the terrifying and tragic Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and the U.S. declaration of war that followed. Daily life became challenging as families constantly prepared for attacks on American soil and rationed food and common supplies to support the war effort.

Beer bottlers at Anheuser Busch Brewery circa 1945

Beer bottlers at Anheuser Busch Brewery circa 1945

On April 12, at the height of the war, President Roosevelt died suddenly, and Vice President Harry S. Truman assumed the role of President. Four months later Truman issued orders for the use of the atomic bomb on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, leading to the surrender of the Japanese delegation and the end of WWII. 

August 14, 1945 was celebrated as Victory Over Japan, or "V-J Day". There was singing, dancing, bonfires, and fireworks in the street, and Truman was hailed as a national hero.

It may have been a time of peace, but the conflict was not over. Instead, a new period of Cold War began and fear of the communist threat began to sneak into the American psyche.

1950’s

The summer of 1950 saw war once again - this time in Korea. It lasted three years, but is often termed the "Forgotten War".  In addition, the "Red Scare" was really starting to intensify.

The election of Dwight D. Eisenhower was another landslide in 1952.

That same year, the first color televisions go on sale. NBC was the only network to broadcast in color at the time, and the sets were very expensive, so they didn't really gain household popularity until the early 1960's.

May of 1955 brought the integration of public schools in the United States with "deliberate speed", and January of that same year Rosa Parks infamously refused to give up her seat to a white man on the public bus. The next several years would be marked by civil rights protests that would change the face of American society as everyone up until this point had known it.

William Stevens headstone - Sts. Peter and Paul Cemetery, St. Louis, MO

William Stevens headstone - Sts. Peter and Paul Cemetery, St. Louis, MO

On September 26, 1956, William, passed away at the age of 68. He was at his home at 3405 Keokuk Street, and official cause of death was a blood clot in the brain. He was buried at Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery.26

He had been a member of the Stag Athletic Club and Beer Bottlers Local No. 187.27

 

1.William T. Stevens, death certificate 8923 (1956), Missouri Department of Health, Department of Health and Senior Services, Jefferson City, Missouri, USA; Ancestry.com, U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2014), Number: 489-05-1716; Issue State: Missouri; Issue Date: Before 1951; Ancestry.com, U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012), https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/47818341; Ancestry.com, U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 (Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), The National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; World War II Draft Cards (Fourth Registration) for the State of Missouri; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System, 1926-1975; Record Group Number: 147; Box or Roll Number: 1109; Dorothy Stevens Mueller, handwritten notes of family dates, Dorothy Stevens Mueller Personal Files; supplied by Liza N. Reid, [address for private use], Labadie, MO, circa 1994. Dorothy Mueller to Debbie Lankford to Liza Reid.Ancestry.com, U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005), Registration State: Missouri; Registration County: St Louis (Independent City); Roll: 1683747; Draft Board: 10; William Stevens.
2. "Marriage Licenses," St. Louis Globe-Democrat (St. Louis, MO, USA), 28 February 1906, page 4; digital, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed 24 December 2020); https://www.newspapers.com/image/571342347/?article=ced882e6-9bdd-4376-b867-917b657d2b5e/7d9d1676-c53a-4a8e-8d3f-a8e41554218c&focus=0.30885682,0.7889096,0.44109476,0.9618997&xid=3398&_ga=2.171686884.55738540.1608587385-590744378.1602104607; FamilySearch, Missouri, County Marriage, Naturalization, and Court Records, 1800-1991 (Jefferson City, MO: Missouri State Archives, 2019), Marriage licenses 1905-1906 no 117774-125693 > image 661 of 705.
3. St. Louis Missouri City Directory 1908 (N.p.:n.p., 1908), p. 1772, William Stevens, porter r.1809A Cass av; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 18 July 2021).
4. Missouri, Marriage Certificate, no. 140604, William T. Stevens and Lizzie Steinigger St. Louis, MO, 1 February 1908; Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City.
5. Dorothy Stevens Mueller, handwritten notes of family dates; May Stevens Klein, death certificate Registered No. 6238 (22592) (1927), Missouri Department of Health, Department of Health and Senior Services, Jefferson City, Missouri, USA.
6. Ancestry.com, U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), Title: St Louis, Missouri, City Directory, 1909
7. Ancestry.com, 1910 United States Federal Census (Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2006), Year: 1910; Census Place: St Louis Ward 25, Saint Louis City, Missouri; Roll: T624_822; Page: 11B; Enumeration District: 0405; FHL microfilm: 1374835.
8. Dorothy Stevens Mueller, handwritten notes of family dates; Ancestry.com, U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015), 488037366; Elizabeth Steinigger Stevens form aa-15, 1941; Records of the Railroad Retirement Board, 1934-1987, Record Group 184; National Archives at Atlanta, 5780 Jonesboro Road, Morrow, GA 30260.
9. Ancestry.com, U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), St Louis, Missouri, City Directory, 1913; Ancestry.com, U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), St Louis, Missouri, City Directory, 1914.
10. Dorothy Stevens Mueller, handwritten notes of family dates; Ancestry.com, U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), SSN: 493079615; Ancestry.com, U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2014), Social Security Number: 493-07-9615.
11. Ancestry.com, U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), Title: St Louis, Missouri, City Directory, 1916; Ancestry.com, U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005), Registration State: Missouri; Registration County: St Louis (Independent City); Roll: 1683747; Draft Board: 10; William Stevens.
12. 1920 United States Federal Census, Year: 1920; Census Place: St Louis Ward 10, St Louis (Independent City), Missouri; Roll: T625_952; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 189.
13. St. Agatha's Church (St. Louis, Missouri, USA), Record of Interments of St. Agatha's Parish, St. Louis, MO, page 67, John Stevens; FHL microfilm 008132893, item number 4; "Stevens," obituary, St. Louis Globe-Democrat (St. Louis, MO, USA), 15 October 1920, page 19; digital, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : downloaded 5 November 2019); https://www.newspapers.com/image/572533171. 14. Dorothy Stevens Mueller, handwritten notes of family dates; Vivian Annette Stevens photograph, 15 July 1925; digital image, baby Vivian Stevens in casket surrounded by flowers; privately held by Liza Reid, [address for private use], Labadie, MO, 2021. writing on back. Dorothy Stevens to Liza Reid.
15. Dorothy Stevens Mueller, handwritten notes of family dates.
16. St. Matthew's Cemetery (4360 Bates Street, St. Louis, Missouri), deed, Book III, Page 85, Lot No. 64W1/2 Block 4. William T. & Lizzie Stevens.
17. Ancestry.com, U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2014), Kenneth O. Stevens, 500-18-6281, 17 May 2003; Ancestry.com, U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), Kenneth Stevens, ARMY - 22 Nov 1943-19 Jan 1946; Dorothy Stevens Mueller, handwritten notes of family dates.
18. May Stevens Klein, death certificate Registered No. 6238 (22592) (1927), Missouri Department of Health, Department of Health and Senior Services, Jefferson City, Missouri, USA; Ancestry.com, U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), St. Louis City Directory, 1929.
19. Ancestry.com, Missouri, Marriage Records, 1805-2002 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007), St. Louis, 1927; Arnold P. Klein & Mae F. Stevens.
20. May Stevens Klein, death certificate Registered No. 6238 (22592) (1927), Missouri Department of Health, Department of Health and Senior Services, Jefferson City, Missouri, USA; "Stevens," obituary, St. Louis Post Dispatch (St. Louis, MO), 6 July 1927, page 24; digital, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : downloaded 5 November 2019); https://www.newspapers.com/image/140628428.
21. Elizabeth Steinigger Stevens form aa-15, 1199081, 1941, National Archives at Atlanta; Dorothy Stevens Mueller, handwritten notes of family dates; Ancestry.com, 1930 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002), Year: 1930; Census Place: St Louis, St. Louis (Independent City), Missouri; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 0412; FHL microfilm: 2340967.
22. Lorraine Charlotte Roby, death certificate No. 124-04-300004 (2 January 2004), Missouri Department of Health, Department of Health and Senior Services, Jefferson City, Missouri, USA; Lorraine Charlotte Stevens, 499-26-9148, 13 November 1943, Application for Social Security Account Number, Treasury Department, Internal Revenue Service; Dorothy Stevens Mueller, handwritten notes of family dates.
23. Elizabeth Stevens, death certificate 78208759 (30 December 1978); Elizabeth Steinigger Stevens application for employee annuity, A706572, 1957, National Archives at Atlanta.
24. Ancestry.com, U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), St. Louis, Missouri, 1933.
25. Ancestry.com, 1940 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2012), Year: 1940; Census Place: St Louis, St Louis City, Missouri; Roll: m-t0627-02189; Page: 13A.
26. William T. Stevens, death certificate 8923 (1956), Missouri Department of Health, Department of Health and Senior Services, Jefferson City, Missouri, USA; "Stevens, William T.," obituary, St. Louis Post Dispatch (St. Louis, MO), 27 September 1956, page 31; digital, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : downloaded 3 November 2019); https://www.newspapers.com/image/140095018.
27. "Stevens, William T.," page 31.
28. Ancestry.com, 1940 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2012), Year: 1940; Census Place: St Louis, St Louis City, Missouri; Roll: m-t0627-02197; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 96-384A.