Alexander H. Stephens - Early Life and Career

Early Life and Career

Stephens was born to Andrew B. Stephens and Matilda Marbury Somerville. His mother died when he was an infant and Andrew married Lindsay Margaret Grier. They lived on a farm near Crawfordville, Taliaferro County, Georgia. (At the time of his birth, the farm was part of Warren County and Crawfordville had not yet been founded.) His father and stepmother died days apart when he was 14, causing him and several siblings to be scattered among relatives. He grew up poor and in difficult circumstances.

Frail but precocious, the young Stephens acquired his continued education through the generosity of several benefactors. One of them was the Presbyterian minister Alexander Hamilton Webster. Out of respect for his mentor, Stephens adopted Webster's middle name, Hamilton, as his own. Stephens attended the Franklin College (later the University of Georgia) in Athens, where he was roommates with Crawford W. Long and a member of the Phi Kappa Literary Society. He graduated at the top of his class in 1832.

After several unhappy years teaching school, he took up legal studies, passed the bar in 1834, and began a successful career as a lawyer in Crawfordville. During his 32 years of practice, he gained a reputation as a capable defender of the wrongfully accused. None of his clients charged with capital crimes were executed. One notable case was that of a slave woman accused of attempted murder. Stephens volunteered to defend her. Despite the circumstantial evidence presented against her, Stephens won an acquittal for the woman.

Stephens was extremely sickly throughout his life. He often weighed less than 100 pounds.

As his wealth increased, Stephens began acquiring land and slaves. By the time of the Civil War, Stephens owned 34 slaves and several thousand acres. He entered politics in 1836, and was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives, serving there until 1841. In 1842, he was elected to the Georgia State Senate.