This letter was written by Robert Keen Stephens (1801-1888), the son of Robert Stephens (1754-1836) and Sabra Benton (1770-1836). In his letter, Robert speaks of his mothers death on 15 June 1836. His letter was datelined from Short Mountain, Cannon County, Tennessee, on 10 August 1836; his father passed away one week later on 17 August.
Robert grew up in Montgomery county, North Carolina, but came with his parents to Warren County, Tennessee, in the late 1820s. In the 1850 US Census, Robert was enumerated in Cannon county, Tennessee, as a farmer. He was still there in 1860 and by that time had acquired as many as 12 slaves. He married Mary Jane George (1839-1907) in the mid-1850s but the couple appears to have divorced by 1866. Three children were born to the couple.
https://sparedshared22.wordpress.com/2022/02/08/1836-robert-keen-stephens-to-charles-b-cabaness/
