Representative Hestor Lockhart Stevens - Contact Information

Hestor Lockhart Stevens (October 1, 1803 – May 7, 1864) was an American lawyer, militia officer, and Democratic politician who represented Michigan in the United States House of Representatives in the mid-nineteenth century. He was born in Lima, New York, where he attended the common schools typical of the period, receiving a basic education that prepared him for professional study. Little is recorded about his family background or early youth, but his formative years in western New York placed him in a region experiencing rapid growth and political development in the early decades of the nineteenth century.

After completing his common-school education, Stevens studied law, following the customary path of legal apprenticeship rather than formal law school, which was not yet widespread. He was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in Rochester, New York, an emerging commercial center along the Erie Canal. In addition to his legal career, he became active in the state militia, in which he rose to the rank of major general of the militia of western New York. This position reflected both his standing in the community and the importance of militia service in the civic and political life of the era.

At some point after establishing himself professionally in New York, Stevens moved west to Pontiac, Michigan, a growing community in the developing state. His relocation coincided with Michigan’s expanding political and economic influence in the Old Northwest. In Pontiac, he continued his legal career and became involved in Democratic Party politics, positioning himself for national office as Michigan’s population growth led to the creation of new congressional districts.

In 1852, Stevens was elected as a Democrat from Michigan’s newly created 4th congressional district to the Thirty-third Congress. He served a single term in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1853, to March 3, 1855. His tenure in Congress occurred during a period of mounting sectional tension in the United States, although specific details of his committee assignments or legislative initiatives are not extensively documented. Representing a new district, he participated in the early shaping of Michigan’s expanded voice in the federal legislature.

Stevens was not a candidate for re-election in 1854 and thus concluded his congressional service at the end of his term in 1855. After leaving the House of Representatives, he resumed the practice of law, this time in Washington, D.C., remaining in the nation’s capital and continuing his professional work in proximity to the federal government. He lived there until his death on May 7, 1864, in Washington, D.C. Hestor Lockhart Stevens was interred in Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, a burial ground known for its many notable political and public figures of the nineteenth century.