Eliza Stevens (maiden name: Barnes) was born on September 15, 1807, in Bedford, New Hampshire, to William and Sarah Barnes. She married John Stevens on October 30, 1832, in Bedford, and they had eight children, including: Harriet, born around 1833; Charles, born around 1835; Edward, born around 1839; Sarah, born around 1840; Abby, born around 1844; Anna, born around 1847; and George, born around 1849. They lived in Reading, Massachusetts, and her husband worked as a farmer. By 1850, he owned $5,000 of real estate. Her husband died in June 1854. By 1860, she was working as a housekeeper, and she owned $1,300 of real estate and $400 of personal property. A decade later, she owned $2,000 of real estate and $200 of personal property. She died of “valvular cardiac disease” and chronic Bright’s disease in Reading on October 15, 1891.

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