STEPHENSON, Edward (1691-1768), of Dawley, Mdx.

Edward Stephenson arrived in Bengal early in 1710, securing rapid promotion. On the death of the governor in 1728 the presidency of Fort William devolved on him, but he was superseded next day by another governor, who arrived from England with a new commission.Jnl. of Asiatic Soc. of Bengal, lxvii. i. 167-74; C.R. Wilson, Early Annals of Bengal, ii and iii passim. Returning to England in 1730, he bought an estate at Great Bardfield, in Essex,Morant, Essex, ii. 520. less than 20 miles from Sudbury, for which he was returned in 1734 after a contest, voting against the Administration, but did not stand again. He bought Dawley from Bolingbroke in 1738 for £26,000 and sold it soon after 1748.Pope to Swift, 17 May 1739; Lysons, Mdx. 127-8. From 1755 to 1765 he was listed in directories as a merchant of Queen Square, Bloomsbury, where he died, 7 Sept. 1768.