S.F. MINT SUPERINTENDENT STEVENS PHOTO SOUGHT

 
Lithograph of the 1st San Francisco Mint

Nancy and I have been searching, for several years now, for an image (photo or drawing) of a Mr. Robert Julius Stevens (who also went by Major, and sometimes Colonel R. J. Stevens). We have enough material to write a book about him, but lack the image. He was born in Rhode Island on Feb 18, 1824 and died on Christmas Day, 1889 in Seattle. We are perplexed on finding one since he held several important Federal positions, and have searched the internet, libraries, mint records, newspapers of the time, etc. to no avail. The following were his positions.

• In 1844 he was U. S. Consulate to Spain at 20 years of age.
• 1849 - manager of shipping company in San Francisco.
• 1853 - married the daughter of famous Colonel Edward D. Baker.
• 1861 - 1863 - Superintendent of 1st San Francisco Mint.
• 1864 - 1865 - Paymaster of the Union Army during the Civil War, and held the rank of Major. Resigned May of 1865.
• 1865 - appointed Secretary to the Committee on Appropriations in the House of Representatives in Washington, D. C. , and held that position for some 20 years.
• 1871, & 1872 appointed Assay Commissioner for the yearly Assay Commission test of U. S. Coinage.
• 1873 - sent by Treasury Department to investigate, as a Special Commissioner, Indian affairs on the Pacific Coast.
• 1873 - while still holding the Washington D. C. secretary position he was sent to investigate the west coast mints and assay offices, and he called himself, "Superintendent of Repairs", and sometimes a "Special Agent".
• 1884 - appointed U. S. Counsel to Canada and lived in Seattle, WA.
• 1889 - died at daughters' family home on Christmas Day while adorning the Christmas tree.

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