Stevenson archer: Humanist and pioneer educator

Abstract

Stevenson Archer was a member of a family whose records have been a part of national history for many years. The Archer family, originally of Maryland, claims descent from Nathaniel Archer of the Archers who settled in Umberslade, Warwickshire, England, and from the branch which, during the sixteenth century, emigrated from England to Ireland, settling at Rathmelton, near Londonderry. The Umberslade Archers are descended from Fulbert L'Archer, who came into England from Normandy with William the Conqueror. The name of Fulbert L'Archer occurs in the roll of Battle Abbey; and his son, Robert L'Archer, as a result of services rendered to Henry I as tutor, acquired the lands of Umberslade in the county of Warwick. From the Archers of Umberslade, it is claimed, the Irish family of that name are descended, as a branch of the same family went to Ireland about the end of the sixteenth century. John Archer, who was born in Ireland about 1680, came to America in the early part of the eighteenth century from Rathmelton, near Londonderry, Ireland. He settled in the vicinity of Brinkley's Mills, in Cecil County, Maryland, and later married Esther Irwin. There were three children in this family: Thomas, born in 1720; Nathaniel, born in 1722; and Esther, born in 1724.1 Thomas Archer, whose descendant, Stevenson Archer, is the subject of this study, married Elizabeth Stevenson in 1739 and moved from Cecil County to Harford County, Maryland, and settled near what is now Churchville.