Gideon V. Stivers

Gideon V. Stivers was born in Bellville, Essex County, New Jersey in 1786. He learned the carpenter’s trade and came to Camden before 1810, where he built many houses and large buildings, including a house for Edward Sharp in 1810 and St. Paul’s Church.

He married Anne Wessell on November 24, 1822. The couple had five children: Elizabeth (born July 1823), Emma, Angelina, Adeline, and a son, Samuel Wessell Stivers (born 1832).

Stivers was chosen for the post of mayor by the City Council and was re-elected every year through 1837, making him Camden’s second mayor and its longest-serving in the early period. He moved to Philadelphia in 1838 but returned to Camden in 1856. He ran for mayor again in 1859 but was defeated. Stivers moved back to Philadelphia in 1865 and died there on February 7, 1866. His death was reported in the Philadelphia Inquirer and Public Ledger. His wife Ann died on June 1, 1869.