He was the son of Maria Justina (widow of Frances Head) and her second husband Andrew Cowell and was known as Colonel Cowell Stepney

He married:

1 c. 1820, Mary Anne (daughter of Robert Annesley), who died on 9th November 1821 in Nice and they had a son named William Frederick Ross Cowell Stepney (1821-72), who never married.

2. In November 1823, Euphemia Jemima Murray (daughter of John Murray of Castle Murray, Queen’s County and of Glenalla, County Donegal in Ireland) and they had two sons.

John Cowell Stepney served with the Coldstream Guards and important date in his mililtary career were:

18 May 1809: Ensign Coldstream Guards

9 September 1813: Lieutenant and Captain

17 February 1820: Brevet Major

15th June 1830: Captain Lieutenant Colonel

[All the above commissions were without purchase]

Between 1810-1814 he served with the Coldstream Guards during the Iberian Peninsular War of 1808-14 in Portugal and Spain. He was known as Old Whalebone or Old Colonel.

His more prominent services in the civil department of Public Life date from 1862 - the time he succeeded to the Llanelli Estate.

He was High Sheriff for Carmarthenshire.

In 1865 The Stepneys lived at the Dell (formerly Furnace House) when they were in Llanelli and their town house was 5 St George’s Place, Hyde Park, London. They leased The Dell from the family of Stradey.

Between 1868 and 1874 he defeated by 1,909 to 613 votes the Conservative opponent at the General Election.

He served as Liberal Member of Parliament for Carmarthenshire Boroughs and attended the House of Commons regularly.

In December 1868 he distributed soup, flour and tea to the poor of the Parish, and in 1870 provided geese, mutton and plum pudding for the Llanelli Union Workhouse dinner where tobacco was given to the men, beer to the women and apples and pears to the children. Tea and buns were also given to the inmates at the expense of Lt Col Stepney (he was not created Baronet until 1871).

In 1871 The Baronetcy was recreated and in 1873 Sir John (now Baronet), was a Trustee to the Llanelly Building Society with Charles William Nevill and William Roderick (Bank Manager).

Sir John Cowell Stepney died in 1877.

A Stepney portrait at Parc Howard

Euphemia Jemima Murray circa 1850

This portrait hangs in the museum at Parc Howard. It does not say which Stepney this is but it is believed to be a portrait of the wife of Sir John Cowell Stepney as his portrait is also in the museum.

When this portrait was painted the sitter would not have been ‘Lady Stepney’ but Mrs Stepney Cowell, wife of John Stepney Cowell as he then was. [The second baronetcy was not recreated until 1871 so if the portrait was painted c 1850 John Stepney Cowell would not have received his title and his second wife Euphemia Jemima Murray would not have been Lady Stepney.

It could not have been Lady Margaret Leicester (she was not born until 1848 so would have been too young) who was married to Sir Arthur because they did not marry until 1875 – after this portrait was painted.

So judging by the dates it most likely Euphemia Jemima Murray who married John Stepney Cowell in November 1823 – she was born in 1804 so she must have been about 46 when the portrait was painted.

She became Lady Stepney in 1871.