Andrew Stevenson was a Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 politician in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Educated at the College of William and Mary

College of William and Mary

The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...

, he married three times. His second wife, Sarah (Sally) Coles, was a cousin of Dolley Madison

Dolley Madison

Dolley Payne Todd Madison was the spouse of the fourth President of the United States, James Madison, and was First Lady of the United States from 1809 to 1817...

 and sister of Edward Coles

Edward Coles

Edward Coles manumitted his slaves in 1819, was secretary to James Madison , neighbor and anti-slavery associate of Thomas Jefferson and was the second Governor of Illinois, serving from 1822 to 1826...

, a governor of Illinois. Stevenson served as a Congressman

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 from 1821 to 1834 and was the Speaker of the House

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...

 from 1827 until 1834. From 1836 to 1841 Stevenson served as American minister to the United Kingdom. He presided over the 1835 Democratic National Convention

1835 Democratic National Convention

The 1835 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that was held from May 20 to the 22nd, in Baltimore, Maryland. This was the second national convention of the Democratic Party of the United States...

 and the 1848 Democratic National Convention

1848 Democratic National Convention

The 1848 Democratic National Convention, a presidential nominating convention of United States Democratic Party delegates representing all thirty states in the union at the time, met in Baltimore on May 22, 1848. Former Speaker of the House Andrew Stevenson of Virginia was made the president of...

. From 1856 to 1857 he served as rector

Rector

The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...

 of the University of Virginia

University of Virginia

The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...

.

His son John White Stevenson

John W. Stevenson

John White Stevenson was a U.S. Representative, the 18th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky, the 25th Governor of Kentucky and U.S. Senator. His father, Andrew Stevenson, had served as Speaker of the House and minister to Great Britain...

 was a senator and Governor of Kentucky

Governor of Kentucky

The Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of the executive branch of government in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Fifty-six men and one woman have served as Governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-election once...

.