De Wayne Stebbins (April 5, 1835 – June 12, 1901) was an American newspaper publisher, banker, politician, and Wisconsin pioneer.

[1] He was educated there in the common schools and resided there until 1852, when he went east to attend the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland.

He left the school in 1855 without graduating and returned to Wisconsin to accept a job with the American Fur Company.

[3] In the late 1850s, he decided to go west to participate in the California Gold Rush, but returned in March 1861 with little to show for it.

[2] He served aboard the Mound City during the Vicksburg campaign and participated in the battles of Chickasaw Bayou, Grand Gulf, and Arkansas Post, was part of the naval squadron at the Siege of Vicksburg, and then served in various posts on the Union blockade of the south.

[2] One notable anecdote from the Vicksburg campaign had Stebbins as officer of the watch one night when they were approached by men in a small skiff.

[3] He was a candidate for Governor of Wisconsin at the Republican state convention in 1900, but stepped aside in favor of Robert M. La Follette.

[3] Hotelier Frank Slaby of Algoma in 1905 changed the name of his establishment to Hotel Stebbins, honoring his late friend.