From A Biographical History of Central
Kansas, Vol. I, p. 730
published by The Lewis Publishing Co, Chicago & New York, 1902
Samuel W. Stewart
Samuel W. Stewart is engaged in the raising of stock and wheat in Valley township, Rice County, owning a tract of land on section 2. The Old Dominion is the place of his nativity, his birth having occurred in Montgomery county, that state, on the 14th of July, 1856. He represents one of the old and honored families of the south and traces his ancestry back to Scotland. His paternal grandfather, James Stewart, was a Methodist minister, and was born in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, in 1797, but his death occurred in Alden, Kansas, in 1887, at the advanced age of ninety years. He wedded Betsey Bush, a native of Roanoke County, Virginia, who died in Montgomery County, that state, in 1858, leaving five sons and three daughters, of whom five are yet living, namely: Robert B, the father of our subject; Alice, the wife of Woods Eakin, of Athens, Tennessee; Lizzie G, the wife of Robert Bush, of Sumner County, Kansas; James R, of Alden; and Sallie, the wife of George Kiester, of Wichita. Three sons of the family were soldiers in the Confederate army during the Civil war. Jack Stewart was a captain and served throughout the period of hostilities, while J R Stewart served in the ranks for four years, and Charles died from disease in the hospital.
Robert B. Stewart is a native of Roanoke County, Virginia, born in 1829. He wedded Miss Angeline Arrington, of Franklin county, that state, a daughter of Samuel and Eveline (Phelps) Arrington, the wedding taking place in the Old Dominion in 1855. They began their domestic life upon a farm, but in 1881 Mr. Stewart sold his property and emigrated westward with his family, taking up his abode in Rice county, Kansas. By his marriage he had seven children, namely: Samuel W; J E and R O, twin sons, the former now a practicing physician in Hutchinson, Kansas, while the latter is engaged in the raising of wheat and stock in Valley township, Rice county; Eva, who died in this county, at the age of twenty-four years; Alice, who died in Rice County at the same age; Richard A, a practicing physician of Hutchinson; and Olive, the wife of Samuel Steinmetz, of Valley township. The father is still living, at the age of seventy-two years and is well preserved in health and strength. He began life in limited financial circumstances, but by unfaltering labor and keen business discernment he prospered, acquiring a comfortable competence.
Samuel W. Stewart of this review was the first of the family to seek a home in the Sunflower state. He came in 1881, and for two years resided in Sterling, where he followed the trade of carpentering. He purchased his first farm in 1883, becoming owner of one hundred and sixty acres of unimproved land, for which he paid sixteen hundred dollars. He now owns two hundred and forty acres, and in connection with his brother, R O Stewart, keeps thereon from seventy-five to two hundred and fifty head of cattle for the market. They are also breeding shorthorn cattle. They have raised over twenty-two thousand bushels of wheat in a single year and the farm is productive and profitable in its various departments. In 1892 Mr. Stewart of this review erected a large and pleasant cottage and in 1898 built his extensive barn. He has a fine orchard of two acres, in which are many fruit trees of various kinds, which he planted eighteen years ago. He raises peaches, cherries, plums and quinces, and the orchard is well irrigated, being graded and fixed for this purpose. He also breeds horses and mules and works about seven head.
The home life of Mr. Stewart is very pleasant. He was married in Botetourt County, Virginia, in 1880, to Miss Bessie Gish, a daughter of David Gish. Her parents came to Kansas in 1883 and both are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Stewart lost a son and daughter in infancy, but they have five children living: Clara, who was born in the spring of 1881; Blanche, who was born in 1883; William Other, born in 1885; Ola, who was born in 1892; and Gladys, who completes the family and who was born in 1901. In his political views, Mr. Stewart is a Prohibitionist, but has never been an aspirant for public office. He belongs to the Methodist church, and is interested in everything pertaining to the welfare and progress of his country along substantial lines of improvement. Coming to Kansas twenty years ago, he has throughout the intervening period done all in his power for the advancement of the community and at the same time he has found in his business affairs the success which he coveted and which led him to try his fortune in the Sunflower state.