| PETER W. STEWART is the owner of a good
farm of one hundred and nine acres situated on section 4, Warren
Township. He has been a resident of this county since 1841, and is
therefore numbered among its pioneer settlers. He was born in Will
County, Ill., February 20, 1839, and is the eldest in a family of eight
children whose parents, Peter and Elizabeth (Legg) Stewart, were natives
of Scotland. The father was born in Strichen, Aberdeenshire, April 16,
1806, and in Canada was united in marriage with Miss Legg, who was born
in Stewartfield, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, February 27, 1811, and came to
America in 1833. They removed to Will County, Ill., in 1838, Mr. Stewart
having a contract on the Illinois and Michigan Canal. In 1841, they came
to Lake County, and settled in Warren Township where he purchased and
improved a pre-empted claim. From that time until his death he made his
home in this county. He superintended the construction of the bridge
across the Illinois River at La Salle, but devoted the greater part of
his time and attention to agricultural pursuits. His death occurred in
Warren Township, October 23, 1874, and his wife died on February 8,
1889, at her home in Millburn, Ill. She was a sincere Christian woman, a
kind and loving mother and was held in the highest esteem by her
neighbors and friends. As before stated our subject is the eldest of
their family. Ann E;., the second child, who was born in Will County,
Ill., March 21, 1841, is the wife of John H. Hughes of Lake Villa;
George L., born in Millburn, May 3, 1843, enlisted for the late war in
Company C, Ninety-sixth Illinois Infantry, served until the close, is
now married and resides in Waukegan; Alex H., born in Millburn, June 10,
1845, is married and resides on the old homestead in Warren Township;
James B., born in Millburn, December 3, 1847, died in the pineries of
Michigan in 1871; William B., born in Millburn February 24, 1850, is
married and resides in the village of Millburn; John T., born July 10,
1855, resides with his family in St. Paul, Minn.; Eliza E., born in
Millburn October, 1857, is the wife of James H. Bonner of Warren
Township.
Our subject spent the days of his boyhood
and youth on the old Stewart homestead and in the district schools of
the neighborhood was educated. On beginning life he rented land for
about three years, at the end of which time, by perseverance and
industry, he had accumulated enough to purchase a small farm. In 1865,
be bought an unimproved tract of timber land of sixty-four and one
fourth acres and at once began its development. He was married in Warren
Township, November 24, 1862, to Margaret Wedge, a native of Canada, and
a daughter of Joshua and Margaret (Strang) Wedge Her father also was
born in Canada, but her mother was a native of Scotland. They settled in
Lake County, in 1841, and are now living retired lives in Millburn. On
May 11, 1876, Mr. Stewart was called to mourn the loss of his wife who
died at their home in Warren Township. He was again married in Waukegan,
July 4, 1877, his second union being with Elizabeth Bonner, who was born
in Avon Township, and is a daughter of James and Margaret (Anderson)
Bonner, natives of Scotland. Her father came direct from Scotland to
Lake County, Ill., in 1840, and cast his lot with the early settlers of
Avon Township. The farm on which he first settled is still his home. Mr.
and Mrs. Stewart have one adopted child, Gladys B.
Mr. Stewart owns a good farm of one
hundred and five acres and the well tilled fields and neat surroundings
indicate the care and supervision of the owner. Since he cast his first
Presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln he has supported the Republican
party, and has held a number of offices of public trust, including those
of Assessor, Tax Collector and Supervisor, and for four years was
Justice of the Peace. The cause of education has ever found in him a
warm friend and during the eighteen years with which he has been
connected with the School Board, he has done much for the advancement of
the schools in bringing them up to a higher grade of excellence. His
wife is a member of the Millburn Congregational Church and a most
estimable lady. Another enterprise with which Mr. Stewart is connected
is the Millburn Mutual Insurance Company, he holding the office of
Treasurer. It is a county organization and has a large membership. It
was organized March 12, 1865, and was run without a charter until
February 16, 1866, when it received a special charter, under which it
now operates. It has written eighty seven thousand policies and on
December 31, 1890, had in force $2,864,689. The officers of the company
are, President, James L. Thain; Secretary, Edwin P. Dodge; and
Treasurer, P. W. Stewart. The directors are; A. T. White, J. H. Nelson
and Byron Colby. The company has always paid its losses promptly and is
a commendable organization. |
