Brigadier General John
Smith Stewart is now engaged in the practice of dentistry at Lethbridge,
having qualified for the profession in 1902. He was born at Brampton,
Ontario, May 18, 1878, and is a son of John and Mary (Armstrong)
Stewart, both of whom were of Canadian birth. He acquired his early
education in the schools of his native town, where he passed through
consecutive grades to his graduation from the high school. He afterward
attended the Royal College of Dental Surgeons at Toronto, and is an
honor graduate of Trinity University. In 1896 he became a resident of
Alberta, settling at Edmonton, and commenced to study dentistry there,
remaining at Edmonton until 1902, when he removed to Lethbridge and for
some years was associated with his brother- in-law, Dr. McClure. He has
since followed the practice of dentistry here, save for the period when
he was engaged in military service during the World war. He was
appointed officer in command (major) of the Twenty-fifth (Militia)
Battery in February, 1908, and he served as a private of Strathcona's
Horse in South Africa in 1900-1, winning the Queen's medal with four
clasps. He raised the Twentieth Battery, Canadian Field Artillery, for
overseas service in November, 1914. He was appointed officer in command
of the Seventh Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery, on the 10th of March,
1915, and in January, 1916, went to France, where he was twice wounded.
In March, 1917, he was transferred to the command of the Fourth Brigade,
C. F. A., in France, and won the D. S. 0. and C. M. G. He was also twice
mentioned in dispatches and was awarded the French Croix de Guerre. In
December, 191.7, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general, C. R.
A., of the Third Canadian Division, which divisional artillery he
commanded during the anxious time in March, 1918, and the advances made
from August, 1918, onward.
General Stewart was
married on the 25th of September, 1907, to Miss Jean Chesney McClure, a
daughter of Dr. William McClure of Hamilton, Ontario. In politics he is
a Conservative and in 1911 and again in 1913 he was elected to the
legislative assembly for Lethbridge, while once more he was chosen for
legislative honors in 1917 and 1921. He discharges his political duties
with the same sense of fidelity that marked his service on the battle
fields of the World war and it is characteristic of Dr. Stewart that he
is loyal to any cause which he espouses. |