Just One Old Carpenter
And His Descendents
The Stewarts 1818-2002
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A Family Tradition of Wood Working
Lachlan McGregor, Robert Stewart, Edward Maclean Stewart, Clarissa Winnibelle Batty Stewart, Robert Allan Maclean Stewart were representatives of one of the oldest business families of Guelph until 1968.
Great-great grandfather Lachlan McGregor, 1728-1812, settled in Eramosa Township before Guelph was founded. He helped with the first survey of Guelph and purchased one of the first lots in Guelph from the Canada Company – lot No. 126. And great-great grandfather James Stewart, born in Borenich, Scotland 1787-1865, immigrated to Ontario, Canada where he married Elizabeth Stewart. James received approval for a land grant in Canada in 1818 after a letter of introduction from his father John Stewart, b. 1750, of Borenich, Scotland and William Robertson at Balmoral Caste.
James Stewart received a crown grant of 100 acres in Esquesing Township, in the County of Halton, Ontario. He eventually owned 700 acres and operated his own sawmill on the property. James and Elizabeth had two sons, Robert and James. Robert Stewart went to Toronto to live with his uncles who were prominent builders to learn the trade. He worked for his two uncles as a carpenter when they built the St. Lawrence Hall, King Street, Toronto, in 1851.
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Robert Stewart then went on his own as
a master builder. In 1853 he signed the contract to build Limestone
Hall for John McGregor in Nelson Township, Halton County. He married John
McGregor’s niece, Ann McGregor, in 1854, who was born in Eramosa. A side fact
is Ann McGregor’s grandfather was Captain Peter McGregor, born 1763 in
Lancaster, Pennsylvania who was an officer in the 42nd Highlanders. McGregor
saved the life of the Prince Regent, King William IV of England, at the Battle
of Maida, in the Peninsula War. For Captain McGregor’s act, he received a
grant of 500 acres after his discharge in Upper Canada. We do have a history
of going back and forth to the United States.
My great grandfather, Robert Stewart, visited Guelph in 1853 to attend
the races and liked the town so much so that a year later he and his bride
moved to Guelph
to stay. They purchased an acre of ground on the Paisley Block Road and two months later opened a planing, flooring, and sash factory, Lot 20 & 21. They bought Mr. Hewitt's home on the lot next-door, lot 22. Robert Stewart took Mr. Copping as a partner for a few months, then his brother James as a partner. In 1863 the site moved from where the St. James Church now stands, to a rented space on the bank Speed River at the Eramosa bridge, later the site of the Canadian Pacific Rail Station where the Chamber of Commerce was located in 1978. In 1869 he moved to Upper Wyndham Street where he built his third factory where now is the site of the Post Office. Robert and James Stewart broke up and James moved to the United States. James’ son, Alexander, formed A. T. Lumber Company in Chicago, Illinois. His company did quite well, considering the growth of that town.
Robert Stewart Lumber flourished in Guelph until 1921 when it burned to the ground. The Great Fire of Guelph was both a tragedy and a new opportunity.
The Stewarts were tenacious in spirit and refused to yield. They rebuilt bigger and better in a new location. Nothing would deny them their destiny. These people were tough businessmen who never gave up the challenge to survive any obstacle. So they rebuilt and persevered. They looked for a new location and moved forward. Looking around they found the Cardigan Street location. The fire presented them with a million dollar loss, but fortunately they were insured. Robert Stewart died in 1918 and never saw the destruction of his life’s work. His obituary read as follows: “The passing of Mr. Robert Stewart after a brief illness removes from Guelph’s business circles its oldest active member. Although Mr. Stewart had reached the great age of 93 years he had contributed to the active management of the important industry, which he founded in 1854 until stricken with pneumonia last week. In this long period of 63 years he had seen Guelph grow. Robert Stewart had seen Guelph grow from little more than a village population to a prosperous city and had contributed not a little to this progress. He was a man of sterling business integrity. Through avoiding public honors, Mr. Stewart took a deep and intelligent interest in public affairs whether affecting the city, province, or Dominion. He was a Liberal of the old school, and though reluctantly bringing himself to think, before the last Dominion election, that Union Government was best for Canada during the war, he looked forward to the time when he could again support a Liberal administration. No community can go far astray if made up of citizens of Mr. Stewart’s stamp, taking an interest in the lending a helping hand to every move that pertains to the advancement and well being of the city and country in which they live.”
Robert Stewart’s son, Edward Maclean Stewart, a returned combat officer of WW-1, rebuilt the lumber company on Cardigan Street between the block between Norwich Street East and London Road. They rode out the 1929 Great Depression by the skin of their teeth, but survived with the help of their dedicated and loyal workers. Edward Maclean Stewart carried on until 1939 when he surcame to stomach ulcers, which burst unexpectedly after being kicked by a horse. Peritonitis set in which caused his premature and untimely death.
Robert Stewart Lumber and Robert and Anne Stewart's Home on Wyndham Street before the Great Fire in 1921
Edward left his wife, Clarissa Winnibelle Batty Stewart, with three children, a Lumber Company, and a grand home on the hill named Invergarth. She was the great-great granddaughter of Jacob Beam, and granddaughter of Lachlan MacGregor; great family roots with great minds and perseverance with a pioneer spirit.
This is where the interesting history begins. Clarissa was extremely bright, graduated from university at sixteen years old, was a teacher before she married Edward who was very much her senior in age. She was well aware that it was a man’s world; and that no woman could run a business: So she ran the business anyway.
My uncle Robert A. M. Stewart graduated at the top of his class at Appleby School in Oakville and went to fight in WW2 as an airplane pilot and instructor. My grandmother sought and obtained Canadian government contracts for lumber and products during the war, which was needed for the lumber company to survive the after effects of the Great Depression. This put the lumber company back on a firm foundation. After the war, my uncle Robert became the Male figurehead of the company, but my Grandmother Clarissa ran the company with an iron fist from behind closed doors. They thrived further from the post war-building boom after the war. The company branched into Kitchener, Ontario and flourished.
Robert Stewart Lumber Company on Wyndham Street was relocated on Cardigan Street between Norwich Street East and London Road after The Great Fire of Guelph in 1921
My Grandmother and my uncle kept the lumber company going until 1968 when the pressures of modern business were getting the best of my uncle. My grandmother closed the business and proceeded to invest very well in the stock market, which was another one of my grandmother’s successful ventures. She commanded the ship until she was 93 years old, making all the major decisions until the day she died. After 1968 my grandmother, uncle and aunt became regular world travelers My Mother, Muriel Elwood Maclean Stewart Shaw, my Uncle, Robert Alan Maclean Stewart, and my Aunt Madeline Douglas Stewart had a most interesting Aunt Robina Lamont Stewart 1872 – 1968, daughter of Robert Stewart. In 1898 she was a student at Johns Hopkins where she became a lifelong friend of Dr. Sir William Osler, chief of the medical services.
1901 1919 Aunt Robina at 90 years
Upon graduation in 1901 with three scholarships she was made head nurse of the men’s medical ward and then supervisor of the men’s private patients pavilion. She declined to be the first assistant to the Superintendent of Nurses and left in 1905. She next became Superintendent of a hospital in Milwaukee, then Superintendent of Nurses in Pittsburgh. In 1910 she became the Superintendent of Nurses at the old Toronto General Hospital. When the United States entered the First World War, the Surgeon General of the U.S. Army asked her to be head of the Army School of Nursing at the Walter Reed Hospital, Washington, D.C.. She accepted, leaving in 1919. In 1920 she was Superintendent of Nurses at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut. After other positions she retired in 1925.
DETAILS
http://www.allemang.on.ca/newsletters/may07.pdf
My mother’s Aunt Robina must have really inspired my mother,
Muriel, and my aunt Madeline. During W.W.-2 they both became nurses and left
Canada and nursed in Bermuda, Miami, North Carolina and Mississippi. My mother
worked as a nurse, raised five children, and went back into nursing until she
retired at 80 years old. My Aunt worked in Mississippi as a nurse for 20 years
before returning to Guelph. My sister, Nancy Pringle is a BRN nurse that works
in Brampton, Ontario that graduated from University of Toronto and also holds
a B.A. in Art History from Boston University.
As I said earlier, our family has been traveling back and forth
between the United States and Canada for generations.
****** Excerpts have been taken from RAM Stewart’s books: “A Pictorial History of Guelph Volumes 1 & 2”.
March 2, 2002: Muriel Elwood Maclean Stewart Shaw: and Children: Robert Masbro Stewart Shaw, Nancy Maclean Shaw Pringle, Cynthia Beatty Shaw, Richard Edward Shaw, and Duncan McGregor Shaw
Preserve the best of the past: you are only a strong as your roots. Armed with this knowledge and learning how they contributed \to their community that will allow you to understand your opportunity to weave your individual talents into a noble fabric. Though frayed and worn, its people must work to mend and preserve the community for future generations. Watch your community transform from a piece of cloth to a splendid tapestry.
Thank you on behalf of my family and myself,
The Woulfeman
PS:
Robert Stewart married Ann McGregor and came to Guelph in 1853: They started Stewart Lumber Limited on Wyndham Street in Guelph, Ontario. They had eight children: Margaret "Hill" Stewart, Edward Maclean Stewart, Robert Douglas Stewart, Robina Lamont Stewart, Phebe Stewart, Charles Edward Stewart- Dies at 6 years old, Jessie Ellen Stewart - died at 4 years old, and Mary Scott Stewart- died at 22 months.
Edward Maclean Stewart, son of Robert and Ann, and family:
P. D. Ivy and Edward M. Stewart at Appleby School
Edward Maclean Stewart married Clarissa Winnibelle "Batty" Stewart and lived in Guelph at Invergarth on 30 Norwich Street, East: They continued Robert Stewart Lumber Limited until his death in 1939. They had three children: Madeline Douglas Stewart, Robert A. M. Stewart, and Muriel E. M. Stewart.
Uncle Robert: Robert Alan Maclean Stewart, Businessman: Automobile collector, Photographer, Traveler, and Author of several books: ie: Picture History of Guelph Volumes 1 & 2: was a dutiful son to Clarissa after Edward's death in 1939.
