The descendants of J. H. Stewart acknowledge historian Ben Truwe of Medford, Oregon for providing all of the information from newspaper clippings used for this profile. For more information on the life of J.H. Stewart and other Medford Pioneers and general life in southern Oregon refer to his website:
http://truwe.sohs.org/files/stewart.html
JOSEPH Howard's father was William, and his mother Nancy Marston. Father of William Stewart was John Stewart, and wife Isabella Vance. (Reference: The Genealogies of Virginia Families from Tyler's Quarterly Historical Magazine, Vol. I, No. 1, page 525.)
Joseph Howard Stewart married Elizabeth Hyman
November 30, 1854
Quincy, Illinois
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Profile of Joseph Howard Stewart, given in Atlas of Adams County, Illinois, 1872, published by Andreas Lyter and Company, page 47, OLD SETTLERS OF ADAMS COUNTY.
HON. JOSEPH H. STEWART was born in Washington county, Maine, November 22, 1833. He is the fourth son of a family of ten sons and four daughters of William and Nancy Stewart, old residents of Adams county. They settled in Payson, in 1836.
The subject of our notice obtained his education in the common schools of Adams county, yet we find him a gentleman of culture, and well versed in the general topics of the day. Until he arrived at the age of twenty, his time was largely spent with his father, who was among the leading nurserymen of Illinois.
When twenty-one years of age, Mr. Stewart was married, November 29, 1854, to Elizabeth Hyman, daughter of George and Margaret Hyman, who were likewise old residents of Adams county, having settled here in 1837. After his marriage, Mr. Stewart removed to Marion couty, MO., where he was engaged in the nursery business five years. He then sold out and came to Quincy and entered into partnership with his brother in the wholesale grocery business, at the same time managing a nursery near the city.
In the acquisition of property, Mr. Stewart has been reasonably successful. The secret of his success was his close application to business, united with a rigid course of honest, fair dealing. He has improved and beautified four different farms, and all show signs of the taste and art displayed.
Mr. Stewart, as a fruit grower, stands in the front rank of those gentlemen in Illinois and the west. He sent the first collection of fruit from Illinois that was ever exhibited before any prominent fruit men in the east, which was before the American Pomological Society, held at Philadelphia, in 1860. He has served on committees at fruit conventions with the well known names of Dr. Wader, Cincinnati, Henry T. Mud, of Missouri and F. R. Phoenix.
Certainluy, Mr. Stewart ranks among the prominent horticulturists of Illinois. In August 1867, he purchased a farm one mile north of Quincy, where he ha made a fine improvement, a view of which will be shown elsewhere in this work. Mr. Stewart has a family of four children.
Politically, he used to be a republican, and voted for Abraham Lincoln on his first presidential nomination, since which time Mr. Stewart has been identified with the democratic party. He was nominated and elected as one of the representatives of Adams county, in the fall of 1870. His name, previous to the day of the convention, had not been talked of, when one of the city delegates proposed it. Mr. Stewart received the largest vote given for any representative that year. He has served four sessions under the new constitution. Mr. Stewart soon took and retained a prominent position among the active and efficient members. Such is, in brief, a synopsis of one who attained these honors by his own industry.
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The earliest settler families discovered southern Oregon to be an hospitable region for raising fruit. By 1869 several small orchards were scattered throughout the valley. Apples, pears and cherries were produced in quantity each year as the young trees developed. For thirty years the production and consumption of fruit was limited primarily to valley residents. In 1887 the completion of the north-south Oregon-California Railroad made it possible to consider shipping produce out of the area. By the end of the decade a small fruit industry was established.
One observer wrote:
"Everybody, young and old, rich and poor, saint and sinner, is engaged in picking, drying, packing or shipping fruit."
In February 1885, Joseph H. Stewart, a nurseryman and fruit grower from the the Quincy Illinois area, on the western border of Illinois and Iowa, specifically the town of Payson, arrived in the Rogue Valley with his family. He planted a large orchard of apples, pears, prunes and almonds a few miles southwest of Medford. His pear trees became a commercial orchard in 1890 when Stewart shipped his first railroad carload of fruit to outside markets. The population of Medford in 1890 was about 1,000.
In 1894 the first Winter Nelis trees were planted, the seedlings were budded to Comice, and the young trees set out in the spring of 1897. Budwood from these trees was taken to produce many of the large orchards such as Hollywood, Hillcrest and Oakdale. By 1900 the population of the Medford area had increased to about 1,800.
W. H. Stewart, son of Joseph Stewart, quite probably transported some of these young trees across town to his orchard land two and one-half miles east of Medford to land eventually known as Hillcrest Orchard, purchased from William Stewart in 1903, and today is still producing fruit for sale, for commercial purposes, including a winery, holding events such as weddings, and products for sale in a general store in addition to the shipment of fruit to the retail market.
http://hillcrestorchard.com/index.php
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Hon. J. H. Stewart, who purchased H. C. Howard's place in Eden precinct, started for his home in Illinois Sunday evening. He will return with his family as soon as he disposes of his large interests there. Mr. S. will plant several thousand apple and pear trees and several acres of strawberries as soon as he takes possession of his new farm.
"Personal Mention," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, March 27, 1885, page 3
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Mr. J. H. Stewart, whom we mentioned last week as intending to set out an extensive pear orchard on the farm recently purchased by him between Phoenix and Medford, has discovered a large deposit of chalk or gypsum on the farm which he thinks will be a profitable item of export. He has gone back to his old home in Illinois to sell out his property and settle up his business there preparatory to coming out there to live, and expects to return here in time to set out a large number of fruit trees next fall.
"Brevities," Ashland Tidings, March 27, 1885, page 3
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Joseph Howard Stewart moved to Medford, OR in 1885.
His uncle, Alexander Stewart, arrived in the Medford area in 1871. (See Find a Grave for Alexander Stewart.)
A LIVELY TOWN.--Medford, Or., in Rogue River Valley, a town only fifteen months old, boasts of 126 houses. They are also building a two-story brick hotel and a block of brick business houses 100 feet front. Corner lots are bringing $600, and fairly located lots, 25x100 feet, for dwellings, $75 to $150 each. A paper will be started this week, and it is reported that the Jacksonville distillery soon will be moved there, likewise the foundry from Roseburg.
"Local and General," Morning Oregonian, Portland, February 2, 1885, page 3
Excerpt from Ben Truwe's website:
http://id.mind.net/~truwe/tina/news1885.html
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Hon. J. H. Stewart and family arrived from Quincy, Illinois, this week. As will be remembered, Mr. S. purchased the farm of Henry C. Howard, near Phoenix, a few months ago. "Personal Mention," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, September 18, 1885, page 3
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF WESTERN OREGON, page 479 and 480. The following profile of Joseph Howard Stewart may be be read online and the entire book may be downloaded in PDF or text file at:
http://www.archive.org/details/portraitbiographwo00inchap
Early commercial orchardist; founder of the Medford Bank
JOSEPH HOWARD STEWART
"AS a pioneer fruit-grower of Jackson County, Joseph H. Stewart takes first rank, and his products are shipped to all parts of the United States and Europe. He is a profound student of everything pertaining to horticulture, and is one of the best posted men in his line between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
WHEN he first came to Oregon, people generally questioned the advisability of raising fruit [not true--nearly every issue of every local newspaper of 1883 and 1884 extolled Southern Oregon's virtues as a fruit-raising region], but there are many today who wish they had followed his example.
HIS father, William Stewart, was born of Scotch parents in the north of Ireland, and upon coming to america about 1821 located on the coast of Maine, in Washington county. He had made a former visit there while sailing before the mast and studying navigation, to which he did not take kindly, having a genius for mechanical invention.
IN Maine he married Nancy Marston, a native daughter of the state, and who, at the time of her death in Quincy, Ill., left seventy-five descendants.
FOURTEEN children were born to William Stewart and his wife, ten sons and four daughters, Joseph Howard, born in Washington county, Me., November 22, 1833, being the fourth son.
AFTER bringing his family to Quincy., Ill., in 1836, William Stewart inaugurated a career which did him credit from many standpoints. Settling on land in Adams county he started a nursery and farming business, and the first fruit-trees brought to Oregon in an ox-train came from this farm.
HE was one of the original Free Soilers, and took an active part in political matters. He was president and one of the foremost promoters of the first agricultural society in the state of Illinois, organized in 1854, supporting the same by his hearty zeal and co-operation the remainder of his life. Mr. Stewart died in 1859, at the age of fifty-six years, leaving his family and friends a legacy of an honored name and to those dependent upon him a comfortable inheritance.
OWING to early association with his father's nursery [in Adams County, Illinois], Joseph H. Stewart had scant opportunity for attending school, a deficiency which has since spurred him to unusual effort along educational lines.
AT the age of twenty-one he married, in Quincy, Ill., Elizabeth Hyman, who was born on the Atlantic ocean while her parents were en route to America from Germany. Her father, George Hyman, was a tailor by trade, and in 1836 located in Adams county, Ill., where he died at an advanced age.
IN 1853 Mr. Stewart removed to Hannibal, Mo., taking with him an already established reputation as a practical fruit-grower, having taken many premiums at state exhibits, and served on fruit commissions.
IN 1860 he removed to Quincy, and there engaged in nursery business until 1884. While residing there in 1869 he made the first large exhibit of fruit in the east, showing one hundred and twenty varieties of pears and apples at the American Pomological Society held in Philadelphia.
IN 1870 he was elected to the state legislature and during the session secured the passage of the drainage law. During the building of the levee at Quincy, in 1878, he superintended the work in the Indian grave drainage district.
AMBITIOUS and resourceful, he firmly believed that Oregon held exceptional opportunities for the fruit grower, and in the spring of 1884 he took a trip to the state, investigating the soil and general prospects.
WELL pleased with what he found, he returned to his family in the fall, and in February, 1885, located in the Rogue River Valley.
TWO months later found him in Illinois, negotiating for the sale of his property, with the proceeds of which he removed his belongings to the coast. Needless to say, fruit trees constituted a large part of the outfit.
THE first year in the valley he had one hundred and sixty acres under orchard, and the next year an additional one hundred acres. In 1890 he shipped the first carload of fruit out of Jackson County [even the 1885 newspaper announcing Stewart's arrival in Medford makes it clear that fruit is already being shipped in quantity], and in 1896 his output consisted of ninety-five carloads of apples and pears.
MR. STEWART has sold the first two orchards which he started, and at present has about four hundred acres devoted exclusively to apples and pears.
IN 1898 Mr. Stewart built a fine residence in the Cascade Mountains, on the Upper Rogue River, surrounded by thirty acres of orchards, and fitted with every modern improvement. He has taken an active part in the business life of Medford, and in 1899 was one of the organizers of the Bank of Medford, owning the bank building and serving as the president of the concern for two years, and then its vice president. The bank is one of the solid financial institutions of the county and is incorporated for $50,000.
MR. STEWART is encouraging fruit growing in his children, and his son William is one of the large fruit-ranchers of Jackson County. One child, June I., died at the age of twenty, and he had three daughters, Mrs. A. J. Weeks, Mrs. H. M. Crowell and Mrs. D. R. Hill [Cora Elizabeth]. Mr. Stewart was a Democrat in political affiliation, and fraternally was a charter member of Blue Lodge No. 103, A.F.&A.M. of Medford."
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Hon. J. H. Stewart is preparing to ship no less than nine carloads of Bartlett pears to Chicago during the coming summer, and will have oceans of fruit of all kinds. We trust he will receive ample reward for his nerve in giving orcharding a fair treat on a scale in this valley, as he has expanded a big fortune already on his splendid orchard.
Democratic Times, June 9, 1893 p. 2
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A FRUIT FARM THAT PAYS
THE FRUIT farm of J. H. Stewart, situated half-way between Phoenix and Medford, about ten miles north of Ashland, presents an attractive scene of busy industry this week. The great Bartlett pear orchard of 60 acres planted by Mr. Stewart six or eight years ago is beginning to yield its generous returns for the vigilant labor and intelligent care expended upon it, and the first crop of consequence is now being picked and shipped.
PAGE & SONS, of Portland, have bought the entire crop at 1 1/2 cents per pound. Mr. Stewart picks the pears and delivers them in boxes to Page & Sons at the packing [?] on the farm. Here they are wrapped and boxed by Page's people, after which Mr. Stewart delivers them at the cars.
TWENTY SEVEN woman and girls are employed packing the fruit and about as many men are at work picking, boxing and hauling; so the farm, as remarked at first, is a busy camp at present.
THE CROP is picked and shipped at the rate of a carload a day, and will make from twelve to fifteen carloads, bringing Mr. Stewart about $4,000. The girls are paid by Page & Sons 4 cents per box for wrapping and packing the pears. They are camped in tents on the farm.
THIS ORCHARD is an object lesson to people interested in fruit growing in Southern Oregon. The trees are free from the scale and the fruit is free from the grub of the codlin moth.
CAPT. TIEL and R. S. Barclay, of Ashland, visited the orchard last Monday, and George W. Crowson, of this place, and Mr. Sheffield of Portland were there Tuesday. They advise everyone who may be inclined to grow discouraged over the fruit business, on account of the orchard pests that have appeared within the past few years, to go and see the clean tress and fruit of Mr. Stewart's orchard. He shows that an orchard may be kept free of the San Jose scale and that apples and pears may be saved from the damages of the codlin moth.
THE TIDINGS will have more information in a future issue concerning Mr. Stewart's successful orchard management.
The Tidings, Sept 1, 1893 Page 3
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NEARLY thirty females have been employed at Hon. J. H. Stewart's farm near Phoenix,[Oregon] the past few weeks, in wrapping and packing Bartlett pears for the western and northwestern markets. The product of the entire orchard of sixty acres has been purchased by F. H. Page & Sons at 1 1/2 cents per pound and is of the finest quality. As abut fifteen carloads will be shipped, Mr. Stewart will receive abut $4,000 gross for his pears. He is one of the most prominent, painstaking and intelligent horticulturists on the coast, and well merits his success. Democratic Times, September 8, p. 3 'Here and There."
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Hon. J. H. Stewart, who has been ill for several days, is considerably improved at this time. Dr. Pickel is in attendance.
"City Happenings," Medford Mail, February 10, 1905, page 5
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Hon. J. H. Stewart, the well-known orchardman and capitalist, is lying quite ill at his residence on Oakdale Avenue. Mr. Stewart has been ailing for the past several months, but until lately has been able to be up and around. His friends are hoping to hear of the restoration of his usual good state of health.
"City Happenings," Medford Mail, March 2, 1906, page 5
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DEATH AND FUNERAL OF HON. J. H. STEWART
THE funeral of Hon. Joseph H. Stewart, which took place on Tuesday, July 10th, was one of the most largely attended funerals ever witnessed in Medford.
THE services at the late residence were very simple and impressive, and the esteem in which the departed one was held by his family, his friends and his neighbors could be seen in the grief-stricken faces and the welling tears of those who had assembled to pay the last tribute of respect to the dead.
THE services consisted of singing by Mrs. Vawter, Mrs. Pickel and Miss Jones--one hymn, "Beautiful Isle of Somewhere," being particularly impressive and appropriate. Then came scripture reading, prayer and the reading of the following tribute to Mr. Stewart, by Rev. F. W. Carstens:
"Joseph H. Stewart was born in Washington County, Maine, November 22, 1833. Died at Medford, Oregon, at 9:00 p.m., Saturday, July 7, 1906; aged seventy-two years, six months and twenty-two days. When twenty-one years of age, at Quincy, Ill., he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Hyman, who now, as the faithful companion of years, survives him, sorrowing.
"After his marriage he resided for a time in Hannibal, Mo., but in 1860 removed to Quincy, Ill., where he established a nursery and engaged very successfully in fruit raising, taking many premiums at state exhibits and such-like places. In 1870 he was elected to the state legislature, serving with great acceptability.
In 1884 he made a trip to Oregon, believing--from what he knew of the country--that Oregon would be an unexcelled place for growing fine fruit, berries, etc. So much pleased was he that February, 1885, found him located in Rogue River Valley. As early as 1890 he began to realize from his new orchard of the West. That year he shipped a carload of fruit--the first that was ever shipped from Jackson County. [TTons of fruit were already being shipped out of the valley in 1884--the year Stewart arrived. A carload of apples was shipped to Portland that same year. See the next obituary.]
In 1896 his output was ninety-five carloads of pears and apples. He has been called the 'father of the fruit industry in Oregon,' and, as his old friend, Dr. Geary, once said, 'Every fruit tree in Rogue River Valley will be a monument to his memory.'
"He was a man of affairs and took a keen interest in all public enterprises, advising, directing and often aiding with his influence and money.
"He was one of the organizers of the Medford Bank, which was organized in 1890, and served as president of it for two full years.
"In his immediate family he leaves a companion, one son and three daughters to mourn their loss. Outside of the immediate family many near relatives and a host of friends share with the family the loss as heartfelt and personal.
"In Mr. Stewart's life there is a tribute to the nobility of true manhood and to those qualities of sterling worth which made his life a success. He was an unusually strong, healthy man, never ill to speak of, until about two years ago; but since that time he has been a great sufferer, though he has borne the suffering and pain with the fortitude and courage so characteristic of him, often affirming that he believed he would get well and be strong again.
"He thought deeply and for himself upon all subjects--religion included--and often during his illness he spoke of the future, saying in his characteristic way: 'I'd like to explore the future life and know what it is,' and expressing himself as entirely ready to go when his time should come.
"The end has come. 'The Golden Bowl is broken and the Pitcher at the fountain; the Silver Cord is loosened and the Wheel broken at the Cistern.' We weep and yet we mourn not as those who have no hope."
The funeral cortege was met at the schoolhouse by the members of Medford Lodge, A.F.&A.M., and escorted to the cemetery, where the last sad rites were performed under the rules of the Masonic order.
At the head of the procession was the white horse and the buggy used for many years by Mr. Stewart, in which was seated the officiating minister and the grandson of the deceased, HOWARD HILL.
Medford Mail, July 13, 1906, page 1
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IN the death of Hon. J. H. Stewart Rogue River Valley has lost one of its most progressive and enterprising citizens. A citizen who has done more than any one man in the county to bring the fruit industry to its present point of importance and prosperity. When Mr. Stewart first came to this valley in 1885, the growing of fruit other than for home use was unthought-of. [Fruit was marketed on a limited basis regionally as early as the 1860s. Some sources credit A. J. Weeks with planting the first commercial orchard in 1883.]
HIS trained, practical mind grasped the situation and its possibilities at once. He planted the first commercial orchard in the valley [This does not mean he planted the first orchard.] and in 1890 shipped the first carload of fruit ever sent to foreign markets. Since that time the industry has grown to immense proportions, and to the initiative of Joseph H. Stewart this growth and prosperity is attributable.
MR. STEWART was the fourth in point of age of ten brothers, and was the first of the ten to pass away. The youngest brother of the ten is fifty-three years of age and the oldest about eighty.
Medford Mail, July 13, 1906, page 4
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THE DEATH OF A FORMER CITIZEN
Hon J. H. Stewart, Formerly of Quincy and Adams Co., Died in Oregon.
HANNIBAL, Mo., July 24.--News has been received in this city of the death of the Hon. J. H. Stewart at his home in Medford, Jackson County, Ore. He was for many years prior to and during the war a resident of Hannibal and owned the Col. Hatch farm, which he sold to Col. Hatch about the year 1860. He originally resided in Payson, Ill., and afterwards moved to Quincy. He now has a brother residing in Quincy, a superannuated minister of the gospel. He was well and favorably known by all the older citizens of Hannibal.
The Quincy Daily Whig, Quincy, Illinois, July 25, 1906, page 4
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JOSEPH HOWARD STEWART STATE PARK is built on an old homestead from the 1940s. Fruit grew here in grand orchards, in the beginnings of Oregon's commercial pear industry. You can still see some old pear trees and apple trees and walnut trees scattered around the park. You will find historic fruit trees along the trail at Wolf Creek Inn State Heritage Site as well.
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The genealogy of Joseph Howard Stewart
Reference: The Genealogies of Virginia Families from Tyler's Quarterly Historical Magazine, Vol. I, No. 1, page 525
"The marriage of William Stewart and Elizabeth Kay transfers our interests across seas, and we give record of William's father and grandfather.
FROM THE STEWART FAMILY BIBLE
John Stewart married Isabella Vance, Newtownards County Down, Ireland.
Children of Isabella Vance and John Stewart
Joseph born April 1800 (Newtownards, Ireland)
William October 29, 1802 (Newtownards, Ireland)
John March 11, 1804 (Newtownards, Ireland)
James January 20, 1806 (Newtownards, Ireland)
Alexander July 12, 1808(Newtownards, Ireland)
Gilbert April 20, 1815 (Newtownards, Ireland)
Isabella, Jr. July 2, 1826 (Newtownards, Ireland) Possibly in Cutler, Maine where the family moved in 1825.
William Stewart married Nancy Marston, May 6, 1823, in Cutler, Me. (William came over 2 years before the rest.)
Children of William Stewart and Nancy Marston:
Maria 24 Mar 1824
Mary Isabelle 8 Feb1826
John 21 Feb 1826
William 18 Jun 1830 d. 26 June 1926
*Adamson 9 Feb1832
Joseph Howard 22 Nov 1833 married Elizabeth Hyman
George Edwin 5 Jul 1835
(The family moved from Cutler, ME, to Adams County, Illinois in 1836.)
Isaac Newton 19 Jul 1837
Florinda Terry 12 Feb1840 m. James Wise
Henry W. 23 May 1842
Francis Marian 9 Sep1844
Emma 16 May 1847 m. William Stemhoff
Cyrus 6 Jul 1849
Vinet Vance 14 Dec 1853
*Note: 3rd son of William and Nancy was Adoniram, but in the above history it is written as Adamson.
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There is much biographical material about Joseph Howard Stewart and his father from the book "THE HISTORY OF ADAMS COUNTY, ILLINOIS, 1879, beginning with the photo of J. H. Stewart opposite page 434. The book in its entirety can be read online at the following link:
http://www.archive.org/details/historyofadamsco00murr
Pages can be downloaded by right clicking, clicking save image as (or save target as) and designating what folder to save the pages into.
The entire PDF file of the book may be downloaded by right clicking PDF and SAVE to computer.
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Joseph Howard Stewart sold his house and property to Captain Gordon Voorhies.
"Captain Gordon Voorhies has the largest producing orchard in the Rogue River Valley. He has 605 acres in orchard, most of which is in bearing. One hundred and ten acres of his trees are 18 and 20 years old. This tract Captain Voorhies bought from J. H. Stewart, known as the father of the fruit industry of Southern Oregon, for $20,000 ten years ago. This was the first large sale of fruit land in the valley and started much comment at the time. Medford Mail Tribune, September 13, 1910, page 8
One of the buildings located on the property was burned in 2008 and video captured on YouTube.
OLD HOUSE BURNS ON VOORHIES MANSION PROPERTY
Medford firefighters douse what's left of an old house that burned on the Voorhies Mansion property early Wednesday, December 4, 2008.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znxI-JUyJDA
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To see some wonderful postcards of Medford roads and machinery in the 1890s, refer to Ben Truwe's website:
http://id.mind.net/~truwe/tina/roadwork.html
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Josephh Howard Stewart and Siblings:
* Linked on Find A Grave
1 Maria Stewart Thompson (1824 - 1903)*
2 Mary Isabella Stewart Totten (1826 - 1858)*
3 John Stewart (1828 - 1907)*
4 William Stewart (1830 - 1926)*
5 Adoniram Judson Stewart (1832 - 1912)*
6 JOSEPH HOWARD Stewart (1833 - 1905)*
7 George Edwin Stewart (1835 -
8 Isaac Newton Stewart (1837 - 1913)*
9 Florinda Terry Stewart
10 Henry Willard Stewart (1842 - 1909)*
11 Francis Marion Stewart (1844 - 1920)*
12 Emma Stewart (18479
13 Cyrus Stewart (1849 - 1910)*
14 Vincent Vance Stewart (1853 - 1929)*
For more information contact J H Stewart descendant, Patricia
http://truwe.sohs.org/files/stewart.html
JOSEPH Howard's father was William, and his mother Nancy Marston. Father of William Stewart was John Stewart, and wife Isabella Vance. (Reference: The Genealogies of Virginia Families from Tyler's Quarterly Historical Magazine, Vol. I, No. 1, page 525.)
Joseph Howard Stewart married Elizabeth Hyman
November 30, 1854
Quincy, Illinois
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Profile of Joseph Howard Stewart, given in Atlas of Adams County, Illinois, 1872, published by Andreas Lyter and Company, page 47, OLD SETTLERS OF ADAMS COUNTY.
HON. JOSEPH H. STEWART was born in Washington county, Maine, November 22, 1833. He is the fourth son of a family of ten sons and four daughters of William and Nancy Stewart, old residents of Adams county. They settled in Payson, in 1836.
The subject of our notice obtained his education in the common schools of Adams county, yet we find him a gentleman of culture, and well versed in the general topics of the day. Until he arrived at the age of twenty, his time was largely spent with his father, who was among the leading nurserymen of Illinois.
When twenty-one years of age, Mr. Stewart was married, November 29, 1854, to Elizabeth Hyman, daughter of George and Margaret Hyman, who were likewise old residents of Adams county, having settled here in 1837. After his marriage, Mr. Stewart removed to Marion couty, MO., where he was engaged in the nursery business five years. He then sold out and came to Quincy and entered into partnership with his brother in the wholesale grocery business, at the same time managing a nursery near the city.
In the acquisition of property, Mr. Stewart has been reasonably successful. The secret of his success was his close application to business, united with a rigid course of honest, fair dealing. He has improved and beautified four different farms, and all show signs of the taste and art displayed.
Mr. Stewart, as a fruit grower, stands in the front rank of those gentlemen in Illinois and the west. He sent the first collection of fruit from Illinois that was ever exhibited before any prominent fruit men in the east, which was before the American Pomological Society, held at Philadelphia, in 1860. He has served on committees at fruit conventions with the well known names of Dr. Wader, Cincinnati, Henry T. Mud, of Missouri and F. R. Phoenix.
Certainluy, Mr. Stewart ranks among the prominent horticulturists of Illinois. In August 1867, he purchased a farm one mile north of Quincy, where he ha made a fine improvement, a view of which will be shown elsewhere in this work. Mr. Stewart has a family of four children.
Politically, he used to be a republican, and voted for Abraham Lincoln on his first presidential nomination, since which time Mr. Stewart has been identified with the democratic party. He was nominated and elected as one of the representatives of Adams county, in the fall of 1870. His name, previous to the day of the convention, had not been talked of, when one of the city delegates proposed it. Mr. Stewart received the largest vote given for any representative that year. He has served four sessions under the new constitution. Mr. Stewart soon took and retained a prominent position among the active and efficient members. Such is, in brief, a synopsis of one who attained these honors by his own industry.
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The earliest settler families discovered southern Oregon to be an hospitable region for raising fruit. By 1869 several small orchards were scattered throughout the valley. Apples, pears and cherries were produced in quantity each year as the young trees developed. For thirty years the production and consumption of fruit was limited primarily to valley residents. In 1887 the completion of the north-south Oregon-California Railroad made it possible to consider shipping produce out of the area. By the end of the decade a small fruit industry was established.
One observer wrote:
"Everybody, young and old, rich and poor, saint and sinner, is engaged in picking, drying, packing or shipping fruit."
In February 1885, Joseph H. Stewart, a nurseryman and fruit grower from the the Quincy Illinois area, on the western border of Illinois and Iowa, specifically the town of Payson, arrived in the Rogue Valley with his family. He planted a large orchard of apples, pears, prunes and almonds a few miles southwest of Medford. His pear trees became a commercial orchard in 1890 when Stewart shipped his first railroad carload of fruit to outside markets. The population of Medford in 1890 was about 1,000.
In 1894 the first Winter Nelis trees were planted, the seedlings were budded to Comice, and the young trees set out in the spring of 1897. Budwood from these trees was taken to produce many of the large orchards such as Hollywood, Hillcrest and Oakdale. By 1900 the population of the Medford area had increased to about 1,800.
W. H. Stewart, son of Joseph Stewart, quite probably transported some of these young trees across town to his orchard land two and one-half miles east of Medford to land eventually known as Hillcrest Orchard, purchased from William Stewart in 1903, and today is still producing fruit for sale, for commercial purposes, including a winery, holding events such as weddings, and products for sale in a general store in addition to the shipment of fruit to the retail market.
http://hillcrestorchard.com/index.php
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Hon. J. H. Stewart, who purchased H. C. Howard's place in Eden precinct, started for his home in Illinois Sunday evening. He will return with his family as soon as he disposes of his large interests there. Mr. S. will plant several thousand apple and pear trees and several acres of strawberries as soon as he takes possession of his new farm.
"Personal Mention," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, March 27, 1885, page 3
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Mr. J. H. Stewart, whom we mentioned last week as intending to set out an extensive pear orchard on the farm recently purchased by him between Phoenix and Medford, has discovered a large deposit of chalk or gypsum on the farm which he thinks will be a profitable item of export. He has gone back to his old home in Illinois to sell out his property and settle up his business there preparatory to coming out there to live, and expects to return here in time to set out a large number of fruit trees next fall.
"Brevities," Ashland Tidings, March 27, 1885, page 3
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Joseph Howard Stewart moved to Medford, OR in 1885.
His uncle, Alexander Stewart, arrived in the Medford area in 1871. (See Find a Grave for Alexander Stewart.)
A LIVELY TOWN.--Medford, Or., in Rogue River Valley, a town only fifteen months old, boasts of 126 houses. They are also building a two-story brick hotel and a block of brick business houses 100 feet front. Corner lots are bringing $600, and fairly located lots, 25x100 feet, for dwellings, $75 to $150 each. A paper will be started this week, and it is reported that the Jacksonville distillery soon will be moved there, likewise the foundry from Roseburg.
"Local and General," Morning Oregonian, Portland, February 2, 1885, page 3
Excerpt from Ben Truwe's website:
http://id.mind.net/~truwe/tina/news1885.html
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Hon. J. H. Stewart and family arrived from Quincy, Illinois, this week. As will be remembered, Mr. S. purchased the farm of Henry C. Howard, near Phoenix, a few months ago. "Personal Mention," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, September 18, 1885, page 3
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF WESTERN OREGON, page 479 and 480. The following profile of Joseph Howard Stewart may be be read online and the entire book may be downloaded in PDF or text file at:
http://www.archive.org/details/portraitbiographwo00inchap
Early commercial orchardist; founder of the Medford Bank
JOSEPH HOWARD STEWART
"AS a pioneer fruit-grower of Jackson County, Joseph H. Stewart takes first rank, and his products are shipped to all parts of the United States and Europe. He is a profound student of everything pertaining to horticulture, and is one of the best posted men in his line between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
WHEN he first came to Oregon, people generally questioned the advisability of raising fruit [not true--nearly every issue of every local newspaper of 1883 and 1884 extolled Southern Oregon's virtues as a fruit-raising region], but there are many today who wish they had followed his example.
HIS father, William Stewart, was born of Scotch parents in the north of Ireland, and upon coming to america about 1821 located on the coast of Maine, in Washington county. He had made a former visit there while sailing before the mast and studying navigation, to which he did not take kindly, having a genius for mechanical invention.
IN Maine he married Nancy Marston, a native daughter of the state, and who, at the time of her death in Quincy, Ill., left seventy-five descendants.
FOURTEEN children were born to William Stewart and his wife, ten sons and four daughters, Joseph Howard, born in Washington county, Me., November 22, 1833, being the fourth son.
AFTER bringing his family to Quincy., Ill., in 1836, William Stewart inaugurated a career which did him credit from many standpoints. Settling on land in Adams county he started a nursery and farming business, and the first fruit-trees brought to Oregon in an ox-train came from this farm.
HE was one of the original Free Soilers, and took an active part in political matters. He was president and one of the foremost promoters of the first agricultural society in the state of Illinois, organized in 1854, supporting the same by his hearty zeal and co-operation the remainder of his life. Mr. Stewart died in 1859, at the age of fifty-six years, leaving his family and friends a legacy of an honored name and to those dependent upon him a comfortable inheritance.
OWING to early association with his father's nursery [in Adams County, Illinois], Joseph H. Stewart had scant opportunity for attending school, a deficiency which has since spurred him to unusual effort along educational lines.
AT the age of twenty-one he married, in Quincy, Ill., Elizabeth Hyman, who was born on the Atlantic ocean while her parents were en route to America from Germany. Her father, George Hyman, was a tailor by trade, and in 1836 located in Adams county, Ill., where he died at an advanced age.
IN 1853 Mr. Stewart removed to Hannibal, Mo., taking with him an already established reputation as a practical fruit-grower, having taken many premiums at state exhibits, and served on fruit commissions.
IN 1860 he removed to Quincy, and there engaged in nursery business until 1884. While residing there in 1869 he made the first large exhibit of fruit in the east, showing one hundred and twenty varieties of pears and apples at the American Pomological Society held in Philadelphia.
IN 1870 he was elected to the state legislature and during the session secured the passage of the drainage law. During the building of the levee at Quincy, in 1878, he superintended the work in the Indian grave drainage district.
AMBITIOUS and resourceful, he firmly believed that Oregon held exceptional opportunities for the fruit grower, and in the spring of 1884 he took a trip to the state, investigating the soil and general prospects.
WELL pleased with what he found, he returned to his family in the fall, and in February, 1885, located in the Rogue River Valley.
TWO months later found him in Illinois, negotiating for the sale of his property, with the proceeds of which he removed his belongings to the coast. Needless to say, fruit trees constituted a large part of the outfit.
THE first year in the valley he had one hundred and sixty acres under orchard, and the next year an additional one hundred acres. In 1890 he shipped the first carload of fruit out of Jackson County [even the 1885 newspaper announcing Stewart's arrival in Medford makes it clear that fruit is already being shipped in quantity], and in 1896 his output consisted of ninety-five carloads of apples and pears.
MR. STEWART has sold the first two orchards which he started, and at present has about four hundred acres devoted exclusively to apples and pears.
IN 1898 Mr. Stewart built a fine residence in the Cascade Mountains, on the Upper Rogue River, surrounded by thirty acres of orchards, and fitted with every modern improvement. He has taken an active part in the business life of Medford, and in 1899 was one of the organizers of the Bank of Medford, owning the bank building and serving as the president of the concern for two years, and then its vice president. The bank is one of the solid financial institutions of the county and is incorporated for $50,000.
MR. STEWART is encouraging fruit growing in his children, and his son William is one of the large fruit-ranchers of Jackson County. One child, June I., died at the age of twenty, and he had three daughters, Mrs. A. J. Weeks, Mrs. H. M. Crowell and Mrs. D. R. Hill [Cora Elizabeth]. Mr. Stewart was a Democrat in political affiliation, and fraternally was a charter member of Blue Lodge No. 103, A.F.&A.M. of Medford."
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Hon. J. H. Stewart is preparing to ship no less than nine carloads of Bartlett pears to Chicago during the coming summer, and will have oceans of fruit of all kinds. We trust he will receive ample reward for his nerve in giving orcharding a fair treat on a scale in this valley, as he has expanded a big fortune already on his splendid orchard.
Democratic Times, June 9, 1893 p. 2
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A FRUIT FARM THAT PAYS
THE FRUIT farm of J. H. Stewart, situated half-way between Phoenix and Medford, about ten miles north of Ashland, presents an attractive scene of busy industry this week. The great Bartlett pear orchard of 60 acres planted by Mr. Stewart six or eight years ago is beginning to yield its generous returns for the vigilant labor and intelligent care expended upon it, and the first crop of consequence is now being picked and shipped.
PAGE & SONS, of Portland, have bought the entire crop at 1 1/2 cents per pound. Mr. Stewart picks the pears and delivers them in boxes to Page & Sons at the packing [?] on the farm. Here they are wrapped and boxed by Page's people, after which Mr. Stewart delivers them at the cars.
TWENTY SEVEN woman and girls are employed packing the fruit and about as many men are at work picking, boxing and hauling; so the farm, as remarked at first, is a busy camp at present.
THE CROP is picked and shipped at the rate of a carload a day, and will make from twelve to fifteen carloads, bringing Mr. Stewart about $4,000. The girls are paid by Page & Sons 4 cents per box for wrapping and packing the pears. They are camped in tents on the farm.
THIS ORCHARD is an object lesson to people interested in fruit growing in Southern Oregon. The trees are free from the scale and the fruit is free from the grub of the codlin moth.
CAPT. TIEL and R. S. Barclay, of Ashland, visited the orchard last Monday, and George W. Crowson, of this place, and Mr. Sheffield of Portland were there Tuesday. They advise everyone who may be inclined to grow discouraged over the fruit business, on account of the orchard pests that have appeared within the past few years, to go and see the clean tress and fruit of Mr. Stewart's orchard. He shows that an orchard may be kept free of the San Jose scale and that apples and pears may be saved from the damages of the codlin moth.
THE TIDINGS will have more information in a future issue concerning Mr. Stewart's successful orchard management.
The Tidings, Sept 1, 1893 Page 3
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NEARLY thirty females have been employed at Hon. J. H. Stewart's farm near Phoenix,[Oregon] the past few weeks, in wrapping and packing Bartlett pears for the western and northwestern markets. The product of the entire orchard of sixty acres has been purchased by F. H. Page & Sons at 1 1/2 cents per pound and is of the finest quality. As abut fifteen carloads will be shipped, Mr. Stewart will receive abut $4,000 gross for his pears. He is one of the most prominent, painstaking and intelligent horticulturists on the coast, and well merits his success. Democratic Times, September 8, p. 3 'Here and There."
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Hon. J. H. Stewart, who has been ill for several days, is considerably improved at this time. Dr. Pickel is in attendance.
"City Happenings," Medford Mail, February 10, 1905, page 5
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Hon. J. H. Stewart, the well-known orchardman and capitalist, is lying quite ill at his residence on Oakdale Avenue. Mr. Stewart has been ailing for the past several months, but until lately has been able to be up and around. His friends are hoping to hear of the restoration of his usual good state of health.
"City Happenings," Medford Mail, March 2, 1906, page 5
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DEATH AND FUNERAL OF HON. J. H. STEWART
THE funeral of Hon. Joseph H. Stewart, which took place on Tuesday, July 10th, was one of the most largely attended funerals ever witnessed in Medford.
THE services at the late residence were very simple and impressive, and the esteem in which the departed one was held by his family, his friends and his neighbors could be seen in the grief-stricken faces and the welling tears of those who had assembled to pay the last tribute of respect to the dead.
THE services consisted of singing by Mrs. Vawter, Mrs. Pickel and Miss Jones--one hymn, "Beautiful Isle of Somewhere," being particularly impressive and appropriate. Then came scripture reading, prayer and the reading of the following tribute to Mr. Stewart, by Rev. F. W. Carstens:
"Joseph H. Stewart was born in Washington County, Maine, November 22, 1833. Died at Medford, Oregon, at 9:00 p.m., Saturday, July 7, 1906; aged seventy-two years, six months and twenty-two days. When twenty-one years of age, at Quincy, Ill., he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Hyman, who now, as the faithful companion of years, survives him, sorrowing.
"After his marriage he resided for a time in Hannibal, Mo., but in 1860 removed to Quincy, Ill., where he established a nursery and engaged very successfully in fruit raising, taking many premiums at state exhibits and such-like places. In 1870 he was elected to the state legislature, serving with great acceptability.
In 1884 he made a trip to Oregon, believing--from what he knew of the country--that Oregon would be an unexcelled place for growing fine fruit, berries, etc. So much pleased was he that February, 1885, found him located in Rogue River Valley. As early as 1890 he began to realize from his new orchard of the West. That year he shipped a carload of fruit--the first that was ever shipped from Jackson County. [TTons of fruit were already being shipped out of the valley in 1884--the year Stewart arrived. A carload of apples was shipped to Portland that same year. See the next obituary.]
In 1896 his output was ninety-five carloads of pears and apples. He has been called the 'father of the fruit industry in Oregon,' and, as his old friend, Dr. Geary, once said, 'Every fruit tree in Rogue River Valley will be a monument to his memory.'
"He was a man of affairs and took a keen interest in all public enterprises, advising, directing and often aiding with his influence and money.
"He was one of the organizers of the Medford Bank, which was organized in 1890, and served as president of it for two full years.
"In his immediate family he leaves a companion, one son and three daughters to mourn their loss. Outside of the immediate family many near relatives and a host of friends share with the family the loss as heartfelt and personal.
"In Mr. Stewart's life there is a tribute to the nobility of true manhood and to those qualities of sterling worth which made his life a success. He was an unusually strong, healthy man, never ill to speak of, until about two years ago; but since that time he has been a great sufferer, though he has borne the suffering and pain with the fortitude and courage so characteristic of him, often affirming that he believed he would get well and be strong again.
"He thought deeply and for himself upon all subjects--religion included--and often during his illness he spoke of the future, saying in his characteristic way: 'I'd like to explore the future life and know what it is,' and expressing himself as entirely ready to go when his time should come.
"The end has come. 'The Golden Bowl is broken and the Pitcher at the fountain; the Silver Cord is loosened and the Wheel broken at the Cistern.' We weep and yet we mourn not as those who have no hope."
The funeral cortege was met at the schoolhouse by the members of Medford Lodge, A.F.&A.M., and escorted to the cemetery, where the last sad rites were performed under the rules of the Masonic order.
At the head of the procession was the white horse and the buggy used for many years by Mr. Stewart, in which was seated the officiating minister and the grandson of the deceased, HOWARD HILL.
Medford Mail, July 13, 1906, page 1
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IN the death of Hon. J. H. Stewart Rogue River Valley has lost one of its most progressive and enterprising citizens. A citizen who has done more than any one man in the county to bring the fruit industry to its present point of importance and prosperity. When Mr. Stewart first came to this valley in 1885, the growing of fruit other than for home use was unthought-of. [Fruit was marketed on a limited basis regionally as early as the 1860s. Some sources credit A. J. Weeks with planting the first commercial orchard in 1883.]
HIS trained, practical mind grasped the situation and its possibilities at once. He planted the first commercial orchard in the valley [This does not mean he planted the first orchard.] and in 1890 shipped the first carload of fruit ever sent to foreign markets. Since that time the industry has grown to immense proportions, and to the initiative of Joseph H. Stewart this growth and prosperity is attributable.
MR. STEWART was the fourth in point of age of ten brothers, and was the first of the ten to pass away. The youngest brother of the ten is fifty-three years of age and the oldest about eighty.
Medford Mail, July 13, 1906, page 4
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THE DEATH OF A FORMER CITIZEN
Hon J. H. Stewart, Formerly of Quincy and Adams Co., Died in Oregon.
HANNIBAL, Mo., July 24.--News has been received in this city of the death of the Hon. J. H. Stewart at his home in Medford, Jackson County, Ore. He was for many years prior to and during the war a resident of Hannibal and owned the Col. Hatch farm, which he sold to Col. Hatch about the year 1860. He originally resided in Payson, Ill., and afterwards moved to Quincy. He now has a brother residing in Quincy, a superannuated minister of the gospel. He was well and favorably known by all the older citizens of Hannibal.
The Quincy Daily Whig, Quincy, Illinois, July 25, 1906, page 4
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JOSEPH HOWARD STEWART STATE PARK is built on an old homestead from the 1940s. Fruit grew here in grand orchards, in the beginnings of Oregon's commercial pear industry. You can still see some old pear trees and apple trees and walnut trees scattered around the park. You will find historic fruit trees along the trail at Wolf Creek Inn State Heritage Site as well.
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The genealogy of Joseph Howard Stewart
Reference: The Genealogies of Virginia Families from Tyler's Quarterly Historical Magazine, Vol. I, No. 1, page 525
"The marriage of William Stewart and Elizabeth Kay transfers our interests across seas, and we give record of William's father and grandfather.
FROM THE STEWART FAMILY BIBLE
John Stewart married Isabella Vance, Newtownards County Down, Ireland.
Children of Isabella Vance and John Stewart
Joseph born April 1800 (Newtownards, Ireland)
William October 29, 1802 (Newtownards, Ireland)
John March 11, 1804 (Newtownards, Ireland)
James January 20, 1806 (Newtownards, Ireland)
Alexander July 12, 1808(Newtownards, Ireland)
Gilbert April 20, 1815 (Newtownards, Ireland)
Isabella, Jr. July 2, 1826 (Newtownards, Ireland) Possibly in Cutler, Maine where the family moved in 1825.
William Stewart married Nancy Marston, May 6, 1823, in Cutler, Me. (William came over 2 years before the rest.)
Children of William Stewart and Nancy Marston:
Maria 24 Mar 1824
Mary Isabelle 8 Feb1826
John 21 Feb 1826
William 18 Jun 1830 d. 26 June 1926
*Adamson 9 Feb1832
Joseph Howard 22 Nov 1833 married Elizabeth Hyman
George Edwin 5 Jul 1835
(The family moved from Cutler, ME, to Adams County, Illinois in 1836.)
Isaac Newton 19 Jul 1837
Florinda Terry 12 Feb1840 m. James Wise
Henry W. 23 May 1842
Francis Marian 9 Sep1844
Emma 16 May 1847 m. William Stemhoff
Cyrus 6 Jul 1849
Vinet Vance 14 Dec 1853
*Note: 3rd son of William and Nancy was Adoniram, but in the above history it is written as Adamson.
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There is much biographical material about Joseph Howard Stewart and his father from the book "THE HISTORY OF ADAMS COUNTY, ILLINOIS, 1879, beginning with the photo of J. H. Stewart opposite page 434. The book in its entirety can be read online at the following link:
http://www.archive.org/details/historyofadamsco00murr
Pages can be downloaded by right clicking, clicking save image as (or save target as) and designating what folder to save the pages into.
The entire PDF file of the book may be downloaded by right clicking PDF and SAVE to computer.
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Joseph Howard Stewart sold his house and property to Captain Gordon Voorhies.
"Captain Gordon Voorhies has the largest producing orchard in the Rogue River Valley. He has 605 acres in orchard, most of which is in bearing. One hundred and ten acres of his trees are 18 and 20 years old. This tract Captain Voorhies bought from J. H. Stewart, known as the father of the fruit industry of Southern Oregon, for $20,000 ten years ago. This was the first large sale of fruit land in the valley and started much comment at the time. Medford Mail Tribune, September 13, 1910, page 8
One of the buildings located on the property was burned in 2008 and video captured on YouTube.
OLD HOUSE BURNS ON VOORHIES MANSION PROPERTY
Medford firefighters douse what's left of an old house that burned on the Voorhies Mansion property early Wednesday, December 4, 2008.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znxI-JUyJDA
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To see some wonderful postcards of Medford roads and machinery in the 1890s, refer to Ben Truwe's website:
http://id.mind.net/~truwe/tina/roadwork.html
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Josephh Howard Stewart and Siblings:
* Linked on Find A Grave
1 Maria Stewart Thompson (1824 - 1903)*
2 Mary Isabella Stewart Totten (1826 - 1858)*
3 John Stewart (1828 - 1907)*
4 William Stewart (1830 - 1926)*
5 Adoniram Judson Stewart (1832 - 1912)*
6 JOSEPH HOWARD Stewart (1833 - 1905)*
7 George Edwin Stewart (1835 -
8 Isaac Newton Stewart (1837 - 1913)*
9 Florinda Terry Stewart
10 Henry Willard Stewart (1842 - 1909)*
11 Francis Marion Stewart (1844 - 1920)*
12 Emma Stewart (18479
13 Cyrus Stewart (1849 - 1910)*
14 Vincent Vance Stewart (1853 - 1929)*
For more information contact J H Stewart descendant, Patricia
The descendants of J. H. Stewart acknowledge historian Ben Truwe of Medford, Oregon for providing all of the information from newspaper clippings used for this profile. For more information on the life of J.H. Stewart and other Medford Pioneers and general life in southern Oregon refer to his website:
http://truwe.sohs.org/files/stewart.html
JOSEPH Howard's father was William, and his mother Nancy Marston. Father of William Stewart was John Stewart, and wife Isabella Vance. (Reference: The Genealogies of Virginia Families from Tyler's Quarterly Historical Magazine, Vol. I, No. 1, page 525.)
Joseph Howard Stewart married Elizabeth Hyman
November 30, 1854
Quincy, Illinois
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Profile of Joseph Howard Stewart, given in Atlas of Adams County, Illinois, 1872, published by Andreas Lyter and Company, page 47, OLD SETTLERS OF ADAMS COUNTY.
HON. JOSEPH H. STEWART was born in Washington county, Maine, November 22, 1833. He is the fourth son of a family of ten sons and four daughters of William and Nancy Stewart, old residents of Adams county. They settled in Payson, in 1836.
The subject of our notice obtained his education in the common schools of Adams county, yet we find him a gentleman of culture, and well versed in the general topics of the day. Until he arrived at the age of twenty, his time was largely spent with his father, who was among the leading nurserymen of Illinois.
When twenty-one years of age, Mr. Stewart was married, November 29, 1854, to Elizabeth Hyman, daughter of George and Margaret Hyman, who were likewise old residents of Adams county, having settled here in 1837. After his marriage, Mr. Stewart removed to Marion couty, MO., where he was engaged in the nursery business five years. He then sold out and came to Quincy and entered into partnership with his brother in the wholesale grocery business, at the same time managing a nursery near the city.
In the acquisition of property, Mr. Stewart has been reasonably successful. The secret of his success was his close application to business, united with a rigid course of honest, fair dealing. He has improved and beautified four different farms, and all show signs of the taste and art displayed.
Mr. Stewart, as a fruit grower, stands in the front rank of those gentlemen in Illinois and the west. He sent the first collection of fruit from Illinois that was ever exhibited before any prominent fruit men in the east, which was before the American Pomological Society, held at Philadelphia, in 1860. He has served on committees at fruit conventions with the well known names of Dr. Wader, Cincinnati, Henry T. Mud, of Missouri and F. R. Phoenix.
Certainluy, Mr. Stewart ranks among the prominent horticulturists of Illinois. In August 1867, he purchased a farm one mile north of Quincy, where he ha made a fine improvement, a view of which will be shown elsewhere in this work. Mr. Stewart has a family of four children.
Politically, he used to be a republican, and voted for Abraham Lincoln on his first presidential nomination, since which time Mr. Stewart has been identified with the democratic party. He was nominated and elected as one of the representatives of Adams county, in the fall of 1870. His name, previous to the day of the convention, had not been talked of, when one of the city delegates proposed it. Mr. Stewart received the largest vote given for any representative that year. He has served four sessions under the new constitution. Mr. Stewart soon took and retained a prominent position among the active and efficient members. Such is, in brief, a synopsis of one who attained these honors by his own industry.
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The earliest settler families discovered southern Oregon to be an hospitable region for raising fruit. By 1869 several small orchards were scattered throughout the valley. Apples, pears and cherries were produced in quantity each year as the young trees developed. For thirty years the production and consumption of fruit was limited primarily to valley residents. In 1887 the completion of the north-south Oregon-California Railroad made it possible to consider shipping produce out of the area. By the end of the decade a small fruit industry was established.
One observer wrote:
"Everybody, young and old, rich and poor, saint and sinner, is engaged in picking, drying, packing or shipping fruit."
In February 1885, Joseph H. Stewart, a nurseryman and fruit grower from the the Quincy Illinois area, on the western border of Illinois and Iowa, specifically the town of Payson, arrived in the Rogue Valley with his family. He planted a large orchard of apples, pears, prunes and almonds a few miles southwest of Medford. His pear trees became a commercial orchard in 1890 when Stewart shipped his first railroad carload of fruit to outside markets. The population of Medford in 1890 was about 1,000.
In 1894 the first Winter Nelis trees were planted, the seedlings were budded to Comice, and the young trees set out in the spring of 1897. Budwood from these trees was taken to produce many of the large orchards such as Hollywood, Hillcrest and Oakdale. By 1900 the population of the Medford area had increased to about 1,800.
W. H. Stewart, son of Joseph Stewart, quite probably transported some of these young trees across town to his orchard land two and one-half miles east of Medford to land eventually known as Hillcrest Orchard, purchased from William Stewart in 1903, and today is still producing fruit for sale, for commercial purposes, including a winery, holding events such as weddings, and products for sale in a general store in addition to the shipment of fruit to the retail market.
http://hillcrestorchard.com/index.php
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Hon. J. H. Stewart, who purchased H. C. Howard's place in Eden precinct, started for his home in Illinois Sunday evening. He will return with his family as soon as he disposes of his large interests there. Mr. S. will plant several thousand apple and pear trees and several acres of strawberries as soon as he takes possession of his new farm.
"Personal Mention," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, March 27, 1885, page 3
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Mr. J. H. Stewart, whom we mentioned last week as intending to set out an extensive pear orchard on the farm recently purchased by him between Phoenix and Medford, has discovered a large deposit of chalk or gypsum on the farm which he thinks will be a profitable item of export. He has gone back to his old home in Illinois to sell out his property and settle up his business there preparatory to coming out there to live, and expects to return here in time to set out a large number of fruit trees next fall.
"Brevities," Ashland Tidings, March 27, 1885, page 3
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Joseph Howard Stewart moved to Medford, OR in 1885.
His uncle, Alexander Stewart, arrived in the Medford area in 1871. (See Find a Grave for Alexander Stewart.)
A LIVELY TOWN.--Medford, Or., in Rogue River Valley, a town only fifteen months old, boasts of 126 houses. They are also building a two-story brick hotel and a block of brick business houses 100 feet front. Corner lots are bringing $600, and fairly located lots, 25x100 feet, for dwellings, $75 to $150 each. A paper will be started this week, and it is reported that the Jacksonville distillery soon will be moved there, likewise the foundry from Roseburg.
"Local and General," Morning Oregonian, Portland, February 2, 1885, page 3
Excerpt from Ben Truwe's website:
http://id.mind.net/~truwe/tina/news1885.html
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Hon. J. H. Stewart and family arrived from Quincy, Illinois, this week. As will be remembered, Mr. S. purchased the farm of Henry C. Howard, near Phoenix, a few months ago. "Personal Mention," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, September 18, 1885, page 3
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF WESTERN OREGON, page 479 and 480. The following profile of Joseph Howard Stewart may be be read online and the entire book may be downloaded in PDF or text file at:
http://www.archive.org/details/portraitbiographwo00inchap
Early commercial orchardist; founder of the Medford Bank
JOSEPH HOWARD STEWART
"AS a pioneer fruit-grower of Jackson County, Joseph H. Stewart takes first rank, and his products are shipped to all parts of the United States and Europe. He is a profound student of everything pertaining to horticulture, and is one of the best posted men in his line between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
WHEN he first came to Oregon, people generally questioned the advisability of raising fruit [not true--nearly every issue of every local newspaper of 1883 and 1884 extolled Southern Oregon's virtues as a fruit-raising region], but there are many today who wish they had followed his example.
HIS father, William Stewart, was born of Scotch parents in the north of Ireland, and upon coming to america about 1821 located on the coast of Maine, in Washington county. He had made a former visit there while sailing before the mast and studying navigation, to which he did not take kindly, having a genius for mechanical invention.
IN Maine he married Nancy Marston, a native daughter of the state, and who, at the time of her death in Quincy, Ill., left seventy-five descendants.
FOURTEEN children were born to William Stewart and his wife, ten sons and four daughters, Joseph Howard, born in Washington county, Me., November 22, 1833, being the fourth son.
AFTER bringing his family to Quincy., Ill., in 1836, William Stewart inaugurated a career which did him credit from many standpoints. Settling on land in Adams county he started a nursery and farming business, and the first fruit-trees brought to Oregon in an ox-train came from this farm.
HE was one of the original Free Soilers, and took an active part in political matters. He was president and one of the foremost promoters of the first agricultural society in the state of Illinois, organized in 1854, supporting the same by his hearty zeal and co-operation the remainder of his life. Mr. Stewart died in 1859, at the age of fifty-six years, leaving his family and friends a legacy of an honored name and to those dependent upon him a comfortable inheritance.
OWING to early association with his father's nursery [in Adams County, Illinois], Joseph H. Stewart had scant opportunity for attending school, a deficiency which has since spurred him to unusual effort along educational lines.
AT the age of twenty-one he married, in Quincy, Ill., Elizabeth Hyman, who was born on the Atlantic ocean while her parents were en route to America from Germany. Her father, George Hyman, was a tailor by trade, and in 1836 located in Adams county, Ill., where he died at an advanced age.
IN 1853 Mr. Stewart removed to Hannibal, Mo., taking with him an already established reputation as a practical fruit-grower, having taken many premiums at state exhibits, and served on fruit commissions.
IN 1860 he removed to Quincy, and there engaged in nursery business until 1884. While residing there in 1869 he made the first large exhibit of fruit in the east, showing one hundred and twenty varieties of pears and apples at the American Pomological Society held in Philadelphia.
IN 1870 he was elected to the state legislature and during the session secured the passage of the drainage law. During the building of the levee at Quincy, in 1878, he superintended the work in the Indian grave drainage district.
AMBITIOUS and resourceful, he firmly believed that Oregon held exceptional opportunities for the fruit grower, and in the spring of 1884 he took a trip to the state, investigating the soil and general prospects.
WELL pleased with what he found, he returned to his family in the fall, and in February, 1885, located in the Rogue River Valley.
TWO months later found him in Illinois, negotiating for the sale of his property, with the proceeds of which he removed his belongings to the coast. Needless to say, fruit trees constituted a large part of the outfit.
THE first year in the valley he had one hundred and sixty acres under orchard, and the next year an additional one hundred acres. In 1890 he shipped the first carload of fruit out of Jackson County [even the 1885 newspaper announcing Stewart's arrival in Medford makes it clear that fruit is already being shipped in quantity], and in 1896 his output consisted of ninety-five carloads of apples and pears.
MR. STEWART has sold the first two orchards which he started, and at present has about four hundred acres devoted exclusively to apples and pears.
IN 1898 Mr. Stewart built a fine residence in the Cascade Mountains, on the Upper Rogue River, surrounded by thirty acres of orchards, and fitted with every modern improvement. He has taken an active part in the business life of Medford, and in 1899 was one of the organizers of the Bank of Medford, owning the bank building and serving as the president of the concern for two years, and then its vice president. The bank is one of the solid financial institutions of the county and is incorporated for $50,000.
MR. STEWART is encouraging fruit growing in his children, and his son William is one of the large fruit-ranchers of Jackson County. One child, June I., died at the age of twenty, and he had three daughters, Mrs. A. J. Weeks, Mrs. H. M. Crowell and Mrs. D. R. Hill [Cora Elizabeth]. Mr. Stewart was a Democrat in political affiliation, and fraternally was a charter member of Blue Lodge No. 103, A.F.&A.M. of Medford."
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Hon. J. H. Stewart is preparing to ship no less than nine carloads of Bartlett pears to Chicago during the coming summer, and will have oceans of fruit of all kinds. We trust he will receive ample reward for his nerve in giving orcharding a fair treat on a scale in this valley, as he has expanded a big fortune already on his splendid orchard.
Democratic Times, June 9, 1893 p. 2
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A FRUIT FARM THAT PAYS
THE FRUIT farm of J. H. Stewart, situated half-way between Phoenix and Medford, about ten miles north of Ashland, presents an attractive scene of busy industry this week. The great Bartlett pear orchard of 60 acres planted by Mr. Stewart six or eight years ago is beginning to yield its generous returns for the vigilant labor and intelligent care expended upon it, and the first crop of consequence is now being picked and shipped.
PAGE & SONS, of Portland, have bought the entire crop at 1 1/2 cents per pound. Mr. Stewart picks the pears and delivers them in boxes to Page & Sons at the packing [?] on the farm. Here they are wrapped and boxed by Page's people, after which Mr. Stewart delivers them at the cars.
TWENTY SEVEN woman and girls are employed packing the fruit and about as many men are at work picking, boxing and hauling; so the farm, as remarked at first, is a busy camp at present.
THE CROP is picked and shipped at the rate of a carload a day, and will make from twelve to fifteen carloads, bringing Mr. Stewart about $4,000. The girls are paid by Page & Sons 4 cents per box for wrapping and packing the pears. They are camped in tents on the farm.
THIS ORCHARD is an object lesson to people interested in fruit growing in Southern Oregon. The trees are free from the scale and the fruit is free from the grub of the codlin moth.
CAPT. TIEL and R. S. Barclay, of Ashland, visited the orchard last Monday, and George W. Crowson, of this place, and Mr. Sheffield of Portland were there Tuesday. They advise everyone who may be inclined to grow discouraged over the fruit business, on account of the orchard pests that have appeared within the past few years, to go and see the clean tress and fruit of Mr. Stewart's orchard. He shows that an orchard may be kept free of the San Jose scale and that apples and pears may be saved from the damages of the codlin moth.
THE TIDINGS will have more information in a future issue concerning Mr. Stewart's successful orchard management.
The Tidings, Sept 1, 1893 Page 3
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NEARLY thirty females have been employed at Hon. J. H. Stewart's farm near Phoenix,[Oregon] the past few weeks, in wrapping and packing Bartlett pears for the western and northwestern markets. The product of the entire orchard of sixty acres has been purchased by F. H. Page & Sons at 1 1/2 cents per pound and is of the finest quality. As abut fifteen carloads will be shipped, Mr. Stewart will receive abut $4,000 gross for his pears. He is one of the most prominent, painstaking and intelligent horticulturists on the coast, and well merits his success. Democratic Times, September 8, p. 3 'Here and There."
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Hon. J. H. Stewart, who has been ill for several days, is considerably improved at this time. Dr. Pickel is in attendance.
"City Happenings," Medford Mail, February 10, 1905, page 5
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Hon. J. H. Stewart, the well-known orchardman and capitalist, is lying quite ill at his residence on Oakdale Avenue. Mr. Stewart has been ailing for the past several months, but until lately has been able to be up and around. His friends are hoping to hear of the restoration of his usual good state of health.
"City Happenings," Medford Mail, March 2, 1906, page 5
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DEATH AND FUNERAL OF HON. J. H. STEWART
THE funeral of Hon. Joseph H. Stewart, which took place on Tuesday, July 10th, was one of the most largely attended funerals ever witnessed in Medford.
THE services at the late residence were very simple and impressive, and the esteem in which the departed one was held by his family, his friends and his neighbors could be seen in the grief-stricken faces and the welling tears of those who had assembled to pay the last tribute of respect to the dead.
THE services consisted of singing by Mrs. Vawter, Mrs. Pickel and Miss Jones--one hymn, "Beautiful Isle of Somewhere," being particularly impressive and appropriate. Then came scripture reading, prayer and the reading of the following tribute to Mr. Stewart, by Rev. F. W. Carstens:
"Joseph H. Stewart was born in Washington County, Maine, November 22, 1833. Died at Medford, Oregon, at 9:00 p.m., Saturday, July 7, 1906; aged seventy-two years, six months and twenty-two days. When twenty-one years of age, at Quincy, Ill., he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Hyman, who now, as the faithful companion of years, survives him, sorrowing.
"After his marriage he resided for a time in Hannibal, Mo., but in 1860 removed to Quincy, Ill., where he established a nursery and engaged very successfully in fruit raising, taking many premiums at state exhibits and such-like places. In 1870 he was elected to the state legislature, serving with great acceptability.
In 1884 he made a trip to Oregon, believing--from what he knew of the country--that Oregon would be an unexcelled place for growing fine fruit, berries, etc. So much pleased was he that February, 1885, found him located in Rogue River Valley. As early as 1890 he began to realize from his new orchard of the West. That year he shipped a carload of fruit--the first that was ever shipped from Jackson County. [TTons of fruit were already being shipped out of the valley in 1884--the year Stewart arrived. A carload of apples was shipped to Portland that same year. See the next obituary.]
In 1896 his output was ninety-five carloads of pears and apples. He has been called the 'father of the fruit industry in Oregon,' and, as his old friend, Dr. Geary, once said, 'Every fruit tree in Rogue River Valley will be a monument to his memory.'
"He was a man of affairs and took a keen interest in all public enterprises, advising, directing and often aiding with his influence and money.
"He was one of the organizers of the Medford Bank, which was organized in 1890, and served as president of it for two full years.
"In his immediate family he leaves a companion, one son and three daughters to mourn their loss. Outside of the immediate family many near relatives and a host of friends share with the family the loss as heartfelt and personal.
"In Mr. Stewart's life there is a tribute to the nobility of true manhood and to those qualities of sterling worth which made his life a success. He was an unusually strong, healthy man, never ill to speak of, until about two years ago; but since that time he has been a great sufferer, though he has borne the suffering and pain with the fortitude and courage so characteristic of him, often affirming that he believed he would get well and be strong again.
"He thought deeply and for himself upon all subjects--religion included--and often during his illness he spoke of the future, saying in his characteristic way: 'I'd like to explore the future life and know what it is,' and expressing himself as entirely ready to go when his time should come.
"The end has come. 'The Golden Bowl is broken and the Pitcher at the fountain; the Silver Cord is loosened and the Wheel broken at the Cistern.' We weep and yet we mourn not as those who have no hope."
The funeral cortege was met at the schoolhouse by the members of Medford Lodge, A.F.&A.M., and escorted to the cemetery, where the last sad rites were performed under the rules of the Masonic order.
At the head of the procession was the white horse and the buggy used for many years by Mr. Stewart, in which was seated the officiating minister and the grandson of the deceased, HOWARD HILL.
Medford Mail, July 13, 1906, page 1
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IN the death of Hon. J. H. Stewart Rogue River Valley has lost one of its most progressive and enterprising citizens. A citizen who has done more than any one man in the county to bring the fruit industry to its present point of importance and prosperity. When Mr. Stewart first came to this valley in 1885, the growing of fruit other than for home use was unthought-of. [Fruit was marketed on a limited basis regionally as early as the 1860s. Some sources credit A. J. Weeks with planting the first commercial orchard in 1883.]
HIS trained, practical mind grasped the situation and its possibilities at once. He planted the first commercial orchard in the valley [This does not mean he planted the first orchard.] and in 1890 shipped the first carload of fruit ever sent to foreign markets. Since that time the industry has grown to immense proportions, and to the initiative of Joseph H. Stewart this growth and prosperity is attributable.
MR. STEWART was the fourth in point of age of ten brothers, and was the first of the ten to pass away. The youngest brother of the ten is fifty-three years of age and the oldest about eighty.
Medford Mail, July 13, 1906, page 4
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THE DEATH OF A FORMER CITIZEN
Hon J. H. Stewart, Formerly of Quincy and Adams Co., Died in Oregon.
HANNIBAL, Mo., July 24.--News has been received in this city of the death of the Hon. J. H. Stewart at his home in Medford, Jackson County, Ore. He was for many years prior to and during the war a resident of Hannibal and owned the Col. Hatch farm, which he sold to Col. Hatch about the year 1860. He originally resided in Payson, Ill., and afterwards moved to Quincy. He now has a brother residing in Quincy, a superannuated minister of the gospel. He was well and favorably known by all the older citizens of Hannibal.
The Quincy Daily Whig, Quincy, Illinois, July 25, 1906, page 4
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JOSEPH HOWARD STEWART STATE PARK is built on an old homestead from the 1940s. Fruit grew here in grand orchards, in the beginnings of Oregon's commercial pear industry. You can still see some old pear trees and apple trees and walnut trees scattered around the park. You will find historic fruit trees along the trail at Wolf Creek Inn State Heritage Site as well.
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The genealogy of Joseph Howard Stewart
Reference: The Genealogies of Virginia Families from Tyler's Quarterly Historical Magazine, Vol. I, No. 1, page 525
"The marriage of William Stewart and Elizabeth Kay transfers our interests across seas, and we give record of William's father and grandfather.
FROM THE STEWART FAMILY BIBLE
John Stewart married Isabella Vance, Newtownards County Down, Ireland.
Children of Isabella Vance and John Stewart
Joseph born April 1800 (Newtownards, Ireland)
William October 29, 1802 (Newtownards, Ireland)
John March 11, 1804 (Newtownards, Ireland)
James January 20, 1806 (Newtownards, Ireland)
Alexander July 12, 1808(Newtownards, Ireland)
Gilbert April 20, 1815 (Newtownards, Ireland)
Isabella, Jr. July 2, 1826 (Newtownards, Ireland) Possibly in Cutler, Maine where the family moved in 1825.
William Stewart married Nancy Marston, May 6, 1823, in Cutler, Me. (William came over 2 years before the rest.)
Children of William Stewart and Nancy Marston:
Maria 24 Mar 1824
Mary Isabelle 8 Feb1826
John 21 Feb 1826
William 18 Jun 1830 d. 26 June 1926
*Adamson 9 Feb1832
Joseph Howard 22 Nov 1833 married Elizabeth Hyman
George Edwin 5 Jul 1835
(The family moved from Cutler, ME, to Adams County, Illinois in 1836.)
Isaac Newton 19 Jul 1837
Florinda Terry 12 Feb1840 m. James Wise
Henry W. 23 May 1842
Francis Marian 9 Sep1844
Emma 16 May 1847 m. William Stemhoff
Cyrus 6 Jul 1849
Vinet Vance 14 Dec 1853
*Note: 3rd son of William and Nancy was Adoniram, but in the above history it is written as Adamson.
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There is much biographical material about Joseph Howard Stewart and his father from the book "THE HISTORY OF ADAMS COUNTY, ILLINOIS, 1879, beginning with the photo of J. H. Stewart opposite page 434. The book in its entirety can be read online at the following link:
http://www.archive.org/details/historyofadamsco00murr
Pages can be downloaded by right clicking, clicking save image as (or save target as) and designating what folder to save the pages into.
The entire PDF file of the book may be downloaded by right clicking PDF and SAVE to computer.
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Joseph Howard Stewart sold his house and property to Captain Gordon Voorhies.
"Captain Gordon Voorhies has the largest producing orchard in the Rogue River Valley. He has 605 acres in orchard, most of which is in bearing. One hundred and ten acres of his trees are 18 and 20 years old. This tract Captain Voorhies bought from J. H. Stewart, known as the father of the fruit industry of Southern Oregon, for $20,000 ten years ago. This was the first large sale of fruit land in the valley and started much comment at the time. Medford Mail Tribune, September 13, 1910, page 8
One of the buildings located on the property was burned in 2008 and video captured on YouTube.
OLD HOUSE BURNS ON VOORHIES MANSION PROPERTY
Medford firefighters douse what's left of an old house that burned on the Voorhies Mansion property early Wednesday, December 4, 2008.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znxI-JUyJDA
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To see some wonderful postcards of Medford roads and machinery in the 1890s, refer to Ben Truwe's website:
http://id.mind.net/~truwe/tina/roadwork.html
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Josephh Howard Stewart and Siblings:
* Linked on Find A Grave
1 Maria Stewart Thompson (1824 - 1903)*
2 Mary Isabella Stewart Totten (1826 - 1858)*
3 John Stewart (1828 - 1907)*
4 William Stewart (1830 - 1926)*
5 Adoniram Judson Stewart (1832 - 1912)*
6 JOSEPH HOWARD Stewart (1833 - 1905)*
7 George Edwin Stewart (1835 -
8 Isaac Newton Stewart (1837 - 1913)*
9 Florinda Terry Stewart
10 Henry Willard Stewart (1842 - 1909)*
11 Francis Marion Stewart (1844 - 1920)*
12 Emma Stewart (18479
13 Cyrus Stewart (1849 - 1910)*
14 Vincent Vance Stewart (1853 - 1929)*
For more information contact J H Stewart descendant, Patricia
http://truwe.sohs.org/files/stewart.html
JOSEPH Howard's father was William, and his mother Nancy Marston. Father of William Stewart was John Stewart, and wife Isabella Vance. (Reference: The Genealogies of Virginia Families from Tyler's Quarterly Historical Magazine, Vol. I, No. 1, page 525.)
Joseph Howard Stewart married Elizabeth Hyman
November 30, 1854
Quincy, Illinois
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Profile of Joseph Howard Stewart, given in Atlas of Adams County, Illinois, 1872, published by Andreas Lyter and Company, page 47, OLD SETTLERS OF ADAMS COUNTY.
HON. JOSEPH H. STEWART was born in Washington county, Maine, November 22, 1833. He is the fourth son of a family of ten sons and four daughters of William and Nancy Stewart, old residents of Adams county. They settled in Payson, in 1836.
The subject of our notice obtained his education in the common schools of Adams county, yet we find him a gentleman of culture, and well versed in the general topics of the day. Until he arrived at the age of twenty, his time was largely spent with his father, who was among the leading nurserymen of Illinois.
When twenty-one years of age, Mr. Stewart was married, November 29, 1854, to Elizabeth Hyman, daughter of George and Margaret Hyman, who were likewise old residents of Adams county, having settled here in 1837. After his marriage, Mr. Stewart removed to Marion couty, MO., where he was engaged in the nursery business five years. He then sold out and came to Quincy and entered into partnership with his brother in the wholesale grocery business, at the same time managing a nursery near the city.
In the acquisition of property, Mr. Stewart has been reasonably successful. The secret of his success was his close application to business, united with a rigid course of honest, fair dealing. He has improved and beautified four different farms, and all show signs of the taste and art displayed.
Mr. Stewart, as a fruit grower, stands in the front rank of those gentlemen in Illinois and the west. He sent the first collection of fruit from Illinois that was ever exhibited before any prominent fruit men in the east, which was before the American Pomological Society, held at Philadelphia, in 1860. He has served on committees at fruit conventions with the well known names of Dr. Wader, Cincinnati, Henry T. Mud, of Missouri and F. R. Phoenix.
Certainluy, Mr. Stewart ranks among the prominent horticulturists of Illinois. In August 1867, he purchased a farm one mile north of Quincy, where he ha made a fine improvement, a view of which will be shown elsewhere in this work. Mr. Stewart has a family of four children.
Politically, he used to be a republican, and voted for Abraham Lincoln on his first presidential nomination, since which time Mr. Stewart has been identified with the democratic party. He was nominated and elected as one of the representatives of Adams county, in the fall of 1870. His name, previous to the day of the convention, had not been talked of, when one of the city delegates proposed it. Mr. Stewart received the largest vote given for any representative that year. He has served four sessions under the new constitution. Mr. Stewart soon took and retained a prominent position among the active and efficient members. Such is, in brief, a synopsis of one who attained these honors by his own industry.
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The earliest settler families discovered southern Oregon to be an hospitable region for raising fruit. By 1869 several small orchards were scattered throughout the valley. Apples, pears and cherries were produced in quantity each year as the young trees developed. For thirty years the production and consumption of fruit was limited primarily to valley residents. In 1887 the completion of the north-south Oregon-California Railroad made it possible to consider shipping produce out of the area. By the end of the decade a small fruit industry was established.
One observer wrote:
"Everybody, young and old, rich and poor, saint and sinner, is engaged in picking, drying, packing or shipping fruit."
In February 1885, Joseph H. Stewart, a nurseryman and fruit grower from the the Quincy Illinois area, on the western border of Illinois and Iowa, specifically the town of Payson, arrived in the Rogue Valley with his family. He planted a large orchard of apples, pears, prunes and almonds a few miles southwest of Medford. His pear trees became a commercial orchard in 1890 when Stewart shipped his first railroad carload of fruit to outside markets. The population of Medford in 1890 was about 1,000.
In 1894 the first Winter Nelis trees were planted, the seedlings were budded to Comice, and the young trees set out in the spring of 1897. Budwood from these trees was taken to produce many of the large orchards such as Hollywood, Hillcrest and Oakdale. By 1900 the population of the Medford area had increased to about 1,800.
W. H. Stewart, son of Joseph Stewart, quite probably transported some of these young trees across town to his orchard land two and one-half miles east of Medford to land eventually known as Hillcrest Orchard, purchased from William Stewart in 1903, and today is still producing fruit for sale, for commercial purposes, including a winery, holding events such as weddings, and products for sale in a general store in addition to the shipment of fruit to the retail market.
http://hillcrestorchard.com/index.php
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Hon. J. H. Stewart, who purchased H. C. Howard's place in Eden precinct, started for his home in Illinois Sunday evening. He will return with his family as soon as he disposes of his large interests there. Mr. S. will plant several thousand apple and pear trees and several acres of strawberries as soon as he takes possession of his new farm.
"Personal Mention," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, March 27, 1885, page 3
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Mr. J. H. Stewart, whom we mentioned last week as intending to set out an extensive pear orchard on the farm recently purchased by him between Phoenix and Medford, has discovered a large deposit of chalk or gypsum on the farm which he thinks will be a profitable item of export. He has gone back to his old home in Illinois to sell out his property and settle up his business there preparatory to coming out there to live, and expects to return here in time to set out a large number of fruit trees next fall.
"Brevities," Ashland Tidings, March 27, 1885, page 3
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Joseph Howard Stewart moved to Medford, OR in 1885.
His uncle, Alexander Stewart, arrived in the Medford area in 1871. (See Find a Grave for Alexander Stewart.)
A LIVELY TOWN.--Medford, Or., in Rogue River Valley, a town only fifteen months old, boasts of 126 houses. They are also building a two-story brick hotel and a block of brick business houses 100 feet front. Corner lots are bringing $600, and fairly located lots, 25x100 feet, for dwellings, $75 to $150 each. A paper will be started this week, and it is reported that the Jacksonville distillery soon will be moved there, likewise the foundry from Roseburg.
"Local and General," Morning Oregonian, Portland, February 2, 1885, page 3
Excerpt from Ben Truwe's website:
http://id.mind.net/~truwe/tina/news1885.html
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Hon. J. H. Stewart and family arrived from Quincy, Illinois, this week. As will be remembered, Mr. S. purchased the farm of Henry C. Howard, near Phoenix, a few months ago. "Personal Mention," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, September 18, 1885, page 3
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF WESTERN OREGON, page 479 and 480. The following profile of Joseph Howard Stewart may be be read online and the entire book may be downloaded in PDF or text file at:
http://www.archive.org/details/portraitbiographwo00inchap
Early commercial orchardist; founder of the Medford Bank
JOSEPH HOWARD STEWART
"AS a pioneer fruit-grower of Jackson County, Joseph H. Stewart takes first rank, and his products are shipped to all parts of the United States and Europe. He is a profound student of everything pertaining to horticulture, and is one of the best posted men in his line between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
WHEN he first came to Oregon, people generally questioned the advisability of raising fruit [not true--nearly every issue of every local newspaper of 1883 and 1884 extolled Southern Oregon's virtues as a fruit-raising region], but there are many today who wish they had followed his example.
HIS father, William Stewart, was born of Scotch parents in the north of Ireland, and upon coming to america about 1821 located on the coast of Maine, in Washington county. He had made a former visit there while sailing before the mast and studying navigation, to which he did not take kindly, having a genius for mechanical invention.
IN Maine he married Nancy Marston, a native daughter of the state, and who, at the time of her death in Quincy, Ill., left seventy-five descendants.
FOURTEEN children were born to William Stewart and his wife, ten sons and four daughters, Joseph Howard, born in Washington county, Me., November 22, 1833, being the fourth son.
AFTER bringing his family to Quincy., Ill., in 1836, William Stewart inaugurated a career which did him credit from many standpoints. Settling on land in Adams county he started a nursery and farming business, and the first fruit-trees brought to Oregon in an ox-train came from this farm.
HE was one of the original Free Soilers, and took an active part in political matters. He was president and one of the foremost promoters of the first agricultural society in the state of Illinois, organized in 1854, supporting the same by his hearty zeal and co-operation the remainder of his life. Mr. Stewart died in 1859, at the age of fifty-six years, leaving his family and friends a legacy of an honored name and to those dependent upon him a comfortable inheritance.
OWING to early association with his father's nursery [in Adams County, Illinois], Joseph H. Stewart had scant opportunity for attending school, a deficiency which has since spurred him to unusual effort along educational lines.
AT the age of twenty-one he married, in Quincy, Ill., Elizabeth Hyman, who was born on the Atlantic ocean while her parents were en route to America from Germany. Her father, George Hyman, was a tailor by trade, and in 1836 located in Adams county, Ill., where he died at an advanced age.
IN 1853 Mr. Stewart removed to Hannibal, Mo., taking with him an already established reputation as a practical fruit-grower, having taken many premiums at state exhibits, and served on fruit commissions.
IN 1860 he removed to Quincy, and there engaged in nursery business until 1884. While residing there in 1869 he made the first large exhibit of fruit in the east, showing one hundred and twenty varieties of pears and apples at the American Pomological Society held in Philadelphia.
IN 1870 he was elected to the state legislature and during the session secured the passage of the drainage law. During the building of the levee at Quincy, in 1878, he superintended the work in the Indian grave drainage district.
AMBITIOUS and resourceful, he firmly believed that Oregon held exceptional opportunities for the fruit grower, and in the spring of 1884 he took a trip to the state, investigating the soil and general prospects.
WELL pleased with what he found, he returned to his family in the fall, and in February, 1885, located in the Rogue River Valley.
TWO months later found him in Illinois, negotiating for the sale of his property, with the proceeds of which he removed his belongings to the coast. Needless to say, fruit trees constituted a large part of the outfit.
THE first year in the valley he had one hundred and sixty acres under orchard, and the next year an additional one hundred acres. In 1890 he shipped the first carload of fruit out of Jackson County [even the 1885 newspaper announcing Stewart's arrival in Medford makes it clear that fruit is already being shipped in quantity], and in 1896 his output consisted of ninety-five carloads of apples and pears.
MR. STEWART has sold the first two orchards which he started, and at present has about four hundred acres devoted exclusively to apples and pears.
IN 1898 Mr. Stewart built a fine residence in the Cascade Mountains, on the Upper Rogue River, surrounded by thirty acres of orchards, and fitted with every modern improvement. He has taken an active part in the business life of Medford, and in 1899 was one of the organizers of the Bank of Medford, owning the bank building and serving as the president of the concern for two years, and then its vice president. The bank is one of the solid financial institutions of the county and is incorporated for $50,000.
MR. STEWART is encouraging fruit growing in his children, and his son William is one of the large fruit-ranchers of Jackson County. One child, June I., died at the age of twenty, and he had three daughters, Mrs. A. J. Weeks, Mrs. H. M. Crowell and Mrs. D. R. Hill [Cora Elizabeth]. Mr. Stewart was a Democrat in political affiliation, and fraternally was a charter member of Blue Lodge No. 103, A.F.&A.M. of Medford."
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Hon. J. H. Stewart is preparing to ship no less than nine carloads of Bartlett pears to Chicago during the coming summer, and will have oceans of fruit of all kinds. We trust he will receive ample reward for his nerve in giving orcharding a fair treat on a scale in this valley, as he has expanded a big fortune already on his splendid orchard.
Democratic Times, June 9, 1893 p. 2
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A FRUIT FARM THAT PAYS
THE FRUIT farm of J. H. Stewart, situated half-way between Phoenix and Medford, about ten miles north of Ashland, presents an attractive scene of busy industry this week. The great Bartlett pear orchard of 60 acres planted by Mr. Stewart six or eight years ago is beginning to yield its generous returns for the vigilant labor and intelligent care expended upon it, and the first crop of consequence is now being picked and shipped.
PAGE & SONS, of Portland, have bought the entire crop at 1 1/2 cents per pound. Mr. Stewart picks the pears and delivers them in boxes to Page & Sons at the packing [?] on the farm. Here they are wrapped and boxed by Page's people, after which Mr. Stewart delivers them at the cars.
TWENTY SEVEN woman and girls are employed packing the fruit and about as many men are at work picking, boxing and hauling; so the farm, as remarked at first, is a busy camp at present.
THE CROP is picked and shipped at the rate of a carload a day, and will make from twelve to fifteen carloads, bringing Mr. Stewart about $4,000. The girls are paid by Page & Sons 4 cents per box for wrapping and packing the pears. They are camped in tents on the farm.
THIS ORCHARD is an object lesson to people interested in fruit growing in Southern Oregon. The trees are free from the scale and the fruit is free from the grub of the codlin moth.
CAPT. TIEL and R. S. Barclay, of Ashland, visited the orchard last Monday, and George W. Crowson, of this place, and Mr. Sheffield of Portland were there Tuesday. They advise everyone who may be inclined to grow discouraged over the fruit business, on account of the orchard pests that have appeared within the past few years, to go and see the clean tress and fruit of Mr. Stewart's orchard. He shows that an orchard may be kept free of the San Jose scale and that apples and pears may be saved from the damages of the codlin moth.
THE TIDINGS will have more information in a future issue concerning Mr. Stewart's successful orchard management.
The Tidings, Sept 1, 1893 Page 3
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NEARLY thirty females have been employed at Hon. J. H. Stewart's farm near Phoenix,[Oregon] the past few weeks, in wrapping and packing Bartlett pears for the western and northwestern markets. The product of the entire orchard of sixty acres has been purchased by F. H. Page & Sons at 1 1/2 cents per pound and is of the finest quality. As abut fifteen carloads will be shipped, Mr. Stewart will receive abut $4,000 gross for his pears. He is one of the most prominent, painstaking and intelligent horticulturists on the coast, and well merits his success. Democratic Times, September 8, p. 3 'Here and There."
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Hon. J. H. Stewart, who has been ill for several days, is considerably improved at this time. Dr. Pickel is in attendance.
"City Happenings," Medford Mail, February 10, 1905, page 5
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Hon. J. H. Stewart, the well-known orchardman and capitalist, is lying quite ill at his residence on Oakdale Avenue. Mr. Stewart has been ailing for the past several months, but until lately has been able to be up and around. His friends are hoping to hear of the restoration of his usual good state of health.
"City Happenings," Medford Mail, March 2, 1906, page 5
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DEATH AND FUNERAL OF HON. J. H. STEWART
THE funeral of Hon. Joseph H. Stewart, which took place on Tuesday, July 10th, was one of the most largely attended funerals ever witnessed in Medford.
THE services at the late residence were very simple and impressive, and the esteem in which the departed one was held by his family, his friends and his neighbors could be seen in the grief-stricken faces and the welling tears of those who had assembled to pay the last tribute of respect to the dead.
THE services consisted of singing by Mrs. Vawter, Mrs. Pickel and Miss Jones--one hymn, "Beautiful Isle of Somewhere," being particularly impressive and appropriate. Then came scripture reading, prayer and the reading of the following tribute to Mr. Stewart, by Rev. F. W. Carstens:
"Joseph H. Stewart was born in Washington County, Maine, November 22, 1833. Died at Medford, Oregon, at 9:00 p.m., Saturday, July 7, 1906; aged seventy-two years, six months and twenty-two days. When twenty-one years of age, at Quincy, Ill., he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Hyman, who now, as the faithful companion of years, survives him, sorrowing.
"After his marriage he resided for a time in Hannibal, Mo., but in 1860 removed to Quincy, Ill., where he established a nursery and engaged very successfully in fruit raising, taking many premiums at state exhibits and such-like places. In 1870 he was elected to the state legislature, serving with great acceptability.
In 1884 he made a trip to Oregon, believing--from what he knew of the country--that Oregon would be an unexcelled place for growing fine fruit, berries, etc. So much pleased was he that February, 1885, found him located in Rogue River Valley. As early as 1890 he began to realize from his new orchard of the West. That year he shipped a carload of fruit--the first that was ever shipped from Jackson County. [TTons of fruit were already being shipped out of the valley in 1884--the year Stewart arrived. A carload of apples was shipped to Portland that same year. See the next obituary.]
In 1896 his output was ninety-five carloads of pears and apples. He has been called the 'father of the fruit industry in Oregon,' and, as his old friend, Dr. Geary, once said, 'Every fruit tree in Rogue River Valley will be a monument to his memory.'
"He was a man of affairs and took a keen interest in all public enterprises, advising, directing and often aiding with his influence and money.
"He was one of the organizers of the Medford Bank, which was organized in 1890, and served as president of it for two full years.
"In his immediate family he leaves a companion, one son and three daughters to mourn their loss. Outside of the immediate family many near relatives and a host of friends share with the family the loss as heartfelt and personal.
"In Mr. Stewart's life there is a tribute to the nobility of true manhood and to those qualities of sterling worth which made his life a success. He was an unusually strong, healthy man, never ill to speak of, until about two years ago; but since that time he has been a great sufferer, though he has borne the suffering and pain with the fortitude and courage so characteristic of him, often affirming that he believed he would get well and be strong again.
"He thought deeply and for himself upon all subjects--religion included--and often during his illness he spoke of the future, saying in his characteristic way: 'I'd like to explore the future life and know what it is,' and expressing himself as entirely ready to go when his time should come.
"The end has come. 'The Golden Bowl is broken and the Pitcher at the fountain; the Silver Cord is loosened and the Wheel broken at the Cistern.' We weep and yet we mourn not as those who have no hope."
The funeral cortege was met at the schoolhouse by the members of Medford Lodge, A.F.&A.M., and escorted to the cemetery, where the last sad rites were performed under the rules of the Masonic order.
At the head of the procession was the white horse and the buggy used for many years by Mr. Stewart, in which was seated the officiating minister and the grandson of the deceased, HOWARD HILL.
Medford Mail, July 13, 1906, page 1
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IN the death of Hon. J. H. Stewart Rogue River Valley has lost one of its most progressive and enterprising citizens. A citizen who has done more than any one man in the county to bring the fruit industry to its present point of importance and prosperity. When Mr. Stewart first came to this valley in 1885, the growing of fruit other than for home use was unthought-of. [Fruit was marketed on a limited basis regionally as early as the 1860s. Some sources credit A. J. Weeks with planting the first commercial orchard in 1883.]
HIS trained, practical mind grasped the situation and its possibilities at once. He planted the first commercial orchard in the valley [This does not mean he planted the first orchard.] and in 1890 shipped the first carload of fruit ever sent to foreign markets. Since that time the industry has grown to immense proportions, and to the initiative of Joseph H. Stewart this growth and prosperity is attributable.
MR. STEWART was the fourth in point of age of ten brothers, and was the first of the ten to pass away. The youngest brother of the ten is fifty-three years of age and the oldest about eighty.
Medford Mail, July 13, 1906, page 4
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THE DEATH OF A FORMER CITIZEN
Hon J. H. Stewart, Formerly of Quincy and Adams Co., Died in Oregon.
HANNIBAL, Mo., July 24.--News has been received in this city of the death of the Hon. J. H. Stewart at his home in Medford, Jackson County, Ore. He was for many years prior to and during the war a resident of Hannibal and owned the Col. Hatch farm, which he sold to Col. Hatch about the year 1860. He originally resided in Payson, Ill., and afterwards moved to Quincy. He now has a brother residing in Quincy, a superannuated minister of the gospel. He was well and favorably known by all the older citizens of Hannibal.
The Quincy Daily Whig, Quincy, Illinois, July 25, 1906, page 4
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JOSEPH HOWARD STEWART STATE PARK is built on an old homestead from the 1940s. Fruit grew here in grand orchards, in the beginnings of Oregon's commercial pear industry. You can still see some old pear trees and apple trees and walnut trees scattered around the park. You will find historic fruit trees along the trail at Wolf Creek Inn State Heritage Site as well.
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The genealogy of Joseph Howard Stewart
Reference: The Genealogies of Virginia Families from Tyler's Quarterly Historical Magazine, Vol. I, No. 1, page 525
"The marriage of William Stewart and Elizabeth Kay transfers our interests across seas, and we give record of William's father and grandfather.
FROM THE STEWART FAMILY BIBLE
John Stewart married Isabella Vance, Newtownards County Down, Ireland.
Children of Isabella Vance and John Stewart
Joseph born April 1800 (Newtownards, Ireland)
William October 29, 1802 (Newtownards, Ireland)
John March 11, 1804 (Newtownards, Ireland)
James January 20, 1806 (Newtownards, Ireland)
Alexander July 12, 1808(Newtownards, Ireland)
Gilbert April 20, 1815 (Newtownards, Ireland)
Isabella, Jr. July 2, 1826 (Newtownards, Ireland) Possibly in Cutler, Maine where the family moved in 1825.
William Stewart married Nancy Marston, May 6, 1823, in Cutler, Me. (William came over 2 years before the rest.)
Children of William Stewart and Nancy Marston:
Maria 24 Mar 1824
Mary Isabelle 8 Feb1826
John 21 Feb 1826
William 18 Jun 1830 d. 26 June 1926
*Adamson 9 Feb1832
Joseph Howard 22 Nov 1833 married Elizabeth Hyman
George Edwin 5 Jul 1835
(The family moved from Cutler, ME, to Adams County, Illinois in 1836.)
Isaac Newton 19 Jul 1837
Florinda Terry 12 Feb1840 m. James Wise
Henry W. 23 May 1842
Francis Marian 9 Sep1844
Emma 16 May 1847 m. William Stemhoff
Cyrus 6 Jul 1849
Vinet Vance 14 Dec 1853
*Note: 3rd son of William and Nancy was Adoniram, but in the above history it is written as Adamson.
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There is much biographical material about Joseph Howard Stewart and his father from the book "THE HISTORY OF ADAMS COUNTY, ILLINOIS, 1879, beginning with the photo of J. H. Stewart opposite page 434. The book in its entirety can be read online at the following link:
http://www.archive.org/details/historyofadamsco00murr
Pages can be downloaded by right clicking, clicking save image as (or save target as) and designating what folder to save the pages into.
The entire PDF file of the book may be downloaded by right clicking PDF and SAVE to computer.
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Joseph Howard Stewart sold his house and property to Captain Gordon Voorhies.
"Captain Gordon Voorhies has the largest producing orchard in the Rogue River Valley. He has 605 acres in orchard, most of which is in bearing. One hundred and ten acres of his trees are 18 and 20 years old. This tract Captain Voorhies bought from J. H. Stewart, known as the father of the fruit industry of Southern Oregon, for $20,000 ten years ago. This was the first large sale of fruit land in the valley and started much comment at the time. Medford Mail Tribune, September 13, 1910, page 8
One of the buildings located on the property was burned in 2008 and video captured on YouTube.
OLD HOUSE BURNS ON VOORHIES MANSION PROPERTY
Medford firefighters douse what's left of an old house that burned on the Voorhies Mansion property early Wednesday, December 4, 2008.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znxI-JUyJDA
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To see some wonderful postcards of Medford roads and machinery in the 1890s, refer to Ben Truwe's website:
http://id.mind.net/~truwe/tina/roadwork.html
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Josephh Howard Stewart and Siblings:
* Linked on Find A Grave
1 Maria Stewart Thompson (1824 - 1903)*
2 Mary Isabella Stewart Totten (1826 - 1858)*
3 John Stewart (1828 - 1907)*
4 William Stewart (1830 - 1926)*
5 Adoniram Judson Stewart (1832 - 1912)*
6 JOSEPH HOWARD Stewart (1833 - 1905)*
7 George Edwin Stewart (1835 -
8 Isaac Newton Stewart (1837 - 1913)*
9 Florinda Terry Stewart
10 Henry Willard Stewart (1842 - 1909)*
11 Francis Marion Stewart (1844 - 1920)*
12 Emma Stewart (18479
13 Cyrus Stewart (1849 - 1910)*
14 Vincent Vance Stewart (1853 - 1929)*
For more information contact J H Stewart descendant, Patricia
Family Members
Siblings
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Maria Stewart Thompson
1824–1903
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Mary Isabella Stewart Totten
1826–1858
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John Stewart
1828–1907
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Rev William A Stewart Jr
1830–1926
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Capt Adoniram Judson Stewart
1832–1912
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George Edwin Stewart
1835–1919
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Dr Isaac Newton Stewart
1837–1913
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Florinda Terry "Flora" Stewart Wickham
1840–1897
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Henry Willard Stewart
1842–1909
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Judge Francis Marion Stewart
1844–1920
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Cyrus Stewart
1849–1910
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Vinet Vance Stewart
1853–1929
