Biography of Robert Wright Stewart II (1883-1961)
By Joan Stewart Smith, one of his many granddaughters
(with quotes from his son Bruce Maddox Stewart's family history, "Stewart: Heather Lost," 2009)
A soft-spoken, hard-working man, Robert Wright Stewart II was born on 9 Dec 1883 and raised on the Stewart homestead on Vanderkarr Road in Hebron, McHenry County, Illinois. He was the first-born son of John James Stewart I and Francese Elizabeth Nichols, with siblings Donald Herbert Stewart and Mary Nichols Stewart.
Throughout Robert's life as a dairy farmer, he was very interested in agriculture as a science. "At the age of nineteen, in 1902, my father Robert registered and attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, where he majored in agriculture," according to his youngest son Bruce. "He also played football for the Illini team for the two-and-a-half years he was registered."
Robert's university career was unfortunately cut short late in the fall of 1904 when his father became ill. He was required to come home and take over the daily farming operations. Five years later, Robert married Celia Elizabeth Fellows on 13 Oct 1909 in Lyons, Walworth County, Wisconsin.
She was a pretty young schoolteacher called Beth, the daughter of Fred Winslow Fellows and Lilla May Woolsey of Lyons. Robert and Beth met at the home of Robert's uncle Charles Luman Nichols, where she lodged while teaching at the one-room country schoolhouse on Nichols land in Linn, just over the state line in Wisconsin. "I have firsthand knowledge from my father there were quite a few forty-four mile round trip buggy rides between Hebron, Illinois and Lyons, Wisconsin, sometimes ending late at night," said his son Bruce.
Robert and Beth raised a family of six children on their 167-acre dairy farm on the Hebron prairie, Robert's portion of the land he inherited from his father. Their children were: Robert John (m. Sally C. Brown, Ruby Jannisch), Fred Fellows (m. Margaret K. Johnston, Agnes Bruce), Francese May (m. James E. Whitney), Elsie Jean (m. Maurice R. Woodbury), Charlotte Fellows (m. Arthur W. Eggert) and Bruce Maddox (m. Mary Kay Bergin). His brother Donald, who married Beth's sister Dot, inherited the large Stewart Homestead and same amount of acreage, while Robert lived in a smaller house around the corner on Stewart Road. Robert and Beth named it FranElChar Farm, after the first syllable of each of their three daughters.
"He learned to fit into the work ethic of the dairy farmer, having great respect for and loving the highly prized, registered Holstein cattle that he worked with ...," wrote his son Bruce. "He learned the many things a farm boy must learn to survive, and his interest was piqued by the advancing technical requirements of farming. Seldom was the RWS II family required to buy many groceries. We ate well, sustaining life from the land."
Robert had his challenges over the years. His first job to make the farm more productive was to install better drainage of 100 acres of slightly undulating hill land, and of the "Back Forty," comprised of 30 acres of undrained bogland that had never been plowed, and ten acres of virgin Burr Oak forest.
The farm made the transition to modern electrical power and plumbing. There were many additions to the equipment needed for modern farming. In 1923, a summer storm blew down the farm's two silos, which were quickly rebuilt. Then in 1948, the beautiful, long barn built before 1909, burned down, where thankfully no cattle perished. They immediately started construction on a new, modern barn.
Before 1948, Robert and Beth moved out of their farmhouse to "a cute and cozy little house," painted barn red, up the hill from their old farm house. Their children and grandchildren have many fond memories of visiting them there.
"Robert suffered from arthritis, a hernia that never had been taken care of properly, and while still working around the farm, fell and broke a hip," said his son Bruce. "He never walked again without crutches. Today he would have surgery at once and perhaps would have walked again. Ten years later with his full knowledge and request, the medicine he was taking for a heart condition was withdrawn and he died a peaceful death."
Robert died on 10 Oct 1961 at home in Hebron, aged 77, and was buried in South Hebron Cemetery, also known as Stewart Cemetery, down the road from the Stewart farm. Surviving him 16 years, Beth passed away on 25 April 1977, and is buried by his side in Hebron.
On his father's side, Robert descended from the first Stewart homesteaders of Hebron, Illinois (his great grandfather James Stewart and his grandfather Robert Wright Stewart I). On his mother's side, he descended from the first Nichols homesteader of nearby Linn, Walworth County, Wisconsin (his grandfather Samuel John Mills Nichols from Enosburg, Vermont). His 2nd great grandparents, Robert Stewart and Jane Wilson, emigrated from Foss, Perthshire, Scotland in 1786 to Johnstown, Fulton County, New York.
GOLDEN WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
"Mr. and Mrs. R.W. [Robert Wright] Stewart celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Oct. 13th [1959]. Mrs. Stewart was the former Beth Fellows, daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Fred W. Fellows of Lyons, Wisconsin.
"Their children are Robert John of Genoa City, Wis., Fred F. of Riverside, California; Mrs. James Whitney (Francese) of St. Louis, Missouri; Mrs. Maurice Woodbury (Elsie) and Mrs. Arthur Eggert (Charlotte) of Hebron; and Bruce M. [Mary Kay] of Winfield, Ill. There are 23 grandchildren. Mr. and Mrs. Donald H. Stewart, brother of the groom and sister of the bride, were the best man and bridesmaid on that cold Oct. other day, which was also the 17th birthday of the bridesmaid, Ruth ["Dot"] Fellows.
"Mr. and Mrs. Stewart reside on the Franelchar Farm acquired from the government 122 years ago by the first R.W. Stewart."
- Unidentified newspaper 1959
_______________________
There is also a headstone "STEWART, Children of Robert & Beth" in the same cemetery, which is inscribed with more than their 6 children (Robert J., Fred, Francese, Elsie, Charlotte and Bruce). It includes the names of the husband of their daughter Charlotte, Arthur Eggert, and their son Fred's children.
By Joan Stewart Smith, one of his many granddaughters
(with quotes from his son Bruce Maddox Stewart's family history, "Stewart: Heather Lost," 2009)
A soft-spoken, hard-working man, Robert Wright Stewart II was born on 9 Dec 1883 and raised on the Stewart homestead on Vanderkarr Road in Hebron, McHenry County, Illinois. He was the first-born son of John James Stewart I and Francese Elizabeth Nichols, with siblings Donald Herbert Stewart and Mary Nichols Stewart.
Throughout Robert's life as a dairy farmer, he was very interested in agriculture as a science. "At the age of nineteen, in 1902, my father Robert registered and attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, where he majored in agriculture," according to his youngest son Bruce. "He also played football for the Illini team for the two-and-a-half years he was registered."
Robert's university career was unfortunately cut short late in the fall of 1904 when his father became ill. He was required to come home and take over the daily farming operations. Five years later, Robert married Celia Elizabeth Fellows on 13 Oct 1909 in Lyons, Walworth County, Wisconsin.
She was a pretty young schoolteacher called Beth, the daughter of Fred Winslow Fellows and Lilla May Woolsey of Lyons. Robert and Beth met at the home of Robert's uncle Charles Luman Nichols, where she lodged while teaching at the one-room country schoolhouse on Nichols land in Linn, just over the state line in Wisconsin. "I have firsthand knowledge from my father there were quite a few forty-four mile round trip buggy rides between Hebron, Illinois and Lyons, Wisconsin, sometimes ending late at night," said his son Bruce.
Robert and Beth raised a family of six children on their 167-acre dairy farm on the Hebron prairie, Robert's portion of the land he inherited from his father. Their children were: Robert John (m. Sally C. Brown, Ruby Jannisch), Fred Fellows (m. Margaret K. Johnston, Agnes Bruce), Francese May (m. James E. Whitney), Elsie Jean (m. Maurice R. Woodbury), Charlotte Fellows (m. Arthur W. Eggert) and Bruce Maddox (m. Mary Kay Bergin). His brother Donald, who married Beth's sister Dot, inherited the large Stewart Homestead and same amount of acreage, while Robert lived in a smaller house around the corner on Stewart Road. Robert and Beth named it FranElChar Farm, after the first syllable of each of their three daughters.
"He learned to fit into the work ethic of the dairy farmer, having great respect for and loving the highly prized, registered Holstein cattle that he worked with ...," wrote his son Bruce. "He learned the many things a farm boy must learn to survive, and his interest was piqued by the advancing technical requirements of farming. Seldom was the RWS II family required to buy many groceries. We ate well, sustaining life from the land."
Robert had his challenges over the years. His first job to make the farm more productive was to install better drainage of 100 acres of slightly undulating hill land, and of the "Back Forty," comprised of 30 acres of undrained bogland that had never been plowed, and ten acres of virgin Burr Oak forest.
The farm made the transition to modern electrical power and plumbing. There were many additions to the equipment needed for modern farming. In 1923, a summer storm blew down the farm's two silos, which were quickly rebuilt. Then in 1948, the beautiful, long barn built before 1909, burned down, where thankfully no cattle perished. They immediately started construction on a new, modern barn.
Before 1948, Robert and Beth moved out of their farmhouse to "a cute and cozy little house," painted barn red, up the hill from their old farm house. Their children and grandchildren have many fond memories of visiting them there.
"Robert suffered from arthritis, a hernia that never had been taken care of properly, and while still working around the farm, fell and broke a hip," said his son Bruce. "He never walked again without crutches. Today he would have surgery at once and perhaps would have walked again. Ten years later with his full knowledge and request, the medicine he was taking for a heart condition was withdrawn and he died a peaceful death."
Robert died on 10 Oct 1961 at home in Hebron, aged 77, and was buried in South Hebron Cemetery, also known as Stewart Cemetery, down the road from the Stewart farm. Surviving him 16 years, Beth passed away on 25 April 1977, and is buried by his side in Hebron.
On his father's side, Robert descended from the first Stewart homesteaders of Hebron, Illinois (his great grandfather James Stewart and his grandfather Robert Wright Stewart I). On his mother's side, he descended from the first Nichols homesteader of nearby Linn, Walworth County, Wisconsin (his grandfather Samuel John Mills Nichols from Enosburg, Vermont). His 2nd great grandparents, Robert Stewart and Jane Wilson, emigrated from Foss, Perthshire, Scotland in 1786 to Johnstown, Fulton County, New York.
GOLDEN WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
"Mr. and Mrs. R.W. [Robert Wright] Stewart celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Oct. 13th [1959]. Mrs. Stewart was the former Beth Fellows, daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Fred W. Fellows of Lyons, Wisconsin.
"Their children are Robert John of Genoa City, Wis., Fred F. of Riverside, California; Mrs. James Whitney (Francese) of St. Louis, Missouri; Mrs. Maurice Woodbury (Elsie) and Mrs. Arthur Eggert (Charlotte) of Hebron; and Bruce M. [Mary Kay] of Winfield, Ill. There are 23 grandchildren. Mr. and Mrs. Donald H. Stewart, brother of the groom and sister of the bride, were the best man and bridesmaid on that cold Oct. other day, which was also the 17th birthday of the bridesmaid, Ruth ["Dot"] Fellows.
"Mr. and Mrs. Stewart reside on the Franelchar Farm acquired from the government 122 years ago by the first R.W. Stewart."
- Unidentified newspaper 1959
_______________________
There is also a headstone "STEWART, Children of Robert & Beth" in the same cemetery, which is inscribed with more than their 6 children (Robert J., Fred, Francese, Elsie, Charlotte and Bruce). It includes the names of the husband of their daughter Charlotte, Arthur Eggert, and their son Fred's children.
Biography of Robert Wright Stewart II (1883-1961)
By Joan Stewart Smith, one of his many granddaughters
(with quotes from his son Bruce Maddox Stewart's family history, "Stewart: Heather Lost," 2009)
A soft-spoken, hard-working man, Robert Wright Stewart II was born on 9 Dec 1883 and raised on the Stewart homestead on Vanderkarr Road in Hebron, McHenry County, Illinois. He was the first-born son of John James Stewart I and Francese Elizabeth Nichols, with siblings Donald Herbert Stewart and Mary Nichols Stewart.
Throughout Robert's life as a dairy farmer, he was very interested in agriculture as a science. "At the age of nineteen, in 1902, my father Robert registered and attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, where he majored in agriculture," according to his youngest son Bruce. "He also played football for the Illini team for the two-and-a-half years he was registered."
Robert's university career was unfortunately cut short late in the fall of 1904 when his father became ill. He was required to come home and take over the daily farming operations. Five years later, Robert married Celia Elizabeth Fellows on 13 Oct 1909 in Lyons, Walworth County, Wisconsin.
She was a pretty young schoolteacher called Beth, the daughter of Fred Winslow Fellows and Lilla May Woolsey of Lyons. Robert and Beth met at the home of Robert's uncle Charles Luman Nichols, where she lodged while teaching at the one-room country schoolhouse on Nichols land in Linn, just over the state line in Wisconsin. "I have firsthand knowledge from my father there were quite a few forty-four mile round trip buggy rides between Hebron, Illinois and Lyons, Wisconsin, sometimes ending late at night," said his son Bruce.
Robert and Beth raised a family of six children on their 167-acre dairy farm on the Hebron prairie, Robert's portion of the land he inherited from his father. Their children were: Robert John (m. Sally C. Brown, Ruby Jannisch), Fred Fellows (m. Margaret K. Johnston, Agnes Bruce), Francese May (m. James E. Whitney), Elsie Jean (m. Maurice R. Woodbury), Charlotte Fellows (m. Arthur W. Eggert) and Bruce Maddox (m. Mary Kay Bergin). His brother Donald, who married Beth's sister Dot, inherited the large Stewart Homestead and same amount of acreage, while Robert lived in a smaller house around the corner on Stewart Road. Robert and Beth named it FranElChar Farm, after the first syllable of each of their three daughters.
"He learned to fit into the work ethic of the dairy farmer, having great respect for and loving the highly prized, registered Holstein cattle that he worked with ...," wrote his son Bruce. "He learned the many things a farm boy must learn to survive, and his interest was piqued by the advancing technical requirements of farming. Seldom was the RWS II family required to buy many groceries. We ate well, sustaining life from the land."
Robert had his challenges over the years. His first job to make the farm more productive was to install better drainage of 100 acres of slightly undulating hill land, and of the "Back Forty," comprised of 30 acres of undrained bogland that had never been plowed, and ten acres of virgin Burr Oak forest.
The farm made the transition to modern electrical power and plumbing. There were many additions to the equipment needed for modern farming. In 1923, a summer storm blew down the farm's two silos, which were quickly rebuilt. Then in 1948, the beautiful, long barn built before 1909, burned down, where thankfully no cattle perished. They immediately started construction on a new, modern barn.
Before 1948, Robert and Beth moved out of their farmhouse to "a cute and cozy little house," painted barn red, up the hill from their old farm house. Their children and grandchildren have many fond memories of visiting them there.
"Robert suffered from arthritis, a hernia that never had been taken care of properly, and while still working around the farm, fell and broke a hip," said his son Bruce. "He never walked again without crutches. Today he would have surgery at once and perhaps would have walked again. Ten years later with his full knowledge and request, the medicine he was taking for a heart condition was withdrawn and he died a peaceful death."
Robert died on 10 Oct 1961 at home in Hebron, aged 77, and was buried in South Hebron Cemetery, also known as Stewart Cemetery, down the road from the Stewart farm. Surviving him 16 years, Beth passed away on 25 April 1977, and is buried by his side in Hebron.
On his father's side, Robert descended from the first Stewart homesteaders of Hebron, Illinois (his great grandfather James Stewart and his grandfather Robert Wright Stewart I). On his mother's side, he descended from the first Nichols homesteader of nearby Linn, Walworth County, Wisconsin (his grandfather Samuel John Mills Nichols from Enosburg, Vermont). His 2nd great grandparents, Robert Stewart and Jane Wilson, emigrated from Foss, Perthshire, Scotland in 1786 to Johnstown, Fulton County, New York.
GOLDEN WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
"Mr. and Mrs. R.W. [Robert Wright] Stewart celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Oct. 13th [1959]. Mrs. Stewart was the former Beth Fellows, daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Fred W. Fellows of Lyons, Wisconsin.
"Their children are Robert John of Genoa City, Wis., Fred F. of Riverside, California; Mrs. James Whitney (Francese) of St. Louis, Missouri; Mrs. Maurice Woodbury (Elsie) and Mrs. Arthur Eggert (Charlotte) of Hebron; and Bruce M. [Mary Kay] of Winfield, Ill. There are 23 grandchildren. Mr. and Mrs. Donald H. Stewart, brother of the groom and sister of the bride, were the best man and bridesmaid on that cold Oct. other day, which was also the 17th birthday of the bridesmaid, Ruth ["Dot"] Fellows.
"Mr. and Mrs. Stewart reside on the Franelchar Farm acquired from the government 122 years ago by the first R.W. Stewart."
- Unidentified newspaper 1959
_______________________
There is also a headstone "STEWART, Children of Robert & Beth" in the same cemetery, which is inscribed with more than their 6 children (Robert J., Fred, Francese, Elsie, Charlotte and Bruce). It includes the names of the husband of their daughter Charlotte, Arthur Eggert, and their son Fred's children.
By Joan Stewart Smith, one of his many granddaughters
(with quotes from his son Bruce Maddox Stewart's family history, "Stewart: Heather Lost," 2009)
A soft-spoken, hard-working man, Robert Wright Stewart II was born on 9 Dec 1883 and raised on the Stewart homestead on Vanderkarr Road in Hebron, McHenry County, Illinois. He was the first-born son of John James Stewart I and Francese Elizabeth Nichols, with siblings Donald Herbert Stewart and Mary Nichols Stewart.
Throughout Robert's life as a dairy farmer, he was very interested in agriculture as a science. "At the age of nineteen, in 1902, my father Robert registered and attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, where he majored in agriculture," according to his youngest son Bruce. "He also played football for the Illini team for the two-and-a-half years he was registered."
Robert's university career was unfortunately cut short late in the fall of 1904 when his father became ill. He was required to come home and take over the daily farming operations. Five years later, Robert married Celia Elizabeth Fellows on 13 Oct 1909 in Lyons, Walworth County, Wisconsin.
She was a pretty young schoolteacher called Beth, the daughter of Fred Winslow Fellows and Lilla May Woolsey of Lyons. Robert and Beth met at the home of Robert's uncle Charles Luman Nichols, where she lodged while teaching at the one-room country schoolhouse on Nichols land in Linn, just over the state line in Wisconsin. "I have firsthand knowledge from my father there were quite a few forty-four mile round trip buggy rides between Hebron, Illinois and Lyons, Wisconsin, sometimes ending late at night," said his son Bruce.
Robert and Beth raised a family of six children on their 167-acre dairy farm on the Hebron prairie, Robert's portion of the land he inherited from his father. Their children were: Robert John (m. Sally C. Brown, Ruby Jannisch), Fred Fellows (m. Margaret K. Johnston, Agnes Bruce), Francese May (m. James E. Whitney), Elsie Jean (m. Maurice R. Woodbury), Charlotte Fellows (m. Arthur W. Eggert) and Bruce Maddox (m. Mary Kay Bergin). His brother Donald, who married Beth's sister Dot, inherited the large Stewart Homestead and same amount of acreage, while Robert lived in a smaller house around the corner on Stewart Road. Robert and Beth named it FranElChar Farm, after the first syllable of each of their three daughters.
"He learned to fit into the work ethic of the dairy farmer, having great respect for and loving the highly prized, registered Holstein cattle that he worked with ...," wrote his son Bruce. "He learned the many things a farm boy must learn to survive, and his interest was piqued by the advancing technical requirements of farming. Seldom was the RWS II family required to buy many groceries. We ate well, sustaining life from the land."
Robert had his challenges over the years. His first job to make the farm more productive was to install better drainage of 100 acres of slightly undulating hill land, and of the "Back Forty," comprised of 30 acres of undrained bogland that had never been plowed, and ten acres of virgin Burr Oak forest.
The farm made the transition to modern electrical power and plumbing. There were many additions to the equipment needed for modern farming. In 1923, a summer storm blew down the farm's two silos, which were quickly rebuilt. Then in 1948, the beautiful, long barn built before 1909, burned down, where thankfully no cattle perished. They immediately started construction on a new, modern barn.
Before 1948, Robert and Beth moved out of their farmhouse to "a cute and cozy little house," painted barn red, up the hill from their old farm house. Their children and grandchildren have many fond memories of visiting them there.
"Robert suffered from arthritis, a hernia that never had been taken care of properly, and while still working around the farm, fell and broke a hip," said his son Bruce. "He never walked again without crutches. Today he would have surgery at once and perhaps would have walked again. Ten years later with his full knowledge and request, the medicine he was taking for a heart condition was withdrawn and he died a peaceful death."
Robert died on 10 Oct 1961 at home in Hebron, aged 77, and was buried in South Hebron Cemetery, also known as Stewart Cemetery, down the road from the Stewart farm. Surviving him 16 years, Beth passed away on 25 April 1977, and is buried by his side in Hebron.
On his father's side, Robert descended from the first Stewart homesteaders of Hebron, Illinois (his great grandfather James Stewart and his grandfather Robert Wright Stewart I). On his mother's side, he descended from the first Nichols homesteader of nearby Linn, Walworth County, Wisconsin (his grandfather Samuel John Mills Nichols from Enosburg, Vermont). His 2nd great grandparents, Robert Stewart and Jane Wilson, emigrated from Foss, Perthshire, Scotland in 1786 to Johnstown, Fulton County, New York.
GOLDEN WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
"Mr. and Mrs. R.W. [Robert Wright] Stewart celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Oct. 13th [1959]. Mrs. Stewart was the former Beth Fellows, daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Fred W. Fellows of Lyons, Wisconsin.
"Their children are Robert John of Genoa City, Wis., Fred F. of Riverside, California; Mrs. James Whitney (Francese) of St. Louis, Missouri; Mrs. Maurice Woodbury (Elsie) and Mrs. Arthur Eggert (Charlotte) of Hebron; and Bruce M. [Mary Kay] of Winfield, Ill. There are 23 grandchildren. Mr. and Mrs. Donald H. Stewart, brother of the groom and sister of the bride, were the best man and bridesmaid on that cold Oct. other day, which was also the 17th birthday of the bridesmaid, Ruth ["Dot"] Fellows.
"Mr. and Mrs. Stewart reside on the Franelchar Farm acquired from the government 122 years ago by the first R.W. Stewart."
- Unidentified newspaper 1959
_______________________
There is also a headstone "STEWART, Children of Robert & Beth" in the same cemetery, which is inscribed with more than their 6 children (Robert J., Fred, Francese, Elsie, Charlotte and Bruce). It includes the names of the husband of their daughter Charlotte, Arthur Eggert, and their son Fred's children.
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