William D. Stewart died in a V.A. hospital in Dallas, Texas on November 16, 1956. His residence is listed in Wylie, Texas, which is in Collin County. Collin County is immediately south of Grayson County. His date of birth is July 5, 1869, just one year off from the date appearing on the 1900 Census. His birthplace is listed as Arcadia, Louisiana. Arcadia is the parish seat of Bienville Parish.
He is listed as a veteran of the Spanish-American War. Teresa pointed out the he died alone, because the informant providing the information is a registrar from the V.A. and the information comes from V.A. hospital records. The body was removed to a funeral home in Wylie for interment in Wylie Cemetery.
Teresa also sent Sharon a link to a website which catalogs headstones. Sharon found this headstone in Wylie Cemetery (the only headstone for a William Stewart).
The headstone says:
William D. Stewart
CPL [Corporal] TRP [Troop] L 1 [1st] Texas Cavalry
Spanish American War
July 5, 1869 Nov 16, 1956
It's him.
The death certificate lists his father as J.L. Stewart. Will's and Fannie's second son who died at less than one year was named James Lewis. The death certificate lists Will's mother's name as Lovey Wise.
I went on to ancestry.com and filled in this information in Will's profile. Will's father was named James L. Stewart. Teresa sent some links to information about this family, which was prominent in Bienville Parish. One of the links reports that James' and Lovey's son, "Willie," fought in the Spanish-American War, never married, and died November 16, 1956 in a V.A. hospital.
I think it is time to re-write some history.
Upon receiving this news via e-mail, my sister replied:
ReplyDeleteThanks, Al. I can't believe you found the sonofabitch. I figured he died in a ditch. Or maybe I was hoping he had. What a jerk. Grandmother always wondered about him. I think it hurt her that he had run out on her. And I'm not suprised he died alone. Actually I'm glad of it. I'm not really a nice person. At least not to people who hurt my Grandmother.
Well, congratulations on solving the family mystery. Well done. Now we have to find Sharon's wayward Stewart. What is with those Stewart assholes?
Love you,
Ruth
One of the most intriguing facts included in what we discovered yesterday is that in the Stewart family history in Bienville Parish, "Willie D" is listed as dying alone in Wylie, Texas, and it is stated, "He never married." All the while, 150 miles away, his daughter grew up, married, and raised a family without ever meeting him. There are still so many questions and so much sadness.
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