First, I have been trying to find out if there was an obituary of Will Stewart in a Wylie, Texas newspaper in 1956. I have discovered only one library that has a collection of The Wylie News that includes the year 1956. That library is the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon, Texas. Canyon is about 20 miles south of Amarillo, which is about a five hour drive from my home in Albuquerque. Thus, if necessary, it would be a doable trip.
But, the museum has an e-mail link to the director of its periodical collection. I have requested research and a copy of any obituary, for which I am willing to pay a reasonable fee. We will see what kind of response I get.
Second, when researching records of Will's and Fannie's divorce, I ran across an index listing a divorce in Franklin County, Tennessee entitled Will Stewart vs. Fannie Stewart which took place in 1909. It is quite possible that this is a coincidence. But the records of this divorce are apparently kept on microfilm, and the Tennessee State Library will send me a copy of the microfilm roll containing these records for $20. I have ordered that roll.
I have also been researching the history of Denison and Grayson County, Texas, to see if I can figure out why Will and Fannie left Denison in 1903 to move to Roswell, New Mexico. I was reminded that Dwight D. Eisenhower was born in Denison in 1890. His house is now a state park.
I also may have found motivation for Will to leave Denison in 1903. On March 7, 1903, the good citizens of Grayson County voted to adopt the local option and become a dry county. ;D
From what we've discovered about Will, I can see where that might have been a problem for him. I bet his dad was all for that, though. I can see them coming down on opposite sides of the issue!
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