Finding James Edward Stewart

While the biggest challenge of my ancestry research has been the total lack of origins for my great-grandparents Fortune Stewart and Rebecca Payne, it has also been a challenge to put together the stories of their sixteen children.  One of the biggest mysteries has been what happened to their fifth and youngest son James Edward Stewart.

James Edward was born September 3, 1874 in Williamsport in Grant County West Virginia and in 1880 he was living with his parents there.  On March 8, 1899 he married Elizabeth Washington in Mineral County; she was the daughter of Garrett and Sylvia Washington, born April 2, 1880 in Petersburg.  In 1900 James Edward and Elizabeth were living in Piedmont at the home of his widowed sister-in-law Margaret Washington Cooper and her son Harry.  He was a laborer at the pulp mill in Luke, Maryland.  

While living in Piedmont in 1901 James Edward and Elizabeth had their first daughter Dorothy R (09/29/1901-11/24/1972) who would marry Jasper Harold McBride and Scott Charles Farley. After marriage she moved in New Castle, Pennsylvania.  It appears Dorothy had but lost a son. 

Before 1906 James Edward and Elizabeth moved to Allegheny County Maryland where James Edward Jr.  was born.  They then moved to Ogden Row in Clarksburg.  James Edward Jr. (11/06/1906-09/1978) would marry Juanita Y Barnett on October 12, 1930 in Clarksburg.  Juanita had been born in Alabama, but was raised in Clarksburg.  They had one daughter in 1932 and continued to live in Clarksburg. 

In 1914 James Edward and Elizabeth had twins in Clarksburg:  an unnamed son (11/30/1914-11/30/1914) and Juanita Edith (11/30/1914-09/29/2002).  Juanita Edith would marry Richard E Ogden on October 17, 1938. They lived in New Castle, Pennsylvania where they had a daughter and a son.

In 1920 Elizabeth was living on Clay Street in Clarksburg with three of her children:  Dorothy (19), Edward (14), and Juanita Edith (5).  She was a laundress working out of her home. (James Edward may have been living in Parkersburg in 1920.)  In 1930 Elizabeth was living in Clarksburg with her daughter Juanita Edith (18).  On February 17, 1934, Elizabeth died of diabetic mellitus in her home at 510 Water Street in Clarksburg.  She was buried in the Stonewall Burial Park in Clarksburg.

In the 1930s James Edward moved to Braddock in Allegheny County Pennsylvania.  In 1940 James Edward was living on Wilkins Avenue in Braddock with his second wife Jennie.

After recently finding a major database of Pennsylvania death records I got lucky in finding one for James Edward Stewart Sr.

James Edward died February 26, 1947 in Braddock in Allegheny County Pennsylvania of a cerebral hemorrhage.  He had been living at 1164 Paxico Street with his wife Jennie.  His daughter Dorothy Farley of 929 Rear Moravia Street in New Castle, Pennsylvania was the informant of his death.  He was buried in Braddock Cemetery.  His birth date appeared significantly different from census records and his first marriage certificate.  His daughter did not know who his parents were.  There is no evidence that he ever returned to Williamsport after his parents died.  He may have had some contact with his older brothers who lived in Parkersburg and Belpre, Ohio.  But it would appear he has lost contact with his family after 1930 and his children had no ties to their roots.