A genealogy blog about the migration generation of my McKee Family line, including bios, transcribed obituaries, photographs, and research notes.



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Monday, June 18, 2018

William Stewart...A bit of a breakthrough

Here are links to the prior posts for William Stewart and family:
https://alexandermckee.blogspot.com/2011/11/william-stewart-1854-to-before-1910.html
https://alexandermckee.blogspot.com/2016/08/ella-jane-mckinley-stewart-1863-1910.html

The breakthrough involves the death of William's son, Wesley James Stewart.

I've been buried in newspaper research for two or three years now and I've been updating all of the Find A Grave memorials with all that I find so that the information is in the public domain. I've just submitted an update for Wesley's Find A Grave memorial because I've located an obit for him. Here it is.

Iola Daily Register And Evening News, Iola, Kansas, 7 Jul 1922, Page 3
Mr. James Wesley Stewart passed away last evening at six o'clock at his home 508 East Monroe street after a lingering illness. Funeral services will be held from the home tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 o'clock with the Rev. E. W. Spencer officiating. Burials will be made in Highland.


This interesting thing is that a few days later a Card of Thanks is published that indicates that Wesley's father William is still living and I'm guessing he's in Iola, Allen, Kansas.

Iola Daily Register And Evening News, Iola, Kansas, 11 Jul 1922, Page 3
Card of Thanks.
--We wish to express our thanks to our friends and neighbors for their kindness and sympathy, also for beautiful floral offerings, during the sickness and death of our husband and son.--Mrs. W. J. Stewart, William Stewart and family, Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Eshelman. 


William's wife's death in Iola in 1910 lends additional support to the notion that William is in the Iola area.

I've search the Kansas State census and the U.S. Federal Census (1910, 1920) to see if I can pick up any trace of William in the Iola area but found nothing. I've also searched (and searched some more) for a trace of William in Iola newspapers using Newspapers.com. No luck other than the one mention noted above. 

So, at this point, my working theory is that William Stewart lives past the 1922 death of his son Wesley when William is 67/68 and that he is living in the Iola area. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!