John Wolcott Stewart

John Wolcott Stewart
33rd Governor of Vermont
In office 1870–1872
Lieutenant	George N. Dale
Preceded by	George W. Hendee
Succeeded by	Julius Converse
United States Senator from Vermont
Preceded by	Redfield Proctor
Succeeded by	Carroll S. Page
Personal details
Born	(1825-11-24)November 24, 1825 Middlebury, Vermont
Died	October 29, 1915(1915-10-29) (aged 89) Middlebury, Vermont
Political party	Republican
Profession	Lawyer

John Wolcott Stewart (November 24, 1825–October 29, 1915) was an American lawyer and politician from Vermont. He served as Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives and as the 33rd Governor of Vermont before serving in the United States House of Representatives and briefly in the U.S. Senate.

Born in Middlebury, Vermont, Stewart attended the Middlebury Academy and graduated from Middlebury College in 1846. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1850. He became the prosecuting attorney of Addison County from 1852 to 1854.

Stewart served as a member of the Vermont House of Representatives in 1856, and then was a member of the Vermont Senate from 1861 to 1862. He returned to the state House from 1865 to 1867, serving as speaker, and then became the governor of Vermont from 1870 to 1872. Later he returned to the state House for a single year, in 1876, again serving as speaker.

Stewart was elected as a Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives in the 1882 election. He was subsequently reelected and served from March 4, 1883 to March 3, 1891. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1890, but instead engaged in the banking business at Middlebury.

Stewart was appointed to the Senate on March 24, 1908, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Redfield Proctor, and served until October 21 of that year, when a successor was elected. After this he retired from political life and active business pursuits, and resided in Middlebury until his death. He is interred in West Cemetery.

Family

Stewart married Emma Seymour Battell on November 21, 1860, the daughter of Philip Battell and Emma Hart Seymour, who was the daughter of Senator Horatio Seymour. Seymour was the brother of Representative Henry Seymour, and the uncle of Representative Origen Storrs Seymour and New York Governor Horatio Seymour, who was the brother-in-law of Senator Roscoe Conkling. Seymour was also the great-uncle of Representative Edward Woodruff Seymour, who was the son of Origen Storrs Seymour.

Philip Battell's great-grandmother Mehitabel "Mary" Sherman was the sister of the Founding Father and Senator Roger Sherman. Philip's grandmother, Martha "Patty" Sherman Mitchell, was the widow of the Reverend Justus Mitchell and the daughter of Mehitabel and Roger Sherman's brother, the Reverend Josiah Sherman, who was also the great-grandfather of Senator Chauncey Depew. Roger Sherman was also the grandfather of Senators Roger Sherman Baldwin, William M. Evarts and George Frisbie Hoar.

Sources

• Seymour-Conkling family of New York Political Graveyard
• Baldwin family of Connecticut Political Graveyard
• Hoar family of Massachusetts Political Graveyard
• A Dance to Remember: Emma Hart Seymour, Philip Battell, and the Commencement Ball of 1826
• Phillip Battell Biographies of Addison County, Vermont
• John Wolcott Stewart Biographies of Addison County, Vermont
• John W. Stewart Middlebury College
• "Museum Offers a Look into the Life of local Jewel, Jessica Swift” Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History
• Swift House Inn

• United States Congress. "John Wolcott Stewart (id: S000917)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.