Family Correspondence, 1857-1885

Series I consists of correspondence between John William Stewart and his family and friends. Stewart's father died before he reached the age of sixteen and his uncle, Alexander Stewart, may have served as a surrogate father for Stewart. His letters contain advice and counsel for the young Stewart from college into adulthood, including the choice of medicine as a profession. Alexander practiced medicine in Shippensburg for more than thirty years.

Among the topics covered in the letters are the Civil War, travel and religion. On October 1, 1862, Alexander Stewart wrote to his nephew, John, of his encounter with soldiers from Antietam two days following that battle and the whereabouts of his sons, Alexander and John, both of whom were soldiers in the war. In 1866, Stewart's cousin Augusta, wrote him about the enjoyable trip she took on the Mississippi from Rock Island, Illinois to Burlington, Iowa remarking on the boat, the scenery and the company.

Religion was an important part of Stewart's life from his college days onward. His uncle and his mother as well as his friends wrote about the importance of God, prayer meetings and other religious observances and encouraged him to lead a moral life. But belief in the prophecies of legendary British prophetess, Mother Shipton, were also important, as reported by James Russell Miller, a Presbyterian minister and writer, in an 1881 letter.

The Stewart family in Illinois remained in close contact with all their relatives in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Rosa, Stewart's wife, traveled east in early 1878 to see relatives in Emmitsburg and Shippensburg and in a series of letters wrote to him and the children about her visits.

Arrangement is alphabetical by recipient and then by correspondent.