6 Isaac Mitton Stewart

Stewart, Isaac Mitton
Stewart, Isaac Mitton, Bishop of Draper, Salt Lake county, Utah, from 1856 to 1890, was the son of Bickley Stewart and Alice Hopkins and was born at Burlington, New Jersey, March 14, 1815. He was of Scotch-Irish descent and his father was a soldier of the Revolution under George Washington. His father died when Isaac was but a lad, and the family moved to Illinois, where Isaac (then a young man) became acquainted with Joseph Smith's mission and embraced the gospel. In 1843 he married Matilda Jane Downs. He shared the early persecutions of the Saints, and was on guard near Carthage when the Prophet Joseph and Patriarch Hyrum were murdered. Being driven with the Saints from Illinois, he moved to Kanesville, Iowa, where he remained until the spring of 1852, when he crossed the plains in a company of which he [p.794] was appointed captain. On reaching the Valley he located at what was then called South Willow Creek, now Draper, Salt Lake county. In October, 1856, he was set apart to act as Bishop of Draper Ward, in which capacity he served faithfully until his death, which occurred at Draper March 15, 1890. In 1856 he married Elizabeth White and Emma Lloyd, with whom he had a large family, being the father of twenty children and having eighty grandchildren. Thirteen of his children are now living. They are: James Z. Stewart of Logan; Isaac J. Stewart of Richfield; Joshua B. Stewart, William M. Stewart, Samuel W. Stewart, Charles B. Stewart, Barnard J. Stewart, all of Salt Lake City; Mary Ann Ballantyne, Logan; Alice C. Stringfellow, Draper; Elizabeth Fife, Ogden; Eliza J. Fife, Salt Lake City; Luella E. Lindsay, Montpelier, Idaho, and Nettie P. Stewart, Salt Lake City. Bishop Stewart served three successive terms (nine years) as county selectman of Salt Lake county, and was prominently associated with Judge Elias Smith, Bishop Reuben Miller, Jesse W. Fox and Bishop Archibald Gardner, in the construction of the various canals taken from the Jordan river in the southern part of Salt Lake county. He was strong and energetic in mind and body and had a progressive disposition, always taking an active interest in education. It was largely through his influence that Dr. John R. Park was employed and retained in educational work in Utah. Bishop Stewart was a typical example of a sturdy pioneer, honest and upright in every particular. His life and interests were centered in his religious faith.

Source:
(Jenson, Andrew. Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 4 vols. A. Jenson History Company and Deseret News, 1901-36.)

Additional Information:

Stewart, Isaac Mitton
Birth Date: 14 Mar. 1815
Death Date: 15 Mar. 1890
Gender: Male
Age: 37
Company: Isaac M. Stewart Company (1852)
Pioneer Information:
Captain of company; with 8 people

Sources:
1850 Iowa Census, Pottawattamie Co., p. 129 Source Locations
Ancestral File Source Locations
FIX Deseret News, 18 Sep. 1852, p. 2 FIX Source Locations
Journal History, Supp. to 1852, p. 55 Source Locations

Additional Information:

Isaac M. Stewart Company (1852)
Departure: 19 June 1852
Arrival in Salt Lake Valley: 28 August - 22 September 1852
Company Information:
About 245 individuals and 53 wagons were in the company when it began its journey from the outfitting post at Kanesville, Iowa (present day Council Bluffs).
Isaac M. Stewart Company (1852)

Sources:

Harper, John, Autobiography [ca. 1861]. Source Locations
Hatch, Josephus, Diary. Source Locations
Robertson, Alexander, Autobiography and genealogy of AlexanderRobertson . . . 1916. Source Locations