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Charles Stewart (New Jersey politician)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Colonel
Charles Stewart
Etching of Charles Stewart by Max Rosenthal
Member of the Second Continental Congress
In office
1784–1785
Member of the Provincial Congress of New Jersey
In office
1775–1776
Personal details
Born1729 (1729)
Gortlea, County Donegal, Ireland
DiedJune 24, 1800(1800-06-24) (aged 70–71)
Flemington, New Jersey, U.S.
Resting placeBethlehem United Presbyterian Church Cemetery
Grandin, New Jersey, U.S.
SpouseMary Oakley Johnston
Relatives
Occupation
  • soldier
  • politician
Signature
Military career
Service / branchContinental Army
RankCommissory General
Battles / wars

Charles Stewart (1729 – June 24, 1800) was an officer during the American Revolutionary War and a Continental Congressman.

Early life

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Charles Stewart was born in 1729 in Gortlea, County Donegal, Ireland to Robert Stewart, an Ulster Scots gentleman. His paternal grandfather, Charles Stewart, was an officer of dragoons and fought for William III of England at the Battle of the Boyne. Gortlea was given to his grandfather by William III for his war service. He emigrated to the United States in 1750 and pursued a career in agriculture.[1] After 1763, he lived at Lansdown, his mansion in Landsdown, New Jersey.[2]

Personal life

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Stewart married Mary Oakley Johnston (d. 1771), daughter of Judge Samuel Johnston (1706–1785), who owned a large estate in Hunterdon County, New Jersey.[3][4]

General Farrand Stewart Stranahan was his great-grandson. Another great-grandson was Charles Seaforth Stewart.

Career

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Stewart was commissioned lieutenant colonel of militia in Hunterdon County, New Jersey on April 10, 1771, and commissioned colonel of a battalion of Minutemen on February 15, 1776.[5] He served in four sessions of the Provincial Congress of New Jersey (1775–76).[citation needed]

After the outbreak of war, he was appointed commissary general of issues by the Continental Congress on June 18, 1777. Stewart later became a New Jersey delegate to the Second Continental Congress in 1784 and 1785.[5]

Death

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Stewart died June 24, 1800, at a farm he owned on Mt. Carmel (Coxe's Hill) in Flemington.[1] He is interred at the Bethlehem United Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Grandin.[6]

Gravestone of Stewart in Bethlehem Presbyterian Cemetery

References

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  1. ^ a b Snell, James P. (1881). History of Hunterdon and Somerset Counties, New Jersey. Everts & Peck. p. 252.
  2. ^ Brasch, C.F. (July 23, 1977). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Lansdown". National Park Service. With accompanying 5 photos
  3. ^ Mott, George S. (1878). The First Century of Hunterdon County, State of New Jersey. Flemington, N. J.: E. Vosseller. pp. 32–35.
  4. ^ Kuhl, John W. (Spring 2009). "Charles Samuel Stewart (1795–1870), Navy Chaplain" (PDF). Hunterdon Historical Newsletter. 45 (2). Hunterdon County Historical Society: 1058–1060.
  5. ^ a b "Stewart, Charles". history.house.gov. Retrieved 2021-09-26.
  6. ^ "List of all graves" (PDF). Bethlehem United Presbyterian Church. p. 23.
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