Violets are Blue

There once was a precious little girl named Violet who died at age 2. More than one hundred years later, it is she who helped me unravel a compelling mystery.

The mystery surrounds my mother’s uncle Russell Thomas Stewart. He was the younger brother of my grandfather, John Galbreath Stewart. Russell was born September 16, 1889 to John Galbreath Stewart, Sr., and Mary (McKee) Stewart in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. In another post, I describe how he died bravely on November 2, 1918 at the battle of the Meuse-Argonne during World War I.

Russell T. Stewart, Probably at Camp Lee, Virginia
circa early 1918¹

A telegram announcing he was killed in action was sent to his mother Mary, presumably his next-of-kin. Also, Russell’s draft registration from 1917 indicates he was unmarried. However, there is an obscure reference that indicates Russell was married and in fact had two children. Was he indeed married?

Violet is Mentioned

It so happens that Russell Stewart’s uncle, Joshua Thompson Stewart, was a prominent educator and public servant in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. He published a two-volume history of Indiana County in 1913.² In this work he details the history of the county and the genealogy of hundreds of its families, including his own Stewart family. Russell is mentioned on page 704.

This implies Russell was married and had had two children. One child named Violet died, and another was just born. By itself, the reference to Russell’s children is not sufficient proof that he was married or had children. Although he is Russell’s uncle, Joshua Stewart listed an apparently incorrect birth date of December 24 and also miss-named him “Thomas Russell.” However, Russell is listed in the 1900 Census as “Thomas R.” So it is possible he went by his middle name, Thomas.

Possible Marriage

There is indeed a marriage record for a Russell Stewart and a Grace Davis, both 21.³ This was perhaps a fib for two 20 year-olds who wanted to be married without parental consent. The groom was from Turtle Creek and the bride from nearby Camden. They were married December 24, 1909 in Wellsburg, West Virginia just across the state line, and coincidentally, where my grandparents were also married less than a year later. It is possible that Joshua Stewart mistook the wedding date, December 24, as Russell’s birth date.

By itself, this record is not proof it is our Russell Stewart who was married. It does not list the parents of the bride or groom. It does however indicate he was about the right age, and he lived in the right place. Although he was not born in Allegheny County, he did live there.

The 1910 Federal Census would further corroborate the newlywed’s household. However I am unable to find Russell and Grace as a couple, or Russell or Grace individually, in that census.

Did Russell marry Grace Davis?

Violet Says “Yes”

I found a death certificate for a little girl named Violet Mary Stewart. She died March 10, 1913. She was born December 4, 1910 in Monongahela, which is in Washington County just south of Pittsburgh.

She was treated for pneumonia and discharged. Sadly, one week later she died from a relapse of pneumonia. Here we learn her father was Russell Stewart and her mother was Grace Davis.

So, a Russell Stewart married a Grace Davis December 24, 1909. A child named Violet Stewart was born nearly one year later on December 4, 1910. Her parents were a Russell Stewart and a Grace Davis. Violet died March 10, 1913. Also in 1913 Joshua Stewart published his book and he already knew our Russell T. Stewart, age 23, had a daughter named Violet, who had died.

Violet’s death created a public record that just happens to corroborate Joshua Stewart’s obscure statement, which in turn corroborates the West Virginia marriage record. I therefore conclude that Russell did marry Grace Davis and they had a daughter named Violet.

A False Lead

We also learn that Violet was buried in Roscoe, Pennsylvania, which leads to another clue in the 1900 Federal Census.⁴ It seems this was the same town where her mother Grace Davis grew up. A Grace Davis was born in November 1889, and was just two months younger than Russell. It seems plausible Grace would bury her daughter, who died suddenly, in a familiar area like her home town of Roscoe.

The Mystery Deepens

Russell reported he was single when he registered for the draft in June 1917. What happened to his wife and family? And, why was that telegram of his death sent to his mother rather than his wife? I could find no death record for Grace before 1918. Perhaps they divorced.

A Fall from Grace

One tantalizing, yet unsubstantiated possibility is that Russell abandoned his wife. On October 18, 1913, a Mrs. Grace Stewart, about age 25, tried to commit suicide by leaping from a Pittsburgh bridge. The event was witnessed by “thousands.” She struggled with someone on the Smithfield Street Bridge who tried unsuccessfully to stop her. After she fell sixty feet into the Monongahela River, she was rescued against her will by boat. At the hospital, she said her husband had abandoned her and that she had been ill.

Her name, age and location are consistent with Russell’s wife Grace, but there is no direct proof it was her. There were other Grace Stewarts living in Pennsylvania, but not near Pittsburgh.⁵ Below are accounts from three different newspapers from October 19, 1913, just seven months after Violet died. These accounts differ in precise details. Mrs. Stewart was apparently homeless, or she lived in the vicinity of Carson Street. She also held on tightly to a roll of money.

The Pittsburgh Press reported Mrs. Stewart’s dress buoyed her on the water’s surface until two men rowed to rescue her.⁶ She struggled with them and subsequently became unconscious while being rowed to shore.

The Pittsburgh Gazette Times reported more about the boatman who rescued Mrs. Stewart.⁷ He heard the splash and rowed out to her. He grabbed her as she surfaced. She was conscious and struggled with him.

The Pittsburgh Sunday Post reported a more spectacular story.⁸ It indicated there were thousands of witnesses. Her dress acted as a parachute, slowing her descent. She was then brought unconscious to the surface with a grappling hook and she regained consciousness once on shore.

Grace’s Troubled Life

It’s possible the Mrs. Grace Stewart who jumped from the bridge in 1913 was mentally ill. A Mrs. Grace Stewart, age 56, died September 19, 1945 at the Weston State Hospital in Weston, West Virginia.⁹ Her death certificate indicates she had psychosis for 32 years, meaning since 1913. Her age and the duration of her illness are consistent with the woman who jumped from the bridge and with Grace (Davis) Stewart.

Her last residence was apparently Follansbee, Brooke County, West Virginia. No record of her birth date, her husband or her parents was known by the hospital, although her birth place is listed as Minnesota. Given what little they knew about her, Minnesota is not necessarily correct. The Federal Census corroborates her stay at the hospital. She is listed as a patient there in the 1920, 1930 and 1940 Census, but not in the 1910 Census.

If this Grace Stewart were Russell Stewart’s wife, he was probably forced to abandon her about 1913 due to her psychosis. He may have considered himself single by 1917 and listed his mother as next-of-kin on the draft registration.

Saving Grace

It is possible the Grace Stewart who jumped from the bridge was Russell’s wife. However it turns out she is not the person who was committed to a mental institution. There was another Grace Stewart, and she was identified with the help of Violet’s sister, and her descendants.

Anna Is Discovered

Russell’s second child, who Joshua Stewart identified only as an infant in 1913, did survive. There is a Social Security application for an Anna Mae Sliman, who was born January 6, 1913 in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania.¹⁰ She listed her parents as Russell T. Stewart and Grace A. Davis.

She would have been an infant in early 1913 and was very possibly Russell’s daughter. The dates, names and place corroborate this hypothesis. The fact that she used the name Stewart and knew the names of her parents when she submitted her Social Security application about 1942 implies she was not adopted.  In any event, Anna married her first husband, Eugene Harris, on April 28, 1934 in West Virginia.¹¹

They settled in Canton, Ohio near Cambridge where Eugene was born. The family appeared in the 1940 Federal Census.¹² They had at least one son, Al Gene Harris.

This led to an obituary for Al Harris that listed his children. I contacted his daughter. As a child, she remembered her great-grandmother Grace. Therefore she could not have died in 1945. She also mentioned Grace had a husband named Charles Joliet. That clue led to a 1950 marriage license application¹³ for Charles N. Joliet and Grace A. Davis. Although they married in Jacksonville, Florida, they lived in Canton, Ohio. Grace indicated she was born at Fayette City, Pennsylvania about 1895. Although she was previously married, it appears Davis was not her married name, but her maiden name.

An earlier Social Security claim or application¹⁴ lists Grace A. Davis, her spouse Russell T. Stewart, and her child Anna Mae Harris. That record links all three together.

Later, Grace’s Social Security death record¹⁵ indicates her birthday was April 23, 1895. Recalling that Violet was buried in Roscoe, Pennsylvania, it turns out there was a second Grace Davis who grew up in the same area, very near Fayette City, Pennsylvania. And, her birthday was April 1895. The 1900 federal census shows her as a daughter of Albert and Anna M. Davis.

It is apparent Russell Stewart married this Grace Davis. Even though both claimed they were 21 on their marriage record, both were lying. Russell was actually 20, but Grace was only 14. Furthermore, the 1910 census shows daughter Grace, who would have been 15, is conspicuously absent from the same Davis family.

The age discrepancy is further confirmed on Violet’s birth certificate.¹⁶ Russell reports his actual age, 21, but gives Grace’s age as 17. She was actually 15. Notice Grace was born in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, the same area she later reported on her marriage to Charles Joliet.

Circumstantial evidence suggests Russell had a history of bad behavior. Newspapers from March 1908 reported that a Russell Stewart of Indiana County was charged with fornication and bastardy, which is premarital sex that results in pregnancy. He was found guilty of fornication only.¹⁷

In 1909, a Russell Stewart was reported as returning home from the State College for summer vacation, and returning again in the fall.¹⁸ Therefore it is likely he attended college. Since he married Grace in December, he may have still been enrolled in college and living there when they missed being counted in the 1910 census.

Namesakes?

The names of Grace’s parents are interesting. In the 1920 federal census, Albert Davis’ wife Anna is listed as Anna May Davis. Grace probably named her daughter Anna Mae/May Stewart after her mother, Anna May Davis. Violet’s middle name was also May. Likewise Anna Mae Stewart named her son Albert, probably after her grandfather, Grace’s father Albert Davis.

Still a Mystery

We still do not know why Russell Stewart indicated he was single on his army draft registration, and why the telegram reporting his death went to his mother and not his wife. I suspect Grace’s young age was taboo even then. Perhaps they separated. Perhaps she was encouraged to raise her daughter in some other place.

However Grace and her daughter Anna continued to report the Stewart name on Social Security and marriage records. So it was still meaningful to them. Grace even reports her previous husband was deceased, and that she was not divorced. This assumes she was not previously married to someone else in the intervening years.

More Twists

Not surprisingly, Grace was less than truthful, again. Another marriage record shows Grace Allen Davis, 22 (actually 21) married William Lincoln Dyer in Guernsey County, Ohio on July 24, 1916.¹⁹ She indicated she was not previously married, and also not widowed or divorced. Her middle name, Allen, was probably pronounced similar to Ellen.

With Grace’s new surname, I was able to trace her through the 1920s and 1930s. I suspect she had divorced Russell Stewart shortly after giving birth to Anna Mae Stewart in 1913. If she is indeed the woman who jumped from the bridge, it could have been then.

She came to live in Cambridge, Ohio and William lived in nearby Byesville, where they married in 1916. They moved near Grace’s parents in Roscoe, Pennsylvania where William registered for the draft in 1917.²⁰ He indicated he worked as a coal miner in nearby California, Pennsylvania, and he had a wife and child.

William was probably exempted from the draft. Since he was a coal miner with a dependent child, his family wouldn’t have sufficient income if he were drafted. Although he did not claim an exemption, he was probably classified in Class IV (extreme hardship), and therefore he wasn’t called. William listed his new wife, who was Russell Stewart’s former wife, and Russell’s daughter, who he perhaps had not actually adopted. Russell on the other hand had to indicate he was single, and ironically, he was drafted and later killed in action.

Also in 1917, this Dyer family appears in the Canton, Ohio city directory. By 1920, the census shows they were back again in Roscoe, Pennsylvania.²¹

This census lists William’s “daughter,” Virginia Dyer, age 7. This is almost certainly his step-daughter, Grace’s daughter Anna Mae. She would have been 7 then. The census taker could have made an error, or perhaps they disguised Anna’s presence with a false name.

By 1925 the family was back at Canton, Ohio. But then in 1930 they lived at Roscoe, Pennsylvania again. William had a different occupation every time they moved, so perhaps he was moving back and forth to find work.

Here, Anna Mae is listed correctly as William’s step-daughter, age 17 as expected.²²

Grace and William likely divorced sometime between 1930 and 1934. Grace was back in Canton, Ohio and living on her own in 1934. William married his second wife in 1936. According to city directories, Grace continued to live in Canton under the surnames Stewart, Dyer and Davis, and she sometimes listed herself as the widow of Russell.²³ In 1940 she indicated she was the widow of William, but that is incorrect as he was still living.

Pièce de Résistance

Taken as a whole, there is no doubt Grace Allen Davis was Russell Stewart’s wife. A final piece of the puzzle is a World War I benefits claim filed from Canton, Ohio.²⁴ Someone living at 1432 Third Street SE requested death benefits for Russell. Unfortunately the index card does not give a date, but the claim or claims were filed sometime between 1918 and 1940. Grace lived in Canton many of those years.

There is no evidence yet Grace lived at that address, however her husband William’s brother Earl Dyer lived there in 1925. Even without the connection to the same Dyer family, boarders lived there, according to census records over the years. Grace moved frequently while living in Canton and in fact she lived just around the corner at 1520 Second Street SE in 1940. The actual claim forms will shed more light on this.

The original certificate was inaccurate and Grace corrected it in March 1928. As further confirmation, she lists Russell’s name as “Russell T. Stewart” and her name as Mrs. Grace Stewart Dyer of Stark County, Ohio, where Canton is located.

Anna’s Descendants

At some point Grace’s daughter Anna attended college and became a registered nurse.²⁶ According to a Canton city directory, she worked at the Aultman Hospital as a nurse in 1952.²⁷ She is listed along with her son Al at 1309 Piedmont Avenue, NE, which is also were Grace and Charles Joliet are listed. Anna’s husband Eugene is not listed at the same address. There were two other entries for a Eugene Harris.

Anna re-married sometime before March 1960. That is when her name in her Social Security record was revised to Anna Mae Sliman. She probably had married Ernest J. Sliman (1908-1981) in the late 1950s. They had a son together, John Sliman.

After Ernest died in 1981 Anna died February 15, 1995 in Canton, Ohio at age 82.

A Violet Blooms in Heaven

Violet was blue to tell such a sad story with so many mysteries she couldn’t know. She herself died so young. Her mother Grace (Davis) Stewart was only 15 years old. Her father Russell T. Stewart died courageously in France during World War I. Ironically he died in the final minutes of the final battle in which his regiment participated. And, had he and Grace remained married he likely would not have been drafted.

Violet would be happy to know her sister Anna persevered and thrived. Because she had two children of her own, there are now great-grandchildren of Russell and Grace Stewart. All this is known because of a little girl named Violet. She was mentioned in an obscure passage from a two-volume book published in 1913. She would otherwise be a child lost to history.

 

Footnotes

1. Dennis Stewart, MyHeritage.com, Robert M. Stewart Family (https://www.myheritage.com/site-148784861/robert-m-stewart-family : Downloaded 23 June 2016), Thomas Russell Stewart.
2. Joshua Thompson Stewart, Indiana County, Pennsylvania: Her People, Past and Present, 2 Volumes (Chicago, Illinois: J. H. Beers, 1913), Volume I, Pages 704-705; digital images, The Internet Archive, Text Archive (http://www.archive.org/details/indianacountypen01stew : downloaded 9 December 2009.
3. West Virginia, Vital Research Records Project, Page 149, Line 10, Stewart, Russell and Davis, Grace, 24 December 1909; Digital images, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, West Virginia Archives and History (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/ : downloaded 30 May 2016); West Virginia State Archives and the Genealogical Society of Utah.
4. MyHeritage, “Census Records,” database, MyHeritage, WorldVitalRecords (http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/: downloaded 19 July 2016), Davis, David F. and Davis, Mamie and Davis, Grace, Roscoe, Washington, Pennsylvania.
5. See for example: (1) Grace Stewart, born 1897 in Pennsylvania, spouse of Russell Stewart, resided in Bradford, McKean County, Pennsylvania in 1920. (2) Grace Stewart, born 1889 in New York, spouse of Lewis Stewart, resided in Lawrence, Tioga County, Pennsylvania in 1910. (3) Grace G. Stewart, born 1889 in Pennsylvania, spouse of Frank W. Stewart, resided in Oil City, Venango County, Pennsylvania in 1910.
6. The Pittsburgh Press, October 19, 1913, Page 1, Column 4.
7. The Pittsburgh Gazette Times, October 19, 1913, Page 4, Column 2.
8. The Pittsburgh Sunday Post, October 19, 1913, Page 1, Column 3.
9. West Virginia, Vital Research Records Project, Record 10504; Dist. No. 210; Serial No. 241, Grace Stewart, 19 September 1945; Digital images, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, West Virginia Archives and History (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/ : Downloaded 12 July 2016); West Virginia State Archives and the Genealogical Society of Utah.
10. Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original Data: Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936-2007.
11. West Virginia, Vital Research Records Project, Page 356, Eugene Harris, Cambridge, Ohio and Anna Mae Stewart, Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, 28 April 1934; Digital images, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, West Virginia Archives and History (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/ : downloaded 19 July 2016); West Virginia State Archives and the Genealogical Society of Utah.
12. MyHeritage, “Census Records,” database, MyHeritage, WorldVitalRecords (http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/: downloaded 19 July 2016), Harris, Eugene, Canton, Stark, Ohio.
13. Florida, Marriages 1830-1993, Image 824 of 1785, Duval County > Marriage applications, 1949 Nov-1950 Jun; citing multiple County Clerks of Court, Florida, 24 February 1950; digital images, FamilySearch, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ : downloaded 12 July 2019).
14. “U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007,” database, Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com: Viewed 9 January 2020), Grace A. Davis, Russell T. Stewart, Anna Mae Harris; citing Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936-2007.
15. Grace Joliet Apr 1971, Age 76, born 23 April 1895, No SSN, Social Security Administration, “U.S. Social Security Death Index,” FamilySearch (Salt Lake City, Utah: Family History Library).
16. Pennsylvania, Birth Certificates 1906-1911, Violet May Stewart, 4 December 1910; Digital images, Ancestry, Ancestry.com (https:ancestry.com : downloaded 9 January 2020); Pennsylvania (State). Birth certificates, 1906–1911. Series 11.89 (50 cartons). Records of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Record Group 11. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
17. Indiana [Pennsylvania] Democrat, March 4, 1908, page 1, and Indiana [Pennsylvania] Gazette, March 11, 1908, page 19.
18. Indiana [Pennsylvania] Gazette, June 18, 1909, page 1 and Indiana [Pennsylvania] Progress, September 22, 1909, page 13.
19. Ancestry.com. Ohio, County Marriage Records, 1774-1993 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Grace Allen Davis, William Lincoln Dyer, 24 Jul 1916, FHL 000894943.
20. Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509. William Lincoln Dyer, No. 3067. Pennsylvania; Washington; Roll: 1926886; Draft Board: 4.
21. Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. William Dyer, Roscoe, Washington, Pennsylvania; Roll: T625_1660; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 241.
22. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002. United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626. Roscoe, Washington, Pennsylvania. William Dyer, Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 0097; FHL 2341897.
23. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011, Canton, Stark, Ohio, various years.
24. “United States, Veterans Administration master index, 1917-1940,” digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ : downloaded 20 January 2020), Russell Thomas Stewart, Stevens, Eugene A. – Stockwell, Joseph Maaz, dup roll 222A, pt. 2 of 4, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3M4-S796-X?i=5583&cc=2968245&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AWM27-12MM; Veterans Affairs master index, prior war file 76193916, RG 15, 1917-1940.
25. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania (State). Birth certificates, 1906–1913; Box Number: 528; Certificate Number Range: 8551-11400. Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, U.S., Birth Certificates, 1906-1913 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015, downloaded 21 November 2021.
26. Ancestry.com and Ohio Department of Health. Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, & 1958-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Original Data: Ohio. Division of Vital Statistics. Death Certificates and Index, December 20, 1908-December 31, 1953. State Archives Series 3094. Ohio Historical Society, Ohio. Ohio Department of Health. Index to Annual Deaths, 1958-2002. Ohio Department of Health, State Vital Statistics Unit, Columbus, OH, USA.
27. “U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995,” database, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com: downloaded 22 July 2016), Canton, Stark, Ohio, 1952, Mrs. Anna M. Harris, 1309 Piedmont Ave., NE, Page 702.