William Floyd Stewart

(1864 - 1935)

William Floyd Stewart was the fifth child of Allen Winfield and Mariah Catherine Stewart. William Floyd first appears in the 1870 Floyd Co., KY census. Except for younger brother, John Frank who is born in November of 1871, the entire family of Winfield and Mariah are together.

William F., his brothers and sisters, lost their father about 1873 or 1874 and were raised by their mother until she returned to Scott Co. VA and married widower David Baldwin in 1879. On the 23rd of June, 1880 the census of Scott Co. for the De Kalb District enumerates William (15), his younger brothers Henry (11) and John (8) with David and Maria Baldwin and David's daughter Martha. At this time William can read and write and is listed as a Farm Laborer, probably for his step-father who is a farmer.

On Monday, the 13th of March, 1882, W.F. Stewart and M. J. Flanery obtained a marriage license from J. M. Johnson, Court Clerk for Scott county. They are married at the house of Samuel Estepp who performed the marriage. W. F. Is 21 and M. J. Is 18. The license lists their parents as Winfield and Maria Stewart, and Auburn and C. Flanery. [Mary Jane is actually a Meade, see below.] W.F.'s occupation is Farmer. On Sunday, May 28 their first child Sarah Helen is born.

Will books 10 and 11 of Scott Co. give accounts of William F. Stewart's guardianship of William M. Flanery from May 1, 1882 until May 13, 1889. Such items as a Reader and Elementary English Grammar, tuition, medical attendance by J. R. Carter, and books and services rendered by H. S. Gillenwater. Why W.F. was appointed guardian or indeed, why William M. Flanery needed a guardian is still a question. Two William Flanery's born to Albert and Catherine are both older than William F. and are unlikely to need care by someone younger. Further research is needed here.

By 1900 William F. And his wife Jane have moved to Glamorgan in Wise Co., VA where he is a miner. The Twelfth Census for the Gladeville District (part of), taken on June 5, enumerates William F., his wife Jane and their children; Matthew (15), Conley W. (12), Willie E. (10), Calley M. (8), Clarence M. (4) and Charly (1), six sons and one daughter. William F. and Jane report that they have been married for 20 years having 7 living children. All are listed as having been born in Virginia as were their parents. Both William F. and his oldest son David are coal miners with William having no unemployed months and Matthew being unemployed for one month. William and Matthew can read and write while Jane and her younger children can not. The younger children have not attended school. Their residence is a house that is rented. The houses next door are also rented. One family being the James King family and, on the other side, the James Justice family. Nannie Justice, who would marry her neighbor Conley W. Stewart four years later, was just 8 years old at this time.

Ten years later, on April 30, 1910, the census finds Floid and his wife Jane still in the Gladeville District of Wise co., VA. Matthew, Conley, William E. And Calley have moved out of their parents house leaving Clarence, Charles P. and two new children, Tanny M. (10) and Arley A. (7). Oddly, Floid and Jane now say they have been married for 19 years, having had 11 children with 9 living at this time. Floid is a Slate inspector while Clarence is now a coal miner. Both are working and had not been out of work by April 15th. Floid, Clarence, Charles and Tanny can read and, except Clarence, can write. Clarence, Charles and Tanny attended school. Other notations regarding Union/Confederate veteran, blind, deaf or dumb are confusing.

The 1920 census was done in January, 1920. Joseph S. Wasserman enumerated the town of Norton, East, in Wise Co., VA on the 21st and 22 of January. House number 37 of the Norton Coal Company's Camp inside of the Corporation Limit of Norton is the home of Floyd and Jane Stewart. With them are two sons, William E (30) and Arley (18) and Floyd's mother, Mariah Stewart, widowed and 84 years old. All can read and write. Floyd is a miner for the Coal Co. and William is a Laborer. Both are wage workers. By this time only William and Arley remain unmarried.

(oldest son)

Less than two years after the 1920 census, on Wednesday, September 29, 1921, Mariah Katharine Stewart Baldwin dies. About a year later on Monday, July 3rd, 1922, Mary Jane Stewart dies of Apoplexy and is buried at the Highlands Cemetery in Norton two days later. Her Death Certificate notes that she is the daughter of Mack Meade (born in KY) and Kattie Layne (Scott Co., VA) and not the daughter of Auburn and C. Flanery.

Just five months later, on December 8th, 1922, W.F. marries a widow, Katie Ingle, daughter of Bill and Mary Suite. Katie is a native of Virginia and living in Glamorgan at the time of their marriage while Floyd's residence is given as Norton. W.F. is a Foreman, presumably in the mines. Before his remarriage, he may have been living in the Goodwill Center in Norton.

Katie passes away seven years later and W.F. again marries a 46 year old widow by the name of Raney Kilgore on March 22, 1929. Raney was born in Wise County and is a daughter of John Haggard and Elizabeth Boggs. By this time, William Floyd has returned to farming as a profession.

In April 1930, the latest census available was taken. W.F. was 66 and Farming a Truck Farm. Raney Kilgore is listed as his 46 year old wife in 1930 and her two children, Lucy and Thurman Kilgore are listed as step-children. They are living in Glamorgan, in Wise County. It is believed that Ramey was previously married to a Thomas Kilgore.

His Death Certificate shows an erased "widow" and an overwritten "separated" with Raney as his wife. Several decedents report that Floyd was a womanizer which may account for some of the confusion at the time of his death. Other information from his Death Certificate gives the date of death as October 2, 1935 at 12:20 pm. "Sudden death from Myocardial(?) probably cerebral embolus". He worked for 40 years in Coal Mining until 1922. His birthplace is Floyd Co., Kentucky. Parents were "James" (erased) then Winfield Stewart, born in Kentucky and Mariah Neff of Scott Co., VA. Chas. Stewart of Norton was the informant of death. Burial was at Highland Cemetery on October 6, 1935, Fred H. King of Norton as Undertaker.

No will has been found for W.F. Stewart but an Inventory and Appraisement of The Estate of W.F. Stewart was filed on the 24 day of Oct. 1935 and can be found in the Wise Co. Will book 12. Lacy Meador, S. H. Morris on and A.D. Scott were sworn to appraise the personal estate and any real estate.