The Stewart Legacy

 

     Many components built the legacy of William Morris Stewart. His biographers Effie Mona Mack and Ruth Hermann glance over the blemishes on his reputation. They declared his virtues to be as lofty as his appearance at the top of the mountain in the Empire picture in Washington D.C. Another biographer, Russell Elliott, was not so kind. His Servant of Power illustrated times when Stewart did not play fair. Historian David Alan Johnson pointed out some shady Stewart tactics during the Nevada Constitutional Conventions. Accomplishments good and bad numbered many. Historians still try to interpret his legacy from the known facts, but secrets remain that will never be known.

            How much have politicians changed since the Gilded Age? Controversy in Nevada politics continues to this day. Until Senator Harry Reid surpassed Stewart’s length of service in the Senate in 2011, the twenty-eight years of William Morris Stewart claimed the number two for longevity in Nevada. Stewart’s colleague, John P. Jones, held office for twenty-nine years. Stewart’s attendance record at sessions and his voting indicate a high percentage of participation. Stewart loved the job of being a Senator even to the point of turning down an appointment by President Grant to serve on the Supreme Court. The participation of William Sharon and James Fair as Senators during Stewart’s political hiatus from the years 1877-1886 was pitiful. Neither man spent much time in Washington D.C.

            The first terms brought the most valuable contributions by Stewart. Stewart wrote the Mining Laws of 1872. Many parts of this legislation still exist. The fault found here concerned little or no regard for the environment. But then the environment was not an issue on anyone’s radar at that time.

            Stewart worded the Fifteenth Amendment that affirmed black voting rights. It was a controversial topic that came to fruition because of Stewart’s moderate views and ability to compromise. Nevada was the only western state that ratified the amendment. There were times in Stewart’s  career when he might have been called a racist. At one time he was a member of the Know Nothing Party, which did not favor immigration. He tried to get an Indian population removed from a reservation, but it was more about getting mineral rights than treating the Indians poorly. If there was mining involved, Stewart would be for the miners.

            Stewart hobnobbed with many great American historical figures. He considered himself a confidant of Abraham Lincoln. Although their time together was short, the new state of Nevada in 1865 represented a way to help pay for the Civil War. Stewart and Lincoln held several meetings before Lincoln's death in April of 1865. Mark Twain and Stewart lived together for a short time albeit with a love hate relationship. Ulysses S. Grant and Stewart became drinking buddies in California long before Grant became the President of the United States. 

            No one can fault Stewart’s personification of the American spirit. From childhood nothing daunted his desire for a good education for himself or for others. Financing educations for his children, grandchildren and even aspiring young lawyers taxed his generosity and his finances. Educating young lawyers translated into loyalty from them in later years when they held influence.   Stewart championed the University of Nevada causing Congress to channel funds there.  He worked diligently on behalf of establishing a federal mining college and a university for teachers. These projects did not succeed. Unfortunately, as with some of the other positives came a negative.
     Stewart’s vision of an Indian School near Carson City turned native Americans away from their culture. Stewart succeeded in getting legislation that built the Stewart Institute in Nevada. Children from many tribes attended. The one hundred acre campus had many buildings. It turned out to be a cultural disaster. The school philosophy discouraged using native languages. The school encouraged assimilation and loss of native ways. The policies lasted until 1934 when the Indian Reorganization Act included self-determination on the part of native-Americans.
     The Bank Crowd and the railroad magnates notoriously affected policies of the United States during the last half of the nineteenth century. Was Stewart in their pocket? It appears so, but perhaps the truth of the matter was they were in each other's pockets, Stewart yearned for the kind of wealth that his contemporaries possessed. William Ralston, Collis P. Huntington, William Sharon and Leland Stanford were millionaires. Stewart made millions, but lost his fortunes just as quickly.
     A little known part of Stewart's legacy was his contribution of better dairy practices. The Ashburn Farm supplied dairy products as well as championship racehorses. Stewart achieved legislation that provided for all milk entering Washington D.C. to be inspected. This was a small step toward sanitation, but a forerunner of future sanitation practices. Stewart was proud of his dairy operation and often gave tours of his farm.
     Stewart controlled the media in a masterful way. In order to spread the news in a way he deemed responsible, he bought and ran many newspapers during his adult years. The most famous, The Silver Knight and then The Silver Knight-Watchman focused on promoting silver. 

      Stewart had three great loves in his life: family, politics and money. Wealth was his mistress. It intertwined with his loves for his entire life. Stewart never gave up discovering one more silver mine. Striking it rich in the gold fields in 1850 brought him to California in the first place. His beloved wife Annie sacrificed luxuries as he moved around in the rustic mining towns in California and Nevada during the early years of their marriage. Politics thrilled him as he envisioned himself to be the first U.S. Senator from the new state of Nevada. Congressmen still become wealthy during their terms in office. Rumors abounded during Stewart’s career concerning his ethics. News of infidelity on his part never happened, despite the fact Annie and Bill spent time apart. She resided in Europe after the Civil War because her father had been exiled there. Annie also spent time in Europe supervising the girls’ educations and shopping.  When Annie died in the San Francisco car accident, it devastated Stewart.

            Generosity came with its price in regard to the family. Stewart expected all members to do exactly as he directed. When they did not, Stewart took action. How he got away with kidnapping his daughter Anna’s children without any penalty was a miracle. One even died during the four month period they were under his care.

            Historians question Stewart’s role in the “Crime of 1873” when Congress demonetized silver. The facts will never be known if Stewart knew what was going on or was working on behest of California banker William Ralston. The banker's death in 1875 seems to have released Stewart. About that time he became vehement about remonetizing silver on behalf of his constituents in Nevada. Many questioned his motives, but not his enthusiasm and determination to revive the silver standard.

            Stewart led a fearless life during the formative years of the American west. He studied and practiced law, held political office for decades and made and lost fortunes. He refused to participate in duels, but preferred debating. He loved his family with fierce devotion. Although he never spoke to his father again after leaving home at age fourteen, he arranged for his father to get a pension from the War of 1812.

            Part of Stewart’s legacy includes the materials written about him over the years. The following bibliography includes in part what I used to write Angles, Dips and Spurs.

Bibliography

Beebe, Lucius. “Panamint: Suburb of Hell.” American Heritage. December 1954.
pp64-69.
DeCanio, Samuel. "Populism, Paranoia, and the Politics of Free Silver". Yale University.

Drabelle, Dennis. Mile-High Fever; Silver Mines, Boom Towns, and High Living on the Comstock Lode. St. Martin’s Press, New York, 2009. 282p.

Drury, Wells. An Editor on the Comstock Lode. Farrar & Rinehart, New York, 1936. 343p. Illus.

Elliott, Russell R. Servant of Power, A Political Biography of Senator William M. Stewart. University of Nevada Press. Reno, 1983. 347p Illus.

Glass, Mary Ellen. Silver and Politics in Nevada: 1892-1902. University of Nevada Press. Reno, 1969. 242p. Illus.

Goode, James. Capital Losses: A Cultural History of Washington’s Destroyed Buildings. Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington D. C., 1979. Pp.77-79.

Hermann, Ruth. Gold and Silver Colossus; William Morris Stewart and His Southern Bride. Dave’s Printing & Publishing. Sparks, Nevada, 1975. 430p.

Johnson, David Alan. “A Case of Mistaken Identity: William M. Stewart and the Rejection of Nevada’s First Constitution.” Nevada Historical Society Quarterly. 22 (Fall, 1979) pp.186-198.

Johnson, David Alan. Founding the Far West; California, Oregon, and Nevada, 1840-1890. University of California Press. Berkeley, 1992. 474p. Illus.

Lavender, David. Nothing Seemed Impossible; William C. Ralston and Early San Francisco. American West Publishing Company. Palo Alto, 1975. 415p. Illus.

Mack, Effie Mona. “William Morris Stewart”. Nevada Historical Society Quarterly. Centennial of Statehood 1864-1964. Nevada Historical Society. Reno, 1964.

Makley. Michael. The Infamous King of the Comstock; William Sharon and the Gilded Age in the West. University of Nevada Press. Reno, 2006. 291p. Illus.

Pedersen, Elaine L. “Men’s Head and Facial Hair in the Far West: 1873-1899”. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal. September 2001. Vol. 9 Number 4. International Textile and Apparel Association. pp.158-170.

Scheel, Eugene M. Loudoun Discovered. Volume One. Eastern Loudoun: ‘Going Down the Country’ Friends of the Thomas Balch Library. Leesburg, Virginia,2002.

Smith, Grant H. The History of the Comstock Lode; 1850-1897. With new material by Joseph V. Tingley. Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology. University of Nevada Press. Reno, 1998. 328p. Illus.

Stewart, William Morris. “In the Circuit Court of the United States…Ninth Circuit…William Sharon, Complainant, vs. Sarah Althea Hill, Respondent, Oral Argument for Complainant by Wm. M. Stewart” Public Domain.

Stewart, William Morris. Reminiscences of Senator William M. Stewart of Nevada. Brown, George Rothwell, ed. Neale Publishing Company. New York, 1908. 358p. Illus.

Stone, Irving. Men to Match My Mountains; The opening of the Far West, 1840-1900. Doubleday & Company. New York, 1956. 459p.

Young, Bob and Jan. Forged in Silver; The Story of the Comstock Lode. Julian Messner. New York, 1968. 190p. Illus.

Young, Bob and Jan. Seven Faces West. Julian Messner. New York, 1969. 191p.