The Tale of Three Stewarts

Looking back on the last few generations of my family I discovered that there were three boys name Stewart, three generations in a row, each with decidedly different fates. 

The first Stewart was the 9th child to be born to John C. Feero (1821-1911) and Emeline (Way) Feero (1831-1881) in York, New Brunswick. John and Emeline would eventually end up having 11 children in total but poor Stewart died only 10 and a half months after being born in 1870. John and Emeline also lost another son at an early age when Miles died when he was 2 and a half in 1874. 

The second Stewart was born in Maine in 1885. He was the son of John E. Feero (who was the son of John C.) and Emma (Babcock) Feero. He was one of the older brothers of my great grandmother, Edith Feero. Unfortunately, Stewart also met with a tragic ending at a young age when he died at the age of 10. 

Stewart (in front right, smiling) with his siblings.

Here is how my great grandmother Edith described what happened to her brother when reflecting on her early childhood in Tacoma before moving to Skagway, Alaska for the gold rush. 

"Mother and Father got a chance to take over a farm for half of everything they could raise. Which might have been fine except the owner had been in an asylum twice and we found out he was ready to go again. We had real bad luck on that place. We lost my brother Stewart there. He was out with the men falling trees to make fence rails. One tree fell against another and a branch of the other tree broke off and hit Stewart in the forehead. He died the next morning at 3 am."

I was beginning to think that the name Stewart was cursed but perhaps the third time was indeed the charm. When Edith grew up, married Karl Larson, and started a family of her own she named her first child Stewart. Perhaps she was honoring her lost brother with her choice of a name. Thankfully, this Stewart avoided the tragedy of his preceding namesakes. Born in Skagway in 1908, Stewart would live to see the 21st century, passing away in 2002 in Washington state. He certainly made up his predecessors, living a full life which found him marrying three times (Virginia Van Dyk, Velma Fish and Helene Stoops) and having three children (Leila, Jim, Carolee). (Jim was adopted by Stewart when he was 14 years old.)

(Probably) Stewart operating a mini-steam locomotive at a fair.

I was never able to meet my great uncle Stewart but I was able to get some details about him from his son Jim's wife Jo-Ann (both now residing in Calgary). According to her, Stewart loved to play cribbage and lived to dance (he went dancing just 3 weeks after getting a new hip!). Like many in the family, he was a railroad man, having worked for Northern Pacific Railroad. He was also a bellhop at the Golden North Inn in Skagway. He was fun-loving with a sweet tooth for ice cream and an appreciation for poetry (Robert Service and Wadsworth were favorites). Later in life, he volunteered to drive cancer patients. His third wife Helene, unfortunately, died from brain cancer. 

"He lived thru the century change in 2000. But did not want to live to be 100 because he missed having a girlfriend/wife to snuggle with." 

It's nice to know that the third Stewart on the family tree had a happy ending. 

A Wonderful Care Package of History

Yesterday, I was surprised to receive a care package from my aunt Joyce featuring many historical items. I actually knew the package was coming but I was surprised at how quickly it got to me in Japan. In the past few months, because of Covid-19, mail has really become snail mail with some letters I sent to the U.S. taking two months to arrive.

Anyway, back to the wonderful package. It was full of historical items in the form of books, photos, and some very special items made by my great grandmother. First to come out of the package was a of The Skagway Story, a book that I had been trying to get for a while. The book by Howard Clifford takes a thorough look at the history of the gold rush town of Skagway, the birthplace of my father. It really goes into detail about the events and people that shaped the town. Naturally, my family (specifically the Feeros) were mentioned in several places (bookmarked conveniently by my aunt).

I can't wait to read this thorough account of Skagway history.

Next in the package was a vintage copy of the children's book Benny's Flag. Printed in 1960 (written by Phyllis Krasilovsky and illustrated by W.T. Mars), the book tells the story of Benny Benson, the boy who won a contest to design the flag of Alaska (see my earlier blog entry for more on this). Although the book smells a bit musty, it's in great condition and will a nice addition to our collection of Alaska-related books. (Interestingly, I see that there is a new edition of this book with a new illustrator.) 

The original 1960 edition of Benny's Flag

Here are a couple of the nice illustrations from the book.

I was also pleased to see that my aunt had included some old photos in the package although some of them were prints that I had seen before. Several of the photos that featured a very young me were originally sent to my grandmother and had been passed on to my aunt. However, the most interesting photo was a picture of my aunt celebrating her 11th birthday in the family home in Skagway. The reason she sent me that photo was because she wanted to show me the cabinet that my great grandfather Karl Larson had made. In the photo, it can be seen in the corner of the dining room. He was a very good carpenter who worked for the White Pass and Yukon Railroad. And as you can see, it was quite a unique design, built to fit snuggly into the corner in a triangular fashion. It looks like it was really well-made. I wonder if it's still there as the house is still in use today.

Happy 11th birthday, aunt Joyce!

Finally, not to be forgotten, maybe the most special items in this package were three crocheted snowflakes. These were made by my great grandmother Edith Feero Larson. One of my strongest memories of decorating the Christmas tree each year was the collection of handmade crocheted snowflakes that had been given to us by my great grandmother. Unfortunately, when I was emptying out the house a few years ago before it was to be sold, I couldn't find the ornaments no matter how hard I tried. Hearing this, my aunt Joyce included some similar snowflakes made by great-grandma in the package. And although they aren't the same size and design as my family's set they are still in excellent condition, especially when you consider they are probably 50 to 60 years old! Now, I will be able to put a piece of family history on the Christmas tree every year and eventually I hope to pass these down to my three children so that they can tell their children that their great-great-grandma made these snowflakes. 

My Poor Great-Grandfather Carl, Oops Karl Larson

While researching my family history I have often come across different documents from the time. It's very cool to be able to see sheets from the different census', certificates of naturalization, marriage, etc. especially in someone's handwriting. One thing I've noticed especially though is that my poor great-grandfather Karl Larson (my father's namesake), more often than not, could not catch a break when it came to the correct spelling of his name. You'd think it would be an easy name to spell correctly but on almost fifty percent of the documents I've found, Karl's first name is spelled incorrectly with a "C" instead of a "K." In the 1910 and 1920 census, it was misspelled. In his certificate of naturalization? Misspelled (correct in pencil!). In a book on Skagway? Misspelled in the caption next to his photo (below). In the book's defense, someone wrote on the original photo "Carl" as well. On his own certificate of marriage? Misspelled again! Poor Carl Karl.

Misspelled again! (From the Alaska Geographic book on Skagway)