www.sapling.family
Your lineage threads together three principal streams: an Irish current out of Limerick and Cork that crossed to Baltimore at the turn of the twentieth century; a Scottish line out of Aberdeen that landed in Philadelphia in the 1870s; and a deep colonial-American substrate rooted in North Carolina, West Virginia, Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi, and East Texas, with surnames pointing toward English, Welsh, and Scots-Irish family origins.
Your surname, Stewart, comes from a line that the source traces to George Robert Stewart (c. 1823–1899) of North Carolina, who moved his family to Martinsburg, West Virginia, by 1850 and worked as a coal miner. His son Alexander Reginald Stewart (1867–1924) was a third-generation miner who later moved north to Pittsburgh and worked at a steel company. In Pittsburgh he married Estelle Mae Lewis (1877–1956), whose parents — Gabriel Lewis (1848–1916) and Mary Louise McDougal (1851–1932) — had emigrated together from Aberdeen, Scotland, in the mid-1870s and ran a grocery on Congress Street in Philadelphia. Alexander and Estelle's son Thomas Edward Stewart (1910–1994), your paternal grandfather, served in the 2nd U.S. Armored Division and fought at the Battle of the Bulge, returning to attend engineering school at Northwestern.
Thomas married Anne Elizabeth Thompson (1916–2001) in Chicago in 1941. Anne's father, John S. Thompson (1886–1971), worked Mississippi riverboats and served in the U.S. Navy in World War I; his line — through Samuel Edward Thompson Sr., Esq. (1854–1920) — runs back through Tuscaloosa and St. Louis to Virginia roots. Anne's mother, Annabelle Hector (1891–1974), came north from Mobile, Alabama, where the Hector family had settled in the early 1820s.
Your mother's surname, Kennedy, runs straight to Limerick, Ireland. Your maternal great-grandfather Patrick Thomas Kennedy (1881–1942) emigrated in 1898 at the age of seventeen — part of the long Irish out-migration following the Famine — and settled in Baltimore by 1902, where he worked as a stevedore on the docks, joined the AFL-affiliated Dockworker's Union, and was naturalized in 1912. He married Mary Louise Ryan (1889–1928), herself born in Cork, who had emigrated with her parents to Philadelphia in 1910 before the family moved on to Baltimore. Their son Alexander Patrick Kennedy (1922–2005) became a floor manager at the Ford Motor Company in Detroit, where he and his wife raised your mother, Margaret Elizabeth.
Margaret's mother — your maternal grandmother — was Mary Louise Grenville (1926–2002), born in Helena, Arkansas. Her father, Samuel J. Grenville (1891–1961), had worked the docks at Helena before rising to a manager's position at a General Motors automobile plant in Detroit; the Grenville line traces back to a Mississippi sharecropping family in Meridian. Mary's mother, Nancy Wilson (1898–1960), came from a long-established East Texas family rooted in Fairfield, Freestone County, whose people had arrived there over several generations from Georgia and, before that, Virginia. Her father, Rev. Milton Wilson Sr. (c. 1859–1930), was a Baptist minister there for decades.
— Professor Cisco Bradley, Sapling.Family · May 2026The subject of this report. The pages that follow trace his lineage as the source preserves it — five generations reaching back through coal-country West Virginia, immigrant Philadelphia, riverboat Mississippi, dockside Baltimore, and East Texas pulpits, gathered in turn-of-the-twentieth-century industrial Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.
He graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.S. in Chemistry in 1979 and then worked for Braden Engineering Corporation from 1980 until 1994, at which time he attended the University of Chicago for a Master's degree in Chemical Engineering. In 1997, he got a job working as a plant manager at the Alistaire Company.
Child from this marriage → Full source record in Appendix.She graduated from the University of Tennessee with a B.A. in Library Science and worked at the University of Chicago Library, 1977–2002.
→ Full source record in Appendix.
He grew up in Pittsburgh where he attended high school before volunteering for the U.S. army in 1940. He served in the 2nd U.S. Armored Division and fought at the Battle of the Bulge, December 16, 1944 to January 25, 1945, receiving a Bronze star for his service. After returning from military service, he attended engineering school at Northwestern University, where he graduated in 1950. From 1950 until 1985, he worked as an engineer for the J&R Manufacturing Company in Chicago.
Children from this marriage
She attended Purdue University 1936–1940, graduating with a B.A. in English. Through the 1940s and 1950s, she worked as a journalist for the Chicago Sun newspaper. She ran for city council in Chicago, serving four terms representing the west side from 1962–1970. In 1980, she made an unsuccessful attempt at running for U.S. Congress in Illinois' 2nd district. She continued to be involved with civic affairs until her death.
→ Full source record in Appendix.
In 1950, he and his family lived at 4857 Glenville Road in Detroit, MI, where he worked as a floor manager at the Ford Motor Company. The family remained at that address until at least 1962.
Children from this marriage
He grew up in Martinsburg, West Virginia, where he was a third-generation miner, beginning work at age 16. He was drafted into the U.S. 83rd Infantry for service in the Spanish-American War, but the war ended before he was deployed in active service. By 1900, he had moved north to Pittsburgh, where he worked for the Pennsylvania and Ohio Railroad Company. In 1901–15, he and his family rented an apartment at 344 Allegheny Avenue, but by 1922, they had bought a house at 1216 Crestwood Street, where they remained until his death. In Pittsburgh, he worked at a steel company through the years.
Children from this marriageShe grew up in Philadelphia as the daughter of two immigrants who had arrived in the mid-1870s. She attended East High School and graduated in 1895. She attended East Pennsylvania Teachers College 1896–1897 and taught at Benjamin Franklin Elementary School 1897–1901. She was involved in many civic organizations, including the Women's League, and was an active member of St. John's Episcopal Church for many years.
→ Full source record in Appendix.
He worked on riverboats on the Mississippi beginning in 1905 and was drafted into the U.S. Navy in 1918, serving in World War I. After returning from the war, he got a job working in an airplane manufacturing company in Indianapolis where he worked in 1920. By 1930, they had bought a house at 1644 Wright Street which was worth $15,000. He continued working as a swabber in the factory there at that time. When the company went out of business in 1936 during the Great Depression, he moved his family to Chicago, where he worked at the Crane Company through World War II. In 1949, he shifted to working in an auto parts manufacturing company in Chicago, which he did until he retired in 1961. He and his family were members of the First Presbyterian Church of Chicago.
Children from this marriageShe came north from Mobile with her parents in 1907 when her father got employment in one of the factories in Indianapolis. She attended Northeast Technical High School and graduated in 1909. She worked a few years as a teacher. After taking a break to raise their children, she returned to work as a secretary at Illinois Mutual Life Insurance Company from 1938 until 1956.
→ Full source record in Appendix.
He emigrated from Ireland to the United States in 1898 at the age of 17 (probably stopping first in New York). He settled in Baltimore by 1902, where he worked as a stevedore on the Baltimore docks. He was a member of the Dockworker's Union affiliated with the AFL. He was naturalized as a citizen in 1912. He registered to vote in Baltimore in 1914, 1916, and 1920.
Children from this marriage
She emigrated from Ireland with her parents in 1910, living in Philadelphia for a few years before moving to Baltimore. She was raised Catholic and her family attended St. Mary's Catholic Church there.
→ Full source record in Appendix.In 1910, he lived with his parents in Meridian, Mississippi, where he worked as a laborer for the Southern Railway Company. His father and two uncles also worked for the company at the time and they all lived in one house in Meridian. Around 1915, he appears in Helena, Arkansas, where he likely went to work on the docks at the port. By 1920, he and his newlywed wife lived there together, at which time he worked as a ship's pilot on the Mississippi. By 1930, they had moved north to Detroit, where he rose to the position of manager at a General Motors automobile plant. In 1937–1939, they lived at 242 Second Avenue, but by 1940, they lived at 643 Cardinal Road in a house estimated to be worth $40,000. By 1950, the house was worth $150,000.
The family attended Detroit's Second Baptist Church on Morris Avenue, where he served as senior warden in 1945. He is buried in Lockwood Memorial Cemetery.
Children from this marriage.jpg)
She was part of a family that had lived in East Texas for several generations, having originally come from Georgia and prior to that, Virginia. She moved to Helena, Arkansas, with her parents by 1910 and she graduated from Helena Northern High School in 1916.
→ Full source record in Appendix.He and his family moved from North Carolina to Martinsburg, WV, by 1850, where he worked as a coal miner. They remained there in 1860, at which time he continued in the same line of work and owned land worth $600. In 1870, they ran a farm there with real estate worth $800.
Child from this marriage → Full source record in Appendix.In 1871, he lived in Aberdeen, Scotland, where he worked as a huckster of wares. In 1880, he and his family lived in Philadelphia, PA, where he worked as a grocer. In 1900–1920, they owned a house at 75 Congress Street, in Philadelphia, where he and his wife continued to run a grocery.
Children from this marriageHis family had roots in Virginia. In 1880, he lived in Tuscaloosa, AL, where he attended the University of Alabama. He and his family moved to St. Louis, MO, in 1885. In 1900, they lived there, where he worked as a lawyer. In 1910, he worked there as a real estate lawyer.
Children from this marriageHis family had settled in Mobile in the early 1820s. In 1880, he and his family owned a house at 259 Jewel Street, in Mobile, where he worked as a horse trader. In 1900, they lived at 414 Van Buren Street, in Mobile, where he worked as a livestock auctioneer. He was successful, for in 1910, he was retired, living off of his own income.
Child from this marriage → Full source record in Appendix.He and his wife emigrated to the United States as part of the great Irish immigration after the Potato Famine. They settled in Baltimore, MD, in 1898. In 1900, they lived there and he worked as a shoemaker. In 1910, they still lived in Baltimore and he continued his trade.
Children from this marriageHe and his family emigrated from Ireland to the United States in 1890, settling in Baltimore. By 1900, they rented a house there at 116 Union Street, while he worked as a section hand for the railroad.
Children from this marriageIn 1870, he lived in Meridian, MS, where he worked as a sharecropper. In 1880, he and his family continued to live there and he worked as a fireman for the M&O Railroad. In 1900–10, they rented land and ran a farm in Meridian.
Child from this marriage → Full source record in Appendix.After her husband's death, she moved to Chicago, where in 1920, she worked as a nurse. In 1930, she lived with her niece, Luella Jones, in Chicago, where she ran her own restaurant.
→ Full source record in Appendix.In 1900, they lived in Fairfield, TX, where he worked as a Baptist minister. In 1910, they owned a farm there while he continued to serve the community as a minister. In 1920, as a widower, he lived with his daughter Clarissa in Fairfield, continuing in the same capacity. In 1930, he remained in his daughter's household, by then retired.
Children from this marriageClick any name to see that ancestor's full record. Paternal line on top in rust; maternal line on the bottom in green.
A curated selection of direct ancestors whose lives the source preserves in particular detail.
Jason's paternal grandfather. Pittsburgh-raised, he volunteered for the U.S. Army in 1940 and served in the 2nd U.S. Armored Division, fighting at the Battle of the Bulge from December 16, 1944 to January 25, 1945 — the last great German counter-offensive on the Western Front. He received a Bronze Star for his service. After the war he attended engineering school at Northwestern, graduating in 1950, and worked as an engineer for the J&R Manufacturing Company in Chicago for thirty-five years.
Jason's paternal grandmother. Purdue-trained in English (B.A., 1940), she worked through the 1940s and 1950s as a journalist for the Chicago Sun. She then ran for Chicago city council and served four terms representing the west side from 1962 to 1970. In 1980 she made an unsuccessful run for U.S. Congress in Illinois' 2nd district, and remained involved in civic affairs until her death.
Born in Limerick, Ireland, in 1881, Patrick emigrated to the United States in 1898 at the age of seventeen — part of the long Irish out-migration that followed the Potato Famine. He settled in Baltimore by 1902, where he worked as a stevedore on the docks and joined the AFL-affiliated Dockworker's Union. He was naturalized as a citizen in 1912 and registered to vote in Baltimore in 1914, 1916, and 1920. His marriage to Mary Louise Ryan, herself born in Cork, brought together two Irish lines on American ground.
Family photographs preserved with the source. Each caption places the image in Jason's family tree.
The full Silver legacy genealogy report, embedded with its internal cross-reference links intact. Click any underlined name to jump to that ancestor's entry in the source.