John Stewart

John Stewart (August 10, 1825 – March 26, 1915) was a Scottish American immigrant, businessman, Republican politician, and pioneer of Wisconsin and Illinois. From humble beginnings chopping lumber, he founded a lumber business with his brother which made them both millionaires. He also served three terms in the Illinois House of Representatives.

His brother and business partner, Alexander Stewart, served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Early life John Stewart was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, in Canada. At the time of his birth, Canada was still a colony of the United Kingdom. He was raised on his father's farm in York County, New Brunswick, and received a common school education. The area was heavily forested, and Stewart learned about logging and rafting timber in his teenage years.

Lumber business In 1848, Stewart emigrated to the United States, settling first at St. Charles, Illinois. He worked there for about a year before he was joined by his younger brother, Alexander. Hearing of logging prospects in Wisconsin, the two of them hiked north. They walked from Milwaukee to Stevens Point, then from Stevens Point north to what is now Wausau, Wisconsin, arriving on May 4, 1849.

At the time this was a wild frontier, part of Portage County, Wisconsin, which then comprised a vast swath of northern Wisconsin. Shortly after his arrival, Marathon County was carved out of the area surrounding Wausau.

He and his brother went to work in a saw mill, cutting lumber that had been harvested from the nearby forests. Like many other lumbermen of that era, they took their wages in lumber and ran the slabs down the Wisconsin River to the Mississippi River, and on to St. Louis, to sell it at market. John Stewart died at his daughter's home in Aurora, Illinois, on March 26, 1915.