Reviewed by Shirley Haddock Woodard
Submitted by Robert L. Haddock
Lee A. Stewart
Leonidas A. Stewart was born ca1838 in Shelby County, Tennessee to Henry & Mary (Harrell) Stewart. In the 1860 Shelby Co. census, Lee is listed as a carpenter. On May 24, 1861, Lee enlisted at Jackson, TN in “E” Co., 9th regiment, of the Tennessee Volunteers, CSA. He saw action in several battles of the Civil War, including the Battle of Corinth, the Battle of Shiloh, and the Battle of Murfeesboro, among others.
Between 1865-1870, he moved to Lafayette Co., MS. This is where he met his first wife, Matilda Clementine (Goolsby) Borum. He married Matilda on June 14, 1870. Matilda was from Lafayette Springs, MS and had been widowed a couple of years before, leaving her with a young son, Thomas Borum. After their marriage, Lee and Matilda moved to Little Rock, AR, where Lee got a job working as a carpenter for the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad.
Lee and Matilda had four children:
Luther Lee was born on July 6, 1874, in Little Rock, AR. He first married Annie Harrell, who died around 1900. He then married Aura Moon on Aug. 14, 1901. He died on Jun. 24, 1939, and is buried at Hillcrest Cemetery in Bell County, Texas.
Mattie B. was born on July 6, 1874, in Little Rock, AR. There is no further information about her life.
James Arthur was born on August 7, 1876,in Little Rock, AR. On Apr. 22, 1900, he married Emma Cathcart, who died in 1905. He then married Minnie Turner on Jul. 29, 1906. He died on Mar. 17, 1928 and is buried at Beulah Cemetery in Falls County, Texas.
Freddie B. was born ca1879, in Little Rock, AR. There is no further information about his life.
Matilda Clementine Stewart died on October 12, 1882 and is buried at Oaklawn Cemetery in Little Rock, AR. A year after her death, Lee returned to Lafayette Co., MS and married Ida Josephine Dowlen, also from Lafayette Springs, MS area. After their marriage, they returned to Little Rock, where they lived until around 1887, when they moved to Holly Springs, MS. It is believed that he may have owned a grocery store in Holly Springs. Sometime in July of 1890, a son, Stephen Daniel Stewart, was born to Lee and I. J. Stewart.
Around 1896, Lee Stewart and his children, James Arthur and Dan, moved from Holly Springs, MS to Falls County, Texas, settling near the small farming community of Cego, Texas. There is no record to indicate what became of his children, Mattie B. and Freddie, or his last wife. It is believed that they had all died sometime before the move to Texas. Lee A. Stewart’s eldest son, Luther Lee, had already arrived in Falls County prior to his Dad’s arrival. He moved to Texas in pursuit of Miss Annie Harrell, who he subsequently married on July 29, 1897.
Lee A. Stewart did not establish a of his own, but lived with his sons, Luther and James Arthur for the remaining years of his life. He died sometime in 1912 and was buried at Cego Cemetery, where 80 years later, on November 29, 1992, a Civil War marker would be dedicated to mark the site of his burial.
