Background
Stewart, John Wolcott was born on November 24, 1825 in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. Son of Ira and Elizabeth (Hubbell) Stewart.
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Stewart, John Wolcott was born on November 24, 1825 in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. Son of Ira and Elizabeth (Hubbell) Stewart.
Born in Middlebury, Vermont, Stewart attended the Middlebury Academy, and graduated from Middlebury College in 1846. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1850.
He served as Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives and as the 33rd Governor of Vermont before serving in the United States House of Representatives and briefly in the United States Senate. He became the prosecuting attorney of Addison County from 1852 to 1854. Emma was the daughter of Philip Battell and Emma Hart Seymour, who was the daughter of United States. Senator Horatio Seymour.
Stewart"s brother Dugald served as Vermont Auditor of Accounts from 1864 to 1870.
He returned to the state House from 1865 to 1867, serving as speaker, and then became the governor of Vermont from 1870 to 1872. He was the first governor of the state to serve a two-year term.
Until 1870, Vermont governors were elected annually. Later he returned to the state House for a single year, in 1876, again serving as speaker.
Stewart was elected as a Republican to the United States. House of Representatives in the 1882 election.
He was subsequently reelected and served from March 4, 1883 to March 3, 1891. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1890, but instead engaged in the banking business at Middlebury. Stewart was appointed to the Senate on March 24, 1908, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Redfield Proctor, and served until October 21 of that year, when a successor was elected.
Stewart retired from political life and active business pursuits, and resided in Middlebury until his death.
He is interred at West Cemetery, Middlebury, Addison County, Vermont.
Stewart served as a member of the Vermont House of Representatives in 1856, and then was a member of the Vermont Senate from 1861 to 1862.
Married Emma Battell, November 21, 1860.