Twenty-first Century parents sometimes are accused of saddling their offspring with names that will prove to be unmanageable, but this is nothing new. History is littered with given names gone out of fashion, some revived now and then, others abandoned entirely.
Consider the Adelberts Stuart, elder and younger, uncle and nephew, who once called Chariton home. Although both are recorded as Adelbert on their tombstones --- Senior in River View Cemetery, Portland, Oregon, and Junior, in Chariton --- neither used the name, preferring to call themselves "Dell."
The portrait here, which turned up at the museum the other day, is of Adelbert the elder, who at the time the photograph was taken was serving as judge in southern Iowa's Second Judicial District.
Judge Dell Stuart was one of four lawyerly sons produced along with three other children by Thomas (1803-1886) and Philomelia (1812-1885) Stuart, pioneers in the farming community around Monroe County's Melrose --- and buried in the Methodist Cemetery there.
The eldest, Theodore M. Stuart, came to Chariton from Melrose in the 1850s to study and then practice with Col. Warren S. Dungan. Theodore in turn brought his younger brothers --- Thomas B., Adelbert and Frank Q. --- to Chariton and launched them in the legal profession, too.
After the Civil War, the brothers formed a partnership that took advantage of Theodore's various connections to corner the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad's market for legal representation in southern Iowa and farther west. Theodore remained in Chariton, where he founded a family of lawyers that endured for more than a century; Thomas B. operated the office in Albia; Dell, the office in Osceola; and Frank Q., the office in Corning.
Eventually, the partnership was dissolved and the brothers moved on --- Thomas to Denver, Frank to Des Moines, Dell returning to Chariton where he was elected to two consecutive terms as judge of the Second Judicial District, traveling from courthouse to courthouse to hear cases in the counties that formed the district.
In 1890, Dell and his wife, Nettie, decided a change of scene was in order and moved their family west from Chariton to Portland, Oregon. This happened abruptly --- from the viewpoint of onlookers --- and caused a degree of consternation.
But Dell was playing his cards close to his chest --- continuing to collect his salary as judge while exploring the West for a new home and leaving the option of running for a third judicial term in 1890 in Iowa open until the last minute in case relocation plans didn't work out.
John L. Brown, editor and publisher of The Chariton Herald, tried to get a straight answer out of the Stuarts as the summer of 1890 progressed, but was frustrated --- expressing himself this way on Page 2 of The Herald of July 3:
"It was rumored last week that Judge Dell Stuart has effected a partnership in a lucrative business at Portland, Oregon, and that Mrs. Stuart was packing up their household goods for an immediate departure, with the intention of making that place their home. Mrs. Stuart was interviewed but could give no definite information concerning the purposes of the Judge as to whether it was a permanent removal or a summer sojourn he had in view. As he had made arrangements, before leaving, concerning his candidacy for the Judgeship, fearing to damage his prospects by creating a false impression as to his movements, we refrained from any mention of the matter last week, hoping to get some definite information from the Judge before this time. So far no additional information has been received. Mrs. Stuart has gone and the general belief is that it is a permanent removal. Judge Stuart and his estimable family have occupied a high position in social circles and their hosts of friends in this vicinity will regret their departure while wishing them much success and happiness in their newly found home."
During late August, without returning to Iowa, Judge Stuart resigned effective Sept. 1 from his judicial position and a replacement was appointed pending the fall election.
In Portland, Dell established a lucrative law practice and prospered. But he was only 56 when he died on July 5, 1905, of complications following gallbladder surgery at a Portland hospital, survived by his wife, Nettie, and four children --- Anna, Bruce, Wayne and Delberta.
The state of Nettie Stuart's health was among the reasons cited in 1890 for the family's decision to relocate to Oregon. If that were the case, the move was a great success. She outlived her husband by nearly 50 years, dying in Portland during 1951 at the age of 97.
The "other" Dell Stuart was Judge Stuart's nephew, son of Frank Q. and Ida (Penick) Stuart. This young man died June 30, 1902, in Chariton, at the age of 34, of "congestion of the brain" and is buried in the Chariton Cemetery.
No comments:
Post a Comment