Beginning at the End

Sometime last fall, I grew increasingly curious about the man whose name I saw, heard, typed, and spoke nearly every day.  Andrew P. Stewart.  I wondered where he was from, where he had lived in Atlanta, and where he had worked.  What was his personality was like?  Did he have any children?  What did he have to do with the Center’s early beginnings?  What did the “P.” stand for, anyways?  

I decided to begin my quest for answers at the end of his life...at the cemetery where he is buried.  To some, this may seem a little morose.  While I didn’t realize it at the time, I was searching for a glimpse of the man’s humanity in order to really appreciate and invest in learning about him.  So, one Sunday morning I drove across town to Westview Cemetery.  Since the office at the cemetery was closed that morning, I walked aimlessly around the expansive grounds looking for his name.  After stopping for a moment at the grave of Robert Woodruff (long time President of Coca-Cola, and Atlanta philanthropist), I looked to my left only to see the word “STEWART” engraved on a large stone a few yards away.

                Visiting Andrew’s grave site (which he shares with his wife Frances) had a profound impact on me.  Despite the fact that we had never met and that the Stewarts died almost 100 years ago, I found myself wishing I had brought flowers.  I wanted to give them some expression of gratitude for their lives and the role they played in creating the Center.  Ever since my visit to the Stewarts’ final resting place, my research on their lives has taken on a very different tone—one of deep respect and gratitude to the people who made the work we do at the Stewart Center possible.  

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Andrew Perry Stewart was born in Jackson, Butts County, Georgia on December 14^th, 1848.  In 1865, shortly after the Civil War, Andrew moved to Atlanta at the age of 17.  Upon arriving in Atlanta, he worked as a clerk with F.M. Richardson for 3 years before beginning work with L.B. Langford at one of the largest hardware stores in the city, located on Whitehall Street.   (Stewart’s son Ovid would later marry Langford’s daughter, Eva.)  Andrew purchased the hardware business from Langford upon his retirement and also began a tinning business under the name of “Stewart and Fain.”  The store was known for a large iron dog that stood next to the front door.   Stewart sold the business in 1888.

Andrew ran for the office of tax collector in 1889 at the prodding of his many friends.  He won, and held the position for nearly thirty years, until his death in 1916.  Andrew was incredibly popular and well-liked by the people of Atlanta, who affectionately called him “Uncle Andy.”  

“Probably no citizen of Atlanta is better known or more respected today than Mr. Stewart.  He numbers his friends by the thousands, and every one that comes in contact with him in a business way or socially, counts Andy Stewart as his friend from that day forth.”  

“In every relation Mr. Stewart has been a model man as citizen, husband, father, merchant, official and Christian.  His popularity is phenomenal, and none more enjoys the respect and love of the community.”

In his nearly 30 years in office, Andrew faced little to no competition for the office: “Since his first election Mr. Stewart has had no opposition and will have none this time--a rare tribute to his efficiency as an officer and his popularity as a citizen.” (Atlanta Constitution April 5, 1896)

In 1872, he married Frances (Fanny) S. Manning, son of prominent Atlanta Judge, Jethro M. Manning.  While Andrew and Fannie bore no children of their own, on December 24^th, 1874, a baby boy was abandoned at the home of M.R. Berry with a note that said “To Andrew Stewart and wife, No. 152.”  Andrew and Frances adopted the boy, and named him Ovid Tanner Stewart.  

         
At some point in time (it is unclear what year) Andrew purchased a large piece of land 3 miles southwest of downtown Atlanta, where he maintained a farm.  The 105 acre farm was situated on a hill overlooking the city, and was “part woodland, part pasture, part open field, all acclivity and declivity.”  Numerous fruits were grown at the Stewart farm: watermelons, cantaloupes, figs, grapes, and pears.  Andrew also kept Jersey cows for producing milk and bees for honey.

“Mid the busy scenes of city life he longed for the quieter scenes of the country again.  He bought a farm—just such a one as he had dreamed about—but he did not give up his city associations.  He remained Sunday school superintendent, tax collector and metropolitan looking citizen still.” (Atlanta Constitution, 1893)

It is unclear how long they lived on the farm, but Census records from later years in Andrew and Frances’ lives show that they resided in West End.  In 1910, Stewart’s farmland was developed into the present-day Capitol View neighborhood.  (The neighborhood, initially a suburb of Atlanta, was named for its’ stunning views of the gold-domed capitol building.)  

As a result of his successes in the hardware and tinning business, profits from dairy sales on his farm, a yearly salary of $6,000 as tax collector (equivalent to about $129,000 today), and the eventual sale of valuable real estate (his farm), Andrew P. Stewart was a wealthy man.  “Many men who knew Andrew Stewart when he didn’t have a dollar have lived to see the day when he is independently well off, and none of them have grown very old either.  The cause of his success is owing to his unlimited energy, great pluck and sterling qualities as a business man.”

While Andrew’s popularity and business and political successes are well documented, nearly every article in which Andrew Stewart is mentioned note his charitable nature.

 “An unflinching integrity is accompanied by the gentlest charity, and he is ever ready to protect the interests of the unfortunate to the fullest extent consistent with his duty as a staunch guardian of a public trust.”

“He has a geniality which is born of genuine kindness of heart.  To do some one a service is to him a special pleasure.”

“he…was well-known for his quiet deeds of charity.”

It is not surprising, then, that prior to his death Andrew instructed his wife “to give-and to give generously-just as he had given and to commemorate his name in an Institution whose one purpose was to help every child that came within its doors; to give the child an opportunity to make the beginning of life on equal footing with its more fortunate brothers."

The Stewart Center (initially named the Andrew Stewart Day Nursery) first opened its’ doors on March 15, 1917—five months after Andrew’s death.  Early written histories of the Center make no mention of Andrew’s involvement in the planning of the Center.  It is possible that he was never aware of it.  Rather, it was Frances Stewart who dedicated the rest of her life to the Center as living memorial to her husband. 

 

Men of Mark in Georgia, Vol. VI. William J. Northern, LLD, Editor, A.B. Caldwell, Publisher, Atlanta, GA, 1912. p.201-202 

"Andrew P. Stewart." The Atlanta Constitution, November 27, 1910, ProQuest Historical Newspapers Atlanta Constitution (1868-1945). p. C8

"Andrew P. Stewart." The Atlanta Constitution, October 7, 1879, ProQuest Historical Newspapers Atlanta Constitution (1868-1945).

"Andy's Farm." The Atlanta Constitution, August 13, 1893, ProQuest Historical Newspapers Atlanta Constitution (1868-1945). 

"Mr. A.P. Stewart." The Atlanta Constitution, April 5, 1896, ProQuest Historical Newspapers Atlanta Constitution (1868-1945).

The National Cyclopaedia of American biography: volume VII (1897)