Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Charles Bellinger Tate Stewart (1806-1885), was the son of Charles Stewart and Adrianna Bull. After studying medicine in the 1820s, Stewart moved to Cuba where he engaged in the trading business. Several months later, he returned to South Carolina and acquired his pharmacy license in June 1829. Stewart briefly resided in New Orleans as a coffee merchant before settling in Brazoria, Texas, in 1830, where he operated an apothecary store. During the Anahuac Disturbances of 1832, Stewart joined Francis W. Johnson’s company, fighting in the battle of Velasco. Following his service on the Subcommittee of Safety and Vigilance of the Brazoria District by the Convention of 1832, he was made secretary of the judicial district of Brazoria.
In 1835, Stewart married Julia Sheppard, with whom he had five children. That same year he opened a drugstore in San Felipe de Austin, received his medical license, was appointed secretary of the Permanent Council, and became the first Texas secretary of state. Elected as a representative of Austin at the Convention of 1836, Stewart was also one of the signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence. Additionally, he was commissioned to design a new state flag and is believed to have drawn the original draft of the Lone Star flag. Following his establishment of a medical practice in Montgomery in 1837, Stewart served as district attorney for Montgomery County and Mirabeau B. Lamar elected him as notary public in 1841. As a representative of Montgomery County at the Constitutional Convention of 1845, Stewart also represented the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth legislatures.
Source:
Ford, Virginia Stewart Lindley.
Comprised of typescripts and Photostats of correspondence, legal documents, military orders, a biographical sketch, and a list of documents, the Charles Bellinger Stewart Papers, 1834-1880, 1921, chronicle Stewarts’ medical, military, and political career. Correspondence concerns the Texas Revolutions, familial affairs, and Stewart’s medical practice in Montgomery County, while legal documents include a print copy of the Texas Declaration of Independence and a proclamation by Governor Henry Smith naming John Cameron, Sam Houston, and John Forbes as commissioners of the provisional government. The collection also contains military orders pertaining to the acquisition of ammunition during the revolution, a biographical sketch of Stewart, and a list of papers belonging to Stewart’s son, E. V. Stewart.
This collection is open for research use.
Charles Bellinger Stewart Papers, 1834-1880, 1921, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s