Donald Malcolm Stewart was the proprietor of the Pioneer Steam Laundry. He was also a Vancouver City alderman for two terms. He lived at 1966 Nelson Street from 1905 to 1911 and in 1913.
He was born in Glengarry County, Ontario (possibly in Kenyon Township) on March 1, 1862. His father was Norman Stewart (1810-1880); his mother was Annie McKercher (1820-1888).
Donald received his education in the Ontario public school system. Later, he became a clerk in a general store in Dunvegan, Ontario; then he went to Vankleek Hill, Ontario. For about 18 months he worked for Stacy & Son, who were hardware merchants in St. Thomas, Ontario.
In 1889, he came to British Columbia, but he left very quickly for Washington State, where he became involved in the laundry business. He lived for short periods in Tacoma, Bellingham, and Seattle. In March 1892, he returned to Vancouver, and took over the Pioneer Steam Laundry, which was at the south-east corner of Richards Street and Smithe Street from 1893 to 1957.
The building that originally housed the laundry was still at 910 Richards Street in 2014.
http://archive.org/stream/indiansofbritish00mackrich#page/n21/mode/2up
Donald Malcolm Stewart was an active community member. Besides his involvement in the Vancouver City Council, he was a member of the Vancouver General Hospital board for one term, and the city’s park board for two years. He was also vice-president of Alexandra Orphanage, and he supported the Central City Mission.
He was a member of the I.O.O.F. [Independent Order of Odd Fellows: http://www.ioofbc.org/who-we-are/history/].
He also belonged to and Mount Hermon Lodge, A.F. & A.M. [Ancient Free & Accepted Masonry: http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/texts/afandam.html].
He was a member of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. He supported the Liberal Party.
On June 17, 1896, in Vancouver, Donald Malcolm Stewart married Mary Eleanor Brown. Shewas born in Oro Township, Ontario, on 20 Jan 1869. Her father was John Thomas Brown (1834 or 1839-1919); her mother was Elizabeth (or Agnes) Hogarth (1839-1921). John Thomas Brown was from Scarborough, Ontario; he was a license inspector in Vancouver for many years.
In 1914, Donald and his family moved into a new house on the south part of Oak Street, near 54th Avenue, which was then in an area called Eburne. Donald died at the new house on May 10, 1916, and was buried in Mountain View Cemetery.
Mary Eleanor Stewart lived for forty years after Donald’s death. She died in Vancouver on December 19, 1956, and was buried in Mountain View Cemetery.
Donald and Mary had three children.
Norman John Stewart
Norman John Stewart was born in Vancouver on February 10, 1898. He enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force on October 25, 1916. He died on August 10, 1918, and he was buried in Warvillers Churchyard Extension, Somme, France.
Donald Laughlin Stewart
Donald Laughlin Stewart was born in Vancouver on July 14, 1899. He enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force on April 24, 1917. Unlike his brother, Donald survived the war. On January 19, 1922, in Vancouver, he married Mary Stewart Meikle, who was the daughter of Robert Meikle and Margaret Campbell. Mary Stewart Stewart (who appears to be Donald’s first wife), died in San Diego, California, on January 6, 1992.
Donald Laughlin Stewart was later married to Alice Cora Fern Jensen (1921-1995). Donald Laughlin Stewart died in Victoria, British Columbia, on September 28, 1991.
Marion Isabel Stewart
Marion Isabel Stewart was born in Vancouver on September 7, 1904. She married Eric Scott in Vancouver on December 29, 1937. Eric was born in Wigan, Lancashire, England, on November 21, 1906. He was a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He died in Victoria, British Columbia, on August 21, 1970.
Marion died in Vancouver on March 3, 1985.
Eric and Marion had two children: James Scott, and Mary E. Choo, who both lived in Vancouver.
Sources
Donald Malcolm Stewart
“Pioneer Steam Laundry,” Vancouver World, Souvenir Edition, June 1896, page 20.
“Donald Malcolm Stewart,” R.E. Gosnell, A History of British Columbia, 1906, no place, The Hill Binding Co., pages 739-740.
“Donald Malcolm Stewart,” C.W. Parker, ed., Who’s Who in Western Canada, 1911, Page 351, http://www.ourroots.ca/e/page.aspx?id=642987
“Donald Malcolm Stewart,” British Columbia From the Earliest Times to the Present: Biographical, Vol. 3, Vancouver, S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1914, pages 148-151, http://archive.org/stream/britishcolumbiaf00schouoft#page/148/mode/2up
James Clark MacKenzie, Dictionary of Architects in Canada, http://www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org/architects/view/640: “Oak Street, residence for Donald M. Stewart, 1913,” (Contract Record & Engineering Review, xxvii, 11 June 1913, 81)”
“Donald Malcolm Stewart,” Northern Who’s Who, C.W. Parker, ed., Western Press Association, page 775, http://archive.org/stream/northernwhoswhob01park#page/775/mode/1up
Donald Malcolm Stewart, http://www.loadsofpeople.co.uk/ef_3951.html#9
“British Columbia Marriage Registrations, 1859-1932,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JDZ6-P4D : accessed 24 Jun 2013), Donald Malcolm Stewart and Mary Eleanor Brown, 1896.
British Columbia Marriage Registrations, Donald Malcolm Stewart and Mary Eleanor Brown, http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Genealogy/DisplayGenealogyImage?k=2ee9f185-15d3-44e8-bfc8-8acbfc95c59c
“Stewart-Brown,” Vancouver Daily World, June 18, 1896, page 5. “Rev. E.D. McLaren was the officiating clergyman at a pleasant function in S. Andrew’s church on Wednesday evening. The contracting parties were D.M. Stewart, of the Pioneer Steam Laundry, and Miss Mary, daughter of J.T. Brown, licence inspector. There were neither groomsman nor bridesmaids. The wedding march was played by G. Griffith.”
“Canada Census, 1901,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KHVN-GR6 : accessed 24 Jun 2013), Donald M Stuart in entry for Donald Stuart, 1901.
Canada Census, 1901, BC BURRARD (#1), Vancouver (City), D-7, Page 6, family 49, http://automatedgenealogy.com/census/View.jsp?id=59829&highlight=3&desc=1901+Census+of+Canada+page+containing+Donald+Stuart
“Ald. Stewart was Indignant: at Finance Committee: Said He Would Not Remain to Be Insulted by Alderman Williams and Left the Meeting: Question of Laundry Licences,” Vancouver Province, March 11, 1905, page 2.
[Interior of] Pioneer [Steam] Laundry [showing the] Producer Gas-Electric Plant [- 904 Richards Street] ,[1908], http://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/interior-of-pioneer-steam-laundry-showing-producer-gas-electric-plant-904-richards-street;rad.
1911 Census of Canada, Home / 1911 / British Columbia / Vancouver / 2 Vancouver City / page 17, http://automatedgenealogy.com/census11/View.jsp?id=63708&highlight=39&desc=1911+Census+of+Canada+page+containing+Donald+Malcolm+Stewart
Vancouver Sun, March 19, 1913, page 7, Special Ed. – Women’s Edition, Pioneer Steam Laundry, at corner of Richards and Smithe Street; includes photograph.
Vancouver Province, January 3, 1914, page 8: “Mr. and Mrs. D.M. Stewart will leave on Monday for California to remain for a month and almost immediately on their return will remove to their new home on Oak street.”
Vancouver Province, January 5, 1914, page 8: “Mr. and Mrs. D.M. Stewart expect to leave today to spend some time in the south and upon their return will go into residence at their new house at Oak Street and Sperling road.”
“British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FLKZ-YQC : accessed 24 Jun 2013), Donald Malcolm Stewart, 1916.
“Mr. D.M. Stewart Dies,” Vancouver Province, May 11, 1916, page 18.
“Another City Pioneer Dies: Mr. D.M. Stewart, Well-Known Resident, Succumbs on Wednesday Night After a Lengthy Illness,” Vancouver World, May 11, 1916, page 15.
Donald M. Stewart, Death Notice, Vancouver Province, May 11, 1916, page 15; Vancouver World, May 11, 1916, page 14 [short version: Vancouver Sun, May 11, 1916, page 9]: “STEWART – At the family residence, corner of Oak and Sperling, Eburne, May 10, Donald M. Stewart, aged 54 years. The funeral will take place Friday, May 12. Private service at residence 1:15; public services at 2:30 at St. Andrew’s Church, Georgia and Richards. The Rev. R.J. Wilson will officiate, assisted by Rev. Dr. E.D. McLaren. Interment in the family plot in Mountain View Cemetery. The remains will lie at Center & Hanna’s private state room till 9 a.m. Friday.”
Donald Malcolm Stewart, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=26280709
Marion Eleanor Stewart (née Brown)
Vancouver Province, December 2, 1911, page 7: “Mrs. D.M. Stewart and Miss Ferguson of 1966 Nelson street will receive next Monday for the last time before going south to spend the winter.” [Note: Miss Ferguson is Margaret Jane Ferguson, who appears in the 1911 census as a niece of Donald Malcolm Stewart. See also the 1901 Canada census, where Margaret J. Ferguson is living in Kenyon, Ontario: http://automatedgenealogy.com/census/View.jsp?id=51076&highlight=42&desc=1901+Census+of+Canada+page+containing+Margaret+J+Ferguson.]
“British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FLRK-TX5 : accessed 24 Jun 2013), Donald Malcolm Stewart in entry for Mary Eleanor Stewart, 1956.
British Columbia Death Registrations, Mary Eleanor Stewart, http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Genealogy/DisplayGenealogyImage?k=ba989a4e-08a0-4acf-9bcf-ab165f5ad356
Vancouver Province, December 20, 1956, page 29; Vancouver Sun, December 20, 1956, Page 30. “Stewart – Passed away Dec. 19, 1956, Mrs. D.M. Stewart of 3789 Oak St. Survived by 1 son, Donald, Vancouver; 1 daughter, Mrs. Scott of Victoria, wife of Sargent [sic] Eric Scott of the RCM Police, and grandchildren. Funeral service, Friday, at 3:00 p.m., in Simmons & McBride Funeral Chapel, Broadway at maple St. Rev. P.M. Badger officiating. Interment Mountain View Cemetery. No flowers by request.”
Norman John Stewart
British Columbia Birth Registration, Registration No. 1898-09-118812, Norman John Stewart, http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Genealogy/DisplayGenealogyImage?k=4edb4dea-7c6e-4cb7-a538-04967543076d
“Norman John Stewart,” registration for Canadian Expeditionary Force, Regimental number: 542295, http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/cef/001042-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=252896&interval=20&&PHPSESSID=v279gi06grgpb902fs38m1ej22
“Private Norman John Stewart,” http://www.canadiangreatwarproject.com/searches/soldierDetail.asp?Id=16347.
Private Norman John Stewart, who died on August 10, 1918, Canadian Virtual War Memorial, http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/collections/virtualmem/Detail/308869
Private Norman John Stewart, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/308869/STEWART,%20NORMAN%20JOHN
Elizabeth Godley, Greater Vancouver Book, page 210, Fountains of Greater Vancouver: “Victory Square drinking fountain (marble/ceramic tile, 1.2 metres high) was donated by Mrs. Donald Stewart, in memory of her son, Norman, killed in World War I. The Stewart family owned Pioneer Laundry, begun in 1890, which merged in 1958 with Nelson Laundries. The fountain was designed by Jack Hambleton (b. 1916, England), who considered himself self-taught, despite some formal training at the Vancouver School of Art.”
“The inscription on the water fountain at Victory Square in Vancouver reads, ‘Donated to the Citizens of Vancouver by Mary Stewart, 1960.'”: http://www.bcliving.ca/home/public-vs-plastic-drinking-fountains-in-vancouver
The Stranger (Seattle), http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/overflow/Content?oid=7068: “In April 1959, an archived clipping relates, “A generous and thoughtful lady, the late Mary Eleanor Stewart left the city… $5,000 for the purpose of erecting a fountain at Victory Square… I for one am consumed with hope that something fine will result…. We are so woefully lacking in such amenities which do so much to give personality to a city and help atone for everlasting commercialism, chrome, cement and unsightly car parking, not to mention untidy lots and dump-like mounds.”
Donald Laughlin Stewart
British Columbia Birth Registration, Registration No. 1899-09-119357, Donald Laughlin Stewart, http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Genealogy/DisplayGenealogyImage?k=4243ceb7-0738-43ef-8f73-e00778e75387
“Donald Laughlin Stewart ,” registration for Canadian Expeditionary Force, Regimental number: 339680, http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/cef/001042-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=252088&interval=20&&PHPSESSID=v279gi06grgpb902fs38m1ej22
“British Columbia Marriage Registrations, 1859-1932,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JD8M-H44 : accessed 24 Jun 2013), Donald Malcolm Stewart in entry for Donald Laughlin Stewart and Mary Stewart Meikle, 1922.
British Columbia Death Registration, Registration Number: 1991-09-017301. Donald Laughlin Stewart, http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Genealogy/DisplayGenealogyImage?k=62b8397a-e3b7-40cc-8669-dd984f7b80c1 ; http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Genealogy/DisplayGenealogyImage?k=84cfbd05-faf6-455a-a5d2-ff971b02f982
“California, Death Index, 1940-1997,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VPSQ-3X8 : accessed 24 Jun 2013), Mary Stewart Stewart, 1992.
Marion Isabel Stewart
British Columbia Marriage Registration, Reg. No. 1937-09-454786, Eric Scott and Marion Isabel Stewart, http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Genealogy/DisplayGenealogyImage?k=54fa036f-fdfe-401b-a4a2-4317e55c29c0
“British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FLYJ-CWZ : accessed 24 Jun 2013), Marion Isabel Stewart in entry for Eric Scott, 1970.
British Columbia Death Registrations, Registration No. 1970 09 011226, http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Genealogy/DisplayGenealogyImage?k=91d1811d-8a08-41b7-9b7d-bb9d94b6e5e4
Victoria Daily Colonist, August 23, 1970, page 30: “SCOTT – On August 21, at the residence, 2994 Oakdowne Road, Mr. Eric Scott (ex Sgt. RCMP). He leaves his wife Isabel; one daughter, Mrs. L. (Mary) Choo, and one son, James, both in Vancouver, B.C., and one grand-son; one sister and one brother in England. He was a member of the Victoria Golf Club and a Past President of the Victoria Camera Club. Private cremation through McCall Bros. Funeral Directors, Victoria. (Flowers gratefully declined. If desired friends may contribute to the Heart Fund, 620 View Street, Victoria.)”
“British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FLVK-NJN : accessed 24 Jun 2013), Donald Malcolm Stewart in entry for Marion Isabel Scott, 1985.
British Columbia Death Registrations, Registration No. 85 09 004610, Marion Isabel Scott, http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Genealogy/DisplayGenealogyImage?k=83016af7-a1e1-4231-bc16-8b347ac38648
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