Friday, April 22, 2011

Charles B. Stewart Bust Unveiled in Conroe


At the dedication ceremony for the Lone Star Monument and Historical Flag Park in Conroe, Texas on April 21, 2011, the bust of Texas founding father, Charles B. Stewart, was unveiled.  The bust of Charles B. Stewart was sculpted by Texas artist, Craig Campobello. The biographical text regarding Charles B. Stewart on the front of the marker was written by Texas History Page author, K. K. Searle.
Dr. Charles Bellinger Stewart
Designer of the Lone Star Flag

Charles B. Stewart Marker Text

Charles Bellinger Stewart was born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1806.  He came to Texas in 1830.  As a member of the militia, he served at Anahauc and the Battle of Velasco in 1832.  He served as the first Secretary of State of Texas in 1835.  He was then elected a delegate from the Municipality of Austin to the Convention at Washington-on-the-Brazos in 1836.  There he boldly signed the Texas Declaration of Independence from Mexico.  He also served as a member of the committee that drafted the Constitution of the Republic of Texas.

Following the Texas Revolution, Stewart moved to the Lake Creek Settlement where the town of Montgomery was founded in 1837.  In 1838, he helped located the site of the Montgomery County seat in the town of Montgomery.  Stewart lived and worked in Montgomery for most of his adult life where he was a physician and successful businessman.  Stewart married twice - first to Julia Shepperd, and following her death, he married Elizabeth Antoinette Boyd.

Charles Bellinger Stewart designed the world famous LONE STAR FLAG OF TEXAS which was adopted in 1839.  Stewart represented Montgomery County at the Constitutional Convention and signed the Texas State Constitution of 1845.  Following statehood, Stewart served in the House of Representatives of the Texas State Legislature.

The Stewart home site is located seventeen miles west of the Lone Star Monument and Historical Flag Park.  Stewart died in 1885 and is buried in the New Cemetery in Montgomery, Texas.  An ardent patriot, Charles B. Stewart has left his imprint boldly written in the institutions and history of his country and his state - TEXAS!

The Lone Star Monument and Historical Flag Park is located near the intersection of FM 2854 and I-45 in Conroe, Texas next to the Montgomery County Central Libary.

5 comments:

Margaret said...

I read and article in the Fort Worth Star Telegram on Nov 18, 2012, about Texas State Archives loaning out Travis' letter to the Alamo.
http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/11/18/4424564/battle-over-travis-letter-shines.html#storylink=cpy

The article mentioned other items at the Texas Archives including, "the original 1838 design for the Lone Star flag by artist Peter Flagg, who was paid $10 for his work." I looked into this statement and found it to be wrong!

In the process, I came across your blog post on Charles B. Stewart.

Great info and wonderful statues and park!

I also came across the article about the origin of the flag,
http://texashistorypage.com/Origin_of_the_Lone_Star_Flag.html

In my research of my Louisiana family I learned about the 1810 Republic of West Florida. I (and others) circumstantially believe that the idea of a lone star on a blue field originally came from the flag of this Republic.

Charles B. Stewart lived in New Orleans in 1829, the year before moving to Texas, where it's possible he saw or read about the Republic of West Florida flag. I read, but haven't found a source yet, that Fulwar Skipworth, the president of the Republic of West Florida, stated in 1810 that he was ready to "die in defense of the Lone Star flag."

Anonymous said...

I believe your information may indeed be correct. Charles B. Stewart was my Great-great grandfather. My father was Frank Copeland, his great-grandson. My grandmother was Ella Book, who was his grand daughter, and Ella's mother was Julia, Charles Stewart's youngest daughter by his first wife, also named Julia. Stories passed down to my father have always stated that Charles Stewart did in fact design the flag, so no matter who cares to ever dispute it, I believe I know better....thank you for sharing your information....

Sharon said...

Your father, Frank, was my grandfather. My father is Thedford Ray, Frank's son. My son is researching our family history, and our relation to C.B. Stewart, for the annual Hood County Texas History Celebration. We are turning in projects in February, 2015. I would greatly appreciate any Copeland family information, pictures, etc. Without knowing any of our family geneaology, my sister moved to Montgomery years ago. I guess our family has returned to it's roots.

Sharon said...

Frank Copeland was my grandfather. My father, Thedford Ray, was Frank's son. We recently found an original copy of Ella Copeland's (your grandmother's) obituary in the local newspaper, in a family memory box. It stated that C.B. Stewart (it actually misspelled the name as 'Steward'), was her grandfather. My son is doing research on our family, and our relation to C.B. Stewart, for the annual Hood County Texas History celebration. I would greatly appreciate any Copeland family information, pictures, etc. My sister moved to Montgomery years ago, before we were aware of our genealogy. I guess our family has returned to its roots.

Sharon said...

Frank Copeland was my grandfather. My father, Thedford Ray, was Frank's son. We recently found an original copy of Ella Copeland's (your grandmother's) obituary in the local newspaper, in a family memory box. It stated that C.B. Stewart (it actually misspelled the name as 'Steward'), was her grandfather. My son is doing research on our family, and our relation to C.B. Stewart, for the annual Hood County Texas History celebration. I would greatly appreciate any Copeland family information, pictures, etc. My sister moved to Montgomery years ago, before we were aware of our genealogy. I guess our family has returned to its roots.