Lewis Steward (November 20, 1824 – August 27, 1896) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. He also co-founded Marsh, Steward & Company, a company that later merged to become

International Harvester The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated IH or International) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household equipment, and more. It wa ...

Biography

Lewis Steward was born on November 20, 1824, near Hollisterville in Wayne County, Pennsylvania. He was the oldest of nine children born to Marcus and Ursula Steward. In 1838, the family moved to Little Rock Township, Kendall County, Illinois. His father purchased a farm and built mills on Big Rock Creek. Lewis would help his father with his work, eventually starting a farm of his own."Hon. Lewis Steward-obituary", ''The Wayne County Herald'' (Honesdale, Pennsylvania), September 1, 1896, p. 3 Lewis Stewart House Plano Illinois

In 1853, Steward was able to convince surveyors from the

Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, CB&Q, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado ...

to build a station near his homestead. Once built, Steward platted the territory around the station, forming the town of Plano. He studied law in his free time and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1860, but never practiced. C. W. and W. W. Marsh approached Steward in 1862, offering an investment opportunity in their harvesting machine operation. Stewart worked with the Marshes to perfect their prototype, and by 1863, they had established the Plano Harvester Works as Marsh, Steward & Company. In their first year of operation, the company sold 100 machines. By the mid 1870s, they were producing 10,000 a year. In 1875, investor

William Deering William Deering (April 25, 1826 – December 9, 1913) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He inherited a woolen mill in Maine, but made his fortune in later life with the Deering Harvester Company. Life Early life Deering was born ...

purchased the company and moved it to

North Chicago North Chicago is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of the Chicago metropolitan area. The population was 30,759 at the 2020 census making it the third-most populous city by population in the county, after Waukegan and ...

, renaming it the

Deering Harvester Company The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated IH or International) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household equipment, and more. It wa ...

. In 1902, the company merged with the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company to form

. Steward chose to remain in Plano. In 1876, he ran for

Governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its we ...

as the Democratic Party candidate. Although he lost, it was by a much closer margin (5,000 votes) than other recent candidates from the party. Also that year, Steward purchased a boot and shoe factory, producing goods from a

tannery Tanning, or hide tanning, is the process of treating skins and hides of animals to produce leather. A tannery is the place where the skins are processed. Historically, vegetable based tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound derived fr ...

that he had started in 1864. By 1877, Steward was worth over $250,000. In the 1880s, Steward turned to

philanthropic Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

pursuits. He donated land to local churches and assisted with construction. He started a park and built an opera house. Steward funded an annual trip for young boys and girls to the circus. He built a water system for Plano and sold it to the town in 1888. In 1890, he was elected as a Democrat to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, serving one two-year term with the

52nd Congress The 52nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 1891 ...

. He ran unsuccessfully for the same office in 1892 and 1894. He died in Plano at the age of 71 on August 27, 1896. His 1854 house was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on November 28, 2003.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Steward, Lewis 1824 births 1896 deaths 19th-century American inventors People from Plano, Illinois People from Wayne County, Pennsylvania Businesspeople from Illinois Farmers from Illinois Illinois lawyers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives