Robert Stewart: Sued “The Katy” (#12 of 52 Ancestors)

In 1896, the new law firm of Biddle, Boyd, & Sheppard filed their first case. It was the case of Robert Stewart (son of my 4th great grandfather, also named Robert Stewart) vs the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Company, otherwise known as “The Katy.” The suit was for damages of $5,000 based on the alleged personal injuries of Robert’s wife, Kate. Here is the story from the paper…

The petition alleges that Mrs. Kate M Stewart on April 20, 1894 purchased a ticket from this city to Boonville, Missouri. That when the train arrived at Boonville it stopped at the depot and she went to get off, but that one of the company’s porters informed her that it had stopped at a water tank and had not reached the depot. When the train started to leave, the porter saw that it had passed the depot and pulled the signal cord and stopped the train. Mrs. Stewart jumped from the train, but in the darkness fell on a pile of ties, severely spraining her limbs and injuring her side so severely that a large abcess [sic] formed, and from which injuries she is permanently disabled. 

I found two newspaper articles from the trial in January of 1897. The jury awarded the plaintiff $1,500: $1,000 damages and $500 for doctor’s fees. It also states that Robert’s wife had never fully recovered.

My Line of Descent

• • Robert Stewart (1773-1854) m Frances Quigley (1783-1869)
  • John Quiggle Stewart (1825-1883) m Sarah Jane Watson (1826-1853) (John Q is Robert’s brother)
  • Alexander Stewart (1852-1922) m Catharine Jane McClintock (1852-1929)
  • Andrew “Andy” McClinock Stewart (1882-1954) m. Bessie Waldron Merrill (1879-1959)
  • James Edward Stewart (1910-1972) m. Hazel Lucille Peters (1910-1975) (my paternal grandparents)

Sources:

• • Suit Against the Katy, Fort Scott Weekly Monitor, Fort Scott, Kansas, 22 Apr 1896, page 3, column 1, digital image, newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com: accessed 24 May 2015)
  • Robert Stewart Receives Damages from the M. K. & T Co, Fort Scott Weekly Monitor, Fort Scott, Kansas, 23 Jan 1897, page 3, column 2, digital image, newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com: accessed 24 May 2015)
  • Case of Robert Stewart, Fort Scott Weekly Monitor, Fort Scott, Kansas, 23 Jan 1897, page 3, column 3, digital image, newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com: accessed 24 May 2015)

Do we share common ancestors? I’d love to talk! Please leave a comment or email me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net.