From Heather to Hill: The Jack O' the Hill Stewarts to 1990

Albert Stray is Head of Mobile Library Services at the London Public
Library.

Bennet-Alder, a great-granddaughter of John Stewart, has chronicled not
only his life and his wife’s, but those of their 14 children and more
than 850 progeny. This is a history of ordinary people who lived through
extraordinary times—e.g., the Scottish Land Enclosures, the American
Revolution, pioneering in southwestern Ontario, and Confederation.

The book is divided into two parts. Part 1 consists of chapters devoted
to Jack Stewart; his wife, Maria; and each of their children. All known
descendants of each are included, along with a chronology of the
significant events in John Stewart’s life between 1804 and 1894.

Part 2 includes lists of all the known descendants of John Stewart and
Maria Kelsey, and the spouses of those descendants. Another section
breaks down the descendants, generation by generation; gives
anniversaries, month by month; and lists the addresses of descendants,
grouped geographically. A three-page index to names is included.

Other features of this massive work include 538 photographs; maps; the
meaning of “some ancestral names”; a 16-page family tree; a listing
of the abbreviations used; a selected bibliography; and a detailed table
of contents.

When asked why she took it on herself to write this family history, the
author quoted the Globe & Mail’s Ray Conlogue: “It restores the
delicate chain of memory by which families go forward into the dark
future.”

Only 300 copies were printed, so it has limited appeal in one respect.
Anyone interested in the history of Middlesex County and East Williams
Township in particular will find this book to be of use. If you are
thinking of writing a family history, you would do well to look at From
Heather to Hill as an example of what can be done. You will also find
the reason John Stewart was called “Jack O’ the Hill.”