Journal 3.3

On this the 20-year anniversary of the Levi Stewart Memorial Park, with this article, this Summer/Fall 2021 issue of the Scudder Family Historical and Biographical Journal pays tribute to Scudder descendant, Levi Stewart, and the Stewart branch of the Scudder family who has a rich history of “service to others.”

Major John Wesley Powell’s first expedition had taken them through Kanab in 1870 on their way to explore the Colorado River. In the winter of 1871–1872, Powell’s second expedition, returned again. Powell had begun the project in the spring of 1869 but had “lost one of their four boats loaded with equipment and food, and the trip turned into a race with starvation.

When David King Udall met Eliza Luella (Ella) Stewart, he says it was love at first sight. David K. Udall confides this fact in his autobiography that he wrote collaboratively with his eldest daughter Pearl,

Stories of Artemacy (Wilkerson) Stewart’s life, along with tributes to her remarkable character, are preserved in histories written by her posterity, all of whom describe her as a saintly woman who ministered in extraordinary ways to her large family and to her community.

Margery (Wilkerson) Stewart was born in Jackson County, Indiana on 16 Nov 1832. According to his tombstone, her father, Thomas Wilkerson, was born on 17 January 1797. In other records, his birthplace is given as Richmond, Madison, Kentucky.[1] In Muhlenberg, Kentucky, on October 1817, Thomas Wilkerson married his first wife Effie Forehand

During his lifetime, Levi Stewart was blessed with three strong, steadfast, faith-filled wives, so consecrated to God that they were willing to bear the hardships of pioneering not only in new frontier settlements but in pioneering also of a new 19th century religion that they believed was a restoration of Jesus Christ’s ancient Christian church with its spiritual power and authority.

Levi Stewart’s journals were lost in a tragic fire, so these recollections about his life are taken primarily from accounts by his children and grandchildren. A few other sources have been added to provide historical context, including connecting him to his Scudder ancestry.

This is the most important letter I will ever write. It concerns your future—and the tomorrows of the innumerable human beings who share this vulnerable, fragile planet with you.
It involves changes that must be made if environmental disasters are to be avoided. The response to this challenge will shape the future of the entire human race.

In 1969, Stewart Udall departed his post as Secretary of the Department of the Interior, when President Johnson left office, but continued to be a tireless advocate of civil rights, social change and environmental stewardship.

If our cousin, Stewart Lee Udall could see the environmental degradation happening to our planet today, he would roll over in his grave. But he would not be surprised. He saw it coming. He predicted it. He warned that if we didn’t take action, this would happen!  But Stewart took action. He spent a lifetime of vigorous action and bold leadership in defense of the Earth and humanity’s future.