This unusually named member of the New York State Senate was born on June 19, 1855 in Westchester County, New York, the son of Lispenard and Mary Rhinelander Rogers Stewart. Being a child born into wealth (one of his relatives was famed dry goods merchant and millionaire Alexander Turney Stewart), Lispenard Stewart received his education at private schools in New York City and later attended Yale University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1876. After his tenure at Yale, Stewart began the study of law at the Columbia College Law School, receiving his law degree in 1878. Stewart is also recorded as being a lifelong bachelor, making him one of the few politicians profiled thus far to have never married.
The name of Lispenard Stewart grew to be a prominent one in New York social circles during the late 19th century, and he was often named to various positions of public trust. In 1885 he was named to the Committee of 100 important New York citizens to accompany President Ulysses Grant's body from his home in Saratoga, New York to its resting place in New York City. Stewart was also named to the Citizen's Committee that put together the celebration for the 100th anniversary of President Washington's inauguration in 1889.
While active in the social life of his native city, Lispenard Stewart was acknowledged as a skilled politician. A "staunch Republican", and for many years he was selected as a frequent delegate to New York Republican party conventions. In 1888 he was named as a Presidential Elector for New York and attended the Republican National Convention in Chicago that nominated Benjamin Harrison for the Presidency.
In the year following his service as Presidential Elector Stewart was nominated for a seat in the New York State Senate. He would win that election, and in that year (1889) became the only Republican State Senator elected in New York. During his Senate service, Stewart gained lasting notoriety by introducing the bill that created the Rapid Transit Commission for New York City. An excellent write-up on Stewart's Senate tenure was given in the 1890 Annual Record of the Assemblymen and Senators from the City of New York, which notes that he: "is a man of large means, and spends most of his time attending to real estate matters, practicing law incidentally." Stewart's character is also attested to, with passing mention going to his opinions "being sought with respect", and that "already a useful member, Mr. Stewart could, with greater independence, easily wield a weighty influence for good."
Following his stint in the state senate Stewart continued to be politically involved, serving again as a Republican National Convention delegate in 1896. He was named to a seat on the New York State Commission of Prisons from New York's 1st judicial district and would serve as its President from 1895-1902. A biography on Stewart (featured in the 1898 work Representative Men of New York, Volume II) states that he also enjoyed traveling and hunting, visiting countries such as Tunis, Russia, Mexico, and Egypt. The book further attests that "many heads of moose, elk, caribou, bear, manitou sheep, and deer testify to his skill with the rifle."
Stewart spent his final years engaged in business and charity endeavors, dying at age 72 on October 15, 1927. He was subsequently interred in a lavish mausoleum at the Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. The rare portrait of him shown above was discovered in the earlier mentioned Representative Men of New York, Volume II. In addition to that portrait, another rare picture appeared in an 1890 edition of the Frederick, Maryland News in an article about "eligible bachelors of New York" and is shown below.
This Lispenard Stewart obituary appeared in the Oct. 22, 1927 edition of the Newport Mercury.
