Stewart Honored by Grange for Genealogy Research   April 1998

By KATE CAREY

Norwich Bulletin

May 10, 1998

Dot Stewart, Knickerbocker GenealogistDorothy Kellogg Stewart has made genealogy her life's pursuit.

In recognition of her volunteer work with visitors and residents to research their roots, North Stonington Grange No. 138 recently honored her as its Community Citizen of the Year.

Stewart, 86, started the A. Morgan Stewart Memorial Library 18 years ago in memory of her late husband. She donated a collection of rare genealogy books and land records to the library, where she still volunteers today. The library, near Town Hall in North Stonington, is open Tuesday afternoons.

"I will stop working there in June, but I'll still do genealogy from home," Stewart said. She said she gets calls from around the country for genealogical research.

She lives in Rosewood Manor in Norwich, but was a resident of North Stonington for 40 years. She and her husband were founding members of the North Stonington Historical Society.

Her small apartment has a number of filing cabinets filled with genealogy research, mainly on the Stewart, Knickerbocker and Eccleston families. In the last year, she has begun transcribing her records onto a computer, given to her by her granddaughter, and hopes to soon be able to get on the Internet to offer information to a wider audience.

She said she originally got interested in genealogy when her second husband, Morgan Stewart, became a Realtor. They would research places that he was selling, and researching families was a part of that.

A 1933 graduate of Connecticut College, she is now the official genealogist for the National Stewart Clan and is the lineage researcher and a past regent of the Faith Trumbull Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

"Since Alex Haley wrote 'Roots' people -really got going on it," she said of increased interest in family history

She said as people get older they wonder more about their ancestors, and try to find out about their families.

"I spend a lot of time on research, but I do take time to watch Bob Barker on 'The Price is Right' and 'Days of Our Lives' almost every day," she said. "The rest of the time is genealogy."

The award came as a surprise, said Stewart. Her daughter, Margaret Ann Van Patten of North Stonington, told her the dinner was in Van Patten's honor.

She received a plaque and certificate from the grange, a citation from the National Grange and a framed citation from the Connecticut General Assembly. Family members who attended the award ceremony were her sons Robert Streeter and Gary Stewart, daughter Margaret Van Patten, grandchildren Anne Van Patten Kelly and husband Chris Kelly and cousin Howard Knickerbocker and his son Brian. Stewart has five great-grandchildren.

North Stonington Grange No. 138

Community Citizen of the Year.

                           GLADYS CHASE IS HONORED   April 24, 2009 

Published in the North Stonington Historical Society newsletter May 2009

   Gladys Chase received the "Citizen of the Year Award" from the North Stonington Grange in a ceremony Friday, April 24th. The award administered by Sue Pianka, is given annually to a North Stonington  citizen who is not a Grange member.  Gladys  was praised, roasted in skits, and commended by our town, state and federal representatives.

   She is the Historical Society's librarian and genealogist who faithfully opens the Homestead to eager family researchers every Tuesday.