Helen J. Stewart Collection, T-87. Special Collections, UNLV Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Donated by Clinton E. Stay, Jr. and Evelyn Stay Moden, 1980
Carol A. Corbett, November 1995.
This collection is open for research.
For permission to reproduce or publish from this collection, please contact the Director of Special Collections.
Helen Jane Stewart was born in 1854 in Springfield, Illinois. When she was nine years old, the family moved to Nevada, and then to Sacramento, California in 1863. Helen was educated in Sacramento and, in 1873, she married Archibald Stewart in Stockton, California.
Archibald Stewart operated a freighting business in Pioche, Nevada, and he and Helen lived there during Pioche's boom years. The Stewart's first three children were born in the Pioche area -- William James in 1874, followed by Hiram Richard less than two years later, and flora Eliza Jane (known as Tiza) in 1879.
In 1879, Archibald Stewart loaned O.D. Gass, the owner of the Las Vegas Ranch, $5,000, with the ranch as collateral. By 1881, Gass had defaulted on the loan and eventually Archibald decided to move his family to the Las Vegas Ranch for what was to be a temporary situation. In 1882 the family moved from Pioche to the ranch. Shortly after their arrival, Helen gave birth to Evaline La Vega, known as Eva. The Stewarts settled into running the ranch as a farm and way station for travelers.
In 1884, tragedy struck when Archibald was killed at the neighboring Kiel Ranch. Controversy surrounded the killing and still exists to this day. Helen was pregnant at the time of Archibald's death and later that year she and her family traveled to Galt, California, while her father, Hiram Wiser, took over operation of the ranch. In Galt she gave birth to a son, Archibald. She then returned to the ranch.
Over the next several years, Helen attempted to sell the ranch, however, no sale occurred. In 1889, talk of a railroad to be built through the Las Vegas Valley and the Muddy Valley prompted Helen along with other members of her family, to purchase large tracts in land.
During this period, the Stewart children were taught by a tutor at the ranch. The three younger children were sent to school in California beginning in 1897. Then, in July, 1899, her youngest and favorite, Archie, was killed chasing wild horses on the ranch.
By 1902, the railroad through Southern Nevada was becoming a reality and Helen sold the Las Vegas Ranch to the San Pedro, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake Railroad. A four-acre parcel was reserved as the family burial site. In 1903, she moved her family to Los Angeles. Shortly thereafter, her son Hiram died, leaving a wife and two children. Also in 1903, Helen married Frank Stewart, who had been hired at the Las Vegas Ranch in 1886.
The Stewarts purchased land near the ranch and in late 1903, returned there to join in the building of a thriving community, based on the arrival of the railroad. For the next twenty years, Helen was a part of the social, political, and business life of early Las Vegas and was an early member of the Mesquite Club. She became an authority on state history and developed an extensive collection of Indian baskets, which had the reputation of being the finest in the state. She was appointed by Governor Boyle as a delegate to the Twelfth Annual Convention for the American Civic Association in Washington D.C. in 1915. Later that year, she became the first woman elected to the Clark County School Board.
In 1918, Frank Stewart died of cancer, and Helen's mother, Delia Gray Wiser, passed away the following year. Helen later became ill with cancer, and in 1924, was taken to Los Angeles for treatment. On March 6, 1926, she passed away. Businesses in Las Vegas closed for the day her funeral and people came from all areas of the state to attend the funeral of the woman who has been described as "The First Lady of Las Vegas."
Carrie Miller Townley. "Helen Stewart”
The material in this collection covers the years 1869-1978, with the bulk of the material dated 1900 to 1959. The collection was donated in 1980 by Clinton E. Stay, Jr. and Evelyn Stay Moden, grandson and granddaughter of Helen J. Stewart. They are the children of Evaline La Vega "Eva" Stewart Stay and Clarence Stay.
The state of the collection when this processing began was somewhat mixed. It had evidently undergone partial processing, presumably shortly after it's acquisition. Some of the files folders were acid-free and obviously had been labeled by a staff person. Additionally, there were notes found to "make copies for Moden", a reference to making copies of some documents for the donor.
On the other hand, some files had typed labels with file numbers and appeared to be the donor's system. Many of the documents had these file numbers penciled on them. However, the numbers did not always correspond to the file in which they were found. Additionally, there were file numbers penciled on documents that did not correspond to any file folders found in the collection.
The labeled file folders in the collection had the following headings (however, the file numbers on the material in the folders did not always match the folder numbers, and the nature of the material in the folders did not always match the labels):
It was decided to consolidate most of the material pertaining to Las Vegas Ranch and other real property in Southern Nevada by date. This material will be found in the ten folders labeled "Real Estate Documents"; it documents various sales and purchases during the period 1882 - 1969. Other materials dealing with real estate are found in folders for city building codes and real estate tax records.
Material relating to the family burial plot, which consists of a four-acre parcel retained from the sale of the ranch to the railroad is found in one folder, "Stewart Family Burial Site." This property was held by the family and consideration was given to developing it in the 1950's. In 1973 the graves were excavated; photographs of the excavation activities are included in this collection.
Five folders of correspondence, many between Helen Stewart and her children, are included in the collection. Most of these letters are photocopies. The originals were donated to the Nevada State Museum and Historical Society in 1973 and copies were made for the donor at that time. When this collection was donated to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in 1980, these photocopies were included.
There are several folders of material related to the estate of Helen Stewart and the estate of her daughter, Evaline Stewart Stay, as well as various family legal papers and certificates, such as Archibald Stewart's citizenship papers, Helen and Frank Stewart's marriage certificate, and Tiza Stewart's teaching certificates.
The manuscript portion of the collection (boxes 1 and 2) is arranged alphabetically by subject and within each subject, by date. Boxes 3 and 4 contain various albums, including Helen Stewart's 70th birthday scrapbook, a poetry scrapbook, a ledger, a souvenir photo album of El Dorado Canon, and a day book from 1904-1919, as well as several photo albums. Sprinkled throughout the collection are what appear to be Stewart's writings and notes on various topics.
An oversize folder contains several land patents and the marriage certificate of Helen and Frank Stewart. These items have been photocopied and included in their appropriate places within the collection.
An incomplete set of genealogy charts is included as part of this collection guide. These charts were complied from material in the collection and from the Townley articles. They were used as an aid to processing the collection and no effort was made to refine the data or to research missing information. They are included here as a possible aid to the researcher in identifying the family members in the collection.
Additional materials about Helen J. Stewart and the Stewart family can be found in the Helen J. Stewart Collection at the Nevada State Museum and Historical Society in Las Vegas.
Additional photographs were removed from the collection at the time of accession and placed in UNLV Photo Collection 0104.