From 1870 into the 1880s Rev. Alexander Stewart was a minister on the Six Nations Reserve on the Grand River in southern Ontario.

Five Iroquois nations -- Mohawk, Onondaga, Seneca, Cayuga, and Oneida -- once lived in the United States, in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. They founded the League of Peace, or Iroquois Confederacy, and the Tuscarora nation joined the League, becoming the sixth nation.

When the American colonies fought England in the War of Independence, some of the Iroquois supported the British and lost their land. In compensation, the British Crown promised land in Upper Canada (Ontario) to Mohawk leader Joseph Brant and any members of the Six Nations who chose to follow him to Canada. The original tract of land was almost 675,000 acres on both sides of the Grand River from its source north of Fergus to its mouth at Lake Erie. The land grant was legally recognized in 1784 but, less than half a century later, two-thirds of the land had been lost through sales, leases, and squatters' rights.

Today, according to material from the Reserve Tourism Office, the Six Nations have 45,168 acres in Tuscarora township, portions of Onondaga and Oneida townships, and part of Brantford. Each of the Six Nations is represented in the population of over 7,000.

Baptist missionary work on the Reserve had begun at the start of the 19th century with visits by Baptist ministers from New York State and Massachusetts, but no permanent mission was established. A Church of England mission was built north of the Grand River but, after 1835, there was a division in the congregation over worship procedure. Some members left, were baptized as Baptists in the Grand River, and held services in the members' homes. By 1840 a Baptist church had been organized and, despite persecution from the Church of England, baptisms increased. Native pastors served from the late 1840s to 1870. The Tuscarora Baptist Church, called the Round Church, was built about 1842 on the south bank of the Grand River. The log exterior was octagonal and the interior was round so that evil could not corner anyone attending.

New settlers moved into the area north of the Grand River and gradually the Iroquois there moved across the river into the remaining part of the Reserve. The Baptist congregation built a new church in Ohsweken in the central part of the Reserve, members of the other nations joined the Tuscaroras in the church, and the name Ohsweken Baptist Church was adopted. The old log church was moved nearby and converted to a parsonage. Both church and parsonage buildings have since been replaced.

In 1870 there was no longer a resident, Native, Baptist minister and the Baptist Missionary Convention of Ontario sent the Rev. Alexander Stewart to the Reserve and soon appointed him General Superintendent of the church's work there. The Canadian Baptist Register published the following reports of his work.

REV. A. STEWART -- TUSCARORA [from the 1872 Register]

Our aged brother on this Indian Reservation, seems to be much encouraged in his work. Ten have been baptized by him, and six by Elder Burke. Congregations have been good, and prospects are brightening. Bro. S. thus speaks of his work and field:

"I have great cause to be thankful to God for the many blessings which I have enjoyed during the year now past. I have been able to preach every Sabbath, and I have not been once absent from my field of labour. I have got along harmoniously with the native preachers, and with the assistance of Bro. Burke, six appointments have been kept up, and sixteen baptised, six of the number by Bro. Burke. Several have been restored and upwards of one hundred taught in the Sabbath Schools . ... I do hope that the Convention will sustain a man on the Mission for a number of years, one that will devote himself to the teaching of the young. If so, beyond all doubt the Mission will produce fruit to the satisfaction of the denomination. It has been by teaching in the Sabbath School that I have been able to conclude what can be done. I never met more promising or amiable dispositions than I have found among the young, but they need great care."

[Rev. Seth Claus, a Mohawk Indian missionary] has resigned his pastoral charge, and Bro. Stewart has received a call to succeed him.

REV. A. STEWART -- TUSCARORA [from the 1873 Register]

This missionary has had a sort of general oversight of the Indian Baptist Churches on the Tuscarora Reservation during the year. Three ordained preachers and one licentiate have ministered to these Churches, besides him . ... In the four Churches there are reported to be a total of 170 members . ... Bro. [S] writes as follows in his last report:

"Within the quarter I have visited and preached at all our stations on the Reserve, six in number. But during the year my time has been confined chiefly to the Tuscarora and Mohawk Churches, where twelve have been baptized, and fourteen restored. Bro. Burke continues to labour faithfully on the Mission, and baptized four during the year . ... I got along with [the native preachers] very well the first year, and equally so the second. To every one acquainted with the Reserve there are evident marks of improvement. On my part it is pleasing to mention that one of our Churches has raised within the past year $260 for various purposes, and we have two brothers who are willing to go east or west, north or south, to make known the way of salvation to their kindred, in moral and pagan darkness, if we only had means to help them; and there are several young men who are anxious to obtain an education to enable them to teach the young and preach the Gospel."

REV. A. STEWART -- TUSCARORA [from the 1874 Register]

This Brother is the senior member of the Convention. During the year he has had a general superintendency of the Indian Baptist Churches on the Tuscarora Reservation. He has been abundant in labours, and the Lord has given efficacy to the word of His grace among the "red men" of the Six Nations. The report of Bro. Stewart is interesting...:

"After having served the Convention for twenty years, it is my desire to express my gratitude to God for the innumerable mercies enjoyed during that time. My health has all along been preserved in a remarkable mariner so that I have always been able to attend to my duties, and I have reason to believe that God has blessed my efforts to the conversion and upbuilding of many souls.

I would also embrace this opportunity for expressing my appreciation of the kindness I received at the hands of the officers of the Convention ... some of whom have manifested a deep interest in my work, and from others of them I have received tangible tokens of personal regard.

The past year has been spent with satisfaction to myself and I trust also with profit to the Indians . ... Most of my time has been spent in connection with the Tuscarora (Council house) Church, it being the most central and most important. I have visited the Oneida church (above London) several times, and the visits seem to be appreciated and productive of good. Our Sabbath schools continue to do an excellent work which, we doubt not, will tell on the future moral and spiritual condition of the Indians . ...

REV. A. STEWART -- TUSCARORA, MOHAWK, &c. [from the 1875 Register]

This respected brother, the senior Missionary of the Convention, has spent four years of faithful work among the Indians, and his labors have not proved in vain in the Lord . ... During the year ... the church-members generally have maintained a consistent walk before the world and a firm maintenance of Baptist principles. They have also manifested praiseworthy zeal in fitting up a parsonage for the Missionary. The following is the report furnished o1 the state of the cause:

"I am afraid that the Baptists of Ontario have been somewhat indifferent in the past to the work which God requires them to do among the Indians. If we do what is required God will give to us His blessing. If we do not, God will raise up others who will do the work and reward them according to His promise. When asked what the Indians have done? we can reply that in the past they have done more on the Reserve than those of any other persuasion, in the way of providing comfortable places of worship; and during the past summer the brethren at the Council House have done nobly in fitting up the house that I live in. They need a little help towards it, for indeed they have done more than I expected. During the time that I have made my home in their midst, they have been very kind to me . ...

We are thankful to learn that our esteemed friend, Dr. Fyfe, made such representations to the Hon. New England Company on his recent visit to Great Britain, as resulted in a grant of fifty pounds sterling for Brother Stewart's support during the coming year.

REV. ALEXANDER STEWART- TUSCARORA, ONONDAGA, Etc. [from the 1876 Register]

This well-known Missionary has been abundant in labors during the year. With the help of two native brethren, as many as five services have been maintained on the Lord's day. He reports good congregations and well-attended Sabbath-schools, a great desire on the part of the people to hear the word, and an evident growth in the Divine life on the part of many of the members. There have, however, been no baptisms, a thing unusual in a mission among the Indians. Concerning this, Brother Stewart writes:

"I might have reported several baptisms, but I see the necessity of teaching first, according to our Lord's command. Indiscriminate baptizing in the past appears to be our greatest weakness at present. Thank the Lord we have several in our congregations who appear anxious, and are willing to be taught, and I hope we may soon have an ingathering of precious souls, who will prove steadfast, unmovable -- abounding in the work of the Lord."

REV. ALEX. STEWART -- INDIAN MISSION [From the 1877 Register]

Our respected Missionary on the Indian Reservation again reports a year of prosperity. He has preached regularly at Tuscarora and Onondaga, and occasionally at Oneida and other stations. He has specially endeavored to enforce upon the professing Christians the great importance of studying God's revealed will; and has pleasing evidence that his efforts in this direction have not been in vain. Strong attempts were made to seduce some of the members from their allegiance to Baptist principles, but they have all remained steadfast. Nor have Brother Stewart's labours been less successful in pointing sinners to the Saviour, for seventeen have professed conversion and been added to the churches by baptism. He reports the cause as hopeful on the whole field, and that the Sour Springs Church where Brother Burke has continued to labour with his usual zeal, has erected a new place of worship, which is nearly ready to be occupied. On the Reservation, there are now 214 members of Baptist Churches, of whom, 120 have been baptized during the last six years.

Brother Stewart's health has been failing during the summer months, and feeling that he is hardly able for the work, he proposes to resign and leave the field . ... [Apparently he returned; see next report.]

REV. A. STEWART -- TUSCARORA (From the 1878 Register]

This aged [he was now about 65] and toil-worn pioneer missionary, has labored under our direction for six months, and has preached at two stations, Tuscarora and Riverside, and at other places occasionally. He spent a month off his field collecting chapel funds; but while on his field he preached sixty sermons, made 76 visits, and travelled 900 miles. None were baptized. He reports $10 received as salary, and $2.50 collected for the Convention. Church members 76. ... [He] wrote:

"You will be pleased to know that the Indians have contributed to the building of these chapels beyond my highest expectation. One of the chapels will cost $1000, and it is so far advanced that services have been held in it. I trust both will soon be finished and clear of debt. My stay with the Indians has been productive of some good results. In the Tuscarora church, near which I live, three have been restored, two added by letter, and three have offered themselves for baptism. I have visited the other churches on the mission occasionally, and at all the attendance and attention are good."

Then Rev. Stewart did leave the Reserve and return to his old home in Durham. His son JWAS wrote in 1886 about this period in his father's life:

The last few years his home has again been in Durham, but a large part of his time has been spent with the Indians; and what has not been so spent has been fully occupied in Christian work on his old fields in Grey and Bruce.

The Canadian Baptist Register for 1886 reports on his work:

INDIAN RESERVE

At the request of a committee appointed by the Brant Association to enquire into the state of Indian Baptist Churches on the neighboring Reserve the Home Miss. Board endeavored to lay hold of this neglected field. Rev. A. Stewart having been invited by these churches to visit them and help them out of their difficulties, was appointed as missionary of the Board. He gives the following report of the state of the cause and of the work done:

"The Tuscarora Bap. Church sent a pressing invitation to me last spring to visit them when they were in a sad state of confusion. The chief cause of the trouble was the want of an efficient teacher and guide. But thank the Lord confidence is being restored. Of late meetings have been pleasant and profitable, some of them largely attended. Four have been baptized and last Sunday evening upwards of twenty manifested a desire to turn to the Lord. I have visited all the churches on the Reserve, but spent the greater part of my time with the Tuscarora Church, where it was most needed. There are sixty in the membership at Tuscarora and two hundred and fifty in all the churches. The census of 1884 reports 650 Baptists on the Reserve. On the whole the time and means spent on this important field have been greatly blessed in winning souls to Jesus. It is a wonder that the state of the mission is as hopeful as it is considering the way it has been neglected from time to time. I do hope the Convention will decide to sustain a good man on the field or give it up altogether. I wrought hard during the summer in proportion to my strength, preached eighty sermons, besides lectures and prayer meetings. And now I thank the Lord for his merciful kindness in granting me health and strength of body and mind to enable me to do a little in his vineyard."

A commemorative booklet, The Hundredth Anniversary of the Ohsweken Baptist Church, included this tribute to him:

Among those who have laboured for the Six Nations, none has shown more tact, good judgment, genuine sympathy and intelligent interest in all his efforts than the Rev. Alex. Stewart of Durham. He came on the Reserve in 1870, and for ten years made his home amongst the Indians. Several good brethren have gone to them and preached, but have lived away from the settlement or elsewhere. They have accomplished something of course. But the man who wins their confidence must live with them, meet them in their daily walks, see them in their homes, become personally acquainted with their children, be accessible when needed for advice in spiritual and secular matters as well as sympathy in affliction. Every reason why a pastor should live among his people holds with a five-fold force. The effect of Bro. Stewart's ten years' life and labour on the Reserve is plainly seen in the uplifting of general character and rapid improvement in the dwellings and the forming of the whole community as well as in the tone of spiritual life amongst the church members.

The Baptist Women's Missionary Society periodical The Link and Visitor wrote in 1940, on the occasion of the Tuscarora Baptist Church (or Ohsweken Baptist Church) centennial, that the hundredth anniversary

... takes us back to the pioneer days of struggle and facing a new order, the meeting with the Indians in all their glory of paint and feathers. Then, the later generation were thrilled by the encampments, the wigwams, the beautiful beadwork, and basket weaving. But today ... we see the Indians in all their full Christian strength. We wonder what has brought about this wonderful transformation, and we soon realize that it is nothing but the power of the Gospel message faithfully preached and taught by those who had a passion for souls. Dr. [Harold S.] Stewart,..spoke on the opening day, and very fitting, too, as his grandfather was the first resident missionary . ... The choir ... sang unaccompanied, in the Mohawk language.

Ethel Keats Stewart, widow of the Rev. Hugh W. Stewart, another grandson of Alexander Stewart, sent the above article and wrote in 1991:

As you see, Grandfather was the first resident missionary at Ohsweken, the Indian reservation on the Grand River. Hugh and I were there on the occasion of an anniversary of the church but I am not sure of the year. Hugh preached the sermon at both services that day. ... We had dinner on Sunday at the home of an Indian family where an elderly man knew a great deal of "Father Stewart's" work on the reserve. The people were delighted to have the grandson of the "first resident" missionary taking the service.

The Baptist denomination on the Reserve throve. News of the several Baptist churches there must have gladdened his heart in his retirement. He would have been happy to read the words of a member on the Reserve, telling about his youth in the early 20th century, and quoted in the newspaper Tekawennake:

New converts in the congregation anxiously awaited spring so that they could be baptized in the river. Sometimes holes would be cut in the ice and the candidates immersed in the icy waters...

Another present-day Baptist on the Reserve, Mrs. Carrie Green, has written that