It was probably early in Alexander's residence on the Reserve that he met Ruth Thomas Reynolds, then living in Hartford, Townsend township, Norfolk County, near the border of the Reserve.

Her father, Caspar Thomas, had been born in the United States of English origin in about 1801 and was a "Menonist", according to the census. He may have immigrated to Canada in his youth, as he married a woman who had been born in Upper Canada. The children were also born in Ontario; daughter Ruth was reported by her obituary to have been born in the Niagara District. Caspar Thomas's wife Sarah and the children were Baptists and probably attended the Hartford Baptist Church, organized in 1834. Ruth was born in 1832 (according to the age given in her marriage record) and she had at least three brothers and three sisters, according to various reports.

By the time of the 1861 census, only three sons, Squire, Casper, and Henry, were living with their parents. Ruth was gone, apparently already married to Walter Reynolds and living in North Easthope township near Stratford, Ontario. No Walter Reynolds was recorded as a landowner in that township but an Alfred Reynolds owned lot 34 of concession 4 in the early 1860s -- perhaps Walter's father or brother.

Sadly, Ruth lost a baby son, Albert Fred Reynolds, on 17 December 1861 and then her 37-year-old husband on 3 February 1868, according to their gravestone in Avondale Cemetery, Section R-2-14, in Stratford.

Ruth returned to her parental home and the 1871 census shows the widowed Ruth in Townsend, living with her mother in the village of Hartford. This was a post office hamlet once called Circularville, because one of the first circular saws in Upper Canada was put into use there, according to a Townsend and Waterford Historical Society publication. An American school teacher suggested changing the name to Hartford, after the capital of Connecticut, and the settlement lost its picturesque and individual name.

Townsend vital statistics include the following in its records of marriages:

June 4, 1872. Alexander Stewart [age illegible; if born in May 1813, his age was 59] of Hartford, born in Scotland, Minister, son of Wm Stewart & Ann McDonald [this is the only record I have found of the name of Alexander's mother],. to Ruth Reynolds, 40, W[idow], daughter of Caspar Thomas & Sarah Bunn[?], Townsend.

The Canadian Baptist of 13 June 1872 included the following announcement:

M[arried]: on the 4th inst. [i.e. 4 June] at the residence of the bride's mother by Rev. H. Bolton, assisted by Rev. J. Burke, Rev. A. Stewart to Mrs. Ruth Reynolds both of Hartford, Ont.

The same publication in its issue of 3 July 1873 announced:

B[orn]: At Onondaga village on 19th ult.[i.e. 19 June] wife of Rev. Alex Stewart of a daughter.

It is interesting to note that one of the ministers participating in Alexander's wedding ceremony was one of the Six Nations pastors with whom he worked and that apparently, between the wedding and the birth of his daughter, Alexander had moved his family onto the Reserve.

The household now included a new baby as well as 19-year-old Emma (if she was still living at home) and nine-year-old Augusta. Emma married William K. Grafftey of Montreal, in Ohsweken on the Reserve, on 31 August 1875. A month earlier, on July 13th, her brother Joseph had also married another resident of Montreal, Mary Ann St. Leger McGinn.

The birth announcement above, of a daughter born to Alexander and Ruth Stewart, is the only record I have found of this daughter, so I do not know her name or her fate. Since the 1881 and 1891 censuses do not list her with her parents, I have to assume regretfully that she, like so many babies of the time, died in early childhood.

I found no record of the birth of any more children but there are some intriguing indications that Alexander and Ruth adopted one or more children.

Ruth Stewart's will, drawn up 11 December 1900, while Ruth lay ill with typhoid fever, names her "adopted daughter" Gertrude, wife of James Robertson, as the recipient of her personal property (including her organ, probably a foot-pedaled parlor organ). It is curious that Alexander Stewart made no mention of Gertrude in his will, drawn up four years later. Had she died? or had he already given her what he considered her share of his estate?

And who was she? A girl named "Marion G. Stewart" or "Marrian G. Stewart" was listed in the 1881 and 1891 censuses in Alexander and Ruth's household. She was described in the 1881 census as seven years old and born in Ontario of German ethnic origin. The 1891 census listed her as 17 years old, born in the United States, of parents who were both born in Ontario. Her relationship to Alexander Stewart was given as "L". Donald S. Holmes of the Ontario Genealogical Society, to whom I am indebted for help in providing information, explained that this seems to have meant "Lodger".

Perhaps she was Marion Gertrude Stewart, called "Gertrude" by the family to avoid confusion with Alexander's granddaughter Marion MacKenzie. Perhaps she was a foster child whom Ruth Stewart came to love as a daughter. Alexander Stewart had sent his own children to school and took satisfaction from being the means of keeping children it school -- but didn't say (at least, in any records that have come down to us) how he did this. Maybe he and Ruth took in homeless children. Maybe Marion/Gertrude was one of these. Alas, very little has come down to us about his family life in his later years. The only such comment by his family that I have found is this one by grandson AMS:

In his later years he married a second time, and when this writer visited in Durham in 1900, he was comfortably housed in his own home, with a good and able wife making a home for him.

Sad to say, he was not to enjoy this happiness much longer. Ruth fell ill with typhoid fever and on 13 December 1900 she died. Alexander's daughter-in-law recorded tersely in her diary that "Mrs. Stewart'' had died and was to be buried in Stratford. Perhaps it was Ruth's request that she be buried beside her first husband and baby. The Stratford Daily Beacon of 15 December 1900 reported:

FUNERAL OF MRS. STEWART. There died at Durham on Thursday, Mrs. (Rev.) Stewart, nee Mrs. Walter Reynolds [actually, nee Ruth Thomas] of North Easthope. The deceased was 66 years of age, and the cause of death was hemorrhaging of the bowels. She was the wife of Rev. Mr. Stewart, pastor of the Baptist church, Durham. The remains were brought to Stratford on the 9:50 train this morning and interment took place this afternoon at Avondale cemetery, Rev. Mr. McKay of this city and Rev. Mr. McGregor of Durham officiating.

The Canadian Baptist of 3 January 1901 reported:

Died at Durham, Ont., on the 13th Dec. 1900, Mrs. Ruth Stewart, wife of Rev. Alex. Stewart, aged 66 years and 6 months.

Our deceased sister was born in the Niagara District, and afterwards lived in the village of Hartford, near Brantford. Since her marriage to Rev. A. Stewart she has made her home in the town of Durham for nearly 25 years where she was a member of the Baptist church for many years, and was one of its most faithful and devoted workers, as well as long President of the Women's Mission Circle, in which society she took much interest. Having gifts of a superior order, she made her life felt in powers of organizing, leading and executing. She was a born leader, and when anything came under her hand it was eventually carried out with success. Independent, fearless, and at times outspoken, she displayed a vigourous and strong personality that would impress itself upon an observer. She dearly loved her Lord, His house of prayer and His people, and no church and pastor had ever a warmer supporter or firmer friend. Durham church has lost a sister, we fear, whose place will be hard to fill. But God reigns, for though He buries His workers, He can carry out His work.

During an epidemic of typhoid fever in our town during the months of September and October she succumbed to its effects after 3 months of patient suffering. The best medical skill was tried in vain; every thought and care were bestowed upon her by her bereaved husband, and the loving ministries of others, till she fell asleep in the Lord Jesus Christ. Her remains were taken to Stratford and interred in that cemetery, the Rev. Mr. McKay of that city, and the Pastor of Durham church, officiating at the grave. She leaves behind her a bereaved and aged husband -perhaps the oldest minister in our denomination -- 2 brothers and 3 sisters, to whom is extended the deepest sympathy. The funeral sermon was preached in her own church, on Sunday evening, the 16th Dec., by the pastor.

Lester J. Wilker, of the Perth County Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society, has very kindly checked the Avondale Cemetery records and did not find Ruth listed. Whether this is because Alexander did not have a gravestone installed or for some other reason, I do not know.

Ruth's will, written as she lay dying, is quoted below. It is interesting that the money bequests suggest that the Stewarts were no longer quite as poor as Alexander and Esther had been half a century before; perhaps Ruth had brought some money into the marriage. After the usual paragraphs about payment of debts, the bequests were as follows: