Oliver W. Stewart

Oliver Stewart was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1902, on the Prohibition ticket,   He was considered to be the most effective pro-Prohibition member of the Illinois legislature.
     Stewart was born in Mercer County, Illinois in 1867.  A graduate of Eureka College, he was a church pastor and leader of the (Illinois) Christian Endeavor Union.
     He served as Chairman of the Prohibition National Committee from 1900 until 1905.

-- Gammon, 2007, pp.67-68

     Elected to the Illinois Legislature in 1902, on the Prohibition ticket, he carried his ideals with him into that legislative body…..
     Since serving in the Illinois Legislature and as National Chairman, Mr. Stewart has been in demand in reform work, and upon Chautauqua and lecture platforms…..
      A member of the Executive Committee from the beginning, he was the most powerful assistant Governor Hanly had in the planning and management of the Flying Squadron campaign.
Born in Mercer County, Illinois, May 22, 1867, [Oliver] Stewart’s boyhood days were spent on the farm.  He graduated from Woodhull, Illinois, high school in 1885, and taught school for two years.  He was made Secretary and Organizer for the District Lodge of Good Templars, doing his first public work for Temperance and Prohibition that year.
       He entered Eureka College in 1887, working his way through school.  Following his graduation and marriage in 1890, three years were given to evangelistic work.  He was Secretary of the Illinois Christian Endeavor Union for two years, and President of that organization for two years.  During this time he was pastor of the Disciples’ Church at Mackinaw, Illinois.
     In 1896 Mr. Stewart was elected Chairman of the Illinois State Prohibition Committee and presided over the Illinois Prohibition Convention that year, and in 1900 was made Chairman of the Prohibition National Committee, serving five years.

Speeches of the Flying Squadron

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