Stewart, James Scott (1878–1936)
By Milton Hook
Milton Hook, Ed.D. (Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan, the United States). Hook retired in 1997 as a minister in the Greater Sydney Conference, Australia. An Australian by birth Hook has served the Church as a teacher at the elementary, academy and college levels, a missionary in Papua New Guinea, and as a local church pastor. In retirement he is a conjoint senior lecturer at Avondale College of Higher Education. He has authored Flames Over Battle Creek, Avondale: Experiment on the Dora, Desmond Ford: Reformist Theologian, Gospel Revivalist, the Seventh-day Adventist Heritage Series, and many magazine articles. He is married to Noeleen and has two sons and three grandchildren.
First Published: December 3, 2021
James Scott Stewart served the Seventh-day Adventist Church in pastoral and departmental roles in four Australian states.
James Scott Stewart was born in South Melbourne on February 8, 1878. His preferred name was Scott. When he was a young man he received Bible studies by Victorian Conference worker Minnie Wadsworth and was baptised as a member of the Seventh-day Adventist church. He and Minnie were married in Melbourne in 1903.1
Years of Service
In 1907 James began canvassing Bible Readings for the Home Circle in Bendigo, Victoria.2 He met with success and the following year was permitted to sell the larger volume titled Ladies Guide (later Ladies Handbook) in the rural communities of Toongabbie, Cowarr and Trafalgar, east of Melbourne.3 Two years of canvassing were followed by eight years of assisting in tent crusades and city evangelism in the Victorian Conference. He worked in country towns such as Warracknabeal4 and Horsham5 before moving into suburban Melbourne. In the city crusades with larger audiences Scott would conduct suitable classes for the children while most of the parents listened to the lectures for adults. Some mothers needed to be near their children so Minnie would address them on the same topics covered in the main meetings.6
The next fifteen years of Scott’s career were spent in departmental roles in three separate conferences. These positions began with his election in 1917 to the Home Missions portfolio in the Victorian Conference.7 In 1919 he transferred to the same role in the South Australian Conference8 and it was there that he was ordained.9 During his final year in the South Australian Conference the portfolios of Missionary Volunteer Secretary and Sabbath School Secretary were added to his Home Missions role.10 Scott transferred to the Queensland Conference in 192411 where at various times he held the same portfolios. One year, 1926, he carried all three roles at the same time in addition to being the Education Secretary.12
In 1932 Scott began pastoral work in the city of Sydney, New South Wales.13 He became seriously ill in late 1935 and lingered until he passed away in the Sydney Sanitarium on April 23, 1936. He lies in Macquarie Park Cemetery, North Ryde.14
Scott and Minnie had three children named Edith, Doris and Norman. When Scott died Minnie lived with her two daughters, her last years spent on the campus of Carmel College, Western Australia, where Edith and Doris were employed. Minnie passed away peacefully on July 21, 1954, aged eighty-two. She rests in Karrakatta Cemetery, Perth.15
Sources
“Brother A. Chelberg was assigned…” Union Conference Record, February 28, 1910.
Hare, R[euben] E. “James Scott Stewart.” Australasian Record, May 11, 1936.
J[orgensen] A[lfred] S. “Minnie Stewart.” Australasian Record and Advent World Survey, August 23, 1954.
“Monthly Summary of Australasian Canvassing Work.” Union Conference Record, June 17, 1907.
“Monthly Summary of Australasian Canvassing Work.” Union Conference Record, March 2, 1908.
Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1911-1936.
Stewart, J. S[cott]. “Grasping the Golden Opportunities.” Australasian Record, March 17, 1924.
Turner, W. G[ordon]. “South Australian Conference.” Australasian Record, May 26, 1919.
Westerman, W[alter] J. “Victorian Conference.” Australasian Record, April 2, 1917.
Woods, J[ohn] H. “Melbourne, Victoria.” Australasian Record, June 9, 1913.
“Word comes to hand…” Australasian Record, January 2, 1911.
Notes
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R[euben] E. Hare, “James Scott Stewart,” Australasian Record, May 11, 1936, 6.↩
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E.g., “Monthly Summary of Australasian Canvassing Work,” Union Conference Record, June 17, 1907, 4.↩
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E.g., “Monthly Summary of Australasian Canvassing Work,” Union Conference Record, March 2, 1908, 4.↩
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“Brother A. Chelberg was assigned…” Union Conference Record, February 28, 1910, 8.↩
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“Word comes to hand…” Australasian Record, January 2, 1911, 8.↩
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J[ohn] H. Woods, “Melbourne, Victoria,” Australasian Record, June 9, 1913, 7.↩
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W[alter] J. Westerman, “Victorian Conference,” Australasian Record, April 2, 1917, 4-6.↩
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W. G[ordon] Turner, “South Australian Conference,” Australasian Record, May 26, 1919, 3-4.↩
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“South Australian Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1921), 139.↩
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“South Australian Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1923), 167-168.↩
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J. S[cott] Stewart, “Grasping the Golden Opportunities,” Australasian Record, March 17, 1924, 6.↩
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“Queensland Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1926), 203.↩
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“South New South Wales Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1932), 104.↩
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R[euben] E. Hare, “James Scott Stewart,” Australasian Record, May 11, 1936, 6.↩
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A[lfred] S. J[orgensen], “Minnie Stewart,” Australasian Record and Advent World Survey, August 23, 1954, 14.↩