The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1890-12-16
PARNELE'o GRANDMOTHER.
An Eccentric Woman Who Was
Harshly Separated From
Her Husband.

Washington, Dec. 9. --Apropcs of
the recent episode which makes the
Parnell family more CONSPICUOUS than
ever before, an old master of remin-
iscences writes to a local paper
"Ihe a tentIOn of the whole civil
lied worl being attracted to the Par
nell name. it might interest your
readers to know that in the past his
grandmother resided here, and, in
another way, was ss much an object
of remark and comment as her grand
son Is now. / cannot say when it
WIS that Mrs. Commodcre Stewart
resided here but, my memory Of her is
very good. She Was a very handsome
woman, as / recall her, but eccentric
in appearance and IN her general
intercourse. j used to see her almost
evers d,y on the avenue. and she
walked with very queer gait, hardly
lame. nut like one wearing tight shoes
which were painful.
"There were two daughters living
here with her who sh red her moth
er's peculiarities. One of them L re-
member distinctly, who was known as
Peggy S eward, and the other one |
cannot recall. Whether either IF the
ladies' was subs uen ly Mrs. Parnell
/ d. not know, buu it would not sur
pr Sc me, as any of the family wrult
be liable to indulge IN the eccentrici-
ties which have occasioned so much
remark of late.
"Mrs. Commodore Stewart, as the
memory of her comes hack to me,
while not a recluse, seems to have hal
but few associates. They, Mrs
Ste .art and daughters, would take
their daily walks, but always alone. /
do not remember ever to have seen
them together or with any one. Mrs.
Stewart was supposed to be wealthy,
but made no display oft
The story Of her separation from
the Com odore Is almost legendary,
coming as it does from the Ing past,
but as to d me in my boybood | hive
never forgotten it. 1t was customary
at one time in the navy for officers OF
certain grade to t.ke III ir families
with them IN the long cruises which
sal ing WI els hid to u rderIake, and
Mrs. Stewart acc 'mpanied the Com
modore to the Medi erranean station.
While at Naples revolutionary dis
turbance occurred and one of the
leaders of the revolt sought shelter
among the sells in the harbo, and
eventually rearhed he United States
ship commanded by commodore
Stewart. where, appealing to The SYM
pathy of Mrs. Stewart, he was secret
ed In the ship.
The ship sailed soon after, and when
one distance from Naples Mrs. Stew
art informed the commodore OF the
presence of this person on the ship.
The commodore at once resumed to
Naples and delivered the fugitive to
the authorities, and, as / was tpld, pu.
Mrs. Stewart ON a vessel sailing for
America, and never saw her from that
time.
There was a good deal of kindly
sympathy for her here. for no one
ever que. toned the purity of her mo-
tives, and her friends said it Was the
harsh treatment OF the commodore
which produced IN her the strange
after life she led. | have und rstnod
that Mrs. Parnell Was one of he two
daughters who wer with her here but
do not Know it. Only a few months
agn Mrs. Parnell was sppealing 10 the
cnuntry fer help, and an Irish come
dian, then p aging an eng cement in
New York, gave a BIN lit for her,
which realized, as 1 RENE mber, some
thing like $500. 1t was nj her, but
her need vas not relieved, as it was
said some creditors sezed it.