John Stiarwalt
Politician. Born: 1815, Ohio. Married: Elizabeth. Died: 1882.
A co-founder of Palermo and Troy in Doniphan County, John Stiarwalt was born in Ohio (ca. 1815,) and married Elizabeth ________, also a native of Ohio. The Stiarwalts moved to Kansas Territory in 1855 from Weston, Missouri, where they had apparently settled in the late 1840s and where he worked as a carpenter. Stiarwalt was one of five delegates representing Doniphan County at the 1859 constitutional convention where he served on the apportionment and the phraseology and arrangement committees. Actively engaged in the proceedings throughout, Stiarwalt spoke up on several issues including on the question of annexing "southern" Nebraska. He insisted that this was not a partisan issue and in fact the "Republican Legislature last winter" had memorialized Congress for this same territory. In arguing this point further, Stiarwalt insisted "our Democratic members have ever been Free State men. They have worked just as hard, and have voted just as strenuously against the pro-slavery party as have the Republicans. A majority of all that stand upon this floor have been against the pro-slavery party." He insisted that no "trickery" involved in this effort and that his party only wanted annexation because this was "a good, rich strip of country." Subsequently, Stiarwalt continued farming in Washington Township, Doniphan County, and participated in the state railroad convention at Topeka in October 1860. [He died before 1882.]
Entry: Stirwalt, John
Author: Kansas Historical Society
Author information: The Kansas Historical Society is a state agency charged with actively safeguarding and sharing the state's history.
Date Created: June 2011
Date Modified: June 2011
The author of this article is solely responsible for its content.
