Stuart was born in New York, either near Waterloo, New York, or in Columbia County. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1832, and commenced practice in Waterloo. He moved to Michigan in 1835 and settled in Kalamazoo. He was a member of the state house of representatives in 1842 and was elected as a Democrat from Michigan's 2nd District to the 30th Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Edward Bradley. He served from December 6, 1847, to March 3, 1849 and was defeated for reelection in 1848. He was elected to the 32nd Congress, serving from March 4, 1851 to March 3, 1853. He chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of State in the 32nd Congress.
He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1852 and served in the 34th, 35th, and 36th Congresses from March 4, 1853 to March 3, 1859. He was the President pro tempore of the Senate during the 34th Congress, and chairman of the Committee on Public Lands in the 34th and 35th Congresses. He did not seek reelection to the Senate but was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Michigan in 1858. He resumed the practice of law in Kalamazoo and was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention from Michigan in 1860.
During the Civil War, Stuart raised and equipped the Thirteenth Regiment, Michigan Volunteer Infantry, of which he was commissioned colonel, but he had to resign due to ill health.
Stuart died in Kalamazoo and is interred in Mountain Home Cemetery. His home in Kalamazoo at 427 Stuart Ave. is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The surrounding Stuart Area Historic District is also listed.
External links
Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress (http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S001033)
Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Silvester Maria Stuart (December 31, 1720 – January 31, 1788), was the exiled claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland, commonly known as "Bonnie Prince Charlie".
Charles was the son of James Francis Edward Stuart who was in turn the son of King James II of England, Scotland and Ireland, who had been deposed in 1688.
Charles had hoped to be supported by a French fleet but this was badly damaged by storms and he was left to raise an army in Scotland.
Charles Edward Louis Philip Casimir Stuart (December 31, 1720 – January 31, 1788), was the exiled claimant to the thrones of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as "Bonnie Prince Charlie".
Charles was the son of James Francis Edward Stuart, the "Old Pretender", who was in turn the son of King James II of England, Scotland and Ireland, who had been deposed in 1688.
Despite his strong associations with Scotland, Charles was born in Rome, Italy, and brought up there with his father who was in exile having failed to regain the thrones of Great Britain and Ireland from which his own father, King James II of England, had been deposed in 1688.