Ambrose Family Album

Generation 2. Laura Kerr (Ambrose) Stewart (1876-1951).

Laura Kerr (Ambrose) Stewart was the younger daughter of Joseph Ritner and Margaret (Dougherty) Ambrose. This picture is undated and there is no photographer's mark.

Laura was born in 1876, probably on the farm in Cowanshannock Township. When she was a teenager she lived with relatives in Kittanning (perhaps Doughertys) so she could attend high school there and become a teacher. She taught school for a several years before marrying G.L. Stewart. She and G.L. had three children: Maxine (1902-2000), Mabel (1905-1983) and Craig (1909-1966).

Laura's daughter Maxine remembered 'Mama' as the center of the household and a real demon of a housekeeper. She was devoted not only to her immediate family but to her brothers, sisters, and many nieces and nephews. Laura loved children and seemed to always want some around the house. She also cared for children who needed a helping hand. She and G. L. more or less informally adopted a little girl who lived in town who had lost most of her family. When the little girl grew up, Laura and G.L. helped pay her way through nursing school.

Laura loved to learn. Her daughter-in-law, Esther 'Pat' (Freyermuth) Stewart, remembered that Laura was fascinated by maps and could look at an atlas for hours. She could get lost in a dictionary, too. Of course she had a lighter side. She and G.L. enjoyed movies and went whenever the 'show' changed at the local theater.

In the late 1940's, Laura suffered a series of strokes and became bedridden. She died in 1951. She and G.L. are buried in the Rural Valley Cemetery.

---