David Dinsmore Stewart was born in Corinna, Maine on October 22, 1823, the son of David and Elisabeth Steward, and the brother of the future real estate tycoon and philanthropist, Levi M. Stewart.
Both David and his brother, Levi, changed the spelling of their last name from Steward to Stewart.
Receiving his early education in public schools and at Hartland and Charleston Academies, D.D. Stewart was a graduate of Bowdoin College, studied law and was admitted to the Somerset Bar in 1847.
Moving to St. Albans where he continued to practice law for the remainder of his life, he served as County Attorney in 1850 and 1851.
A member of the Maine House of Representatives in 1862, he was a State Senator from 1863 to 1865 serving as President of the Senate in 1865.
A successful lawyer in his own right, he spent the last few years of his life disbursing the vast fortune inherited from his brother, Levi, who had made a fortune estimated at between $12 and $20 million speculating in Minneapolis real estate.
Some of the Stewart money went into such gifts as the Stewart Free Library which was given to the town of Corinna in memory of their father in 1895. The building cost $65,000 at the time and was left with a $50,000 maintenance fund as well as Levi Stewart’s own private library.
A man of intelligence and courtly manners, D.D. Stewart spent the last eight years of his life bequeathing from his brother’s estate to colleges, schools and charitable institutions across the country.
He died on December 31, 1917 in St. Albans.