John Edwin Stillwell Jr. (1853 - 1930)

Born 9 Nov 1853 in New York City, New York County, New York, United States

Ancestors

Died 6 Oct 1930 at age 76 in New York City, New York, United States

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Biography

John Stillwell Jr. is Notable.

John Stillwell Jr. was a member of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.

John Stillwell Jr. was a New Yorker.

John was a physician.

Biography of John Edwin Stillwell, M.D. 1853-1930^[1]

"Dr. John Edwin Stillwell, Fellow Trustee and Annual Member of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, died at his residence, 32 West 52nd Street, New York City, on October 6, 1930. His funeral was held at his home on the following day.

Dr. Stillwell was the fourth oldest member of this Society, which he joined on May 5, 1888. On February 9th, 1917, he was elected a Trustee of the Society, and in the same year, on March 9th was appointed a member of the Publication Committee. Both of these offices he held at his death. On May 17, 1929, at a meeting of the Board of Trustees, on motion of Capt. John R. Totten, Dr. Stillwell was unanimously elected Fellow of the Society (See NYG&B Record 60:293-294).

He was born in New York City on November 9, 1853, the son of Dr. John E. Stillwell, III. (1813-1873) and Elizabeth Gillies. His mother was a native of Greenock, Scotland. Through his father he was descended from Lieutenant Nicholas Stillwell (died 1671-2), whose life and adventures have been so ably depicted by Dr. Stillwell himself in "The History of Lieutenant Nicholas Stillwell", the first volume of his "Stillwell Genealogy". The line is as follows: Lieut. Nicholas Stillwell (1), Capt. Richard (2), Thomas (3), John (4), Joseph (5), Dr. William (6), Dr. John Edwin (7), Dr. John Edwin Stillwell, Jr. (8), the subject of this sketch.

As his father, uncle and grandfather were all physicians practicing in New York City, it was natural that he himself should follow in their footsteps. Dr. Stillwell was proud of the fact that the various members of his immediate family had practiced medicine for over 172 years in all. He graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1875, and spent the next two years as House Surgeon in Bellevue Hospital. He then commenced practice in partnership with Dr. E. B. Belden.

In 1896 Dr. Stillwell removed to 9 West 49th Street, where he lived until 1927. Here he housed his remarkable art collection and library. For years he traveled abroad each summer, gathering unique paintings and objects of art. His collection was one of great merit, and in December, 1927, when he disposed of it at auction, it aroused much interest from collectors all over the world. It contained works by Raphael, Titian, El Greco, Rubens, Hals, and Murillo.

In spite of a constantly growing practice, largely among the old Knickerbocker families of the city, Dr. Stillwell was much interested in genealogical work. In 1903 he brought out the first volume of his "Historical and Genealogical Miscellany", a work dealing for the most part with families of Monmouth County, New Jersey. Other volumes of this series appeared in 1906, 1914, and 1916. They are authorities in their field, which have never been superseded. Shortly before his death he began the publication of his "Stillwell Genealogy". The first volume, already mentioned, was "The History of Lieutenant Nicholas Stillwell." The second volume took up "The History of Capt. Richard Stillwell" and his descendants. Both of these volumes were reviewed in the Record (vol. 61, pp. 93 and 209). Several more volumes are contemplated, and will be published in due course.

In 1929 Dr. Stillwell published his "History of the Burr Portraits." This remarkable work was twice reviewed in the Record (vol. 60, pp. 195 and 294). It traced in a fascinating way the portraits of Aaron Burr and his family and their subsequent history.

Dr. Stillwell never married. He is survived by three nieces, Miss Lauretta Stillwell Miller of Red Bank, New Jersey, daughter of his deceased sister Lauretta, who married Capt. David Miller, and the Misses Alice and Isabel Britton, daughters of his deceased sister Isabel, who married Channing Moore Britton; and by two adopted sons, Harrison A. McNear and Benton McArthur.

Dr. Stillwell was a member of numerous medical and historical societies. He was a Fellow of the Academy of Medicine, a member of the New York County Medical Society, the New York State Medical Society, the Medical Society of Greater New York, the Bellevue Hospital Alumni Association, the Advisory Board of Gabriel's Sanitarium, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York State Historical Society, the Holland Society of New York, the New England Society, the Sons of the Revolution, the Staten Island Historical Society and the Monmouth County (N.J.) Historical Society, of which he was a charter member. He was also a Trustee and Vice-President of the New York Historical Society, to which he made valuable donations.

To those who worked with Dr. Stillwell his loss is irreparable. His keen judgement, discriminating taste, and vast knowledge of many diverse subjects, were always at the service of his friends. He was a member of the Publication Committee of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record for over thirteen years, and was always eager to share in the work, despite more pressing demands on his time. In his death the committee feels a personal loss, and will miss his gracious courtesy, his masterful knowledge of genealogical matters, and his delightful companionship and winning personality."

[SIIP, 1930] proves that Hetty Stillwell Lee (Stillwell-1231), who wrote the chapter on the Stillwells of Staten Island, knew of Dr. John Edwin Stillwell and his work. He published his famous Stillwell Genealogy documents in 1929. Hetty states that Dr. John E. Stillwell died in his home at 52 West 52nd Street in New York City on 6 Oct. 1930.

The Find-a-Grave source, memorial ID 34379696, confirms the identity of Dr. Stillwell's parents, sister, and his birth date. The typographical error in the death year (1920) has been corrected to "6 Oct. 1930."

The Archivegrid source confirms both Dr. Stillwell's birth and death year. This source, among others, explains what a remarkable and accomplished man he was. His books, manuscript, and document collection include "deeds, patents, returns of surveys, bonds, agreements, military commissions, letters, receipts (including an 1808 receipt book of the physician William Stillwell), bills, accounts, wills, memoranda, inventories, indentures of apprenticeship, depositions, etc., concerning members of the ... Stillwell family" and many other families who lived in the New York and New Jersey area. The on-line abstract in Archivegrid indicates that Dr. Stillwell was especially concerned about the welfare of the poor.

"Library Thing" lists ten works by Dr. Stilwell and confirms his birth and death years. He was a prolific writer who made many valuable contributions to history and genealogy, many of which appear in WikiTree profiles.

Sources

1. ↑ NYG&B Record: Vol. 62, pg. 1-3, (Jan 1931).

• [SIIP, 1930] Staten Island and Its People: A History 1609-1929 by Charles W. Leng, B. Sc., and William T. Davis, Volume IV, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Inc. New York 1930 available from [1]

• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 30 November 2019), memorial page for Dr. John E. Stillwell (9 Nov 1853–6 Oct 1920), Find A Grave Memorial no. 34379696, citing Fair View Cemetery, Middletown, Monmouth County, New Jersey, USA ; Maintained by Kat (contributor 19409629).[2] and

• Find-a-Grave Dr. John Edwin Stillwell, Jr. accessed 3 Dec 2022, [3] Photo added by PJH / Angelbird. Portrait and cemetery images available.

• Archivegrid, John E. Stillwell collection, 1633-1916 (bulk 1670-1840). Stillwell, John E. (John Edwin), 1853-1930, New-York Historical Society, https://researchworks.oclc.org/archivegrid/collection/data/475919596

• Library Thing, John E Stillwell, 1853-1930, https://www.librarything.com/author/stillwelljohne