(August 15, 1833 - September 8, 1909)
David Finney Stuart was born in Brooke County, Western Virginia, to William and Mary Cummins Stuart. Upon the death of his parents, Stuart moved to Texas to live with his sister Elizabeth, wife of the Rev. Dr. James Weston Miller. A brother-in-law, Dr. George Clark Red, encouraged Stuart to become a physician, and after completing his medical studies in Philadelphia and New Orleans, Dr. Stuart began his practice with Dr. Red in Washington County, Texas in 1860.
During the Civil War Stuart served the Confederacy as a surgeon in the 10th Texas Infantry. He moved to Houston in 1866, then had yellow fever during the great epidemic of 1867. Years later, he became an authority on the treatment of the disease. He was instrumental in the reorganization of the Texas State Medical Association in 1869, serving as its fourth president in 1873. Also that year, he and Dr. Ashbel Smith were founders of the newly-chartered medical school in Galveston, then known as Texas Medical College. Stuart served as the school's president from 1878 until it was followed by the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston in 1891.
Dr. Stuart, together with Drs. Joshua Larendon and Thomas J. Boyles, opened the Houston Infirmary in the early 1870s. Dr. Stuart was chief surgeon for several railroads. As chairman of the Houston Board of Health he cared for the indigent, and he also served on many bank and corporate boards. Dr. Stuart was celebrated for his dedication to improving the lives of the citizens of his adopted city and state and was known during his lifetime as a leading physician in Texas
(2009)