George Washington Steward was born October 25, 1811 in Abbeville Co., SC. He was the son of William John Stewart and Nancy Burt/Birt. Known as Washington, he changed the last letter of his name from a "T" to a "D" to avoid confusion with other Stewarts who shared his name. The parents moved to Monroe Co., MS and are buried there. Washington Steward traveled to Indiana to marry Sarah Seely on October 2, 1831. Their families knew each other as one of his sisters was married to Sarah's brother. Washington and Sarah settled in Monroe County, MS and had these children: William Randolph; stillborn twin boys; Jeremiah Terry; Mary Matilda; Huett Burt; George Washington, Jr.; Margaret Malinda; Nancy Victoria; Francis Marion "Frank;" Sarah Rebecca "Sallie;" Susan Martha. The family left Mississippi and traveled to Falls County, TX in 1850 but found no place for a gristmill. About 1852, Washington and Sarah Steward moved their family to Freestone County where he found a good place on Grindstone Creek to build a gristmill. The community which grew up around the mill became known as Stewards Mill. Out of his 320 acres, Washington gave the land for the church and cemetery. Said to be the only mill between Dallas and Houston, people brought both corn and wheat to be ground. A store was erected near the mill and soon postal service began.
Sarah Seely Steward died in 1862 and was buried in Stewards Mill Cemetery. Washington traveled to Falls County, TX to find a new wife, Mrs. Rebecca Jane Hinton Capps Whitaker, mother-in-law of his son Jeremiah Terry. She moved to Stewards Mill with her Whitaker children: Mary Worth; Martha Elizabeth; Henry McKenzie; Annie and her widowed daughter Elvira Capps Jones. Washington and Becky had no children. After Becky's death in 1871, she was buried beside Sarah.
Washington Steward married a widow, Mary Jane Singleton and had two more children: Ada Josephine and Janie Washie. He died at Stewards Mill June 16,1882 and was buried beside Sarah.
One of the pioneers of Freestone County, Washington Steward is credited with helping to civilize a frontier area. He did well financially before the War Between the State. Not only did that war cause him financial hardship, he lost three sons in the service of the Confederacy: William Randolph, Huett Birt; George Washington, Jr.