Hathaway, Stewart S.

Stewart S. Hathaway

Early Life

Stewart Southworth Hathaway was born on July 25, 1884, in East Orange, New Jersey, the son of Charles Hathaway and Cora Southworth Rountree. He was raised in a family of established standing and came of age during a period of expanding business and industrial opportunity in the northeastern United States.

By the early twentieth century, Hathaway had established himself in business and later settled in Rye, New York, where he resided on Milton Road. He married Helen Viles in 1912, and they had one daughter, Valerie Hathaway. His life in Rye reflected both professional success and integration into a community that was developing into a prominent suburban center for business and civic leadership.

World War I Service

Hathaway entered military service on August 25, 1918, when he was commissioned as a Captain in the Ordnance Corps of the United States Army. The Ordnance Corps was responsible for the procurement, storage, and distribution of weapons, ammunition, and military equipment, forming a critical logistical backbone for the Army during wartime.

He was assigned to duty in Washington, D.C., where he performed administrative and logistical responsibilities related to ordnance supply and coordination. His work contributed to the organization and management of materiel necessary to support American forces, particularly those serving with the American Expeditionary Forces overseas.

Hathaway did not serve overseas and was not engaged in combat. His service remained stateside during the final months of the war and into the demobilization period. He was honorably discharged on December 31, 1918.

Life After Service

Following his military service, Hathaway returned to civilian life and resumed his business career, becoming president of Hathaway & Company, a New York City machinery firm. Under his leadership, the company operated within the industrial and manufacturing sectors that were central to the region’s economy in the early and mid-twentieth century.

He was highly active in civic and social life, serving as president of the Apawamis Club in Rye and maintaining memberships in several prominent organizations, including the Union League Club of New York, the American Yacht Club, and the Shenorock Shore Club. He was also a member of Christ’s Church in Rye and maintained a winter residence at Riomar in Vero Beach, Florida, reflecting both his social standing and seasonal lifestyle.

Stewart Southworth Hathaway died on August 22, 1963, at his home in Rye, New York, after a long illness.

At the time of his death, he was survived by his wife, Helen Viles Hathaway; his daughter, Valerie Hathaway Tew of South Lincoln, Massachusetts; his brother, Harrison Hathaway of Bethesda, Maryland; and five grandchildren.