Alexander Stewart: a promising 1894 death-index lead

The original New York State death index for 1894 lists Stuart, Alexander, 19 Apr, Franklin, number 16918 (printed page 775; scan n787). The original image was inspected, rather than relying on OCR, which misreads the surname. This verifies the index entry, not yet the identity of the family’s Alexander Stewart. The date fits the established search interval after the identified 1892 census and by the 6 September 1894 heirs deed. The surname variant and place-name Franklin also fit. However, this index does not state a county, age, spouse, parents, burial place or cause of death. The project ancestor lived in Franklin, Delaware County, New York; the index alone does not establish that its Franklin is the same locality. Identity remains unconfirmed and the preferred death field remains blank. The next target is the underlying 1894 death certificate numbered 16918, plus a corroborating obituary or estate record linking the deceased to this family. No certificate was ordered and nobody was contacted. Earlier 1892 Argyle and Irvington namesakes remain unconfirmed, now lower-priority leads. Original 1894 Stewart and Steward blocks on printed pages 767–768 (scans n779–780) were also checked; no Alexander appears in those inspected blocks. This limited negative search does not prove complete registration or exclude other variants.