C. S. (Charles Samuel) Stewart

Born in Flemington, New Jersey, in 1795, Charles Samuel Stewart first studied law before changing course and preparing for the ministry. He became a missionary to the Sandwich Islands, now Hawaiʻi, and that experience shaped much of his writing.

Stewart is best known for travel narratives drawn from direct experience, including A Visit to the South Seas, in the U.S. Ship Vincennes, During the Years 1829 and 1830 and later Brazil and La Plata. His books gave 19th-century readers lively accounts of places, voyages, and cultures that were still distant and unfamiliar to most Americans.

Alongside his writing, he also served as a chaplain in the United States Navy. He died in 1870, leaving behind a body of work that sits at the crossroads of missionary history, sea travel, and early American travel literature.