BIOGRAPHY
 

 
 
Stewart Cogswell
 
 
Stewart (Andrew) Cogswell
Collection of Stewart Cogswell
Courtesy of Paul Amstutz, 6-28-04
 

 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL BRIEFS - 1
via email from Malcolm Cogswell, 11-28-07
Hello!
     Stewart Wellesley (Andrew) Cogswell (1891-1956) was born Jan. 1st (or 2nd), 1891, (census record) or 1892 (draft registration record) in Halifax, Nova Scotia, son of Arthur W. Cogswell M.D. and Helen M. (Lithgow). He learned to fly at Hammondsport, N. Y. in 1912. He was a test pilot for the Curtiss Aeroplane & Motor Corp. at Hammondsport from 1911 to 1914. He was a flight instructor at the Curtiss School in 1914 and the Canadian Curtiss Co., Toronto, from 1914 to 1915. During World War I, he was chief flying instructor for the U. S. Army Air Corps. He had an uncle, James Crichton Lithgow, who served in the Canadian army in World War I. (Stewart's mother, Lithgow’s sister, was listed as next of kin.) From 1919 to 1921, he was test pilot for the Curtiss Engineering Corp. at Garden City, L. I. He became a U. S. citizen on June 9th, 1928, at the Supreme Court, Mineola Co. (Long Island?). From 1921 to 1936, he was private pilot for Harold S. Vanderbilt, for whom he and two others designed the first all metal flying boat. Later, he was President and General Manager of the Aero Service Company until retirement. He died of cancer at his home in Daytona Beach, Florida, August 21, 1956, following a five-month illness. He was buried at Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.
     I do not know whether or not he was married, and, if so, whether he had any children. (From border crossing records, he was single in 1935, but in December, 1936, Mary Cogswell was with him.)
 

 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL BRIEFS - 2
via email from Heather Long, 8-19-07
Hello!
     I just came upon your website, www.earlyaviators.com, in my search for the fate of Stewart Cogswell. I am a genealogist in Halifax, Nova Scotia and had been trying to track down Stewart's fate. Your website answered all my questions. If it's of use to you, Stewart was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia on 2 Jan. 1891, the son of Arthur Wellesley Cogswell and Helen Maude Lithgow. His father was both a dentist and a medical doctor.
      If there is anything else that I might be able to add, please let me know.
Regards,
Heather Long
Editor's Note: I am grateful to Heather for these essential elements of his story. I hope she will share some other information regarding his life and career.
 

 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL BRIEFS - 3
via email from Virginia McClure, 9-12-08
Ancestors of
Arthur Wellesley (Dr) Cogswell

Generation 1
1.      Arthur Wellesley (Dr) Cogswell is the son of Alfred Chipman (Dr) Cogswell and Sarah A. Parker. He was born
         1862 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Education 1884 (Received the degree of MD and was appointed the Surgeon of the
         Halifax Provincial and City Hospital). He died in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

         Helen Maude Lithgow. She was born 1865 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

         Arthur Wellesley (Dr) Cogswell and Helen Maude Lithgow. They had 1 child.

                     i.      Stewart Cogswell. He was born 1891 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He died 1956 in Datona Beach,
                             FL. Burial in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

Editor's Note: Virginia has compiled this record back to 15 generations.
 

 
 
Stewart Cogswell
 
 
CURTISS SCHOOL - NEWPORT NEWS
Left to Right, Jimmy Johnson, Walter Lees, Stewart (Andrew) Cogswell, Captain Baldwin, Carl Batts, Victor Carlstrom, Ted Heckenbourg
Collection of Stewart Cogswell
Courtesy of Paul Amstutz, 6-28-04
 

 
 
CAPTAIN BALDWIN'S "BOYS"
Besides Captain Thomas Baldwin, the personnel of the Curtiss School in 1916, when Paul Culver arrived there, consisted of a staff of flying instructors, test pilots, and aeroplane engineers and mechanics, among them: Walter Lees, Jimmy Johnson, the Hequemburg brothers, Stewart (Andrew) Cogswell. Steve MacGordon, Andrew Heermance, Victor Carlson, Burt "Fish" Hassel, Stanley Vaughn and many others. Percy Kirkham was in charge of maintenance and repair along with Stanley Vaughn, Jim Honor and Bill Day. Numerous mechanics and engineers came down from the Curtiss factory at Hammondsport and Buffalo from time to time.
     The careers of Glenn Curtiss and Captain Thomas S. Baldwin were interwoven from the time when "Cap" first adapted Curtiss engines to his airships and began to experiment them. Their association had continued up to their mutual interest in the Atlantic Coast Aeronautical Station. Since Captain Baldwin was in charge there and always on hand, we got to know him better than Glenn Curtiss who only came to the school occasionally, but his visits always caused a stir of excitement and speculation over what new plans those two had for the school, and what famous person would show up for the next training class.
From Edith Dodd Culver's book
THE DAY THE AIRMAIL BEGAN
Cub FlyersEnterprises Inc.
 

 
 
STEWART COGSWELL AT NEWPORT NEWS, 1915
During his service at the Curtiss School in Newport News, Virginia, Stewart gave then Captain William Mitchell his first flight. He continued giving him dual instruction, along with the other Curtiss Company pilots.
 

 
 
Stewart Cpgswell
 
 
Lloyd E. Miller
 
 
EARLY BIRDS
American Airlines flight for the Early Birds, Newark, N.J.
About 1937
(Left to Right)
  1. J. C. Mars, 2. Geo. McLaughlin,   3. Stewart Cogswell, 4. Wm. Mattery,
  5. Frank Goodale, 6. Robert Carolin,   7. Dr. Jerome Kingsbury, 8. Hugo Sundstedt
  9. Wilbur R. Kimball, 10. Dean Lamb, 11. Dr. Henry W. Walden, 12. Ernest L Jones
13. Bertell King, 14. Chas. R. Witteman, 15. Geo. Scragg, 16. Mortimer Bates
17. Horace B. Wild, 18. Hank Miller, 19. Billie Miller 20. Cord Meyer
21. Augustus Post, 22. Dr. Wm. Christmas
Contributed by Scott T, 8-29-10
 

 
 
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