Henry Stuard was the first family member to be an undertaker. Prior to entry into the profession, he was a cabinetmaker. Undertakers of that time often got their start by making furniture - such as caskets or provided carriages and wagons. The original office was at 807 S. 16th. St, in Philadelphia. In those days, funeral homes were rare as undertakers coordinated all of the services at the family's home. Henry Stuard fathered eight children, two of whom (Charles Henry Stuard and William Stuard ) became undertakers.
Both Charles and William served in the Civil War, were captured by the Confederates and sent to the notorious Andersonville Prison in Georgia. Their sister Margaret looked after the family business while they were away.
Following the war, Charles Henry Stuard continued as an undertaker and maintained an office at 600 N. 10th. St in Philadelphia. In 1870, his son Charles M. Stuard was born. At 28, Charles M. decide to move west and settled in Ardmore. There he became associated with Josiah Pearce, who was the local undertaker, bank president, postmaster, deputy coroner and justice of the peace. After the death of Pearce, Charles M. Stuard moved his family to a rented property on Mud Lane in Ardmore, where he opened his own funeral establishment. Mud Lane later became Cricket Avenue when Merion Cricket Club was located at the end of the street before moving to Haverford.
Aside from the house, the property would include a barn and a garage where Charles M. Stuard setup his mortuary and casket making shop. Two years later, Stuard purchased the Stuard Funeral Home property that has become a larger facility with offices, embalming facilities and parlors used for conducting funeral services built by his son C. Wallace Stuard in the late 1920's. C. Wallace Stuard, Jr., took control of the business in 1940 and now followed by his son C. Wallace Stuard III.
The commitment of the Stuard Family has always been to do everything that needs to be done to help our families through a difficult time. Our reward is when someone thanks us for something we were able to do for them.
