· 20 one of the greatest documents of its kind_ in history, the Constitution of the United States. In like manner, God the master carpenter did the neces- --~-sary--cutting on Lyman Stewart and T. c. Horton to fit them together to form the task which He set before them. Although they came . from completely dif- ferent backgrounds and had totally different temperaments and personalities, God used each of them to complement the skills of the other. To learn how God brought this about, we need to look into the backgrounds of these two men LY.MAN STEWART Lyman Stewart was born July 2, 1840, in the small community of Cherry Tree, in the Venango Valley in Northwestern Pennsylvania. It was said of him, "He was born to oil," since his birthplace was only ten miles from Titusville, where the first oil well in history was drilled in 1859. The Stewarts were devout Presbyterians. Lyman's father helped raise the funds to erect - the first Presbyterian church in the Titusville area, and occasion~ ally preached in the church when bad weather prevented the appearance of the "circuit-riding" pastor. Mrs. Stewart read the Bible to the children every evening, after which ' prayer officially ended the day for the family. This training and background had a strong and lasting influence on Lyman for the remainder of his life. Lyman Stewart's father was one of the Valley's two tanners. Lyman, the second of seven children, was chosen by his father to carry on the family business which he disliked very much. Nevertheless, in accordance with tra- dition and his father's wishes, he began his apprenticeship at an early age, working among the vile smelling hides and vats. One of his chores was rid- ing over the hills and through the valleys of Northwestern Pennsylvania, pick- ing up hides from the farmers for tanning. This experience proved to be a valuable asset later when the oil boom began in the area, because he knew the . terrain of the Venango Valley, first hand, as few others knew it. The seepage of oil to the surface along the banks of the streams in
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