Hugh Birt Steward, son of Washington Worth Steward and Martha Louise Stewart, was born at Stewards Mill, Texas on March 9, 1897. He was educated in the Stewards Mill and Wortham schools but learned much by working as a farm laborer, store clerk, telephone operator, telephone lineman, delivery driver, land surveyor's assistant, and soda jerk. When the US entered WWI, he enlisted in Troop F, First Texas Cavalry and was transferred to Battery D, 132nd Field Artillery, 36th Division. After training at Camp Bowie, he was sent to France in July 1918. He was honorably discharged at Camp Bowie on April 7, 1919 with the rank of Corporal.
He returned to Stewards Mill and worked for his parents before being appointed a Deputy County Clerk in 1920. He moved to Fairfield and a few months later bought an interest in Fairfield Abstract Company which became a partnership with Worth Steward and Tas Watson. They also began an oil and gas lease brokerage business. He was elected as a State Representative for the Texas Legislature and was sworn in January 1931 and served three terms before retiring. He began his career as a lobbyist for the oil and gas industry in 1937 and worked for Magnolia Petroleum (later Mobil Oil Corporation) for 36 years. Upon his retirement, he was honored with a resolution passed by the Texas Senate. Hugh Birt was a deacon and elder in Fairfield-Harmony Presbyterian Church and a past master of Fairfield Lodge No. 103, A. F. & A. M. He died in Fairfield on January 18, 1981.
Hugh Birt Steward and Margaret Lucille Riley were married on October 29, 1924. Lucille was the daughter of Melvin Augustus Riley and Lydia Victoria Miller. Before her marriage, she was a teacher in the Fairfield Schools. They were parents of two children: Ann Lucille; Hugh Leighton.