John Stewart was a merchant in Martin and Tyrrell Counties. In 1777 he became a member of the Gourd Patch Conspiracy. While no one reported that Stewart personally recruited them to join the plot, several members noted that they knew Stewart was a member, suggesting that he was involved prominently in the society. When the plot was discovered, he was imprisoned in the Edenton jail alongside William Brimage and made a sworn deposition about his knowledge of and involvement in the plot.