Stewart Clan Magazine
References
Re: Baldorran and
Balquhidder Stewarts
- Written
by George Thomas Edson and originally published
in various issues of Stewart Clan Magazine from 1927 to 1957
- Transcribed
and commented by Jared L. Olar
- Edited
and commented by Ryk Brown
Introduction
Stewart Clan Magazine was a small periodical pamphlet
devoted to Stewart genealogy. The
publisher and editor was George Thomas Edson, who was
descended in the female line from the Stewarts of Londonderry, New Hampshire, a
family who are now known to be a cadet branch of the Stewarts of Gartnafuaran,
Perthshire. Despite many years of
attempts to discover the origin of the Londonderry Stewarts, Edson never succeeded in finding out where his Stewarts had
come from.
Stewart Clan Magazine (hereafter referred to as SCM) made
its debut in July 1922, and Edson continued to
publish it until shortly before his death in the late 1960s. SCM contains multiple references to our own
Stewart clan. This magazine is not
available in all libraries and is not always accessible through inter-library
loan. Several years ago, our fellow
researcher Jared L. Olar went through the University
of Illinois – Champaign/Urbana’s complete set of SCM and made extensive
photocopies, focusing on his own family and any Stewart family that was (or was
believed to be) of royal or noble origin.
In our ongoing effort to present all the available information
on the Balquhidder Stewarts, we have compiled together here in one place all of
the references in Jared’s photocopies pertaining to our branch of the
Stewarts. We hope this will be a
valuable resource for future readers.
Our thanks to Jared for doing all the hard work of transcribing these
various articles found over a thirty-year period in SCM.
Jared has provided a running narrative commentary that ties the
various articles together. I (Ryk) have
made additional comments in editing Jared’s transcriptions. These comments have been formatted
differently in order to help you distinguish between Edson’s
original writings and our comments (although I do not always distinguish
between Jared’s comments and my own).
Through our own research we have discovered several errors in Edson’s original presentations. We have preserved Edson’s
errors, noted them in the text (“sic”), and addressed them in the
commentary that follows. The reader
should not feel that Edson’s research was in any way
deficient, but rather that his presentation represented the state of research
as it was known at the time of his writing.
If you want to see what we believe to be the correct accounting of these
families, please refer to our page on the Principal
Families of the Balquhidder Stewarts.
The superscripted numbers represent the person’s generation
number as accounted by SCM from the origin of the Stewart surname.
We have preserved the location of the original footnotes in the
text at the point in which they would have occurred at the bottom of the
original page in order to maintain clarity between the footnote reference and
its text. However, as this is a
continuous article, and the original page-turns do not exist, it may make the
text a little difficult for the present reader to follow. We have endeavored to guide the reader at
these break points.
Stewarts of Balquhidder References in Other Articles
The Stewarts of Balquhidder first appear in Stewart Clan
Magazine in 1927, when our clan is mentioned in passing in articles on the
Stewarts of Appin and the Steuarts
of Grandtully.
Then in 1928 Edson briefly mentions some of
the principal branches, but it is not until 1934 that he actually begins his
accounting of our family in any detail.
Stewarts of Appin
The first Stewart of Balquhidder reference in Stewart
Clan Magazine can be found in the following article on the Stewarts of Appin. For the
reader’s reference, the line of the Stewarts of Appin
as given below is:
- Walter
Stewart, 3rd High Steward of Scotland, and first of the name
Stewart
- Alexander
Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland
- John
Stewart of Bonkyl
- James
Stewart of Pierston
- Robert
Stewart of Scanbothy
- John
Stewart of Innermeath
- Robert
Stewart of Lorn and Innermeath
- John
Stewart, Lord of Lorn
- Dugald Stewart, 1st of Appin
(illegitimate son by the daughter of MacLarin of
Ardveich)
- Allan
Stewart, 3rd of Appin (younger
brother of Duncan Stewart, 2nd of Appin)
- John
Stewart, 4th of Appin (as shown
below)
This is from SCM Tome B p.9 (Sept. 1927, vol. vi, no. 3):
From the book, "Stewarts of Appin,"
1880
STEWARTS OF STRATHGARRY -- From Appin
John11 Stewart
(Alan10, Dugald9,
John8, Robert7, John6, Robert5,
James4, John3), second son of Sir Alan, third
baron of Appin, accompanied his father to the
battlefield of Flodden
in 1513. He received from his father the lands of Strathgarry.
The records of his descendants are missing. Some time toward the end of
the sixteenth century [about 1590-5] Stewart of Strathgarry,
having taken possession of lands in the upper part of Rannoch
which had been held by a Macdonald, was surprised by a party of that clan and
killed by them for dispossessing their kinsman. A meeting of the Stewarts
of Appin, Balquidder* and Athole+ was held at the bridge of Keltney, and they entered
into a bond to avenge the death of their kinsman of Strathgarry.
They had letters of fire and sword against the murderers, procured by the widow
who went to Stirling to show the bloody shirt
of her husband to the privy council, and they killed
several Macdonalds. (A copy of this bond was
long in the possession of the Ardvoirlich family,++ as an Ardvoirlich had been one
of the leaders, but it was lent to a Stewart of Annat and at his death it could
not be found amongst his papers, but a copy of it is said to be in the
possession of the duke of Athole.+)
* The Stewarts of Glen Ogle and others in Balquidder
are also descendants of the Stewarts of Appin. (sic)
+ The Stewarts of Athole consist almost
entirely of the descendants of the four illegitimate sons of Sir Alexander
Stewart (the Wolf of Badenoch), fourth son of King Robert II. [This man later.]
++ The older families of Baldorran, Ardvoirlich,
Annat, Gartnafuaroe and the original Stewarts of
Glenbuckie were all descended from Lord James (8), son of Murdoch Stewart, duke
of Albany.
This episode of avenging the death of Stewart of Strathgarry circa 1590-95 is a remarkable detail from our
family history, and it shows the bonds of family kinship and cooperation among
the Highland Stewart families. Alexander Stewart, 1st of Ardvorlich, must
have been the "Ardvoirlich" who was one of
the leaders. It was again at Keltney where
these same Stewart families signed a bond in tacit support of King Charles II
in 1654.
It’s surprising to find Edson claiming
that the Stewarts of Glenogle were descendants of the Stewarts of Appin. Later in SCM, Edson
correctly shows them as descendants of the Stewarts of Gartnafuaran, not the
Stewarts of Appin. Presumably the statement
about Glenogle’s origins derives from the 1880 book, Stewarts
of Appin, which I [Jared] have only seen once on
microfilm.
Stewarts in Glenfinglas – Stewart of Invernahyle of Appin Branch
Also in SCM Tome B, Sept. 1927, vol. vi, no. 3, p.12, we find
some stray references to intermarriage with the Stewarts of Annat, one of the
principal families of the Stewarts of Balquhidder (information that, again, was
derived from the book Stewarts of Appin,
1880).
It should be noted that these Appin
Stewarts were the first to settle in Glenfinglas and are featured on our Stewarts
of Glenfinglas page. The generational numerical references shown
here refer to the Stewarts of Appin and do not relate
to those shown later.
Dugald14
Stewart (Duncan13,
Donald12, Alexander11, Alan10),
second son of Duncan,
third of Invernahyle [page 11], was first of Innischaoraich. In 1656 he purchased the lands of Innischaoraich and others in Breadalbane from Sir James
Campbell of Lawers. Children:
1 Alan :
second of Innischaoraich; married a daughter of
Burden of Fidals and had a son James, who succeeded
him. James married a daughter of Stewart of Annat and had two sons, both
of whom died unmarried.
2 Neil
Next, in SCM Tome B, Oct. 1927, vol VI
no. 4, p.13, we find this:
Alexander15
Stewart (Alexander14,
Alan13, Donald12, Alexander11, Alan10),
fourth of Ballachelish, was born in 1684, and
succeeded his uncle John. He was at Sheriffmuir
in 1715 and at Culloden in 1746. He married (1) Anne Stewart, daughter of
John, fourth of Ardsheal. He married (2) Isabel
Stewart, daughter of Alexander of Annat, and by her
had:
1 John
: succeeded his father
2
Alexander : killed at Culloden, where
four of his nephews were wounded – Duncan, Donald, Dugald
and Alexander Stewart
3 Isabella
Steuarts of Grandtully
Edson next mentioned some of the
Stewarts of Balquhidder (or rather some of their ancestors) on page 14 of
Tome B of SCM (Oct. 1927, vol. vi, no. 4), when he presented the
genealogy of the Steuarts of Grandtully,
extracted from The Red Book of Grandtully
(1868):
Alexander Steuart…, fourth of Grandtully,
was served heir to his father Thomas on May 13,
1462, to the lands of Grandtully and on June 2, 1462,
to the lands of Banchory, and both retours recite that his father died about nine years
previously. He married Matilda, daughter of Sir James, son of Murdoch
Stewart, Duke of Albany [In a charter July 8, 1479, by King James III she is
referred to as 'Mald Steuart and her father, John
Steuart of Rannoch, and her brothers . . . shall have
the tutory and keeping of her son John until he
attain his majority should Alexander, the boy's father, die', etc.], and as
spouses they received July 26, 1468, from Alexander, earl of Huntley, a charter
to the lands of Banchory. He died about 1488
and was succeeded by his son…."
Sir James, son of Murdoch Stewart, is our ancestor James Mhor,
whose son James Beg was the father of the Stewarts of Balquhidder.
Notice, however, that the charter of 1479 apparently says Matilda was daughter
of a John Steuart of Rannoch, not Sir James Mhor.
The Stewarts of Albany
and Baldorran
The next time our Stewarts appear in SCM is pages 45 and
46 of Tome B (June 1928, vol. vi, no. 12):
The Stewarts of Ardvoirlich (sic),
Perthshire
Sir James9 [“Beg”] Stewart (James8,
Murdoch7, Robert6, King Robert II5) was
ancestor of the Stewarts of Ardvoirlich,
Perthshire. A descendant, James Stewart, joined Montrose in
his campaign against the Covenanters in 1644 but left the camp near Collace and went over to the duke of Argyle.
Stewarts of Baldonan (sic),
Annat, Gartnafuaroe and Glenbuckie
These families descended from Sir James8 [“Mhor”]
Stewart, son of Murdoch7, second duke of Albany. The later Stewarts of
Glenbuckie were from Appin (page 9)….
The Stewarts of Balquidder (sic)
The Balquidder Stewarts derived their
origin from illegitimate branches of the Albany
family.
Notice that Edson misspelled Baldorran
as "Baldonan," and spelled Balquhidder
without the letter "h." Anyway, in these early notices of our Stewarts,
Edson did not trace the genealogies of our Stewart
families. He went into greater detail in subsequent issues of SCM.
The next time our Stewarts appear is in Tome C on page 26 (Jan.
1934, vol. xi, no. 7). It is at this
point that Edson actually begins an accounting of our
Stewarts, beginning with Sir James Mhor Stewart of the House of Albany:
[Sir] James8 [“Mhor”] Stewart (Murdoch7,
Robert6, King Robert II5), born about 1402, was
nicknamed "the gross." (sic) He
was knighted by King James I and was granted other favors by the king: he
was not molested when James put his father and two older brothers in
prison. But, urged by Finlay, bishop of Argyle,
who had been secretary to the duke of Albany, James Stewart raised a force of
mountaineers, described by some historians as outlaws and desperadoes, and
captured the town of Dunbarton, surprising and
putting to death the governor, Sir John Stewart, ("the red") of Dundonald, who was the king's uncle (and his own
great-uncle), and setting fire to the town, May 3, 1425, fifteen days before
his brothers Walter and Alexander were executed. He was declared a rebel,
and finding himself unable to cope with the royal power sent against him he
fled to Ireland
with his friend, the bishop. So attached were the highlanders to the
Albany Stewarts, it is asserted, that many of them followed him into Ireland,
where they established settlements; and for the favor shown them by the Irish,
King James forbade any intercourse between the two kingdoms. James, the
Gross, married (sic) a lady of the MacDonalds
in Ireland,
by whom he had a numerous family. He died before 1451. Seven sons:
(sic)
Andrew, circa 1427 : created Lord Evandale and, later,
earl of Lennox
Murdoch :
knighted by King James III and called steward of Albany: no issue
Arthur :
knighted by King James III and granted an estate in Scotland
Robert :
knighted by King James III
Alexander :
knighted by King James III
Walter, circa 1440 : seated at Morphy, was ancestor of
numerous lines of Stewarts
James :
seated at Beg (sic); ancestor of the Stewards of Balderon
(sic) and other places
Of course, we now know that some of this information is
incorrect. For instance, it seems that James did not marry the mother of his
children – or at least their union was not recognized as lawful. Also, we
can only identify two children of James: a son, James Beg, and a
daughter, Matilda. The other sons listed here were actually nephews of
James le Gros – they were sons of James’ older
brother Walter. Note also that Edson confused
“Beg” as a place name – “James Beg,” “James the Little,”
has become “James of Beg.” But despite those errors, the account of
James’ descent on Dunbarton and flight to Ireland with Finlay,
Bishop of Argyll, as well as the reference to Highland Scots following James
and Finlay to Ireland and settling there, are
very interesting details.
We have also shown elsewhere that the reference to James’ nickname as “the
Gross” is based on a mistranslation. His
Gaelic nickname was “Mhor,” which means “big or great” and was translated into
Norman French as “le Gros,” which also means
“big.” This has been incorrectly
translated into English as “the Gross.” [Ryk]
The next time our Stewarts appear in SCM is in Tome C on page 42
(April 1934, vol. xi, no. 10):
James9 [“Beg”]
Stewart [of Baldorran] (James,8
Murdoch,7 Robert,6 King Robert5 II) born about 1442, in Ireland,
"fourth son of Lord James," was knighted by King James II and given
an estate in Perthshire: he was called James Beg. He married Lady Annabel
Buchanan, daughter of Sir Patrick Buchanan of that ilk. He was designated
"of Baldoran and Balguthedor"
[Balquhidder] in the genealogy of Patrick17 Stewart of Bladen
county, N.C., written in 1763 to correct an error in Crawford's history of the
Stewart family. Son:
William, c.1465; m. Maria Campbell
Edson next provided information on our
Stewarts in SCM Tome C p.51 (May 1934, vol. xi, no. 11):
William10
Stewart [of Baldorran] (James9,
James8, Murdoch7, Robert6, King Robert II5),
born about 1475, inherited from his father the properties of Baldoran and Balquhidder, and was so designated. He
married Maria Campbell, daughter of Sir Colin Campbell of Glenbucky, [which]
marches [border] to the earl of Bradalbine. [Sir
Colin Campbell is also styled "of Glenorchy".]
This lady perhaps brought additional property to the Stewarts. Three
sons:
William [sic, should be “Walter”], c.
1499 : m.
Euphemia Reddoch
John :
m. _____ Buchanan :
first Stewart laird of Glenbucky
Andrew (sic) : ancestor of the Stewarts of Gartnaferaran,
Perthshire
Of course we now know that Andrew was a younger brother, not
son, of this William Stewart of Baldorran who married Maria
Campbell. “Gartnaferaran” is a spelling error
for “Gartnafueran,” perhaps a typo on Edson’s part.
Next, Edson continued with our Stewarts
in SCM Tome C p.59 (June 1934, vol. xi, no. 12) accounting for the three sons
of William shown above:
William11 [sic,
s/b “Walter”] Stewart [of Baldorran] (William10, James9, James8,
Murdoch7, Robert6,
King Robert II5), born about 1499, married Euphemia Reddoch, daughter of James Reddoch
of Cultobraggan, comptroller of the household of King
James IV. He shared the lands of his father, probably succeeding to the
property of Baldoran, in Perthshire. One of his
sons was:
James :
m. ______ Stewart
John11 Stewart
[1st of Glenbucky] (William10, James9, James8, Murdoch7, Robert6, King Robert
II5), born about 1503, married a daughter of Patrick
Buchanan "of Mo Castle, predecessor to the lairds of Arnprior,
Orchiltry,
Mo Castle and Des Clelles." He evidently inherited Glenbucky and
was the first Stewart laird of that estate. Among his sons were:
Duncan : m. ______ McLarin
Patrick
Andrew11
Stewart [of Gartnafuaran] (William10,
James9, James8, Murdoch7, Robert6, King Robert II5),
born about 1510, was ancestor of the Stewarts of Gartnaferaran,
Perthshire. (sic)
Of course the guesstimate that Andrew was born about 1510 was
based on the error that Andrew supposedly was son of William, whereas we now
know Andrew was William’s younger brother. Andrew already had sasine of Gartnafuaran by 1503. Also, note that Edson erroneously has “William” as Euphemia Reddoch’s husband instead of “Walter.”
Stewarts of Ardvorlich, Glenbucky, Gartnafuaran and Annat
Edson continued with the next
generation of his account of the Balquhidder Stewarts in SCM Tome C p.69 (Aug.
1934, vol. xii, no. 2):
James12 Stewart
[in Balquhidder] (William11
[sic-s/b “Walter”], William10, James9, James8,
Murdoch7, Robert6,
King Robert II5), born about 1525, married a
daughter of Patrick Stewart of Glenbucky. His estate lay in Balquhidder,
Perthshire, and fell to his son:
Alexander ;
m. Margaret Drummond
: laird of Ardvorlich
Duncan12
Stewart [3rd of Glenbucky] (John11, William10, James9, James8,
Murdoch7, Robert6,
King Robert II5), born about 1540, succeeded his father
(sic – brother) as laird of Glenbucky. He married a daughter of McLarin of Achleskine, reckoned
then to be chief of that name. His oldest son:
Alexander :
m. ______ Stewart, his second cousin
Patrick12 Stewart
[2nd of Glenbucky], a younger (sic – older)
brother of Duncan,
probably inherited a part of the Glenbucky estate. These great landed
properties seem to have grown smaller with each generation, as fractions were
set off to younger sons. Patrick apparently had a daughter who married
James12 Stewart of Ardvorlich [above].
John12 Stewart
(William11 [sic-s/b “Walter”],
William10, James9, James8, Murdoch7, Robert6, King Robert
II5) is given in the genealogy of Dr. George Steuart of
Annapolis, Maryland, as John of Annat, Perthshire, but as this disagrees with
what seems to be a more reliable account we shall place John of Annat in a
later sequence. (sic)
Edson has obviously gotten a little
confused here, not only showing “William” instead of “Walter” (who appears in
his entry on John Stewart of Annat), but placing John of Annat after the
Glenbucky Stewarts instead of listing him after his brother Alexander Stewart,
1st of Ardvorlich. He has also reversed
the two Glenbucky brothers, Patrick and Duncan.
George Thomas Edson next mentioned the
Stewarts of Balquhidder in SCM Tome C p.81 (Oct. 1934, vol. xii, no. 4):
Alexander13
Stewart [1st of Ardvorlich] (James12, William11 [sic-s/b
“Walter”], William10, James9, James8,
Murdoch7, Robert6,
King Robert II5), born about 1560, was laird of
Ardvorlich, Perthshire. He married Margaret Drummond, daughter of
Drummond Erinoch, and sister of the unfortunate
Drummond Erinoch, King James VI's ranger in
Glenartney forest, who was murdered in 1589 by the "children of the
mist." A lump of pure crystal, bound with four bands of silver, was
kept for centuries at Ardvorlich: it was called the clach dearg (red stone), and when held
to the light it showed a reddish tinge. It was believed to possess
curative power, and when dipped in water from which cattle drank it cured any
illness the animals might have. Alexander had at least three sons:
James :
m. (1) Barbara Murray
John :
ancestor of the Stewarts of Annat, etc. (sic)
Duncan : will filed Nov. 16, 1632, at Dunblane
Alexander13
Stewart [4th of Glenbucky] [cousin to the preceding
Alexander of Ardvorlich] (Duncan12,
John11, William10,
James9, James8, Murdoch7, Robert6, King Robert II5),
born about 1553, married ______ Stewart, his second cousin. He was laird
of Glenbucky, Perthshire. In 1586 a bond of manrent
to Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy mentioned Alexander
Stewart of Glenbucky and his sons:
Patrick :
m. Christian Drummond
Duncan : purchased Glenbucky of his brother
Patrick
Robert
James
John
Walter
John of Annat was actually younger brother of Alexander, 1st of
Ardvorlich, not son.
Edson’s account of our Stewarts
continued in SCM Tome C pp.91-92 (Dec. 1934, vol. xii, no. 6):
James14 Stewart
[2nd of Ardvorlich] (Alexander13, James12,
William11 [sic-s/b “Walter”], William10, James9,
James8, Murdoch7,
Robert6, King Robert II5), born about 1589,
was laird of Ardvorlich, in Perthshire. He married (1) in 1617 Barbara
[or Catherine] Murray, daughter of Robert Murray of Buchanty:
she was the mother of his three children. He married (2) Janet Buchanan,
but had no issue by her. While serving in King Charles' army in 1644
James conceived the unhappy idea that he might gain favor with the covenanters
by assassinating the earl of Montrose, and he broached the matter to Lord
Kilpont in Montrose's camp near Collace, the day
after the battle of Tippermuir, seeking Kilpont's connivance. Lord Kilpont indignantly
denounced the proposal, and Stewart, alarmed lest Kilpont reveal the matter,
plunged his dirk in his friend's breast. Stewart fled and joined the army
of the earl of Argyll, then operating against Montrose. He obtained a
pardon from parliament and accepted a commission as major in Argyll's regiment,
and afterward distinguished himself in Gen. Leslie's campaigns. His will
was filed Jan. 6, 1659, at Dunblane. Eldest son:
Robert :
m. Jean Drummond
John14 Stewart,
younger brother of the above James [sic – he was actually the younger
brother of the above James’ father, Alexander; Edson
is out by one generation], was the first laird of Annat, in the parish of
Kilmadock, Perthshire. He married (1) Janet Graham. He married (2)
Elizabeth Campbell, who survived him. He was ancestor of the Stewarts of
Annat, of Ballachallan and of Craigtoun. He
died June --, 1666. His will, filed Mar. 23, 1666-7, mentioned the
children by his second wife. Children:
John : of
Annat
Duncan : of Ballachallan
-----
William :
of Craigtoun
Charles
James
Harry
Robert
Janet – and Jean
Duncan14
Stewart, younger brother of the above John (sic), was
third son of Alexander of Ardvorlich and Margaret Drummond. As yet we
know nothing about him. His will was filed Nov. 16, 1632, at
Dunblane. This datum is from a list of wills recorded in the commissariot register of Dunblane, extracted by Henry C.
Stuart of New York City
and published in 1907 in The Stewarts.
Patrick14
Stewart [in Glenbucky, 1st of Ledcreich]
(Alexander13, Duncan12,
John11, William10,
James9, James8, Murdoch7, Robert6, King Robert II5),
born about 1572, was laird of Glenbucky, in Perthshire. He married
Christian Drummond, daughter of Sir John Drummond of Miganes.
He sold his right and title of Glenbucky to his next younger brother Duncan
"and his posterity enjoy the land and tytle to
the present day" [1763]. Sons:
William :
m. Mary MacGregor : laird of Ledcreich
Duncan
Duncan14
Stewart [5th of Glenbucky], younger brother of the
above Patrick, bought the property of Glenbucky from Patrick.
Unfortunately, we cannot at the moment dig up anything about his family.
Eldest son:
John :
m. Isabel Stewart of Ardvorlich
Robert14
Stewart [in Glenbucky], younger brother of the above Duncan, was perhaps the
Robert in Broiche, Kilmadock, whose spouse, Catherine
Stewart, had a will filed May 26, 1604.
James14 Stewart
[in Glenbucky], younger brother of the above Robert, is not at
present identified.
John14 Stewart
[in Glenbucky], younger brother of the above James, was perhaps
the John in Glenbucky [on Loch Voil, Balquhidder],
who married Janet MacGregor. His will was filed Dec. 21, 1665, at
Dunblane.
Walter14
Stewart [in Glenbucky], younger brother of the above John, was
perhaps the Walter who married Margaret Haldane and
lived in Broiche. His will was filed Nov. 11,
1617.
Edson’s account of our Stewarts
continued in SCM Tome C pp.99-100 (Jan. 1935, vol. xii, no. 7):
Robert15
Stewart [3rd of Ardvorlich] (James14, Alexander13, James12, William11 [sic-s/b
“Walter”], William10, James9, James8,
Murdoch7, Robert6,
King Robert II5), born about 1626, was laird of
Ardvorlich, in Perthshire. He married Jean Drummond, daughter of David
Drummond of Comrie. Two sons:
James :
m. Elizabeth Buchanan
William :
m. Jean Stewart
John15 Stewart
[of Annat] (sic) (John14,
Alexander13), born about 1621, was laird of Annat, in
Perthshire, if we have his first name right. Unhappily, we shall have to
wait for more information on this branch. This laird had, as we make out,
at least two sons:
John :
of Annat
Duncan
Duncan Stewart,
brother of the above John (sic – this Duncan
was the son of John 2nd of Annat), was laird of
Ballachallan, in Perthshire. Of him we know nothing, nor of his younger
half-brothers, WILLIAM of Craigtoun, CHARLES, JAMES,
HARRY and ROBERT. Beyond all doubt these men have descendants living in
the United States.
William15
Stewart [2nd of Ledcreich]
(Patrick14, Alexander13,
Duncan12, John11, William10, James9, James8, Murdoch7, Robert6, King Robert
II5), born about 1600, was laird of Ledcreich
on Loch Voil and Stronslany,
in the parish of Balquhidder, Perth.
He married Mary MacGregor, daughter of Duncan MacGregor of Dermocry,
"cousin germane to Gregor MacGregor of that ilk,
which family is now extinct." Son:
Patrick :
m. Margaret B_____ (sic)
Duncan Stewart,
probably a brother of the above William, died in Ledcreich
Dec. --, 1664, his will being filed Jan. 25, 1665, at Dunblane by his widow,
Janet Stewart.. His testament had a mutual
disposition between him and his wife, dated Aug. 3, 1661. Duncan Stewart
of Lednastade was named cautioner.
John15 Stewart
[6th of Glenbucky] (Duncan14, Alexander13), born about
1600, succeeded as laird of Glenbucky, in Perthshire, which his father had
purchased. He married Isabel Stewart, daughter of Alexander Stewart of
Ardvorlich. He lived in Glenfinglas, and died Mar. --, 1663. His
will was confirmed at Dunblane Oct. 1, 1663, with Alexander Stewart, fiar of Annat, as cautioner. James, third son, was
executor.* Among his children were:
James
Isabel :
m. Walter Stewart of Gartnafuaran
* Henry Stuart of New
York City had a copy made of these probate records
some thirty years ago and has, we understand, considerable genealogical data on
these Stewart families.
Edson’s accounting of the Stewarts
of Annat is entirely incorrect. There
are too many errors to bother addressing individually here. The readers should simply disregard Edson’s accounting and refer to our page on the Stewarts of Annat.
George Thomas Edson next mentioned the
Stewarts of Balquhidder in SCM Tome C p.109 (March 1935, vol. xii, no. 9):
James16 Stewart
[4th of Ardvorlich] (Robert15, James14, Alexander13, James12, William11 [sic-s/b
“Walter”], William10, James9, James8,
Murdoch7, Robert6,
King Robert II5), born about 1665, succeeded as laird of
Ardvorlich, in Perthshire. He married Elizabeth Buchanan, only child of
John Buchanan of Buchanan. Son:
Robert :
died in 1756, unmarried
William16
Stewart, younger brother of the above James, married Jean
Stewart, daughter of Patrick Stewart of Glenbucky. His eldest son was:
Robert :
m. Margaret Stewart : succeeded to Ardvorlich
John16 Stewart
[of Annat] (John15,
John14, Alexander13), born about 1647, was
laird of Annat, in Perthshire.
Duncan16
Stewart, younger brother of the above John, lived near Loch Voil, in Perthshire. He was probably present at the
battle of Killiecrankie in 1689. Among his sons
was:
George :
m. Mary Home : surgeon in Annapolis, Md.
Patrick16
Stewart [3rd of Ledcreich]
(William15, Patrick14,
Alexander13, Duncan12, John11, William10, James9, James8,
Murdoch7, Robert6,
King Robert II5), born about 1620, was laird of Ledcreich, in Balquhidder, Perthshire. He was a
soldier in the army of King Charles I and is said to have held the rank of
general in the service of Charles II and James II: he was in 25 battles besides
skirmishes. For his loyalty to the Stuarts he suffered much. He
married Margaret B______, daughter of Robert B______* of Drunlain,
cousin to the laird of Lenry. Only son:
Alexander ;
m.
Catherine Stewart
James16 Stewart
(John15, Duncan14,
Alexander13), born about 1627, was the third son of John
Stewart, laird of Glenbucky, Perthshire. We are at present unable to give
any particulars of James, who was executor of his father's will in 1663, or of
his brothers. The Glenbucky estates subsequently passed from this branch
of Stewarts to another quite remote -- descended from John3 Stewart
of Bonkyl [ancestor of the Stewarts of Appin] -- through the marriage of Mary, daughter of Duncan
Stewart of Glenbucky, to John18 Stewart, son of John Glas Stewart of Benmore, -- B:7,
from the Stewarts of Appin. John18
and Mary had no children, and the Glenbucky property passed to John's sister,
Elizabeth. Elizabeth dying unmarried, it
then went to Elizabeth's
half-brother, Capt. Duncan Stewart, a son of John Glas,
so the line of original Stewarts of Glenbucky was out.
--------
* This name was indistinct in a manuscript
found in 1876 in the possession of Maggie Williams by John A. Dougherty and
copied into his diary. The Stewart Clan Magazine is indebted to J.
Adger Stewart of Louisville, Ky.,
for a copy of this valuable document. It was written Jan. 18, 1763, by
Charles Stewart, son of Patrick Stewart of North Carolina (grandson of Gen. Patrick
Stewart), under his father's direction, to correct some error in Crawford's
history of the Stewarts. Crawford had sent a copy of the book to
Patrick Stewart in America,
and Patrick, perceiving the error, wrote to Crawford to have it
corrected. Not receiving a corrected edition of the book Patrick had his
son Charles write down his correct genealogy and place it in Patrick's large
bible. There it remained until the death of Patrick's granddaughter, Anne
Gist, without children.
Edson continued with our
Stewarts in SCM Tome C p.115-116 (April 1935, vol. xii, no. 10):
Robert17
Stewart [7th of Ardvorlich] (William16, Robert15, James14,
Alexander13, James12, William11 [sic-s/b
“Walter”], William10, James9, James8,
Murdoch7, Robert6,
King Robert II5), born about 1717, succeeded as laird of
Ardvorlich, Perthshire, on the death of his first cousin, Robert Stewart, in
1756.(sic) He married Margaret Stewart, daughter of John Stewart of
Annat. We shall now drop this branch. Son:
William, June 10, 1754 :
m. Helen Maxtone
George17
Stewart [of Ballachallan and Annat] (Duncan16, John15, John14,
Alexander13), born about 1672 near Loch Voil, Perthshire, of a younger branch of the Stewarts of
Annat, married Mary Home. In Duncan Stewart's book on the Stewart family,
1731-39, he seems to be referred to as John,
-- B:176. He was a supporter of the Prince James
Stuart in 1715. Among his children were:
George, c.1697 :
m. Anne Digges : surgeon in Annapolis,
Md.
William
Alexander17
Stewart [4th of Ledcreich]
(Patrick16, William15, Patrick14, Alexander13,
Duncan12, John11, William10, James9, James8, Murdoch7, Robert6, King Robert
II5), born about 1665, was laird of Ledcreich,
in Balquhidder, Perthshire. He married Catherine Stewart, daughter of
Alexander Stewart, "brother to Robert Stewart of Glenagle,
predecessor to John Stewart of Hindfield and Stronsor." His property had been diminished by
reason of his father's support of Kings Charles I, Charles II and James II, and
perhaps his own activities in 1715 in behalf of the Chevalier St.George (James Stuart). Sons:
Patrick, c.1687 :
m. Elizabeth Menzies : settled in North
Carolina, 1739
Robert
William
Edson is confused on the presentation
of Robert17 Stewart, 7th of Ardvorlich, above. The confusion here is quite understandable as
Ardvorlich at this point passed laterally across several cousin branches in
short order through three successive Robert Stewarts. It is easy to understand how any one of those
Roberts could be confused for another.
This is also the point at which the original line of Ardvorlich dies out
and the estate passed to the line of the Stewarts of Balemenoch. The ancestry that Edson
has shown here is a confused mixture of both the Balemenoch
and Ardvorlich lines. The reader should
refer to our Stewarts
of Ardvorlich page for the correct accounting.
The presentation of Annat continues the same error as before, but
the partial lineage shown here for George Stewart is actually correct so far as
is shown here. The error is in the
generation numbering, as the earliest ancestor shown here is Alexander13,
which should be Alexander, 1st of Annat, but Edson
has confused him with Alexander13 Stewart, 1st of
Ardvorlich.
For more information on the Stewarts of Ledcreich
see the following report: http://chuckspeed.com/stewart/Stewart%20lineage.html
Balquhidder Stewarts in America
Edson drops most of the principal
Balquhidder lines and continues only with those who immigrated to the United States, specifically following the
families of Ballachallan and Ledcreich in the New World.
Eventually he continues only with the Ledcreich
branch, at this point residing in Cape
Fear, North Carolina.
Edson continued with our
Stewarts in SCM Tome C pp.121-122 (May 1935, vol. xii, no. 11):
George Home18
Steuart [of Ballachallan, Annat, and Argaty]
(sic) (George17, Duncan16,
John15, John14, Alexander13… [Edson continues an erroneous ancestry here which I have
simply deleted rather than correct.
Please refer to the Annat page for the correct ancestry]), born about
1695, of the Stewarts of Annat, Perthshire, was educated at the university of
Edinburgh, where he graduated with a degree of M.D. He adopted the
spelling Steuart. In 1720
he came to Annapolis, Md., and engaged in the practice of medicine
and surgery, attaining prominence in the province. He married Anne Digges, daughter of George Digges
of Maryland.
As yet we have no definite data of his children, but they probably had
several. Rather dubious is the genealogy given in Compendium of American
Genealogy, iv (1930), which gives Dr. Steuart a son:
James, 1755 :
m. 1787, Rebecca Sprigg
William18
Steuart, younger brother of the above George, came to Annapolis in 1720 with
his brother George. We hope to have more about him at a later time. (sic)
Patrick18
Stewart [5th of Ledcreich] (Alexander17,
Patrick16, William15,
Patrick14, Alexander13, Duncan12, John11,
William10, James9,
James8, Murdoch7,
Robert6, King Robert II5), born about 1687,
at Ledcreich, Balquhidder parish, Perthshire, was
heir to the lairdship of that estate. He married Elizabeth Menzies, daughter of Dr. Duncan Menzies
and his wife Margaret (daughter of Robert Menzies,
"cousin german to Sir Robert Menzies
of Weem, and grandfather to the present Sir
Robert"). With his younger brother William, "in company with
six Argyllshire gentlemen, and upwards of 300 common people from Scotland," Patrick and his wife came in
1739 to Wilmington, North
Carolina, forming a settlement at Brown's Marsh, on the Cape Fear river. In 1740
Patrick and Dugald Stewart received grants of land on
the Cape Fear River in Bladen county. In
1756 Patrick had a grant of land on Harnett's Branch,
and in 1763, at Brown's Marsh, both in Bladen County.
After the Stuarts failed to re-establish themselves on the throne in 1746 the
laird of Ledcreich is said to have decided never to
return to Scotland,
and sold his estate there to his younger brother, Robert. On Jan. 18,
1763, he had his son Charles write down his genealogy,
from which many of these data are taken. After the marriage of his
daughter Catherine in 1764 he and his wife "removed to South Carolina at the Cheraws,
where he died about 1772." The will of Patrick Stewart of St.David's parish [co-extensive with Cheraws
district], S.C., dated May 8, 1772, divided his property among his wife
Elizabeth, son James, daughters Catherine Little and
Margaret Caraway, and his grandson Charles Stewart Caraway: the executors were
Catherine Little and Alexander Gordon. Children:
Charles, c.1721 :
died in 1765, in Wilmington,
N.C., unmarried
Margaret :
m. (1) Thomas Stewart, (2) John Caraway
James :
m. ______ Vilpontan, in South Carolina
Catherine :
m. (1) Dec. 25, 1764, William Little, (2) July --, 1774, John Speed
Elizabeth : m. James Stewart, her
cousin
Robert18
Stewart, younger brother of the above Patrick, is said to have
purchased the estate of Ledcreich, in southwestern
Perthshire, of Patrick, about 1746.
William18
Stewart, younger brother of the above Robert, came from
Balquhidder parish, Perthshire, in 1739 with his eldest brother Patrick, and
settled in Bladen county, N.C. He probably lived
and died in Bladen county. Among his children
were:
Thomas :
m. Margaret Stewart
James :
m. Elizabeth Stewart
The accounting of the Hume-Stewarts of Argaty
above is incorrect. Edson
has confused multiple generations of this family in a manner that is too
convoluted to sort out here. Readers
should refer to the Stewarts of Annat page for
the correct accounting.
Next, Edson continued with our
Stewarts in SCM Tome C pp.125-126 (June 1935, vol. xii, no. 12):
James19 Stewart
[formerly of Argaty, Ballachallan and Annat]
(George Home,18 George,17 Duncan,16, John,15 John,14 Alexander,13
James,12 William,11 William,10 James,9 James,8 Murdoch,7 Robert,6 King Robert5
II), born in 1755 in Maryland, was educated in Edinburgh. He
married, in 1787, Rebecca Sprigg. He died in
1846 in Maryland.
Son:
George Hume, 1790 : m. Ann Jane Edmondson : d.1867
James19 Stewart
[formerly of Ledcreich] (Patrick18, Alexander17, Patrick16,
William15, Patrick14,
Alexander13, Duncan12, John11, William10, James9, James8,
Murdoch7, Robert6,
King Robert II5), born about 1730, married in South Carolina a Miss Vilpontan. After the death of Patrick Stewart, his
father, in 1772, James had possession of the family bible and the genealogy, as
the oldest surviving son. He left these heirlooms to his only child,
Ann. At her death in Union county, S.C., without issue, after the death
of her second husband, the bible and manuscript came into the hands of a Mr.
Gist, brother to Ann's late husband. Mr. Gist, upon request, turned them
over to Morgan Brown, husband of Catherine Little,
daughter of William and Catherine (Stewart) Little, --122. Morgan Brown
added to the genealogy, and left the records to his son, Morgan Brown of Nashville, Tenn.
James' only child:
Ann : m.
(1) Edward Tonge of Cane Acres, S.C., (2) ____ Gist
Thomas19
Stewart [of the Ledcreich family] (William18, Alexander17),
born about 1730, in Balquhidder, Perthshire,
Scotland, came
with is parents in 1739 to Bladen county, N.C. [He is not known to have
been a son of William.] He married Margaret Stewart, daughter of Patrick
Stewart of Brown's Marsh. He died some years before 1772, the date of
Patrick Stewart's will, at which time Margaret had children by her second
husband. After his death his widow married John Caraway, by whom she had
four sons – James, Charles, Thomas and Robert Caraway. Only child of
Thomas Stewart:
Elizabeth : died, an old maid, on her plantation on
the Cape Fear River.
James19 Stewart,
probably a brother of the above Thomas, was born about 1735, in Scotland, and came with his parents in 1739 to Bladen County, N.C.
He married his cousin, Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of Patrick Stewart of Brown's
Marsh. He perhaps lived for a time in that part of Bladen county which
was set off as Robeson county [cf. Charles, B:171].
Children:
Catherine :
m. Thomas Caraway
James Caraway :
lived in Mississippi
Elizabeth : m. William Gordon
Margaret :
m. _____ Pope : lived in South Carolina
Charles :
joined the patriots in Mexico
[1810] and was never heard from
Edson continued with our
Stewarts in SCM Tome C p.189 (August 1936, vol. xiv, no. 2):
William18
Stewart [of the Ledcreich family] (Alexander17, Patrick16,
William15, Patrick14,
Alexander13, Duncan12, John11, William10, James9, James8,
Murdoch7, Robert6,
King Robert II5), born about 1691 in Balquhidder,
Perthshire, younger brother of Patrick, laird of Ledcreich,
married (1) Jean McDougal.* In 1730 [1739] he, a widower with several
children, came from Scotland with his brother Patrick in a company of over 300
immigrants to North Carolina and settled in Bladen county on the Cape Fear
river. William located near Raleigh, Wake County.
He married (2) widow Janet Williamson. Children:
Patrick
Duncan : m. Penelope Jones :
went to Tennessee
Charles :
twin of Duncan
Thomas
James
Elizabeth : m. Lovich Ventress of Tennessee
Janet :
m. Capt. John Stewart, half-pay British officer
Edson now presents the sons of William:
Capt. Patrick19
Stuart (William18),
one of the elder sons of William, was a Tory during the Revolutionary war and
was a captain in the British army. He spelled his name Stuart, but his
brother Duncan, who was favorable to the colonial cause, refused to spell his
name the same as Patrick. "Patrick Stuart was progenitor of Capt.
Madison Bachelor of Vicksburg,
Miss., who is representative of
that family, being great-great-grandson of Patrick," 1891.
Col.
Duncan19 Stewart
(William18) was a
son of William by his first marriage. He refused to spell his name Stuart
as his brother Patrick did. He entered the Revolutionary army as a
private and was promoted to the rank of colonel. [He was probably the Duncan
Stewart+ who was granted land at Beaver Dam, Bladen County, N.C.,
in 1791.] In 1797 or thereabout Duncan and his brother James went to Tennessee and settled at Clarksville,
Montgomery
county. Duncan
married Penelope Jones, daughter of Col. Tegrial
Jones of that state. He was very wealthy, and was a member of the Tennessee
legislature. In 1803 part of Montgomery
county was set off and named Stewart county in his honor.++
Col. Stewart removed about 1808 to Mississippi
and established the Stewart plantation in Wilkinson county. He became
surveyor general and later lieutenant-governor of Mississippi. Children:
William :
died in infancy
Catherine :
m. Judge Harry Cage : d.1829
Tegrial Jones, 1800 : m. Sarah A. Randolph :
d.1855
Eliza :
m. Col. W. S. Hamilton : d.1870
James A.,1811 : m. Julianna
Randolph, sister of Sarah : d.1883
Charles Duncan :
m. Julia Black : father of John Black Stewart, author
Charles19
Stewart (William18)
was a twin brother of Duncan.
He is buried at the Ventress place one mile north of
the old Stewart estate in Wilkinson county,
Miss. [Compare Charles Stewart, born Jan. 16, 1761, in Bladen county,
N.C., --B:171]
James19 Stewart
(William18) was a
son of William by his first marriage. He went with his brother Duncan to Clarksville, Tenn.,
about 1797. He was perhaps the James Stewart who married his cousin
Elizabeth, daughter of Patrick Stewart of Brown's Marsh, --122.
----------------------------
* From Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Mississippi, 1891,
notes sent by Mrs. E. Kittredge Sims.
+ Duncan Stewart, esq., 3-0-6 [shown in 1790 census with 3 males
over 16, 0 males under 16 and 6 females], with 30 slaves, was enumerated in New Hanover County, N.C.,
in 1790.
++ Note by Mrs. Harold Weaver of Edmondson, Ark.,
descendant of William Stewart of Virginia, --B:286.
The next reference to the Stewarts of Balquhidder occurs in
January 1940, but that reference has been moved to the end of the present
article for better narrative continuity.
The Stewarts of Cape Fear,
North Carolina
At the time of compiling this article for the Stewarts
of Balquhidder Research Forum, neither Jared nor I have verified the
accuracy of the Cape Fear Stewart articles in SCM. Our co-founder, Chuck Speed, is descended
from this line, and perhaps over time we will be able to provide further
commentary on the Cape Fear Stewarts. In
the meantime, the reader is referred to Chuck Speed's Report
on the Stewarts of Ledcreich for
comparison.
Next, I find Edson mentioning the
Stewarts of Balquhidder in SCM Tome G pp.177-179 (December 1956, vol. 34, no.
6). Page 177 appears as follows:
Stewarts in the Cape
Fear Section of North Carolina
Resumed from page 230, tome E, and page
4, tome F
As previously stated, the earliest families named Stewart who
settled in the flat watershed of the Cape
Fear river of North Carolina
were Highlanders from Argyleshire and western
Perthshire. "As early as 1729 several families of Scotch Highlanders
had settled on the Cape Fear river in North
Carolina," said the book, JOHN ARCHIBALD
CAMPBELL, 1920. "They found a genial climate, a fertile soil, and a
mild and liberal government. Their letters to friends and relatives in Scotland glowed
with praise of their new home. Accordingly, when Neill McNeill, who had
been one of the first Scotch settlers on the Cape Fear River, returned from a
visit to Scotland
in 1739 he brought with him 350 Highlanders. The General Assembly,
anxious to encourage further immigration of these sturdy settlers, exempted
them from public and private taxes for ten years and offered the same
inducement to any of their countrymen who might follow them." The
Highlanders selected a place at the head of navigation (now Fayetteville,
Cumberland County)
for their central market, and ships bringing large numbers of settlers from Islay,
Skye, Sunderland and other parts of the Highlands
began coming in. By the year 1754 the settlement had grown so important
that the General Assembly erected it into a county, named Cumberland, which then included what are now
Harnett, Wake (part), Lee (part), Moore and Hoke
(part) counties. Prior to its erection Cumberland
was part of Bladen
County, established in
1734. In 1749 Anson County, at that time containing Richmond
(1779), part of Hoke (1911) and other counties west
and north, was set off from Bladen
County. Robeson County,
also populated with Highland families, was set off from Bladen
County in 1786, and contained part of Hoke
County. Scotland County
was part of Richmond
County until 1899.
----------------------
Alexander17
Donald17
| of Ledcreich
| of Auchnaquone
| m. Catherine
Stewart, daughter of Alexander16
|
__________|___________________________
|
| | |
Patrick*
William
Dugald+
| wife Elizabeth Menzies |
died 1778
|
| |
wife Janet
|
_|________________
_______________|______
|
|
| |
| | | | |
|
Charles
James Marg't Eliz.
Patrick Duncan
James Charles Thomas
| went to South Carolina
| went to Tennessee
| married
Margaret Stewart
------------------
* "Patrick Stewart, late of Ledcreich,
who is now (1739) settled in Carolina," wrote Duncan Stewart in his A
SHORT HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL ACCOUNT OF THE ROYAL FAMILY OF SCOTLAND,
1739, sold the estate of Ledcreich in Balquhidder, to
John Stewart, younger son of John16 and Ann (Campbell) Stewart of Aucharn, =B:7. This John Stewart who purchased Ledcreich had an elder brother, Alexander, who inherited Aucharn. Their father, John16 Stewart of Aucharn, was eldest of five sons of Alexander15
Stewart, second son Duncan14 Stewart of Ardsheal,
a cadet of the Stewarts of Appin, Argyleshire.
The names of the other three sons are not stated.
+ Donald17 Stewart of Auchnaquone,
Argyleshire, who had brothers Alexander, Duncan, Alan
and Dugald, was descended from Dugald11
Stewart of Auchnaquone, third son of Sir Alan10
Stewart of Appin, =B:3. There are five or six
generations unaccounted for. "The old and valuable papers of the Achnacone|Auchnaquone| family," said THE STEWARTS OF
APPIN, 1880, "have, unfortunately, been lost."
[Continuing now with pages 178-179, which include another, even
larger, genealogical table . . .]
Alexander17
Stewart, born about 1676 in Balquhidder parish, in western Perthshire, Scotland,
was the only son of Gen. Patrick16 Stewart of Ledcreich,
an officer in the armies of Kings Charles I, Charles II and James II.
This Patrick16, according to James Caraway in an interpolation in
the manuscript genealogy of this family, written in 1763, "fought in 25
battles, besides skirmishes, and suffered much [financially] on account of his
loyalty to the family." Alexander17 married Catherine
Stewart, daughter of Alexander16, "brother of Robert16
Stewart of Glenagle, predecessor to John Stewart of Hyndfield, or Stronvar." The Glenagle
line of Stewarts has not been written up. It runs somewhat like this:
WILLIAM10 STEWART
|
of Baldorran, Balquhidder, Perthshire, =C:51
_________________________________|_____________________________
| | |
Walter John
Andrew11
| of
Baldorran |
of
Glenbucky |
____________________|_______
_________________________|_______
|
| |
|
Duncan12
Patrick12 Alexander12 John12
| |
of Gartnafuaroe |
of Blairgarry
|
_____________________|_________
|
|
|
Alexander13
Andrew
Robert13
|
| m. dau. of
Patrick12 of Glenbucky | of Glenagle
| |
Patrick14 ______14
|
| of Glenagle
| |
William15 Duncan15
| of
Glenbucky |
of Glenagle; m. Janet, dau.
of Alex14 of Ardvorlich
|
_____________________________|__________________
|
|
|
Patrick16 Alexander16
Robert16
| of Ledcreich
|
| of Glenagle
|
|
|
Alexander17 Catherine17
_______17
| of Ledcreich
| m. Alexander17 Stewart of Ledcreich |
of Hyndfield
_|____________
|
|
Patrick18
William18
Since Alexander17 Stewart of the Ledcreich
household married a daughter of the Glenagle
household, and the degree of consanguinity is known fairly closely, it may be
assumed that some of the mysterious Stewarts who came from Scotland to the Cape
Fear section of North Carolina were related to the well known Patrick18
and William18, not through the direct line, but through the var