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From the Library of
DONNA P. STEWART
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ALLEN COUNTY PUBUC LIBRARY
3 1833 01772 8798
GENEALOGY
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HISTORY
OF THE
Stewart or Stuart
Family
BY
HENRY LEE
NEW YORK
R. L. POLK AND COMPANY, INC
PO Box 2270 '\
Fort Wayne JN 46801.2276
Copyright, 1920,
R. L. Polk & Co- Inc
V
mo
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 7
Origin of the Name — Na Stiubhartich — Stewart,
Steuart and Stuart — Ancestral Traditions — Fergus, Son
of Ferquhard — Banquo, Thane of Lochaber — The
Dapifer of Del— The High Stewards of Scotland— The
First King of the Race.
Chapter II . . 21
Early Cadets of the Family — Sir John of Bonkyl — Sir
James of Peristoun — The Black Knight of Lorn —
Albany — The Wolf of Badenoch — Alexander, Earl of
Mar — Athole.
Chapter III 35
The Clan and the Crown — The Badge and Tartan —
Branches of the Clan — Dugald and the Clan Appin —
The Clan Marching Song— Donald of the Hammers —
The Atholemen — The Clach Dearg of Ardvoirlich —
Sliochd Aileen 'ic Rob.
Chapter IV 53
The Dynasty — Mary, Queen of Scots — Bonnie Prince
Charlie.
Chapter V 67
Early American History of the Family — Story of Early
Settlers of the Name — Patrick Stuart, Laird of Led-
creich — John Stewart of Londonderry — Rev. John
Stuart — Stewart of Georgia — Lieut. William Stewart —
George Stuart — Colonel Stuart of Virginia.
Chapter VI 84
The Family in Revolutionary Times — From the Revolu-
tion to the Civil War — Civil War Records.
Chapter VII loi
The Family in the United States.
Chapter VIII I12
Lines of Descent in Scotland, England and Ireland —
Heads of the Family — Notable Members of the Family
in the British Empire.
Chapter IX I2i
Armorial Bearings.
9776:?
PREFACE
LL races of men seem to have an intui-
tive feeling that it is a subject of legiti-
mate pride to be one of a clan or family
whose name is written large in past his-
tory and present affairs. Everybody likes to know
something about his forefathers, and to be able to tell
to his children the tales or stories about their an-
cestors, which he himself has heard from his parents.
The commandment, "Honor thy father and thy
mother," is good and sufficient authority for that feel-
ing of reverence which is so generally shown towards
a line of honorable ancestry. The history of the fam-
ily was a matter of much importance to the Greek;
it was the custom of a primitive Roman to preserve
in the aula of his house the images of all the illus-
trious men the family had produced ; the Chinese go
so far as to magnify such reverence into ancestor
worship ; and even the Red Indian of our own North-
west recorded the traditions of his ancestors on the
totem of his tribe. Well, then, may the story of the
chivalry, courage and even lawlessness (so often the
mate of courage) of their forefathers find a respbnsive
echo in the hearts of their present day descendants,
"who come of ane house, and being of ane surname,
notwithstanding this lang tyme bygane." It is not
intended in this story of the family to attempt any
genealogical investigation, or to show any family
tree, but rather to tell of those bygone members of
the clan in whose achievements and history it is
the common heritage of all who bear the name to
5
6 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
take pride and interest — old stories of the Royal house,
old stories of reckless bravery, of scions of the Royal
stock who were good and true friends, but fierce and
bitter enemies — stories of the progenitors of the race
who fought hard, lived hard, and died as they fought
and lived. Those olden days may seem a time of
scant respect for law, of misdirected chivalry and of
brave deeds often wrongly done, but there is surely
no true Stewart or Stuart who, in his inmost heart,
is not proud to claim descent from the illustrious
race, whose ancient records are replete with many
regal and romantic traditions, reminding all who
hold, or shall hereafter hold, the honored name, that
they
"Fetch their life and being
From men of Royal siege;"
whose later records tell of those early adventurers
who left their native hills and glens for the new
land of promise, and whose descendants have, in more
pirosaic times, earned honors in literature, arms and
art. "It is wise for us to recur to the history of our
ancestors. Those who do not look upon themselves
as links connecting the past with the future do not
fulfill their duty in the world."
HISTORY OF THE FAMILY
OF
STEWART OR STUART
CHAPTER I.
jHE Royal race of Stewart or Stuart can
boast a line of unbroken ancestry equalled
by few families who have occupied the
thrones of Europe, and the origin of the
name and early history of the house are matters of na-
tional interest. The history of the family of Stewart, Na
Stiubhartich, begins before the invention of surnames,
which, according to accepted authorities, were first
used by the Normans in the twelfth century. Al-
though historians differ as to the ancestral origin of
the family, the origin of the name of Stewart seems
clear. Obviously derived from the high ofhce of
Steward of the Royal Household, it was probably first
used as a surname by Walter, the third of the family
to occupy that hereditary office, and who died about
1246. The orthography of the name consonant with
its rise seems therefore the most ancient. But dif-
ferent races in process of time have altered the name,
and accordingly we find it also written Steuart, and
by the later Royal family of Scotland, Stuart. A
probable explanation of the different methods of writ-
ing the name seems to be, that the early main line
used Stewart, derived from their office of hereditary
Lord High Steward, and therefore those who retain
the original spelling are descended from some one or
other of the branches which diverged from the main
line at a period antecedent to the use of Stuart by
the later Royal family. Also that the families who
adopt the spelling of Steuart are offshoots of the
Royal house previously to that time. The close con-
7
8 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
nection which existed between Scotland and France
appears to be responsible for the practice of writing the
name in the form of Stuart, as the French are with-
out the w in their alphabet. Sir John Stewart of
Darnley and D'Aubigny has been mentioned as being
the first to use the French spelling, at the time he
was in the service of the Court of France. Mary,
Queen of Scots, owing to her residence in France and
strong attachment to all things French, contributed to
bring the innovation into use in the Royal family, al-
though her son. King James VI of Scotland and I of
England, in some charters, prefers the earlier orthog-
raphy ; and in the death warrant of Charles I the name
is spelled Steuart. Historians, rightly or wrongly, have
generally applied to the Royal family, since the time
of Queen Mary, the method of writing the name
adopted by her, Stuart, and, in the case of the different
families, that mode of orthography has been rightly
followed which the families have long been in the
habit of using.
In considering the ancestral origin of the family we
find much that is, of course, established by proof,
much, also, that is traditional and speculative. But
to discard, as untrue, all tradition incapable of proof,
would do away with much of early history, and it
is therefore intended to present both the traditional
and authenticated history of the progenitors of the
family. ^
One fact stands out clearly, namely, that the house
of Stewart or Stuart provided a race of Scottish Kings
who occupied the throne of Scotland for upwards
of three hundred years, and that of England for
more than one hundred years ; and from whom the
present dynasty of Great Britain and Ireland are de-
scended. The first of such Kings was Robert Stewart,
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 9
afterwards King Robert II, the son of Walter Stewart,
sixth hereditary Lord High Steward of Scotland, by
his wife, the Princess Marjory, daughter of King
Robert the Bruce. He was therefore descended on
the maternal side from the line of Scottish Kings, and
on the paternal side from the house of Stewart.
Many stories that are probably mythical have been
told concerning the ancestral origin of both the male
and female lines. In the case of the female line, could
it be shown that the dynasty of Scotland was older
than that of England, then the claim of the latter
dynasty to overlordship would be overthrown, and
patriotic historians have endeavored to adduce proof
of such seniority. As an instance, Bisset, an emis-
sary of Scotland to the Papal Court, appeared before
Pope Boniface VIII, in 1301, in support of Scottish
independence, and told the remarkable story recorded
in his, "Progressus contra figmenta regis Angliae,"
that the Egyptian Princess Scota was the founder of
the Dalriad dynasty, and progenitress of the Scoto-Pic-
tish Kings. This Scota was the daughter of the Pharaoh
who was drowned in the Red Sea, and is said to have
married Gathelus, a son of Cecrops, King of Athens,
with whom, and a goodly following, she fled from
Egypt tO' Spain to escape the plagues in the former
country. From Spain they and their followers later
set sail and landed in Ireland, from which country they
afterwards went over to Scotland, bringing with them,
according to Bisset, the coronation stone of Scone.
Another account states that the first of the Scot-
tish line of Kings was the Dalriadic Fergus, son of
Ferquahad, whom the historian Buchanan relates
"began to reign in the year of the world 3641, before
the coming of Christ 330 years." But the generally
accepted founder of the Dalriadic dynasty was the
10 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
much later Fergus Mor Mac Earca. Dalriada was
the ancient name for the northern part of the county
of Antrim, Ireland. The Dalriads are supposed to
have descended from Carbry Riada, (Riogh-fhada, i. e.
of the long wrist), a son of a chief of the Scots in
Ireland, who ruled not only in the district of Ireland
named after him, but crossed to Scotland and settled
in the land of the Picts. About the year 500 A. D.
the Dalriads, led by Fergus, passed over to what is
now Argyllshire, where they settled themselves per-
manently, and formed the Kingdom of "Dalriada in
Albany," which later extended and became the King-
dom of Scotland.
So much for the ancestors of the first Stewart King
in the female line. With regard to the male line,
early historians, supported by charters and deeds, trace
with accuracy the descent from Alan, father of Walter
the first Steward of the Royal household, under King
David I, who reigned from 1124 to 1153. They do
not, however, agree as to the ancestral origin of
Alan, some historians agreeing with the tradition
which connects the male Stewart line with Kenneth
Mac Alpine, who in the year 844 became King of
the united Dalriads, Picts and Scots, thus knitting to-
gether the male and female line of the first Stewart
king in a common ancestral origin, for, as we have
seen, it is claimed that the founder of the line of
Scottish kings was Fergus, whose reign, according to
Buchanan, began B. C. 330. Tradition traces the de-
scent from this Fergus through thirty-two genera-
tions down to Kenneth Mac Alpine, who, in 859 A. D.,
was succeeded by his brother Donald. Constantine,
the brother of Kenneth Mac Alpine, succeeded Donald
in 863, being followed by his brother Ethus in 877.
At this point the descent of the progenitors of the
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 11
Stewarts diverges from that of the Scottish Kings,
into the line of Doir, second son of Ethus. But, later,
on the death of David II, in 1371, the representation
of the main Hne devolved upon his nephew, Robert
Stewart, (Robert II), the descendent ot Doir.
Doir, second son of Ethus, was Maormor, or Thane
of Lochaber. He married Osfleda, daughter of Osbert,
King- of Northumbria, and died in 936. His son,
Murdoch, married Dervegil, daughter of Hugh, said
to be the ancestor of the family of Douglas. Murdoch
died in 959, and was followed by his brother Ferqu-
hard, who was killed at Loncarty in the year 980.
Kenneth, the son of Ferquhard, married a daughter
of King Kenneth HI, and died in 1030 leaving a son,
Banquo, the Thane of I^ochaber, whose posterity, the
witches on the blasted heath foretold, were to be Kings
of Scotland, "Thou shalt get Kings, though thou be
none," the witches, enigmatically declaring him to be
"lesser than Macbeth and greater, not so happy 3'et
much happier." He was murdered by Macbeth about
1050.
Of Fleance, the son of Banquo, Hollinshed in his
Chronicles says, "Macbeth devised to slay Banquo
and his soune. It chanced through the benefit of a
dark night that though the father was slain, the son
yet, by the help of Almighty God reserving him to
better fortune, escaped that danger, and to avoid fur-
ther trouble fled into Wales." Another early histor-
ian states, that Fleance "fled to the Prince of North
Wales, Griffyth ap Lewellyn, with whose daughter
Guenta being enamoured, the Welsh Princess bore to
Fleance a son, Alan." Camden says Fleance was mur-
dered, about the year 1060, on account of the favor
with which he, a stranger, was looked upon by the
Welsh Prince. In consequence of a quarrel at the
12 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
Welsh Court, about 1067, Alan, the sou of Fleance, is
said to have returned to his father's native country
of Scotland, at a time when Edgar Atheling, v^ith his
mother and tvjo sisters, had left England, and placed
themselves under the protection of Michael Canmore,
(Malcolm III, 1058-1093), who soon after married
Margaret, the elder of the two Princesses. Alan en-
tered the service of King Malcolm, and went to the
Crusade of 1 096-1099, where it is stated "he p>erformed
great things in the Holy Land under the standard of
Godfred of Bouillon," and was present at the taking
of Jerusalem in the latter year. Alan went to Eng-
land, possibly in the entourage of the Princess Matilda,
who married Henry I in the year iioo, and entered
the service of the English King, receiving from the
King various grants of land in Norfolk and Shrop-
shire, with the whole "Honour of the Sheriff of Shrop-
shire." Some time prior to the year 1105, he married
Avelina, daughter of Ernulph de Hesding, by whom
he had four sons, William, ancestor of the Fitz Alans,
Earls of Arundel, which Earldom, in 1556, became
merged in the Duchy of Norfolk ; Walter, afterwards
the first High Steward of Scotland ; Jordan, whose
line became extinct in the pterson of his son ; and Simon,
who accompanied Walter to Scotland and had a son,
Robert, known as Boidh, fair or yellow, the ancestor
of the Boyds and the Earls of Kilmarnock.
Other historians claim that Alan, the father of the
first Steward of Scotland was of Breton origin, and
took descent from an earlier Alan who was Dap'ifer
or Seneschallus of Dol, in Northern France. This
Alan is said to have had two sons, the elder of whom,
Alan, succeeded his father as Dapifer of Dol, and
was a leader of the Crusade in 1097. The younger
son, Flaad, is said by Pinkerton to have been the
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 13
father of the agreed ancestor, Alan. Pinkerton states
that Alan, the son of Flaad, was a Norman Baron, who
obtained from William the Conqueror the Barony of
Oswestry, in Shropshire, and agrees with regard to
three of the sons named in the first mentioned account,
namely, William, the ancestor of the Fitz Alans, Earls
of Arundel ; Walter, the Steward of Scotland ; and
Simon, who accompanied Walter to Scotland. But,
neither in the Domesday Book, the Roll of Battle
Abbey, nor in any account of those who accompanied
William the Conqueror from Normandy, is the name
of Alan or his father included.
Walter, the son of Alan, came to Scotland and was
appointed by King David I (1124-1153) Steward of
the Royal household. The duties of High Steward
were of the greatest importance, comprising the man-
agement of the Royal household, collection of the
National revenue, and the command of the King's
armies. From the King, Walter obtained grants
of the lands of Renfrew, Pollock, Cathcart and others
in that district. These grants were confirmed by Mal-
colm IV in 1 1 57. In 1 160, Walter founded the Abbey
of Paisley, the Benedictine monks of which came from
the Priory of Wenlock, in Shropshire. Chalmers says,
"The manor of Dundonald belonged to Walter, the
son of Alan, who held the whole of the northern
half of Kyle. Perhaps the Castle of Dundonald was
built by the first Walter who had no appropriate house
or castle when he settled in Scotland." The Castle
of Dundonald stands on an isolated hill, eight miles
north of Ayr. Walter died in 1177, and was buried
in the Monastery of Paisley, which became the bury-
ing place of the family until their accession to the
throne.
Alan, the son of Walter succeeded as High Steward
14 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
of Scotland and died in 1204, leaving a son, Walter,
whom Alexander II appointed Judiciary of Scotland
in addition to the hereditary office of Lord High
Steward. The practice of using the name of the
hereditary office as a surname is ascribed to this
Walter, who settled the name of Stewart on his de-
scendants. Walter died in 1246, leaving three sons and
three daughters. His sons were, Alexander, the eldest
and successor as Lord High Steward; Sir John, who
was killed at Damietta, in Egypt; and Sir Walter,
known as "Bailloch" or the freckled, who became the
Earl of Menteith.
Alexander Stewart, the fourth Lord High Steward
of Scotland, was, in 1255, one of the Regents of Scot-
land, and councillors of King Alexander III, who
was but eight years of age when crowned at Scone in
1249. Alexander married Jean, the heiress of James,
Lord of Bute and grandson of Somerled, Lord of the
Isles, and in her right seized the Isles Arran and Bute.
Roderick of Bute complained to Hakon, King of Nor-
way, of the encroachments of the Scots, and the Nor-
wegian King, in 1263, appeared at Kirkwall with a
large fleet. King Hakon was defeated at the Battle
of Largs, 2nd October, 1263, in which battle the High
Steward commanded the right wing of the Scottish
army. Alexander Stewart died in 1283.
He had two sons, James Stewart, his successor,
and Sir John Stewart of Bonkyl in Berwickshire. Also
a daughter, Elizabeth, who married Sir William Doug-
las, ancestor of the Earls of Douglas. Sir John Stew-
art of Bonkyl was the ancestor of many noble fam-
ilies as will be told later. On the death of King
Alexander III, in 1286, James Stewart, Lord High
Steward, was one of the six Regents of Scotland dur-
ing the infant Queen Margaret's absence in "Noroway
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 15
*
over the faem." The six custodians of the realm were,
The Bishop of St. Andrews, The Earl of Fife, The Earl
of Buchan, The Lord of Badenoch, The Bishop of
Glasgow, and James, the Steward. Three of the Re-
gents took charge north, and three south, of the Forth.
As showing the necessity for the division of authority,
the seal used by the burghers of Stirling, in 1296, may
be mentioned. The seal represents the stone bridge
over the Forth, with a crucifix in the centre, to the
right of which men with spears aim them at men
with bows at the left. Above the spearmen appear
the words, "Hie armis bruti Scoti stant;" above the
bowmen, "Hie cruce tuti," meaning to distinguish the
bruti Scoti, ("Hieland brutes"), from the "Christians"
south of the Forth. In 1289, with the parties of
Bruce and Balliol at open feud, and Scotland on the
verge of anarchy, the management of the Kingdom
was entrusted to the Steward while the other Regents
journeyed to England to treat with Edward I. He
signed the Ragman Roll in 1296 containing the in-
struments of fealty to Edward, but the same year, he
and his brother Sir John Stewart of Bonkyl associated
themselves with Wallace. In 1306 he wasi compelled
to swear fealty to the English King at Lanercost, and
to render his oath as binding as possible, it was taken
upon the two crosses of Scotland most esteemed for
their sanctity, on the consecrated host, the Holy Gos-
pel, and relics of saints. Nevertheless, he again sup-
p*orted the patriotic cause, considering that his faith
was not to a usurper, but to his country, and died in
the service of Bruce in 1309. James Stewart resided
at Renfrew Castle, which had originally been a royal
residence, and is situated on high ground between the
Cross and the Ferry on the King's Inch.
The sixth Lord High Steward of Scotland was
16 History of the Stewart or Sl.mrt Family
Walter Stewart, the son of James. When only twenty-
one years of age, he, with Douglas, commanded the
left wing- of the Scots army at the Battle of Bannock-
burn, 1314.
"Walter, Stewart of Scotland syne
That then was but a beardless lyne.
Came with a rout of noble men
That might by countenance be ken."
Towards the close of the same year, Elizabeth, King
Robert the Bruce's second wife, and his daughter
Marjory, by his first wife, who were in captivity in
England, were liberated in exchange for the Earl of
Hereford ; and the young Steward was sent by King
Robert to receive them on the Borders. Walter evi-
dently made the most of his opportunity, for the fol-
lowing year the King bestowed the Princess Marjory
in marriage upon him. With her he received in dower
a large endowment in lands, including the Barony of
Bathgate, Linlithgowshire. He had already received
the Lordship of Largs on the forfeiture of John Bal-
liol. Princess Marjory died in 1316. According to
tradition she was thrown from her horse at the Knock,
near Renfrew, and instantly killed, leaving a son who
was afterwards King Robert H.
When King Robert the Bruce went to the assistance
of his brother Edward in Ireland, he left the Kingdom
to the sway of the High Steward and Sir James Doug-
las. On the capture of Berwick from the English, in
1318, Walter Stewart got the command of the town,
which he defended against the English in 1319. In
1322, during Bruce's invasion of England, after the
defeat of the English at Bigland Abbey in Yorkshire,
the Steward, with five hundred horse, pursued Edward
to York, where with the greatest chivalry, the Stew-
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 17
ard waited at the gates till the evening for the enemy
to come forth and renew the combat. He died on the
9th April, 1326, at Bathgate Castle being at the time
of his death only thirty-three years of age.
His son, by the Princess Marjory, Robert Stewart,
seventh Lord High Steward, had, on the death of Ed-
ward Bruce in 1318, been declared heir to the throne,
always provided that King Robert the Bruce died
without male offspring. The birth of a son, after-
wards David n, to Bruce, in 1326, interrupted his
prospects for a time. The Scottish chronicler Fordun
describes Robert Stewart as, "a. comely youth, tall and
robust, modest, liberal, gay and courteous and, for
the innate sweetness of his disposition, generally be-
loved of all true hearted Scotsmen." From his grand-
father, the King, he received large grants of land in
Kintyre. In 1333, at the age of seventeen, under the
inspection of his kinsman Sir James Stewart, he com-
manded the second division of the Scots army at the
disastrous Battle of Halidon Hill. Many Stewarts of
the different branches fell at this battle and the Eng-
lish made much of their victory, claiming that Hali-
don Hill had wiped out the shame of Bannockburn.
The English soldier poet, Lawrence Minot, expresses
this sentiment,
"Scots out of Berwick, and out of Aberdeen,
At the Burn of Bannock ye were far too keen.
Many guiltless men 3^e slew, as was clearly seen,
But King Edward has avenged it now, and fully
too, I ween."
Robert the Steward was comp>elled to hide in Bute,
was forfeited by the English King, and his office of
High Steward claimed by the Earl of Arundel, who
pretended a right to it on account of his descent from
William, the elder brother of Walter, the first Steward
18 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
of the family. The following year Robert Stewart
escaped from Bute, recovered his own castle of Du-
noon, and reduced the Island of Bute, compelling the
people of Renfrewshire and Ayrshire to acknowledge
David II. On the death of Sir Andrew Moray, the
Regent, in 1338, the command of the Scots army de-
volved on the Steward, by whose exertions the Eng-
lish were eventually driven from the country. In
1341, when Stirling and Edinburgh were in Scottish
hands, it was deemed safe to bring back David II
from France, where he had been sent in 1334. In Oc-
tober 1346, when David II was defeated and taken
prisoner by the English at the Battle of Neville's
Cross, the remains of the Scottish army were safely
brought back to Scotland by the Earl of March and
the Steward. David lived happily in England, while
Robert Stewart ruled Scotland, and evinced no strong
desire for the return of- the King. The liberation of
the King was, in 1357, effected by the Steward, his
own eldest son being one of the hostages sent to
England in the sovereign's stead. But in 1363, the son
of Robert the Bruce went to London, and offered to
sell the freedom of Scotland to the grandson of Ed-
ward I ; the p*roposal being that the succession to the
throne of Scotland be settled on Prince Lionel, Duke
of Clarence, son of the English king. This proposal
being made to the Scots Parliament evoked the reply,
"Never will we have an Englishman to rule over us,"
and the Steward assembled his followers to enforce
his right of succession, which had been confirmed by
a former Parliament. The King however awed them
into submission, but he himself was compelled to re-
spect the law of succession as established by Robert
the Bruce, and conferred the Earldom of Carrick upon
the eldest son of the Steward. The Earldom of Stra-
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 19
thern had already been conferred on the Steward.
Nevertheless there remained a suppressed feud be-
tween the King, who was childless, and the Steward,
the heir to the throne. David, having lost his first
wife in 1362, now, in 1368, married Margaret Logic,
who had already been four times a bride, and con-
trived to involve his country in every kind of trouble
and disgrace. He divorced Margaret Logic, an ac-
tion attributed to an intention on her piart to bring in
a "warming pan" heir. Because of her intrigues the
King had, in January 1369, imprisoned the Steward
and his notorious son, the Wolf of Badenoch, in Loch
Leven Castle. King David II died in Edinburgh
Castle on the 22nd February, 1370. The three estates
were convened at Linlithgow to choose a king. In
1318, Parliament had, as we have seen, settled the
succession on the descendants of the Princess Mar-
jory, daughter of Robert the Bruce, and Walter, the
Steward of Scotland. Now, an opposing claim was put
forward by Earl William of Douglas, but he could
not defeat the claim of Robert Stewart, the successor
established by the Bruce, and supported by Dunbar,
March, Moray and Erskine, who held among them
Edinburgh, Stirling and Dumbarton, the three chief
strongholds of the Kingdom. Thus, the first Stewart
King, Roberj II, ascended the throne.
The direct male line of the elder branch of the
Stewarts continued upon the throne of Scotland, in un-
broken succession from father to son, down to James
V, who was succeeded by his daughter, Mary, Queen
of Scots. Her son, James VI of Scotland and I of
England, took descent on his father's side through
the Earl of Lennox, the head of the second branch.
Having told the early history of the main line of the
house of Stewart, and of their accession to the throne.
20 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
it is not intended in this story of the family to give
a mere chronological summary of occurrences con-
nected with the reign of each one of their descendants
who occupied the throne, and whose story has been
told again and again in national history ; but, rather,
to tell of other branches of the Stewarts and the
numerous families of the name, which have, at dif-
ferent periods, diverged from the main stock, and
produced many notable figures in the life and history
of their times.
Before concluding this chapter on the origin of the
family, it is interesting to note that at the time of the
second Jubilee of the late Queen Victoria, a chart was
prepared by an English clergyman showing the de-
scent of the Royal family from Judah. It is in the
form of a tabular pedigree of one thousand names,
which shows the line of ancestry through the house
of Stuart, back to Robert II, and traces both the pa-
ternal and maternal line of the first Stewart King,
through Kenneth Mac Alpine, to Fergus Mor Mac
Earca. The line is then carried further back through
Ferquhad, the son of Angus the Prolific, to Tea Tephi,
the daughter of Zedekiah, who married Heremon the
ancestor of the ancient Irish and Scottish Kings.
From Zedekiah the line is traced back through the
Kings of Judah to the wise King Solomon, son of
David, and thence through nine generations to Judah.
The author of the chart takes as his texts, "I will not
fail David," and the following from the 89th Psalm :
"His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his
throne as the days of Heaven."
CHAPTER II.
ONSIDERATION of the early branches
and cadets of the Stewart family necessi-
tates a return to Walter, the third Stew-
ard. As mentioned in the preceding chap-
ter, his third son was Sir Walter Stewart, called Bail-
loch or the freckled. Having married the younger
sister of the Countess of Menteith, Sir Walter claimed
the Earldom in right of his wife, and by favor of the
Estates of the realm, in 1258, obtained it, — and kept
it. He had two sons, Alexander, his successor, and
Sir John Stewart of Ruskie. Alexander's grandson,
Alan, Earl of Menteith, was succeeded by a daughter,
married to Sir John Graham, who in her right be-
came Earl of Menteith. The second son. Sir John
Stewart of Ruskie, who was also known as Sir John
de Menteith, appears in history as the betrayer of Will-
iam Wallace, The story, much clouded by legend, says
that Wallace was in hiding from the English King,
who had offered rewards for his capture. Sir John's
sister's son, who was in Wallace's service, warned
his uncle of Wallace's purpose to meet Bruce on
Glasgow Muir, whereupon Sir John sent out a spy to
observe the house where Wallace lay, and surround-
ing the cottage of Lumloch, captured him in his bed.
Whether betrayal is the correct description of Sir
John's action is questionable. Treachery on the p^rt
of a fellow countryman, and an old comrade in arms,
undoubtedly adds romance to the capture of the na-
tional hero, but as a matter of fact, Sir John was at
that time actually in the service of the English King,
21
22 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
and held the responsible office of Governor of Dum-
barton Castle. It is possible he only performed a dis-
agreeable duty.
The fourth Steward, Alexander, also had a younger
son, known as Sir John Stewart of Bonkyl. From
his father, he received the Barony of Garlics, and is
thus described in Nisbet's Heraldry : "Sir John Stew-
art of Bonkyl, second son of Alexander, High Stew-
ard of Scotland, born in the year 1246." He married
Margaret, "the heiress of Bonkyl, a virgine of great
ibeauties." In 1292, he was one of the auditors for
Robert the Bruce, and his name appears second in
the sixteen hundred or more names in the Ragman
Roll, the preceding name being that of James Stewart,
his elder brother the High Steward. Sir John fought
with Wallace at the Battle of Falkirk, and with him
were the men of Bute, who were known as the Lord
High Steward's Brandanes.
"Thare Jhon Stwart a-pon fute
With him the Brandanys thare of Bute."
The Brandanes were almost wholh^ slain in the Battle,
and Sir Jolui, the "braw and worthy Knycht," as Blind
Harry calls him, was also killed. A monument to
his memory at Falkirk states, "Here lies a Scottish
hero. Sir John Stewart, killed at the Battle of Falkirk,
22 July. T298." He had seven sons, upon each of
whom Robert the Bruce bestowed honors and estates,
and from whom many noble and ancient families de-
scended.
The eldest of the seven sons, Sir Alexander Stewart,
of Bonkyl succeeded, and his son. Sir John, was, in
1327, created Earl of Angus, after the forfeiture of
de Umphraville. He died in December, 1331, leaving
an only son Thomas, Earl of Angus, whose son, also
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 23
Thomas, the third Earl of Angus of the name of Stew-
art, died in 1377 without issue, when the title devolved
upon his sister, Lady Margaret Stewart. She mar-
ried, as her second husband, William, first Earl of
Douglas, by whom she was the mother of George de
Douglas, granted the Earldom of Angus by King
Robert II, in 1389.
The second son of Sir John of Bonkyl, was known
as Sir Alan Stewart of Dreghorn in Ayrshire. With
two other brothers he was killed at the Battle of
Halidon Hill in 1333. He left a son Sir Alexander of
Darnley, who died in 1372, whose third son, also Sir
Alexander of Darnley, died in 1404, leaving an eldest
son. Sir John Stewart of Darnley, knighted in 1383
and killed at Orleans, 1429. From him descended the
Earls and Dukes of Lennox. Henry Stewart, Lord
Darnley, eldest surviving son of Matthew, Earl of
Lennox, and husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, was
the fifth in descent from Sir John of Darnley. From
Sir William Stewart, a younger brother of Sir John of
Darnley, are descended the Earls of Galloway and
their cadets, among whom are the Stuarts of Castle-
milk. Sir William is more fully referred to later, his
son having married the heiress of Dalswinton.
The third son of Sir John of Bonkyl, Sir Walter
Stewart of Dalswinton, received for his services to
Robert the Bruce a grant of the lands of Dalswinton,
which had been forfeited by the Comyns. The Barony
of Garlics, conferred on his grandfather, Alexander,
fourth High Steward, by King Alexander III, for his
services in defeating Hakon at the Battle of Largs,
in 1263, was also granted to Sir Walter. He was
succeeded by his son, Sir John Stewart of Dalswinton,
who was captured by the English at the Battle of
Neville's Cross in 1346. His son Sir Walter, left ats
24 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
only child and heiress, Marion Stewart of Dalswinton,
who, in 1396, married Sir John Stewart, elder son of
Sir William Stewart. This Sir William figures in dif-
ferent records as, "de Jedworth," "de Tevitdale," and
"de Foresta," and, as already mentioned, was the
younger son of Sir Alexander Stewart of Darnley.
Sir William is mentioned by Froissart as one of the
Scottish leaders at Otterburn in 1388, and was killed
by Hotspur, when a prisoner, after the Battle of
Homildon, in 1402.
The three brothers. Sir John Stewart of Daldon, fifth
son. Sir Robert Stewart of Daldowie, sixth son, and
Sir Flugh Stewart, seventh son of Sir John of BonkyU
accompanied Edward Bruce on his expedition to Ire-
land. Sir John of Daldon was later killed at the Battle
of Halidon Hill ; from Sir Robert's grandson, Sir Alan
Steuart who died in 1444, spring the Steuarts of Allan-
ton ; Sir Hugh died unmarried.
The records relating to the descendants of Sir James
Stewart, the fourth son of Sir John of Bonkyl, are of
particular interest. Robert the Bruce granted him a
charter of the lands of Peristoun and Warwickhill, in
the district of Cunningham, Ayrshire. He was at the
Battle of Bannockburn, 1314, and was killed at Hali-
don Hill in 1333, with his brothers. Sir Alan and
Sir John. Lord Hailes in his Annals points out, that
"At Halidon two Stewarts fought, the one Alan of
Dreghorn, the paternal ancestor of Charles I, and the
other, James, his brother, the maternal ancestor of
Oliver Cromwell." Alan of Dreghorn was, as has been
mentioned, the ancestor of Henry Stewart, Lord Darn-
ley, father of James VT and I, while Cromwell's mother
was said to be descended from the Stewarts of Ely.
Lord Hailes was of opinion that the latter family came
from Sir James Stewart of Peristoun, through the
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 25
Rosyth family; but that Cromwell took descent from
the Stewarts has been denied, more especially by
Rye in the "Genealogist." Sir James of Peristoun
left three sons, Sir John, who died without male is-
sue; Sir Alan who had a son, Sir John, who died
without issue ; and Sir Robert.
Sir Robert Stewart was designed of Innermeath,
and had two sons Sir John and Sir Robert, the
elder of whom, Sir John Stewart, was ancestor of
the Clan Stewart of Appin, referred to more fully in
the next chapter. Sir John married, about 1386, Iso-
bel, the younger daughter and co-heiress of John de
Ergadia, Lord of Lorn ; and Sir Robert his brother
married Janet, her elder sister. In 1388, Sir Robert
and his wife Janet resigned their portion of the land?
of Lorn in favor of Sir John, who also received from
Robert II a confirmatory charter of Lorn. Sir John
Stewart thus succeeded to the estates of the ancient
family of the MacDougals of Lorn, and quartered the
lymphad, or galley, of Lorn with his paternal coat
of arms. He had five sons, Robert his successor;
Archibald ; Sir James, called the Black Knight of
Lorn ; Alexander, ancestor of the Stewarts of Grand-
tully; and William.
To mention first Sir James, the second son, the
Black Knight of Lorn. He married, in 1439, the Lady
Joan Beauport, eldest daughter of John, Marquess
of Dorset, granddaughter of John of Gaunt, and widow
of James I. The Black Knight of Lorn was at this
time closely allied to the house of Douglas, and Sir
Alexander Livingston, who, with Crichton the Chan-
cellor, was in control of the affairs of the kingdom,
became alarmed at the probable accession of power
to that great family. Seeing that the Black Knight,
as husband of the Queen Mother, who was custodian
26 History of the Stewart or Smart Family
of the person of the young King James II, might
insist on a principal share in the direction of the King,
Livingston threw him and his brother William into
prison, and confined the Queen Mother to her private
apartments until she signed a deed surrendering the
control of the king. After his release Sir James went
abroad, where he died, leaving three sons, John, Earl
of Athole ; Sir James Stewart, called "Hearty James,"
created Earl of Buchan, in 1466; and Andrew, Bishop
of Moray.
Sir John Stewart, the eldest son of the Black Knight
of Lorn, was created Earl of Athole in 1457, and, in
1460, obtained from his half brother, James II, a
charter of the lordship of Balveny, in portion with
Margaret Douglas, known as the Fair Maid of Gallo-
way, daughter of the Earl of Douglas. His son, and
successor, John, was killed at Flodden. The next Earl,
also John, was noted for his great hospitality and
princely style of living and died in 1542. Dorothea,
the daughter and heiress of the fifth Earl married
William Murray, Earl of Tullibardine, who, in 1626,
resigned the Earldom of Tullibardine in favor of Sir
Patrick Murray, on condition of the revival of the
Earldom of Athole in his wife and her descendants.
The Earldom thus passed to the Murray line.
Hearty James, the second son of the Black Knight,
obtained, in 1466, the title Earl of Buchan, and, in
1471, on the fall of Lord Boyd, was made High Cham-
berlain of Scotland. He died about 1500. His son
and grandson both succeeded to the title. John Stew-
art, the eldest son of the latter, had a daughter, Chris-
tian Stewart, who succeeded to the title, and married
a Douglas.
To return to Sir Robert Stewart, the eldest son of
Sir John of Innermeath and Lorn. On the death of
History of the Stewart or Stvxirt Family 27
his father Sir Robert became Lord of Lorn and Inner-
meath, and married, about 1409, Margaret the fourth
daughter of Robert, first Duke of Albany. His eldest
son and successor. Sir John Stewart, Lord of Lorn and
Innermeath, had three daughters, who married, Isobel
to Colin Campbell, first Earl of Argyll ; Margaret, to
Sir Colin Campbell of Glenurchy; and Marion, to
Arthur Campbell of Ottar. There is some question
as to the order of birth of the three daughters, and of
the manner in which the Lordship of Lorn passed to
the Argyll family; but by the marriage of these
daughters the Lordship' of Lorn became vested in the
Earls of Argyll. Sir John also had, by a daughter
of Mac Laren of Ardveitch, a son Dugald, the founder
of the Clan Appin Stewarts referred to in the next
chapter.
Turning next to the younger sons of Robert II,
the first of the Stewart kings, we find that the most
notable of such sons by his first wife Elizabeth Mure
were Robert, Earl of Fife and later Duke of Albany,
and Alexander the Wolf of Badenoch.
Robert Stewart, first Duke of Albany was the third
son of Robert II by his first wife. The name Albany
is probably derived from the Pictish word Alban,
meaning the superior height, and in early times was
the appellation of the whole island. The Scottish
highlanders called themselves "Gael Albinn." The
word however later came to mean the mountainous
district comprising App'in and Glenurchy in Argyll-
shire, Athole and Breadalbane in Perthshire, and part
of Lochaber in Invernessshire. Robert Stewart was
born in 1339, and in 1371 was created Earl of Fife.
In 1389, in consequence of the advanced age of
his father, the King, and the bodily infirmity of hijs
elder brother, the Earl of Carrick, afterwards Robert
28 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
III, who had been rendered lame in early youth
through the kick of a horse, Robert, Earl of Fife, was
appointed Governor of the Kingdom. In April, 1390,
his father Robert II died, and his elder brother John,
succeeded to the throne under the name of Robert
III, that of John being considered unfortunate. The
new king allowed the management of the kingdom
to remain in the hands of the Earl of Fife, but the
king's son, Prince David, now Earl of Carrick and heir
apparent, compelled his retirement, and got himself
named Regent. Up to this time the title of Duke had
not been in use in Scotland, but at a meeting between
the Earl of Fife and Prince David, Earl of Carrick,
with the English John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster,
the English nobleman claimed certain precedence from
his superior title. This was not relished by the Prince
and his uncle, and the first introduction of the ducal
title into Scotland was the consequence, the Earl of
Carrick being created Duke of Rothesay, and the Earl
of Fife becoming Duke of Albany. The Duke of
Rothesay was of wild and dissipated habits, his levity
of conduct giving much offense, and in 1402 occurred
his tragic death, the guilt for which is generally
attached to Albany. The historian, Boece, after tell-
ing of the death of the Prince's mother, the Queen,
proceeds, "Be quhais deith succedit gret displesir to
hir son, David Duk of Rothesay ; for during hir life
he was haldin in virtews and honest occupatioun, eftir
hir deith he began to rage in all maner of insolence."
Boece tells how the King sent letters to his brother,
the Duke of Albany, to "intertene his said son the
Duk of Rothesay and to leir him honest and civil
maners." According to tradition, Albany seems to have
"leired" him manners by the following method.
"The Duk of Albany tuk the Duk of Rothesay and
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 29
brocht him to Falkland and inclusit him in the tour
thairof without ony meit or drink." In fact, starved
him to death. After Rothesay's death Albany was
given full sway by the feeble king, but roused to a
suspicion of his ambitious designs, as next heir to the
crown if the king's children should be displaced, the
king sent his only surviving son, James, then in his
eleventh year, to France for safety. On the passage
the ship was captured by the English, and the Prince
imprisoned in the Tower of London. Robert III died
of a broken heart, and Albany was confirmed by Par-
liament, in the Regency. He continued to administer
the affairs of the kingdom until his death, which took
place at Stirling Castle on the 3rd September, 1420,
at the age of eighty-one.
His son, Murdoch Stewart, second Duke of Albany,
was known during his father's lifetime as the Earl
of Fife. Taken prisoner at the Battle of Homildon
in 1402, he was exchanged for Henry Percy, Duke of
Northumberland, and on the death of his father, in
1420, in the absence of James I, succeeded as Governor.
Upon King James' return and coronation at Scone, the
Duke pierformed the ceremony of installing him on
the throne. He claimed this privilege as Earl of Fife,
successor of Macduff the conqueror of Macbeth. After
James I was in power, considering the Albany faction
a cause of danger, he, in 1425, ordered the arrest of
the Duke, and of his younger son Alexander. The
eldest son of Albany, Walter, had already been im-
prisoned on the Bass Rock. There is no record of
any charge against Albany and his sons, but Walter
the eldest son was executed before Stirling Castle,
on 24th May, 1425, and the next day Albany himself,
his son Alexander, and the aged Earl of Lennox
shared a similar fate on the Heading Hill. The
30 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
youngest son, James, escaped to the Highlands and
collected a band of followers, sacked Dumbarton, and
killed, among others, the king's uncle Sir John Stewart
of Dundonald, known as the Red Stewart. He then
escaped to Ireland, where he married one of the Mac
Donalds, their son, James, being the ancestor of the
Stewarts of Ardvoirlich. The king took vengeance on
those of James' followers captured in Scotland, caus-
ing them, when alive, to be torn limb from limb by
horses.
The Wolf of Badenoch is the name by which the
fourth son of Robert H is best known in history.
Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan, was nearly seven
feet in height, of enormous strength, and his atrocities
and almost regal hospitalities give a fascination to an
historic figure. The outrage which, in 1390, gained
for the Wolf everlasting infamy, was the raid on
Forres and Elgin. He had no children by his wife,
and had left her, to live with another, Mariota, a
daughter of Athyn. By her he had several sons, and
his Countess appealed to the Bishop's of Moray and
Ross for redress. In revenge the Wolf seized upon
some lands belonging to the Bishop of Morav, who
excommunicated him. The Wolf, now thoroughly
exasperated, sent round the Fiery Cross and gather-
ing his fierce followers, called by Wyntoun, "Wyld,
wykkyd Hielandmen," he swooped down on Forres,
which he burned, with the Church and the Arch-
deacon's house. He then proceeded to Elgin, where he
arrived on the feast of the Blessed Abbot Botolph,
in June, 1390. He burned the Cathedral city, the
parish Church, the Maison Dieu, and eighteen of the
houses of the Canons, "and what is most grievously
to be lamented, the noble and highly adorned Church
of Moray, the delight of the country and ornament of
the kingdom, with all the books, charters and goods
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 31
of the countr}'- placed therein." The story is, that
the indemnification obtained by the See was that
the Wolf stood for three days barefooted at the
great gate of Elgin Cathedral. This must, however,
have been later, for so autocratic and savage was the
Wolf, during the greater part of his life, that he
governed a practically independent little kingdom. But,
if tradition can be relied on, in spite of the record of his
life, he died in the very richest odour of sanctity in the
year 1394, and was buried in Dunkeld Cathedral. He
had five natural sons by Mariota, the daughter of
Athyn ; Alexander ; Sir Andrew of Sandhauch ; Walter ;
James ; and Duncan. The Earldom of Buchan fell
into the hands of the Crown, and was conferred, in
1406, on his cousin John Stewart.
The eldest natural son, Alexander Stewart, had a
more brilliant career as a political and military free
lance than even the Wolf, and as commander on the
bloody field of Harlaw, in 141 1, stayed the victorious
and ravaging progress of Donald, Lord of the Isles,
and his Highland host. Donald of the Isles, to
maintain his claim to the Earldoro of Ross, with
"Fifty thousand Hielanmen, A marching to Harlaw,"
invaded the country south of the mountains, with the
intention of sacking Aberdeen, and was met at Harlaw
by Alexander Stewart, then Earl of Mar, at the head
of the Lowlanders. The "Hielanmen" lost more than
nine hundred men, and the Lowlanders five hundred;
but neither side could claim actual superiority in the
battle. As the old ballad has it,
"On Monandy at mornin'.
The battle it began,
On Saturday at gloamin'
Ye'd scarce tell wha had wan.
And sic a weary buryin'
32 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
The like ye never saw
As there was the Sunday after that
On the muirs down by Harlaw."
Donald's purpose was however frustrated, and the
victory claimed by the Earl of Mar has been declared
by the historian Burton to have done more for the
civilization of Scotland than even the victory of
Bannockburn. Regarding Alexander Stewart's mar-
riage to the Countess of Mar, the story is told that
he stormed her Castle of Kildrummie, wed her by
violence or persuasion, and carried off the Earldom
from the lawful heirs. But the story goes on to
tell, that in order to palliate his conduct he later pre-
sented himself at the Castle gate of Kildrummie,
and surrendered to the Countess the castle and all
therein, in testimony of which he delivered the keys
into her hand. The Countess, holding the keys in
her hand, then chose Alexander for her husband,
and on free marriage gave him her castle and the Earl-
dom of Mar. The Countess died without issue. From
141 1 until his death, Alexander Stewai^, Earl of
Mar, was one of the foremost men in Scotland. Bril-
liant and versatile he became one of Scotland's great-
est captains, statesmen and patriots. Upon his death,
in 1435, the title and estates reverted to the Crown.
The ancient title of Earl of Athole was conferred on
Walter Stewart, the second son of Robert II, by his
second wife Euphemia Ross. He was engaged in
the conspiracy of his kinsman, Sir Robert Graham,
against James I, one of the objects of whichi was the
placing of the crown on the head of Sir Robert Stew-
art, the Earl's grandson, who was Chamberlain to the
king. James I went from Edinburgh to Perth to keep
Christmas, 1436, with the Black Friars at Perth. On
his wav thither, at the Water of Leith, he was met
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 33
by a Highland wise-wife, who told him, "My Lord
the King, if you cross this water you will never return
again alive." The King, however, disregarded her
warning. While in Perth, the King took up residence
in the Abbey of the Black Friars, and on the night
appointed, 20th February, 1437, Sir Robert Stewart,
the Chamberlain, placed planks across the moat of the
Abbey, also unlocking the gates and doors of the
Abbey, and Graham and his followers, amounting to
nearly three hundred men, entered the Abbey. The
King, in his night robe and slippers, was conversing
with the Queen and her ladies before retiring. He
had spent the evening with the nobles and ladies of the
Court, the Earl of Athole and Sir Robert Stewart
among them. The Highland sorceress again attempted
to warn the King, but was refused admittance owing
to the lateness of the hour. The conspirators were
heard approaching, and the King guessed that they
were coming to murder him. He wrenched up a
plank in the floor, and hid in the vault below, used as a
sewer. The Queen and her ladies attempted to hold the
door of the room shut, and Catherine Douglas thrust
her arm across the door in the place of the bar which
had been removed. Soon the brave Douglas' arm was
broken, and the conspirators rushed into the room, but,
not finding the King, would have left the apartment
had not the King turned impatient, and called to one
of the ladies to help him out of the hiding place. Then
two of the murderers leapt into the vault, but the King
though unarmed, put up so brave a fight that Graham
was compelled to spring down and thrust his sword
through the King's body. Queen Joanna made so
strict a search for the assassins that within a month
most of them were in prison. Sir Robert Graham
was tortured and executed ; the Earl of Athole be-
34 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
headed, being first set upon the pillory, his head en-
circled with a red hot crown on which was inscribed,
"The King of Traitors" ; while the flesh of Sir Robert
Stewart was torn from his body with pincers.
The fourth Stewart King, James II, had three
younger sons, Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany,
whose son and successor died in France without law-
ful issue ; David Stewart, Earl of Moray, who died
young; and John Stewart, Earl of Mar, who was
murdered in Craigmillar Castle.
The two younger sons of James III were, James
Stewart, Duke of Ross and Archbishop of St. An-
drews, who died at the early age of 28, and John
Stewart, Earl of Mar.
CHAPTER III.
WING to the fact that the Chief or head
of the Stewarts was also the occupant of
the Throne, the relationship between the
various branches or members of the family
and the head of the house somewhat differed from the
usual ties connecting the clansmen with their chieftain.
The distinctive quality of the clan was, in a consider-
able degree, lost in a more general national sentiment.
The family, however, had their distinguishing badge
and tartan. The badge of the original Stewarts was
the darag, or oak, the superstitious Highlanders fore-
seeing ill fortune from the choice of an emblem not an
evergreen. The cluaran, or thistle, became the badge
of the Royal Stuarts and the national emblem.
"Hail ! Emblem proud to Scotland long endeared,
Begirt with threat'ning points which never failed.
When England's sons her thorn-couched spears
upreared
Thou shook'st thy bearded head and still pre-
vailed."
The usual family tartan is the well known red-colored
pattern commonly known as the Royal Stuart Tartan,
The effect of a large body of men crossing a hill,
clothed in the red Stuart tartan, contrasting with the
dark colored heath, has been described "as if the hill
were on fire." Four other tartans belonging to the
family are known as. The Dress Tartan, containing
more white than red ; The Old Tartan ; The Hunting
Tartan ; and the Bonnie Prince Charlie Tartan.
The Stewarts of Appin, the Clan Appin, together
35
3G History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
with the Athole branches of the family, were con-
sidered in the Highlands as forming the Clan Stewart.
The district of Appin forms the north-west corner of
Arg_) llshire, a small rivulet, called Con Ruagh or red
bog, dividing the lands of the Stewarts of Appin from
the Campbells. The Stewart Chief of the Clan Appin
was known as Mac Iain Stiubhart nan Appin, and the
Ettrick Shepherd's ballad, "The Stewarts of Appin,"
runs thus,
"I sing of a land that was famous of yore,
The land of green Appin, the ward of the flood,
Where every grey cairn that broods over the
shore,
Marks graves of the royal, the valiant, or good.
The land where the strains of grey Ossian were
framed.
The land of fair Selma, and reign of Fingal,
And late of a race, that with tears must be named,
The noble Clan Stewart, the bravest of all."
The first of the Chiefs of Appin was Dugald Stewart,
who, as already told, was the son of Sir John Stewart,
Lord of Lorn and Innermeath, by a daughter of Mac-
Laren of Ardveich,
In 145 1, Sir John executed a deed granting to John
MacDougal of Lorn and his son John Keir MacDougal,
certain lands, including the Castle of Dunolly and the
guardianship and pupilage of his heirs. John Mac-
Dougal, was Sir John's nearest relative of the family
of Mac Dougal, as well as chief of the clan, and it is
possible that the Lord of Lorn desired by his gener-
osity to his kinsman, and the trust he reposed in him,
to secure his support and that of the clan MacDougal,
for his youthful son, Dugald, then about six years old,
whom he intended to make his heir. We have seen
that Dugald's mother was of the clan MacLaren. Sir
John Stewart had been at the tryst at Crieff, it being
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 37
customary for the chiefs to attend these trysts, where
many affairs of business and politics were arranged,
and, on his return, he met in Glenfillan with a wedding
party from Ardveich. He joined the party and became
enamoured of the daughter of the house. Dugald, their
son, was born in 1445, and records say that he resided
at Ardveich until 1463, when his father sent him a
message directing him to come to DunstaflFnage Castle
with his mother. They set out as bridal p*arty, with
pipes and banners. The MacLaren tradition records
that as Dugald was on the way to Dunstaflfnagie
with his mother and the bridal party, he was met by
an aged Highland woman, who had the gift of second
sight, and who asked him, "Whither are you bound
for today?" to which Dugald replied, "I am going to
receive some justice." To this the aged dame an-
swered, " I have had a dream that, as you have been
for eighteen years known as Dugald, the illegitimate
of Ardveich, so will you for twenty eight years be
known as the head of the Stewarts of Lorn." It was
in 1469 that Dugald's uncle Walter, made over to the
Earl of Argyll his alleged claim to Lorn, and Dugald,
till his death in 1497, was the acknowledged head of
the Stewarts of Lorn, a period of twenty-eight years.
Shortly before the time Dugald and his mother set
out for DunstaflFnage, Alan MacDougal, an illegiti-
mate son of MacDougal, had joined a conspiracy in
opposition to his brother, John Keir MacDougal, chief
of the clan, and who had remained loyal to the
crown. It became well known that Sir John Stew-
art of Lorn had sent for the daughter of MacLaren
of Ardveich in order that their marriage might legiti-
mate their son. The possession of Lorn by a just
and powerful noble like Sir John, and the probability
of his being succeeded by the youthful Dugald, backed
88 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
by his mother's clan, was no doubt a great obstacle
to the plans of Alan MacDougal and his confederates ;
and according to the traditions of the MacLaren fam-
ily, Alan stabbed Sir John in DunstafTnage Castle
shortly before the arrival of the bridal party. The
tradition of the Stewarts is, that the murder was
committed when Sir John was actually on his way
from the Castle to the Chapel, which was close at hand,
where the marriage was to be performed. The mur-
derers fled, and Dugald would have pursued, but the
priest pointed out that no time was to be lost in
having the marriage completed, as Sir John was mor-
tally wounded. The rite was accordingly performed,
the priest assisting the dying Sir John to place the
ring on the bride's finger. Alan MacDougal got pos-
session of Dunstaffnage Castle, whether in the con-
fusion consequent on the murder, or after the battle
with Dugald at Leac-a-dotha, is not known. Dugald
Stewart's succession, in 1463 was not a peaceable one.
Fie hastened to Strathearn and Balquidder to raise
the MacLarens, and having been joined by his father's
retainers and followers from Lorn, marched to Leac-
a-dotha, at the head of Loch Awe. A battle ensued
in which Dugald was defeated after a fierce and bloody
fight. Dugald retreated with his followers into Upper
Lorn, or Appin. Many of the Stewarts then made
the exodus known as the "Inveich mor," or pfreat
flitting, from the southern part of Lorn to Upper
Lorn or Appin, following the fortunes of Dugald, as
chief of the clan. Reinforced by these clansmen, Du-
gald avenged his father's death at a battle, called the
battle of Stale, in which Alan MacDougal, his father's
murderer was killed.
A compromise was now entered into, by which
Dugald's uncle, Walter, retained Innermeath ; Lorn
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 39
was retained by Argyll, who gave Glenurchy his
share ; and Dugald was established in Appin. Though
Dugald Stewart by this enforced compromise gave
up the Lordship of Lorn, his descendants were recog-
nized as representing the noble house of Stewart of
Lorn, and continued to bear the arms of Lorn. Du-
gald held his lands of Appin without molestation,
and in 1497, or 1498, led his followers to the aid of
the MacLarens against the MacDonalds of Kepp^och.
In the battle which ensued Dugald was killed. He
had married a daughter of MacDougal of Nether Lorn,
a marriage probably arranged to stop the blood feud
between the two families, and had three sons. The
eldest, Duncan his successor, never married, and was
succeeded by the second son, Alan, who with five
sons accompanied King James IV to the disastrous
field of Flodden. Alan died- at an advanced age about
the year 1562. He had married a daughter of Cam-
eron of Lochiel, and had five sons, Duncan the fourth
of Appin ; John, of whom the first Stewarts of Strath-
garry; Dugald, of whom the Stewarts of Achnacone;
James, of whom Fasnacloich ; and Alexander, of whom
Invernahyle. Duncan married Janet Gordon; and had
one son, John, called from his complexion and his
maternal descent, Gordonich-baan, the fair Gordon.
He married, first, Katherine, daughter of John Camp-
bell (Gorm), first of Lochnell, by whom he had one
son, Duncan his successor; and secondly, a daughter
of MacDougal of Muidart who bore him a son John,
afterwards of Ardsheal. Duncan succeeded his father
in 1595. He was succeeded by his son, also Duncan,
who was followed by his son, again Duncan, who took
the field at the head of the Clan Stewart to join the
Marquess of Montrose at the Battle of Inverlochy,
164s, where the Clan behaved with great valor, in-
40 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
spired, as Hogg says, by their loyalty to the head of
the House of Stewart, and by their desire to avenge
the many injuries they had sustained from Argyll,
who was utterly defeated with the loss of fifteen hun-
dred men.
The Marching Song of the Clan Stewart is said to
tiave been first used when the Clan was marching to
Inverloch y, and has been translated as follows :
"The heath clad Ben we'll soon ascend,
Through Glen Laoigh we'll soon descend,
Our points of steel we'll swiftly send,
Thro' every loon that bars us.
We will up and march away.
We will up and march away,
We will up and march away,
Daring let of all men.
O'er the hills we'll speed along,
Through Glencoe unwearied on,
Our King the burden of our song.
Asking leave of no man.
To Glengarry and Lochiel
Ever with us, true and leal ;
Keppoch, too, who seeks our weal.
Is there in spite of all men.
MacPhersons come, in deeds not small,
MacKenzies also at our call.
Whose battle frenzy will appal.
And fill our foes with awe then.
MacGregors, fierce when man to man.
Join with the Ro}al Stewart clan;
Blow up the pip€s, march proudly on,
Daring let of all men.
We will up and march away,
We will up and march away.
We will up and march away.
Daring lee of all men."
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 41
The Chief of Appin was forfaulted in person and
estate, but the forfeiture was, of course, cancelled on
the accession of Charles II. He married Jean, daughter
of Campbell of Glenurchy, but had no male issue, his
lands and the Chiefship passing on his death, about
1685, to his nephew Robert Stewart. Robert joined
Dundee,, and is believed to have himself fought at
Killiecrankie, 1689, although the Clan did not come
up in time for the Battle. He was attainted, taken
prisoner by the Governor of Inverloch}', and sent
prisoner to Glasgow, but was released. He was,
however, at the famous hunting party of the Earl of
Mar, 27th August, 171 5, on the Braes of Mar, and
took the field with two hundred and fifty men in sup-
port of James Stuart, the Chevalier St. George, He
fought with the Clan at the Battle of Sheriffmuir on
the 13th November, was for a second time attainted,
but took refuge abroad, where he died between 1730
and 1739, the date is in doubt, and was succeeded by
his son, Dugald to whom the estate was restored. Du-
gald v/as a boy of tender years when Prince Charles
Edward unfurled the Ro al Standard in Glenfinnan in
1745, and the Clan, numbering four hundred broad-
swords, was consequently led by Charles Stewart the
fifth of Ardsheal. Dugald, was the last Baron of Appin ;
he had no male issue, and, in 1765, sold the estate of
Appin. The representation of the Stewarts of Lorn
and Appin then devolved upon the head of the family
of Stewart of Ardsheal.
The first of Ardsheal was John Stewart, son of
John, the fifth of Appin, born of his second wife, a
daughter of MacDonald of Muidart. Duncan, second
of Ardslieal, son of John, was steadfast in his lo alty
to Char1e<^ I and the Stuart cause, and fought as an
officer with the Clan Appin which followed the Mar-
42 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
quess of Montrose. A story connected with CharleiS
Stewart, the fifth of Ardsheal, describes him as a man
of great personal strength and a fine swordsman. In
an encounter with Rob Roy in Balquidder, he wounded
the celebrated freebooter, who thereupon threw his
sword into Lochvoil, declaring that it was the first
time it had failed him, and that Ardsheal was the
first man who had drawn blood from him. In 1745,
Stewart of Ardsheal led the Clan Appin when they
went out with Bonnie Prince Charlie. The Stewarts
of Clan Appin fought at Prestonpans, Clifton, Falkirk
and Culloden, and many gave their lives for the
Stuart Prince. Chambers sa}s that the Clan suffered
at Culloden more than any of the Highland Clans.
The Ardsheal family alone lost eight killed and three
wounded at this Battle. After the fight, Charles
Stewart of Ardsheal succeeded in reaching Appin,
where he lay concealed in a cave, still called Ardsheal's
Cave, being supplied with food by a little girl who
daily drove out a few lambs on the hill, and watched
her opportunity to communicate with her Chief. He
eventuall}^ escaped to France, where he died in 1757.
Alexander, his son succeeded him, but died without
issue, being followed by his brother Duncan, who
fought for the Crown in the American War of Inde-
pendence, and obtained the restoration of his paternal
estate. From him the succeeding heads of the family
descended.
The Stewarts of Strathgarry descended from John
Stewart, second son of Alan Stewart, third of Appin.
John received from his father the lands of Strath-
garr^-, in Athole, after the return of Alan and his
five sons from Flodden, in 1513. Stewart of Strath-
garry, about the end of the sixteenth centurv, took
possession of lands at Rannoch which had been held
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 43
by a MacDonald, and a party of the Clan MacDonald
surprised Strathgarry, whom they slew for dispossess-
ing their kinsman. At a meeting of the Stewarts of
Appin, Athole and Balquidder, at the Bridge of Kelt-
ney, they agreed to avenge his death. His widow
also procured letters of fire and sword against the
MacDonalds which she obtained by going to Stirling-,
and showing her husband's bloody shirt to the Privy
Council. The MacDonalds were surrounded by the
Stewarts, and a number killed, among whom were
the Laird of Glencoe and his brother. Their heads
were cut off as proof to the Privy Council that their
orders had been duly carried out. The messenger
who carried the heads to Stirling placed them in a
barrel, which he occasionally shook, and as the heads
knocked against each other, cried in Gaelic, "Can't
you agree?" In the eighteenth century the Strath-
garry lands were sold to a cadet of the Invernahyle
branch of the family.
Achnacone means the "field of dogs," and was an
old hunting seat of the ancient Lords of Lorn. Du-
g-ald Stewart, first of Achnacone, was third son of
Alan Stewart, third of Appin. The lands were given
to Dugald by his father, soon after Flodden.
The Fasnacloich branch of the family also descended
from a son of Alan Stewart, third of Appin. James
Stev/art, his fourth son, received the lands of Fas-
nacloich from his father after their return from Flod-
den. Fasnacloich is situated at the foot of Glen
Creran, and the name signifies a field of stones or
crags. Alexander Stewart, third son of John, the sixth
of Fasnacloich, was present at Killiecrankie, 1689,
also at Sheriffmuir in 171 5. He was too old, seventy-
three, to join Prince Charles Edward in 1745, but
took an active part in raising the Clan Appin. Charles
44 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
Stewart, only son of Alexander, was attached to the
person of the Prince as Purse Bearer, and was at
Prestonpans, Falkirk and Culloden. James Stewart,
eighth of Fasnacloich, was also present with the
Clan Appin at Culloden, where two of the family
were killed and four wounded.
The first of Invernahyle, Alexander Stewart, called
Tiochail, or the Peaceful, was the fifth and youngest
son of Alan, third of Appin, and received from his
father the lands of Invernahyle, so called from their
situation at the mouth of the Hyle, on the return
from Flodden. It is told that Alexander Stewart,
early one summer morning, went to an island called
Eilean-'n-Stalcair, and not apprehending any danger
laid his Lochaber axe by his side. A deadly feud then
existed between his family and the Campbells of
Dunstaffnage, and this very morning Cailean Uaine,
Green Colin, brother to Campbell of Dunstafifnage,
landed on the island with a party of men. Cailean
Uaine came suddenly upon Invernah\le, and seized
hold of the axe, exclaiming, "This is a good axe, if
it had a good handle to it." Alexander Stewart
immediately replied, "Has it not that?" laying his
hand on it. During the struggle which followed,
Alexander was murdered by Colin's men. His son
Donald was hidden by his nurse from his father's
murderers, and brought up by her and her husband,
the smith or armorer of the Clan MacDonald. Don-
ald, as he grew up, was noted for his great strength,
and became known as Donuill-nan-ord, or Donald
of the Hammers. It is said, he could take in each
hand one of the large hammers, each of which re-
quired the full strength of an ordinary man, and
wield both at the same time without cflfort. He
could also dive in the river and bring up a salmon
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 45
with his hands. He attacked Dunstaffnage, and after
several fights Cailean Uaine and seven Campbells
v^^ere killed. This caused another feud between the
Campbells and the young Chief Donald, who con-
tinued to make further attacks on the Clan Campbell.
"Donald of the Smithy, the son of the Hammer
Filled the banks of Lochawe with mourning and
clamour."
As the Chief of Appin, Alan Stewart, was a very
old man, and his eldest son, Duncan, dead, the Clan
Appin was led by Donald at the Battle of Pinkie,
in 1547. On their homeward march passing through
Menteith, the Clan found a wedding feast prepared
in one of the houses of the Earl of Menteith's tenants.
Being hungry, the Clan disposed of the feast, and
were pursued by the Grahams, one of whom taunted
the Stewarts.
"Yellow haired Stewarts, of smartest deeds,
Who could grab at the kale in your sorest needs."
One of the Stewarts shot the rhymer with an arrow,
replying,
"If smartness of deeds is ours by descent
Then I draw — and to piierce you this arrow is
sent."
A fight naturally followed in which the Earl of Men-
teith and many of his men were killed. The family
of Invernahyle was out both in 1715 and 1745, and
in the Battle of Culloden had four killed and twelve
wounded.
The Stewarts of Athole consist almost entirely of
the descendants, by his five illegitimate sons, of Sir
Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan, The Wolf of
Badenoch, fourth son of Robert II by his first wife.
46 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
One of his natural sons, Duncan, whose disposition
was as ferocious as his father's, at the head of a large
number of the clan, armed with sword and targe,
came down from the range of hills which divides the
counties of Aberdeen and Forfar, and began to devas-
tate the countr}' and murder the inhabitants. Sir
Walter Ogilvy, Sheriff of Angus, Sir Patrick Gray and
Sir David Lindsay of Glenesk collected a force to
repel them, and a desperate conflict took place near
the water of Isla, in which the Stewarts were over-
powered, and the greater part of them slain.
Another of the Wolf of Badenoch's natural sons,
James Stewart, was the ancestor of the family of
Garth, from which proceed almost all the other Athole
Stewarts. According to tradition, a battle is said to
have been fought in Glenlyon, between the M'lvers,
who claimed it as their territory, and Stewart of
Garth, commonly called "The Fierce Wolf," which
terminated in the utter defeat of the M'lvers, and
their expulsion from the district. The possessions of
the Athole Stewarts lay mainly on the north side of
Loch Tay.
The Stewarts of Ardvoirlich, Perthshire, descended
from James Stewart, called James the Gross, fourth
and only surviving son of Murdoch, Duke of Albany,
Regent of Scotland. The third son of James the
Gross, also James, was the immediate ancestor of the
Ardvoirlich branch. A descendant, another James
Stewart, rendered himself notorious by the assassina-
tion of his friend, Lord Kilpont, son of the Earl of
Airth and Menteith. Lord Kilpont, had joined the
Marquess of Montrose in 1644. It is said, James
Stewart wishing to ingratiate himself with the Coven-
anters had formed a plan to slay Montrose, but wished
the assistance of Lord Kilpont, who indignantly re-
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 47
jected the proposal. Stewart alarmed lest Kilpont
might report the matter, drew his dirk and killed
him. This took place in Montrose's camp, near Collace,
and Stewart fled and joined Argyll, then in arms
against Montrose. Preserved at Ardvoirlich for cen-
turies, a lump of pure white rock crystal bound with
four bands of silver and known by the name of the
Clach Dearg of Ardvoirlich, or Red Stone of Ard-
voirlich, from its red tinge on being held to the
light, was long considered to have magical properties,
and a sure cure for cattle if they were given to drink
the water in which the Clach Dearg had been dipped.
The ancestor of the Stewarts of Grandtully, Perth-
shire, was James Stewart of Peristoun and Warwick-
hill, fourth son of Sir John Stewart of Bonkyl, second
son of Alexander, the fourth Lord High Steward of
Scotland.
John Stewart, the first of Urrard, was a son of
Robert Stewart of Fincastle, lineally descended from
John Stewart, one of the progenitors of the Athole
Stewarts, and fourth natural son of the Wolf of
Badenoch, son of King Robert II.
The first Baronet of Coltness was Sir James Stew-
art, second son of James Stewart of Allanton. The
third Baronet, Sir James Denham Steuart, having
been introduced to Prince Charles Edward at Rome,
joined the Prince on his arrival in Edinburgh in 1745.
The Prince dispatched him on a mission to the French
Court, where he was at the time of the Battle of
Culloden. Being excepted in the Act of Indemnity,
he resided abroad for eighteen years, returning to
Scotland in 1763.
The Stewarts of Drumin, Banffshire, and later of
Belladrum, Invernessshire, trace their descent from
Robert II. .Sir Walter Stewart of Strathaven was a
48 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
natural son of Alexander, the Wolf of Badenoch, 4th
son of the King, and was knighted at the Battle
of Harlaw in 141 1. His son, Sir Walter Stewart, ob-
tained the lands of Drumin, in 1471.
The Stewarts of Binny descended from Sir Robert
Stewart of Torbolton and Cruickston, second son of
Walter, the third Steward of Scotland. They were
previously designated of Torbane and Raiss, Halrig
and Shawood.
The Stewarts of Physgill and Glenturk, Wigtown-
shire, descend from John Stewart, second son of Sir
Alexander Stewart of Garlies.
The family of Stewart, now Shaw-Stewart, of Black-
hall and Greenock, Renfrewshire, took descent from
Sir John Stewart, one of the natural sons of Robert
III. From his father, the King, Sir John received
charters of the lands of Ardgowan, Blackball and
Auchingoun. Sir Archibald Stewart of Blackball,
the seventh in descent from Sir John, was created a
Baronet in 1667.
The Stewarts of Glen Ogle are descendants of
Appin ; the family of Tonderghie, Wigtownshire, is a
branch of the noble house of Galloway ; and the old
families of Baldonan, Annat, Gartnafuaroe, and the
original Stewarts of Glenbuckie all descended from
James Stewart, son of Murdoch, second Duke of
Albany.
The Balqiiidder Stewarts derived their origin from
illegitimate branches of the Albany family.
The Stewarts of Ballintoy took descent from
Archibald Stewart of Largayan, who, in 1544, was an
influential leader in the rebellion which Matthew*
Stewart, Earl of Lennox organized in opposition to
the Regency of Arran, during the reign of Mary,
Queen of Scots. On the failure of that movement he
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 49
was forfeited, and his lands sold. His sons emigrated
to Ireland about the year 1560. James Stewart, one
of the first settlers, left two sons, Ninian and David.
The place of settlement is said to have been Dun-
severick, from whence the family removed to Ballin-
toy. The Stewarts of Tynne and Donegal emigrated
from Scotland to Ireland shortly after this period,
and the Stewarts of Drumbridge also descended from
Scottish stock. Other branches of the family in Ire-
land are mentioned in a later chapter.
Steuart of AUanton, an ancient family in Lanark-
shire, lineally descended from Sir Robert Stewart of
Daldowie, sixth son of Sir John Stewart of Bonkyl,
son of Alexander the fourth Lord High Steward of
Scotland. Sir John bestowed, in 1290, the estate of
Daldowie in Clydesdale on his son, Sir Robert, who
fought at Bannockburn, and with three of his brothers.
Sir Alan, Sir Walter and Sir Hugh, accompanied Ed-
ward Bruce to Ireland in 13 15. From Alan Stewart
of Daldowie, who was killed in 1385 in battle against
the English, descended James Stewart of Allanton
who had two sons. Sir Walter, born in 1606, and Sir
James of Coltness, twice Lord Provost of Edinburgh.
Sir Walter Stewart of Allanton married Margaret,
daughter of Sir James Hamilton of Broomhill. It is
recorded that Oliver Cromwell, in 1650, after the
Battle of Dunbar, halted at Allanton House where he
was hospitably entertained by Lady Stewart, and
where he passed the night. Sir Walter, being a
Royalist, took care to be out of the way, but Crom-
well courteously inquired after him, and observed that
his mother was of the Stewart family, so that he
alwa- s felt a kindness for the name. The spelling
Steuart seems to have been first used by William who
succeeded his father Sir Walter Stewart, Kt., in 1672.
50 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
The family name is now Seton-Steuart as told in a
later chapter relating to the present heads of the
various families.
The ancestor of the branch of Steuart of Ballechin
was Sir John Steuart of Sticks, in Glenquaich, Perth-
shire, the natural son of King James II of Scotland.
He received a charter of lands from King James III,
dated nth December, i486, and a charter from James
IV, dated ist August, 1494. His successor, William
Steuart, died soon after his father, when the suces-
sion devolved upon his brother, John Steuart, who,
in 1556, acquired the various lands comprising the
barony of Ballechin.
The family of Steuart of Tanachie take descent
from Andrew Steuart, the first of Tanachie son of Sir
Walter Steuart, legitimated son of Sir Andrew Stew-
art of Strathaven ; while the Auchlunkart estates came
through Patrick Steuart who married his cousin Eliza-
beth, daughter of Alexander Stewart of Auchlunkart,
an estate which came into the family by marriage
with the heiress of Innes of Auchlunkart.
The family of Steuart of Dalguise, Perthshire de-
scended from Sir John Stewart of Arntullie and Card-
ne\ s, also designed of Dowallie, youngest natural son
of King Robert II, by Marion de Cardney, daughter
of John de Cardney of that ilk, and sister of Robert
Cardney, Bishop of Dunkeld. Sir John Stewart was
knighted at the coronation of King James I at Scone,
in 1424. His descendant, John Steuart, seventh laird
of Dalguise was out in the rising of 1715.
The Stuarts of Inchbreck and Laithers, Aberdeen-
shire, are descended from Andrew Stewart of Laur-
encekirk in the Mearns, great-grandson of Murdoch,
Duke of Albany, the grandson of Robert II. David
Stewart the son of Andrew, was the first of Inch-
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 51
breck, in 1547. He had a son, John, whose greaV
grandson, William Stuart of Inchbreck, married Mar-
garet the heiress both of David Guthrie of Kair and
of Henry Guthrie of Halkerton. They had two sons,
John Stuart, who succeeded to Inchbreck, and James
Stuart who joined Prince Charles Edward in 1745,
and after the Battle of CuUoden took refuge in France,
where he entered the French service.
Archibald Stuart, fourth son of the third Stuart
Earl of Moray was the founder of the family of Stuart
of Dunearn, Fife.
The family of Stirling-Stuart of Castlemilk are de-
scended from the ancient branch of Castlemilk. Sir
John Stuart, the fifth Baronet of Castlemilk, died
without male issue. His daughter, Jean Stuart mar-
ried in 1 781, William Stirling of Keir, from whom the
family of Stirling-Stuart descended.
The noble house of Lennox descended from Sir
John Stewart of Darnley, who was created Lord
Darnley by James H, in 1445, and obtained the Earl-
dom of Lennox from James HI, about 1481.
The Galloway branch is descended from Sir John
Stewart, younger son of Alexander, fourth Lord High
Steward of Scotland, whose elder son, James, was an-
cestor of the Royal House The direct ancestor of the
branch was Sir William Stewart, who was made a
Knight Banneret about 1385. His great-grandson, Sir
Alexander Stewart, was designated of Garlics, which
continued to be the chief title of the family, until a
later Sir Alexander Stewart was, in 1623, created
Earl of Galloway.
Sliochd Aileen 'ic Rob, the sep>t of the Clan Stew-
art commonly called the MacRobs, descended from a
natural son of Robert Stewart, son of Dugald, first
52 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
of Appin, This son's name was Alan, and the lands
occupied by the MacRobs were situated at Glenduror,
Lettermore and Acharn, in Duror. Towards the end
of the eighteenth century many of the MacRobs emi-
grated to America.
CHAPTER IV.
LTHOUGH it is not intended to relate in
detail that which is national history, yet
a brief resume of the dynasty of the Stew-
art or Stuart Kings may rightly hold a
place in this story of the family. And any such story
would indeed be incomplete without some account of
two of the most romantic, yet unfortunate, figures of
the august family, so generally and justly alluded to
as the unfortunate Royal House of Stuart, namely,
Mary, Queen of Scots and Prince Charles Edward,
Bonnie Prince Charlie.
Of the sovereigns of the Dynasty who occupied the
throne, few died a natural death, and fewer still es-
caped some form of disaster.
Robert H, the first Stewart King of Scotland,
reigned from 1371 until 1390 and died a natural death.
Robert HI, his son, was originally named John, but
as the Scottish people were not partial to this name
for their King, he changed his name to Robert. He
died, in 1406, of a broken heart, caused by the murder
of his elder son, the Duke of Rothesay, and the cap-
ture by the English and imprisonment of his younger
son afterwards James I.
James I passed manv years of his life in captivity,
and, as told in the previous memoir of, the Duke of
Albany, was murdered in 1437.
James H was only six years old when his father
was murdered. The wars with the Douglasses were
a feature of his reign, and he was killed by the burst-
ing of a cannon in 1460.
54 History of the Stewart or Stuart Fatnily
James III, a child of eight years old, succeeded his
father. He caused the murder of his brother, the Earl
of Mar, and was himself murdered in 1488.
James IV married Margaret Tudor, daughter of
Henry VIII of England. With this reign the modern
history of Scotland begins. The Universities of Aber-
deen and St. Andrews were founded. He invaded
England and was killed at the Battle of Flodden in
1513-
James V ascended the throne in succession to his
father when a child of not two years old. The Queen
Dowager Margaret assumed the Regency. Henry
VIII invaded Scotland. The reformation began in
Scotland, the King and clergy, op'posing, and the
nobles favoring the movement. James, a king of many
good qualities and talent, died of a broken heart
caused by the conduct of his nobles, and rout of his
army, at Sol way Moss, 1542.
Mary, Queen of Scots, his daughter succeeded. Her
Ayell known fate is mentioned later in this chapter,
as also the murder of her husband, Darnley.
James VI of Scotland and I of England, son of
Mary and Darnley, and by whom came the union
of the crowns of Scotland and England, died a natural
death in 1625.
Charles I, his son, fought for his crown, from which
he was excluded after the defeat at Naseby in 1645,
and was beheaded in 1649.
Charles II, after being in exile, succeeded in 1660
t)n the restoration of the monarchy, and died of a
Stroke in 1685.
Tames II of England and VII of Scotland suc-
ceeded his brother, but so alienated the affections of
the nation that an invitation was sent to William,
Prince of Orange, to come "to the rescue of the laws
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 55
and religion of England"; and William and Mary,
Princess of Orange, were proclaimed joint sovereigns
of England in February, 1689, and of Scotland in
April of the same year. Mary was the elder daughter
of James II, and William was the son of Mary, eld-
est daughter of Charles I. They left no issue and
were succeeded, in 1702, by Anne second daughter of
James 11. Anne died without issue in 1714. On her
death the succession passed to the house of Hanover,
descended from the Princess Elizabeth, daughter of
James I and wife of Frederick V, Count Palatine of
the Rhine. George I, elder son of Sophia, the }'Oung-
est child of the Princess Elizabeth and Ernest, Elector
of Hanover, became King of Great Britain and Ire-
land, from whom the present Royal Family take de-
cent.
The female issue of James II ended with Anne.
His son James, called by his supporters James III of
England and VIII of Scotland, had two sons, Prince
Charles Edward, referred to later, who died in 1780
without legitimate issue, and Henry Stuart, titular
Duke of York, commonly called Cardinal York, on
whose death in 1807 the male line of James II came
to and end.
Widely as some of the branches of the Stewart or
Stuart family have spread, and numerous as are the
families of the name, there is not a representative in
the lineal male line of any of the crowned heads of
the race. The Crown, which came into the family
through a female, Marjory the daughter of the Bruce,
has been transmitted through a female, the Princess
Elizabeth.
The house of Bavaria is descended from the house
of Stuart through Henrietta, daughter of Charles I;
and the house of Orleans also takes descent from the
56 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
Stuarts through Charlotte, grand-daughter and heir-
ess of the Princess Elizabeth, daughter of James I.
In addition to these two families, there are also the
descendants of Edward, a brother of the Electress
Sophia.
The male representation, or Chiefship, of the family
being extinct in the Royal lines, is claimed by the
Earls of Galloway, and has also been claimed by the
Stuart of Castlemilk branch, as descended from a
junior branch of Darnley and Lennox.
Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, daughter of James
V and Mary of Guise, was born in the palace of Lin-
lithgow on the 7th December, 1542. Her father was
on his death bed at Falkland, when her birth was
announced to him, and regarded the announcement
as a warning of his death. Anxiously he asked if it
was a son. When told it was a daughter, he moaned,
"It came with ane lass, it will pass with ane lass,"
referring to the crown of Scotland ; but his prophecy
was not fulfilled. Seven days later the King died.
Much of her childhood was spent in Inchmahome,
a small island in the lake of Menteith, and to divert
the young Princess her solitary residence was shared
by four young ladies of rank, the celebrated Four
Marys. All four Marys accomp'anied the Queen to
France and returned with her to Scotland. The old
ballad named after her tells of the tragic fate of Mary
Hamilton, in consequence of the Queen's discovery
that she and Darnle}^ were lovers.
The King thovight mair o' Marie Hamilton
Than the Queen and a' her lands."
She was condemned to die and "when she came to
the gallows foot" the poem has her say :
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 57
"Yestreen the Queen had four Maries,
The night she'll hae but three;
There was Marie Seaton, and Marie Beaton,
And Marie Carmichael. and me."
In her sixth year Mary, Queen of Scots, was sent
to the Court of France, where her beauty and intellec-
tual superiority gained all hearts. In her sixteenth
year, she was, in 1558, married to Francis, the young
Dauphin of France, but little older. Mary was already
Queen of Scotland and heir presumptive of England,
and when the Dauphin succeeded to the throne in
1559, became Queen Consort of France, a concentra-
tion of dignities which perhaps never before occurred.
In 1560, her young husband died, while yet only in
his seventeenth year. Mary was now invited to re-
turn to Scotland, and arrived at Leith in August, 1561.
It was an unfortunate time for the young Queen to
return. Zeal for religious reformation was at its
highest, and on the very first Sunday after her arrival,
her attendants were mobbed in the Chapel of Holy-
rood, when about to celebrate mass ; and on the follow-
ing Sunday, Knox denounced the Queen from the
pulpit. Her public entry into Edinburgh, her inter-
view with Knox, her progress through her Kingdom,
and the Scottish wars of religion, are matters of
national history. The long series of miseries and mis-
fortunes which render her story so remarkable began
with her unfortunate marriage to Henry Stewart,
Lord Darnley, which took place on the 29th July, 1565.
Among the first evil results of this marriage was the
open hostility of her half brother, the Earl of Moray,
who now stood forward as an open and declared
enemy, and took the field ; but being unable to cope
with the Queen, he fled to the English Court. The
mists soon cleared from Mary's eyes with regard to
58 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
her husband, Darnley, whom she saw as arrogant and
brainless, and who declared that Mary had played
him false with her Italian secretary Rizzio. The
protestant Nobles did not share his suspicions, but
feared the influence of Rizzio, and on the evening of
the 9th March, 1566, occurred the oft told murder
of the secretary. On the 19th June, 1566, in the
Castle of Edinburgh, was born her son, afterwards
James VI of Scotland and I of England. The news
of the birth of a son was received with the utmost
joy throughout the kingdom, but from this period
the page of Mary's story rapidly darkens. At the
suggestion of the FJarl of Bothwell, now one of the
most active of Mary's officers of state, the proposal
was made that Mary should divorce Darnley, but
she refused to accede to the proposal. Bothwell, how-
ever, resolved that Darnley should die, and attended
by a band of accomplices, he proceeded, at midnight,
on Sunday 9th February, 1567, to the Kirk of Field
House, where Darnley had taken up a temporary resi-
dence. A large quantity of gunpowder was exploded
in the chamber beneath that in which Darnley slept,
and the house, with all its inmates, including Darnley,
was totally destroyed. Bothwell was accused by the
Earl of Lennox, Darnley's father, was tried, but ac-
quitted. A little more than two months after the
assassination of Darnley, Bothwell procured the sig-
nature of a number of the nobility to a document set-
ting forth, first, his innocence of the crime ; secondly,
the necessity of the Queen again marrying; and,
thirdly recommending James, Earl of Bothwell, as a
fit person to become her husband. He seized the
Queen's person, and detained her for ten days at
Dunbar, one of his castles, until he obtained her con-
sent to espouse him. A few weeks afterwards they
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 59
were married, but Bothwell's numerous enemies took
up arms to displace him. A compromise was come
to whereby Mary delivered herself up- to the opposite
party, after she had prevailed upon Bothwell to quit
the field. Mary was confined in the Castle of Loch-
leven, and, on 24th July, 1567, was compelled to abdi-
cate, the Earl of Moray being elected to the Regency.
In March, 1568, Mary escaped from Lochleven and
placed herself at the head of a large army, surrounded
by the greater part of her nobilit}^ but was defeated
by the Earl of Moray at the Battle of Langside, and
fled by sea to England. She landed at Cockermouth,
in Cumberland, and proceeded to Carlisle. The un-
fortunate Queen was now moved from castle to castle,
and finally, in September, 1586, to Fotheringay, with
a view to being brought to trial on a charge of having
aided a conspiracy to assassinate Queen Elizabeth.
Mary denied that she had ever in word, or even in
thought, been party to any such conspirac}^ and the
evidence which was brought to convict the Queen of
Scotland was such as would not now affect the life
of the meanest criminal. There was a further charge
of abetting a conspiracy set on foot by the Duke of
Norfolk, who had not only aimed at restoring her
to liberty, but had looked forwarded to obtaining her
hand. Norfolk's designs were discovered, and he
perished on the scaffold. In pursuance of what was
certainly Elizabeth's wish, Mary was found guiltv. On
the 7th February, 1587, the Earls who were appointed
to superintend her execution arrived at Fotheringay,
and on the following morning at eight o'clock, Mary,
Queen of Scots, was beheaded. Still mindful of her
birth, and of what she once had been, the unfortunate
Queen appeared on the scaffold arrayed in her best
and most splendid attire, and her whole conduct
60 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
throughout the trying scene was marked with the noble
bearing and unshaken fortitude of a heroine. Mary
never forgot for a moment that she was Queen of*
Scotland, and died with a magnanimity worthy of the
title. These lines, so bitterly true, are said to have
been written by the Queen, with a diamond, on a
window in Fotheringay Castle :
"And from the top of all my trust
Mishap has thrown me in the dust."
Her remains were embalmed and buried in the Cathe-
dral of Peterborough, but, twenty-five years after-
wards were removed by her son, James VI and I, to
Westminster Abbey.
"Let with my deathe my faults be cleane remitt.
And with my bones my name exempt from
wronge.
My bodye hathe sustainde a guerdon fitt.
Whose freed soule woulde not be blamed so
longe."
The Young Chevalier, the gallant "Bonnie Prince
Charlie," is the figure in the past which still most
vividly appeals to the imagination of Scotland. He
was born at Rome on the 31st December, 1720, grand-
son of James H of England and VII of Scotland,
and eldest son of the Chevalier St. George, who claimed
the title of James III of England and VIII of Scot-
land, and had himself headed an unsuccessful rising
in 1 71 5. The full name of the Prince was Charles
Edward Louis Phillipe Casimir Stuart, and as his
father was known as the Old Pretender, he is often
referred to as the Young Pretender. Naturally the
term is objected to by the supporters of the Stuart
cause, and the name Prince Charlie, without the use
of the word Pretender, will answer our purptose.
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 61
"God bless the King; God bless the Faith's defender;
God bless — no harm in blessing — The Pretender ;
Who that Pretender is, and who that King —
God bless us all — is quite another thing."
Many of the old families in Scotland still retained
their attachment to the race of Stuart, their ancient
monarchs, and several Chiefs of the Clans negotiated
measures for a rising in the Highlands. Indeed, the
persevering efforts which the Highlanders made for
the restoration of the Stuarts, is one of the most
remarkable things in history. The Clans under Mont-
rose had recovered Scotland for King Charles I ; they
had followed "the bonnets of Bonny Dundee," in
1689; they had been out with the Chevalier St. George
in 1715; had fought with the Earl of Seaforth in 1719;
and once again the Clans gathered to follow the
White Cockade, and fight for the "King o' the High-
land hearts, Bonnie Prince Charlie."
"Follow thee! Follow thee! Wha wadna follow thee?
Lang hast thou loved and trusted us fairly!
Charlie, Charlie, wha wadna follow thee,
King o' the Highland hearts, bonnie Prince
Charlie?"
On the 8th of July, 1745, there sailed from France a
man of war of sixty guns named the Elizabeth, and
a frigate named the Doutelle, on board of the latter
being Prince Charlie with a few attendants. The day
after they left port, the Lion, an English man of war,
engaged the Elizabeth, and the Doutelle made for the
north of Scotland, where the Prince landed at Eriska,
in the Hebrides. MacDonald of Boisdale, the first
man of consequence he met, advised him to return
home. "I am come home, sir," was the reply. The
Prince unfurled his standard at Glen Finnan on the
19th of August, 1745. It was displayed by the Marquis
62 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
of Tullibardine, who had been exiled for participation
in the rising of 1715 and now returned to Scotland in
the Doutelle. The standard which had been raised
was the Brattach bhan, or White Banner. This flag,
of large size, was, according to one account, composed
of red, blue and white silk, or according to another,
of a red color with the figure of a white standard in the
middle, and the motto "Tandem bona causa trium-
p'hans." It was borne in the center of the column by
the Clans, each having the honor of carrying it on
alternate da; s. The Clans which had joined Prince
Charlie were, The Stewarts of Clan Appin, under
Ardsheal, numbering 250; the MacDonalds of Kep-
poch, who had alread_.' been in action ; the MacDonalds
of Clan Ranald, upwards of 300 men; the MacDonalds
of Glenco numbering 150; Glengarry with 300 Mc-
Donnells; and the Camerons, under Lochiel, number-
ing nearly 800. The Prince's adoption of their cos-
tumes delighted the Plighlanders, and dressed as them-
selves he marched on foot at the head of his men,
or occasionally with the different Clans. The little
band continued to receive additional followers, includ-
ing the Grants of Glenmoriston, Viscount Strathallan
and his son, Oliphant of Cask and his son, and John
Roy Stewart, a most useful officer. The Government
troops under Sir John Cope, sent to oppose him, de-
clining battle. Prince Charles Edward occupied Perth
on the 3rd of September, where he was joined by the
Duke of Perth with 200 men ; Lord George Murray,
and many gentlemen of note. Sir John Cope and the
Government troops continued to retreat before the
Highlander"^, and the Prince's army having received
the welcome addition of the Robertsons, MacGregors,
and more of the Stewarts of Athole, took Edinburgh
by surprise on the i6th September. The Castle, how-
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 63
ever, remained in Government hands. Many another
Hig-hland Chief had now "ta'en the field wi' his White
Cockade." We find Lord Nairn with one thousand
men from Athole ; the Chief of MacLachlan and his
followers; Lord Elcho, eldest son of the Duke of
Wemyss ; the Earl of Kelly ; Lord Balmerino ; Jaraes
Hepburn of Keith ; Lockhart of Carnwarth ; the
} ounger Graham of Airth ; the younger RoUo of Pow-
burn ; Hamilton of Bangour ; and Sir David Murray.
The Prince determined to give battle to Sir John
Cop*e, who had taken up a position at Prestonpans,
and by a night attack surprised the Hanoverian forces,
totally routing them. It is related that the Stewarts,
with the Camerons, rushed straight to the muzzles
of then enem ;'s cannon, "with a swiftness not to be
described," taking them by storm; and the High-
landers' broadsword attack compelled "Johnnie Cope"
to beat a precip'itate retreat.
" 'T' ^ni'h' quo' Johnnie, *I got a fleg
Wi' their claymores and philabegs;
If I face them again, deil break my legs!
So I wish you a gude morning.' "
The Highland army, reinforced by the MacKinnons,
MacPhersons, Lord Pitsligo with some cavalry, and
1800 men raised by the Marquis of TuUibardine,
marched for England. They crossed the Border, one
column proceeded to Brampton, and the other to near
Carlisle. After the capitulation of Carlisle, the Prince
made a triumphal entr - into the city, on the 17th
of November, and then p^roceeded south, finally arriv-
ing at Derb ■, only one hundred and twenty-six miles
from London. During the whole of this long and
arduous march, the Prince, wearing the Highland
dress, had shared the fatigues and hardships of his
64 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
men. The army arrived at Derby on the 4th of De-
cember, and on the morning of the 6th, to the exceed-
ing mortification of the clansmen, they left Derby and
arrived back in Scotland on the i8th, during which
return march the Government troops were defeated at
Clifton by the Stewarts of Clan Appin and the Mac-
Phersons, who charged through hedge and ditch with
the claymore, "over the necks of the foes of Prince
Charlie." The retreat* from Derby was much against
the wish of the Prince and a grievous disappointment
to him. The opinion has since been expressed, that
had he p'ressed on to London, the Stuarts would cer-
tainly have regained the throne. The retreating army
proceeded to Glasgow, and thence to Stirling, where
they were joined by other Clans, which, during the
march into England, had already been out for the
Stuart cause in Scotland. They included the Erasers,
the Macintoshes and the Farquharsons. The Govern-
ment troops were again defeated at Falkirk, after
which battle, the Prince and his army commenced
their march to Inverness, where they arrived in Janu-
ary, 1746. The Duke of Cumberland was advancing
against them from the south, and on the i6th of April
arrived at the field of Culloden where the Prince's
forces were stationed ; and soon after the two armies
met in that battle which for ever put an end to the
hopes of the Stuart cause. Some of the Clans had
already returned to their own country when this dis-
astrous combat took place, and those engaged were
suffering from fatigue and short rations. The follow-
ing Clans took part in the battle : The Stewarts of
Clan Appin ; The Stewarts of Athole ; Roy Stewart
and his men ; The Camerons ; The Erasers ; The Clan
MacLean ; The Macintoshes; The MacLachlans; Far-
quharsons: The MacDonalds of Clan Ranald; The
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 65
Keppoch MacDonalds; and The McDonnells of Glen-
garry. Stewart of Ardsheal led the Clan Appin, and
a great number of his officers and men were killed
in their famous charge on the cannon. When the
Clan Stewart standard bearer was killed, another of
the Clan tore the banner from the staff, and wrap-
ping it round his body carried it through the battle.
The force of the Stewarts of Appiin amounted to
three hundred men, but together with the Stewarts
of Athole, Strathearn and Monteith, they amounted to
nearly four thousand. Colonel Roy Stewart, one of
the most efficient and active of Prince Charlie's offi-
cers, commanded a force of four hundred men.
For the first time the Highlanders were defeated,
and the terrible scourging they afterwards received
from the Duke of Cumberland's army has left an
indelible stain on his memory. The Prince, his me-
teoric career at an end, found himself a wanderer.
"He row'd him in a Highland p'laid.
Which covered him but sparely.
And slept beneath a bush o' broom
Oh! wae's me for Prince Charlie."
His escapes, hardships and adventures, and the assist-
ance of the brave Flora MacDonald, have ever been
a favorite subject for artist and writer. The Govern-
ment offered a reward of ^30,000 for his capture,
but great as were their sufferings, and well known
as were so many of Charles' retreats, it was no temp-
tation for the poorest Highlander to betray his Prince
For almost five months he was a fugitive among the
hills in the Highlands, closely scented by the officers
of the Government, After various concealments, he
escaped to the Isle of Skye in the character and dis-
guise of a servant girl, and, after perilous adventures,
66 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
got on board a French ship', in September, 1746, and
reached France. He died at Rome, in 1780.
''Oh ! my Prince, it were well
Hadst thou to the g-ods been dear,
To have fallen where brave Keppoch fell,
With the war pipes loud in thine ear."
CHAPTER V.
HE first permanent English settlement in
the Colonies of America was founded dur-
ing the reign of James VI of Scotland
and I of England. Earlier efforts at col-
onization had been made, but without lasting results.
In the year 1577 a patent of colonization for Virginia
was granted to Sir Humphrey Gilbert, and in 1585
one hundred and eight settlers arrived in the Colonies
under Sir Richard Grenville, but these attempts at
colonization were merel}'^ sporadic, and without dur-
able effect on the colonial development of the new
land. Not until 1607, when a small body of colonists
founded Jamestown, did any permanent English set-
tlement establish itself in the American Colonies.
This settlement at Jamestown, with other settlements
along the James River, later became the Province of
Virginia, and rightly claims precedence as the pioneer
settlement of this country. In the same year, an at-
tempt at colonization was made in what is now Maine,
but the expedition was unsuccessful, and returned to
England. The year 1620 saw the arrival of the historic
"Mayflower," followed by the founding of the Ply-
mouth Colony. Other small communities were form-
ing along the Atlantic seaboard, the most important
in New England. Maryland was founded in 1632, being
followed by other settlements, until, within sixty years
after the first settlement on the James River, seven
Colonies were firmly established on the coast of North
America.
The current of migration from Scotland was slow
67
68 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
in tTie early years of the colonization of America, for,
during the reigns of the early Stuart kings in England,
conditions in Scotland were not yet such as to cause
the hardy Scots to leave the hills and glens to which
they were attached by so many romantic and domestic
tres. During the period of the Commonwealth the
Colonies received a large number of Scottish emi-
grants, the early Scottish influence being especially
potent with the founders of the New England colonies.
At the end of the seventeenth century economic con-
ditions, both fn Scotland and the North of Ire-
land, where many hardy and intelligent Scots had
located, caused a great and valuable influx to the Col-
onies of Highlanders and Lowlanders from Scotland
direct, and of Scottish Ulstermen from the North of
Ireland. As in the case of other Scottish families,
another motive, religion, led forth many of the clan
who wished fo live in beliefs, and follow forms of
religion, which were not tolerated at home ; a motive
as old as the time of Moses, who cited to Pharaoh
the reason for the Exodus from Egypt, "We must
go three days journey into the wilderness to offer a
sacrifice unto the Lord our God." Again, among the
clansmen were those who, possessed of an adventur-
ous spirit, convinced of the truth that, "They wha hae
a gude Scottish tongue in their head are fit to gang
ower the world," said farewell to their kin and their
native hills, seeking fame and fortune in the new
lana of promise. Boswell relates how the sailing of
an emigrant ship in those days was an occasion of
general sorrowing, and that those left behind cast
themselves weeping on the shore for it was not thought
that those departing would ever return "home" again.
Neil Muiiro expresses this in his poem:
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 69
"My plaid is on my shoulder and the boat is on
the shore,
And it's all bye wi' auld days and you ;
Here's a health and here's a heartbreak, for Its
home, my dear, no more,
To the green glens, the fine glens we knew."
Also, after the rising of 1745, in favor of Prince Charles
Edward, a large number of emigrants of Highland
stock left for America, and formed a nucleus of more
extensive immigration subsequently.
William Stewart emigrated from Scotland to Maine,
and settled at Ipswich in that Colony in 1684. In
1691, the records tell, a lad was "put to Mr. Stewart,
Shop Keeper of Ipswich for seven years to serve him
as apprentice," and in 1693 he presented the North
Church with a silver cup, inscribed^ "Mr. William
Stewart's Gift to ye Church of Ipswich, June, 1693."
John Dunton, the bookseller from England, paid a
business visit to William Stewart, and in his letters
gives the following glowing description of Mrs. Stew-
art: "Her stature is of full middle size, fit for a woman.
He face is still the magazine of beauty, whence she
may fetch artillery enough to wound a thousand
lovers, and when she was about eighteen, perhaps
there never was a face more sweet and charming, nor
could it well be otherwise, since now at thirty-three,
all you call sweet and ravishing is in her face, which
it is a great pleasure to behold as a perpetual sun-
shine without any clouds at all." William Stewart
died at IpsAvich in 1693.
The General Assembly of the Province of Maryland
held at St. Mary's in 1642 assessed Charles Stuart
£32 rates, and his name appears in the list of inhaBi-
tants of Kent, in the same year. The General Assem-
bly, in 1681, ordered one hundred and fifty pounds
of tobacco paid to John Stuart.
70 History oj ike Stewart or Stimrt Family
A somewhat troublesome member of the family was
located at New Haven as early as 1639. At a Court
of New Haven Colony holden 4th of December in
that year, James Stewart and another were "injoined
to make a double restitutio to John Cokerill for five
pounds and seventeene shillings, which they stole out
of his chist on the Lord's Day in the meeting time."
James was again in trouble in 1643, when he was
fined one shilling for being "late coming to trayne,"
and, in 1646, was "complayned of for severall dis-
orderly expressions and comtempt of the magestracye
in this place."
Duncan Stewart was an early settler in the Colony
of Maine and recorded the birth of a daughter, Kath-
ren, at Ipswich on June 8th, 1658.
In 1662, Daniel Stewart was received as inhabitant
of Barnstable in the Colony of Massachusetts, "and
allowed equal privilege on the commons and such
other privileges as belong to the present inhabitants
as a township." The total number of voters in the
township at that time was sixty-five.
In the same year, 1662, another member of the
family, Alexander Stewart, a tailor in Charlestown,
MassacVusetts, is recorded as having married Hannah
Temp? ,.
"Att a Court of Assistants held at Boston in New
England the 3rd of March, 1673," James Stewart was
plaintiff "on appeale relating to the thirty pounds the
Jury found against him. The Jury brought in their
virdict, they found for the plaintiff's reversion of the
former judgment."
Other early records of the Colony of Massachusetts
show that Hugh Stewart at Yarmouth, in 1676, was
taxed £12.15.6 "towards the charge of the late war."
Only three persons, at this time, paid a heavier tax,
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 71
showing the importance of this member of the family
in the community.
Duncan Stewart was one of the earliest shipbuilders
in the Colony, at Newbury, and in 1680 removed from
that place to Rowley, where he died at the age of one
hundred, in 1717.
Among the inhabitants of Chatham^ Massachusetts,
appear the names of Hugh Stewart, in 1696, and of
William Stewart, in 1698; and at Sandwich, Massa-
chusetts, between the years 1690 and 1706, seven chil-
dren are recorded as having been born to James Stew-
art and his wife. Desire.
The name of Robert Stewart ap>pears in the list of
Freemen "appertaininge unto the Plantation of Nor-
walke, taken this nth of October, 1669."
In 1670, John Stuart bought a lot on the hill at
Albany, New York, from John Conell. In 1671,
Stuart appeared before the Secretary of Albany and
acknowledged that he was well and honestly indebted
to Goosen Gerritse in the quantity of thirty whole
and good beaver skins for "two pieces of duffels,'* and
twenty-seven whole and good beaver skins for two
pieces of blankets; and undertook to pay the beaver
skins during the next trapping season. The lot on
the hill was sold by Stuart's administrators in 16751
On the nth of July, 1691, a member of the family
who was an early settler at Hempstead, Long Island,
presented the following petition to the proprietors
and freeholders of that township : "The request of
John Stuart humbly showeth that inasmuch as it
has pleased God to make me a master of a family^ I
finding it a necessity to settle myself, I am willing to
settle among you, to follow the trade of a cooper, as
also to practice the art of surgery. I do therefore request
that ) ou be pleased to give me a right of eighteen or
72 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
twenty acres of land that is tillable, a little east of
the Pine Point, near the Plain Edge. It is the bit
of that hollow, called the Bloody Hollow, for which I
shall be very thankful, and also ready and willing to
serve }Ou in either of the arts aforesaid, so far as I
have understanding."
The Lords Proprietors of the Province of North
Carolina formulated certain charges against Governor
Sothel, in 1691, among such charges being that of
detaining "one negro and seven pewter dishes" from
John Stewart. At a Court of the Province held in
1693, Anne Stewart proved "six rights viz: four
negroes one English servant and Virgill Simons," and
in the same year, "At a Court Holden at ye house of
Mrs. Diana Ffoster the ffirst Munday in November
beng ye 6th day of the moneth," Anne Stewart was
granted letters of administration of the estate of Mrs.
Stewart. William Stewart and his wife were defend-
ants in a case "for killing a cow calfe to her damage
40 shillings," at a Court held on loth April, 1705, and
at A General Court of Oyer and Terminer for the
Province of North Carolina held on ist November,
1720, William Stewart was a member of the Grand
Jury.
A sporting member of the family made his appear-
ance at a Court of the Province of Virginia, held at
Varina, ist April. 1698. John Stewart, Jr., was defend-
ant in a suit brought by Richard Ward. It was testi-
fied that Richard Ward had agreed to run a mare
named Bony, and that John Stewart had agreed to
run a horse named Watt, the race to be a quarter of
a mile, the horse giving the mare five lengths. Rich-
ard Ward laid the odds of ^6 to the ^5 of John Stew-
art. The mare won. but for some reason not stated
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 73
Stewart would not pay the bet. Ward got a verdict
for the amount.
Patrick Stuart, Laird of Ledcreich in Balgheider,
Perthshire, with his wife Elizabeth and children, came
with six other gentlemen from Argyll, and above three
hundred emigrants from Scotland, to Cape Fear in
North Carolina, in the year 1739. His brother Will-
iam Stuart was also in the party. They landed at
Wilmington and Stuart first settled at Brown's Marsh,
Bladen County, North Carolina, but about 1766 moved
to near Cheraws, South Carolina. The Laird was a
staunch supj^orter of Bonnie Prince Charlie, and when
the Prince failed to establish himself on the throne,
the Laird of Ledcreich severed his remaining ties with
Scotland, and sold his estate to a younger brother.
He died in 1772.
Early records of others of the family in North
Carolina include grants of land to John Stewart in
1741 and 1 751; and in 1764, the second newspaper
published in the Province was printed b\' Andrew
Stewart, a native of Scotland. It was named the
North Carolina Gazette and Weekly Post Boy, the
first numl^er being published in September, 1764.
The family of John Stewart was one of the sixteen
families who, in the spring of 1719, went to what is
now the State of New Hampshire, and formed a town-
ship which they named Londonderry, in memory of
their former home in the North of Ireland. The
father of John Stewart was Robert Stewart, son of
Walter Stewart of Perthshire. Robert was one of the
Covenanters who fought at the Battle of Bothwell
Bridge in 167Q. where the Covenanters were defeated
with great ^nss. four hundred being killed and twelve
hundred ma^^e prisoners. Robert Stewart escaped from
Scotland and settled in the North of Ireland, at Lon-
74 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
donderry. After the siege of that city he returned to
Scotland, and died in Edinburgh, 1714. His widow
and children came to America, landing at Boston in
October, 1718. Their son, John Stewart, was one of
the grantees of the new town of Londonderry, New
Hampshire, and lived at a farm known as the Precept
Farm. The old records show that in March, 1722
a lot forty-nine acres at Londonderry was laid out
to John Stewart, and, in 1728, a further thirty-four
acres of land is added. In 1722, he was appointed
one of a committee for bounding "Ezekels Pond,"
and, in 1724, was elected one of the two tithing men,
the following year being elected "sirvayer." On the 20th
December, 1731, he was nominated on a committee
"to consider of sending a call or calls to Ireland in
order to have a second Minister for our Congrega-
tion." He was chosen as one of the two constables of
the town for the years 1734-35, but hired another
person to act for him.
Other records of this pJeriod show that Robert Stew-
art, a brother of John, settled at Andover. Also that
Charles Stewart and Mary, his wife, were married
at Londonderry on 15th November, 1727, and had four
children born between the years 1728 and 1733; also
that John Stuart and his wife had a son, John, born
to them at Londonderry', on the 29th June, 1737. In
1722, Walter Stewart of Londonderry married Gizull
Crumey of Boxford.
The General Assembly of New Hampshire, in 1724,
allowed Walter Stewart, master of the "Scooner For-
tune" a "i:)ortlege" bill of £17.4.6.
The first permanent settler of Pocock, (now Bristol),
New Hampshire was Samuel Stewart, who was later
a soldier of the Revolution in the Battle of Bunker
Hill. On the expiration of his term of service he re-
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 75
turned to Pocock, but moved to Royalton, in 1817,
with an ox team, being fifty-one days on the journey.
The Reverend John Stuart was the son of Andrew
Stuart who came to America from Omagh, Ireland,
in the year 1730. Andrew Stuart had three other sons,
James, Andrew and Charles. James died young, An-
drew and Charles settled in the western part of Penn-
sylvania. Andrew Stuart, the father, was a rigid Pres-
byterian, but his son John, born at Harrisburg, Penn-
sylvania, in 1740, joined the Church of England, going
to England for ordination, where he received Holy
Orders in 1770, and was appointed missionary to the
Mohawks at Fort Hunter. In 1775, the War of the
Revolution began, and many who had previously been
friends, now found themselves enemies. John Stuart
did not at first experience any inconvenience, and re-
mained undisturbed at Fort Hunter for some time,
even after the Declaration of Independence. But, as
he had remained loyal to the British Government, his
continued residence at Fort Hunter became danger-
ous. After his house was attacked, and his little Church
plundered, he removed to Schenectady, from whence
he was ordered to "repair with family forthwith to
the State of Connecticut until his exchange could be
procured." He, however, appeared before the Com-
missioners, "declared his readiness to convince them
he had not corresponded with the enemy," and was
paroled with orders to remain at Schenectady. He
finally obtained permission to emigrate to Canada,
and set out with his wife and family on 19th Sep^
tember, 1781, and arrived at St. Johns on the 9th of
October, occupying three weeks on a journey which
is now performed in a few hours. He established
himself permanently in Canada, although, after Great
Britain had acknowledged the Independence of the
76 History of the Stewart or Stvurt Family
United States, he was invited to settle in the Diocese
of Virginia. The Reverend John v^as a man of six
feet four inches in height, and was known by his New
York State friends as "The Little Gentleman," and
later the title of "Father of the Upper Canada Church"
was fitly bestowed on him. He died in 1811.
Solomon W. Stewart, born in County Tyrone, Ire-
land, in 1754, came to America and settled in Columbia
County, New York. He was a Professor of Music, and
served as Adjutant for General Lafayette in the War
of the Revolution.
In 1753, James Stewart petitioned for a license to
purchase from the Indians, 8,000 acres of land on the
North side of the Mohawk River in Albany County,
New York. In the following- year he also petitioned
for letters p'atent on behalf of himself and others for
24,000 acres of land in the same locality.
William Stewart was born near Edinburgh in 1740,
and came to America in 1770. His son John, accom-
panied him, and they settled at Florida, New York
State.
In the first Circus that ever visited Albany, New
York, Mr. and Mrs. Stewart from England were the
riders. Thev had no canvas, nothing but stakes and
ropes forming a ring for the riders, and collections
were taken up by the clown among the audience.
The Secretary of the Trustees in Georgia, in 1733,
ordered Donald Stewart, a freeholder of Georgia and
Master of the Pilot Sloop, to provision his boat and
be on hand to assist any ships in distress. Donald
was cast away with his sloop and drowned in 1740.
He was hired by some settlers who were proceeding
to Augusta, to go and bring their families and effects
from Carolina. Under a gale of wind he ran upon some
shoals and his vessel was staved in, his son and
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 77
another escaping, but Donald himself was lost with
his vessel. His near kinsman of the same name, Don-
ald Stewart, about the same time, lost his life through
the accidental discharge of a gun.
John Stewart came from Edinburgh about the year
1723, and landed in North Carolina, from where he
and his family moved to Liberty County, Georgia.
In 1750, John Stewart, Senior, late of South Carolina,
petitioned for a grant of land in Georgia, stating that
"he had settled a tract of land and cultivated about
forty acres, having eight negroes now in the Pro-
vince and also thirteen more, with a wife and two
children, in South Carolina." He was granted five
hundred acres on the middle branch of North New-
port, and later obtained a further five hundred acres.
At the same time, 1750, John Stewart, Jr., was granted
five hundred acres of land on the south branch of
North Newport, he having eight negroes in the Pro-
vince of Georgia and nine more in South Carolina.
Later, in 1756, he obtained a further grant of five hun-
dred acres more, he then having nineteen negroes, and
a wife and two children.
Also in the Province of Georgia, a grant of land
on the River Sapalo was made, in 1750, to James
Stewart, "many years an inhabitant in the Southern
part of this Colony;" and of land in Hardwicke to
Ann Stewart. Robert Stewart, in 1756, and James
Stewart, in 1757, also obtained grants of land; and
in 1758, Jojm Stuart obtained a grant of two hundred
and fifty acres on the island opposite Abercorn.
Lieutenant William Stewart was born on the estates
of the Stewarts of Fort Stewart at Green Hill, County
Donegal, Ireland, about the year 1738. His ancestors
had ef'^^ated to Ireland from Wigtownshire, Scot-
land. He came to America in 1758, probably landing
78 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
at Philadelphia. In 1760, he married Mary Glass and
went to Meeting House Springs, near Carlisle, Penn-
sylvania. They had eleven children. He entered the
first ten of the children in the Family Bible, as
Stuart; but when the eleventh was born returned to
the spelling, Stewart. Hence his descendants have
used both styles of orthography. The names of the
children are entered on a page in what the Lieutenant
himself describes, "Wm. Stuart his Bible bought in
Carslile from John Wilky — Wm, Stuart is my name,
Do not stale this Book for fare of shame For onder
nath is the oner's name." When the Revolutionary
War commenced William Stewart responded to the
call, and enlisted in the Cumberland County Militia.
He was Lieutenant in Number 3 Company of Colonel
John Davis' Regiment, and was wounded in 1777.
In 1782, he again enlisted against the Indians, and for
his services received two hundred acres of land on
Indian Run, Mercer County, Pennsylvania.
The first appearance in the Colony of George Stuart
is at Marietta, on the Susquehana River, where he
had a farm as early as 1717. His farm was on the
east bank of the river and embraced three hundred
and fifty-seven acres. In 1722, he was a Justice of
the Peace for Conestoga Township, and when the
County of Lancaster was organized he was app*ointed
a County Commissioner. In 1730 and again in 1732
George Stuart was elected a member of the Provincial
Assembly, and it is curious to find recorded that he
was "licensed. May 5th, 1730 to sell rum by the small."
He died in January 1733, while attending the Assembly
in Philadelphia. John Stuart, his eldest son, probably
came over with his father, and carried on the farm
after his father's death. Colonel George Steuart, grand-
son of George Stuart, was born in 1736, and used the
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 79
spelling Steuart during the chief portion of his life.
The old Stuart farm passed to George, but there is no
record to show that he and his wife, Margaret Harris,
whom he married in 1758, ever occupied the farm.
Their eldest child was born while they were living
either at Elizabethtown or Carlisle, and while they
were at the latter place the farm was sold. George
Steuart moved to Maryland, settling at Deer Creek,
where he carried on a farm and also did business ag
an "innholder." He returned to Pennsylvania in 1775,
but is believed to be the same as "George Stewart"
whose name so appears on the roll of the Maryland
Company of Captain Paca, forming part of the Flying
Camp that marched to Washington's aid in 1776. On
the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, George Steu-
art and his eldest son were among the first to enter
the patriot army. In 1777, he was appointed to the
responsible position of Sub-Lieutenant of the County
of Cumberland, Pennsylvania, with the rank of Lieu-
tenant-Colonel. There wefe four Sub-Lieutenants
whose duty it was to furnish supplies and reinforce-
ments. The territory assigned to Lieutenant-Colonel
Steuart was of wide area, extending west to the border
of Westmoreland County, and North to the border of
Northumberland County. It is recorded that "he took
an active part against the Indians on the border dur-
ing the Revolution." After the War, Steuart was gen-
erally called Colonel, so it is probable he rose to that
rank in the War. He died in 1787.
Lazarus Stewart came to America in 1729. Mar-
garet, his daughter married James Stewart, and be-
came the mother of Captain Lazarus Stewart of the
Colonial and Revolutionary Wars.
Other early arrivals in Pennsylvania include Archi-
bald Stewart who arrived in 1728, removing to Augusta
80 History of the Stewart or Stvxirt Family
County, Virginia in 1730. He was an ancestor of Gen-
eral J. E. B. Stuart. William Stewart was born in 1754
and came to Pennsylvania in 1784. He married Mar-
garet Getty, niece of the founder of Gettysburgh.
Robert Stewart was born at Glasgow and died in
Ireland, 1730. Two of his sons, Samuel and Hugh,
came to America, Samuel settling at Chestnut Level,
Pennsylvania, and Hugh at Peshtauk.
Robert Stewart of the County of Lancaster, Penn-
sylvania, was appointed Sheriff of the County in 1751.
In the obligation to the King, the name is spelled
Stuart.
A supfporter of the Stuart cause in the rising of
1745, David Stuart left Scotland in 1752 and came
to the Province of Virginia. His son John, after-
wards Colonel John Stuart, was then in his fourth
year. At the age of twenty-one John Stuart, in 1769,
crossed the mountains to the Greenbrier Valley. It
was at this time that corn was first cultivated in the
county. His camping place was near the present
site of the town of Frankfort. Stuart commanded
a Company at the Battle of Point Pleasant on the loth
October, 1744, and witnessed the murder of the Shaw-
nee Chief, Cornstalk, at the same place on the loth
of November following. He rose to the rank of
Colonel in the border wars. Colonel Stuart also led
the relief from Savannah, in 1778, which saved Don-
nally's Fort.
In the year 1762 Robert Stewart was Captain and
John Stewart, Surgeon, of the Virginia Regiment.
A prominent figure in the earlier history of South
Carolina was a member of the family named John
Stuart. He first came to America at the time of the
settlement of Georgia, being appointed Superint'idcnt
of Indian Affairs for the Southern District. Friends
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 81
in South Carolina obtained that office for him, and
placed him in the Council of the Province. When
the Revolutionary War opened in 1775 he was in
alliance with the Loyalists and Indians, and was com-
pelled to flee to Florida. His wife and daughter re-
mained in South Carolina, and were detained there,
by the Provincial Congress, as hostages for his good
behavior. Mrs. Stewart, however, escaped and the
daughter was imprisoned on suspicion of assisting her
escape. John Stuart went to England, where he
died before peace was declared, his property in Amer-
ica being confiscated in 1782. His son, General Sir
John Stuart took an active part in the War of the
Revolution.
At Port Royal and Charleston, South Carolina, a
new Church was formed in 1731, worshipping in a
small wooden building with the Reverend Hugh Stew-
art for their minister.
The General Assembly of the Colony of Connecti-
cut, on the nth May, 1710, appointed James Stewart
as Ensign of the North Compiany in the town of Nor-
walk, and, in 1734, appointed William Stuart of Ston-
ington to be Lieutenant of the town Company. In
1748, the General Assembly appointed Samuel Stew-
art, Jr., as Ensign of the Norwalk Company.
An entertainment which surpassed in sumptuous-
ness anything before exhibited in the place, was given
by Matthew Stewart of New London, when he re-
turned to New London from Narragansett, where he
had been married on the 19th October, 1735.
The right to hold a lottery for the disposal of his
land was, in 1759, granted by the Assembly to Mlat-
thew Stewart of New London, whose memorial asking-
such right showed that for many years he had exer-
cised himself in trade, and had been obliged to con-
82 History cf the Stewart or Stuart Family
tract large debts, which by repeated losses at sea he
was unable to discharge.
George Home Steuart came to Annapolis, Mary-
land, in 1720, from Perthshire. He married Ann
Digges, daughter of George Digges of Maryland, a
descendant of Sir Dudley Digges who fell fighting in
tlie cause of Charles I. George Home Steuart was
an M. D, of the University of Edinburgh, and rose
to great prominence in Maryland.
Among the immigrants who arrived at Boston in
1718, and settled at Lancaster was Margaret Stuart
from Bovedy in the County of Derry, and in a peti-
tion to the Governor of New England, dated 26th
March of the same year, appears the name of James
Steuart,
John Stuart was admitted a freeman of the Colony
of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations on the
1st May, 1730.
The famous portrait painter Gilbert Stuart was
born in Rhode Island in 1755. He was the son of
Galbert Stuart of Newport, who built the first snuflf
mill in New England. Gilbert Stuart, the artist,
began to paint almost in his cradle, having orders for
portraits by the time he was thirteen years of age. To
learn his art, he went to England in 1772, but after
two years returned to America. In the last ship
which sailed before the blockade of Boston, in 1775,
Stuart again went to England, determined to master
his deficiencies. In London he became the pupil of
West, and by 1785 set up for himself. His success
was immediate, no one but Reynolds and Gains-
borough obtaining as large prices for their pictures as
he. In 1792, he returned to America, and after paint-
ing for two years in New York moved to Philadelphia,
thence to Washington, and finally settled in Boston,
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 83
where he resided for more than twenty years until
his death in 1828. During his career he produced an
exceedingly large number of portraits. A catalogue
prepared in 1880 gave a list of 754, but this was ac-
knowledged to be far from complete. His portraits of
Washington are numerous. On the tablet in the Hall
of Fame are his words, "The portrait of George Wash-
ington was undertaken by me. It had indeed been
the object of the most valuable years of my life to
obtain the portrait."
CHAPTER VI.
HE year 1774 saw the people of the Amer-
ican Colonies for the first time recognize
that the agitation against the acts of the
Government of Great Britain was a na-
tional cause. The result was a meeting of Delegates
from the various colonies, known as the First Conti-
nental Congress, called at Philadelphia on the 5th
September, 1774, The year 1775 saw Lexington, Con-
cord, and Bunker Hill, and the determination of the
Colonies to resist oppression and enforce the redress
Cd wrongs. In 1776, the Declaration of Independence
changed a war of principle to a struggle for the
separation of the Colonies from the rule of the Eng-
lish King.
The fighting blood of the Highland Clan proved
true to old tradition, and on both sides of the conflict
those of the name of Stewart, Steuart and Stuart
took a memorable part. The call of the Continental
Congress found a quick response, and many of the
name threw in their lot with the patriot army, and
fought from Lexington Green to Yorktown for the
right of self government.
In the list of Continental Army Officers the follow-
ing are mentioned as holding commissions in that
section of the forces engaged :
Commissary General Charles Stewart, Commissary
of Issues from 1777 until 1782.
Colonel Walter Stewart, Pennsylvania, brevetted
Lieutenant-Colonel by Act of Congress and presented
with a sword of honor, November, 1776.
84
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 85
Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Stuart, Pennsyl-
vania, taken prisoner at Fort Washington, 1776^ and
exchanged in 1777.
Major John Stewart, Maryland[, the hero of Stony
Point, mentioned later.
Major Alexander Stuart, Virginia, wounded and
taken prisoner at Guilford, 1781.
Captam Charles Stewart, North Carolina, taken
prisoner at Charleston, 1780; exchanged. May, 1781-;
killed at Eutaw Springs, Septembefj 1781.
Captain William Stewart, Graham's Regiment^ New
York.
Captain Lazarus Stewart, PentLsylvania, killed at
the Wyoming Massacre, 1778,
Captain and Adjutant William Stewart, Regimental
Adjutant, 2nd Canadians (Hazen's) Regiment, "Con-
gress' Own."
Captain James Stewart, Malcolm's Regiment and
5th New York Regiment,
Captain Robert Stewart, Flying Camp.
Adjutant Solomon W. Stewart, Adjutant for Gen-
eral Lafayette,
Lieutenant Nicholas Stewart, 2nd North Carolina
Regiment.
Lieutenant Philip Stuart, 3rd Continental Dra-
goons, led the forlorn hop^ and was wounded at
Eutaw Springs, 1781, transferred to Baylor's Regiment
of Dragoons and served to close of war. He was
member of Congress from Maryland.
Lieutenant Alexander Stewart, Delaware, wounded
and taken prisoner at Long Island, 1776.
Lieutenant Joseph Stewart, 9t!i North Carolina
Regiment.
Lieutenant Charles Stewart, I5tb and nth Virginia
Regiments,
86 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
Lieutenant George Stewart, 9th North Carolina
Regiment.
Ensign Charles Stewart, 2nd Connecticut Regiment.
Ensign Walter Stewart, Jr., 2nd Pennsylvania Regi-
ment.
Ensign John Stewart, 4th New Jersey Regiment.
Ensign Jacob Stewart, 5th Massachusetts Regiment.
Chaplain Alexander Stewart, Knox's Regiment of
Continental Artillery.
Quartermaster Alexander Stewart, Malcolm's Con-
tinental Regiment.
Surgeon Alexander Stewart, Knox's Regiment of
Continental Artillery, and loth and 3rd Pennsylvania
Regiments.
Surgeon's Mate Lewis Stewart, nth Virginia Regi-
ment.
Commissary General Charles Stewart was born in
Ireland, 1729, of Scottish extraction. His grandfather
of the same name was a Scottish Officer of Dragoons,
who, for services at the Battle of the Boyne, was given
an estate in Ireland. The grandson, Charles Stewart,
came to America in 1750, and became a deputy sur-
veyor general of the Province of Pennsylvania. In
1774, he was a member of the first Convention in New
Jersey that issued a declaration of rights against the
aggression of the Crown, and, in 1775, a delegate to
its first Provincial Congress. He was Colonel of the
first New Jersey Regiment of Minute Men, then of
the 2nd New Jersey Regiment, and, in 1777, was ap-
pointed by Congress Commissary General of Issues
in the Continental Army, serving as such on Wash-
ington's Staff until the close of the War. In 1784-85,
he was a Representative from New Jersey in Con-
gress.
Colonel Walter Stewart was born in 1756. He
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 87
raised a company of the 3rd Pennsylvania Battalion,
and was commissioned Captain in 1776, being ap>-
pointed aid-de-camp to General Gates the same year.
In 1777 he was promoted Colonel of the Pennsylvania
State Regiment, and led it at Brandywine and Ger-
mantown. He retired in 1783 v/ith the rank of Brig>-
dier-General, and was said to be the handsomest man
in the American Army, He was a personal friend of
George Washington, who presented a miniature oi
himself set in diamonds to General Stewart's daughter,
on the occasion of her marriage to Judge Church.
Major John Stewart of the Maryland troops dis-
tinguished himself at the storming of Stony Point,
one of the most brilliant events of the War. At the
head of one hundred men v/ho had volunteered for
the desperate assault, Major Stev/art fought his way
into the Fort with the bayonet. It was half past eleven
at night when the Americans commenced their silent
march towards the Fort. All the dogs in the neigh-
borhood had been killed the day before, that their
barking might not give notice of strangers near. The
Americans were undiscovered until within pistol shot
of the enemy pickets upon the heights, when the silence
was broken by the roll of drum, the rattle of musketry,
and the roar of cannon charged with the deadly grape
shot. In the face of this terrible storm, the little band
of volunteers forced their way at the point of the bayo'
net until they reached the center of the works, and the
Fort was taken. A silver medal was voted by Con-
gress to Major Stewart. The medal represents Amer-
ica, personified by an Indian Queen, who is presenting
a palm branch to Major Stewart. The legend is,
*Joanni Stewart Cohortis Praefecto, Comitia Ameri-
cana." On the reverse is a fortress on an eminence,
in the foreground an officer cheering on his men. He
88 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
also received the thanks of the Maryland Legislature.
Later he commanded a Corps of Light Infantry, and
on 31st August, 1778 had a severe engagement at
Indian Field v^^ith Colonel Emmenck's command.
Major Stewart was killed by a fall from his horse at
Charleston, South Carolina.
Captain John Stewart was born at Londonderry,
New Nampshire, in 1745, and enlisted in the French
and Indian War when only fourteen years of age. He
took part in the fight with Indians at Oriskany, and
was at the taking of Montreal in 1760. He served
under General Montgomery, being at the second cap-
ture of Montreal in 1775, and through the Revolution-
ary War under Colonel McCracken. It is said, that
after the War he refused a pension, saying, "I want
no pay for having served my country." He died at
Middleburg, Vermont, 1829 .
Ten of the then thirteen States are represented in
the Continental Army by Officers of the family name,
viz : Delaware, Massachusetts, New York, North Caro-
lina, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Jersey, Virginia,
Maryland, New Hampshire.
In addition to the Officers in the Continental Army,
the family was equally well represented in the other
troops of different States. It is not possible to make in-
dividual mention of each hardy hero of the name who'
braved the horrors of that memorable War, and shared
the honor of the ultimate victory. There were 229
soldiers of the name of Stewart, Steuart and Stuart
from the one Colony of Massachusetts alone! And
from each of the thirteen States the men of the old
Clan came forth to battle. Mention may. however, be
made of the following, who, amongf others of the
name, served as Officers in the Militia and Levies
of the States : Colonel Charles Stewart. New Jersey
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 89
Militia, afterwards Commissionary General, Contin-
ental Army; Lieutenant Colonel George Stewart,
Pennsylvania; Captain Solomon Steuart, Massachu-
setts Militia; Captain Lemuel Stewart, Massachu-
setts Militia; Captain James Stewart, Connecticut
Militia; Captain James Stewart, Western Battalion,
New Jersey Militia; Captain Stuart, Virginia Militia;
Captain W. Stewart, 3rd Pennsylvania Militia; Cap-
tain C, Stuart, Pennsylvania Militia; Captain James
Stewart, New York Militia ; Captain George Stewart,
Maryland Militia ; Captain Patrick Stewart, North
Carolina Minute Men; Captain John Stewart, New
Jersey Militia; Captain John Stewart, New Hamp-
shire Militia; Captaljn Solomon Stuart, Whitney's
Regiment, Massachusetts Militia, marched April 21st,
1775, in response to the alarm of 19th April; Captain
Wentworth Stewart, Phinney's Regiment, Massachu-
setts Militia; Lieutenant John Stewart, Connecticut
Militia ; Lieutenant William Stewart, New Hampshire
Militia, of Londonderry, was one of the Minute Men
who marched on the Lexington Alarm in April, 1775 ;
Lieutenant John Stewart, New Hampshire Militia;
Lieutenant James Stuart, Pennsylvania Militia; Lieu-
tenant Robert Stewart, New York Militia; Lieutenant
Charles Stuart, New York Militia; Lieutenant Will-
iam Stewart, Vermont Militia ; Lieutenant Charles
Stuart, Jr., New York Militia; Lieutenant Charles
Stewart, New York Levies; Lieutenant Alexander
Stuart, Marv'land Militia; Lieutenant William Stew-
art, Pennsylvania; Lieutenant Richard Stewart, Penn-
sylvania Militia; Adjutant William Stewart, Penn-
sylvania Militia; Ensign Joseph Stewart, Jr., Ver-
mont Militia; Ensign James Stewart, New York Mili-
tia; Ensign Robert Stewart, Pennsylvania Militia;
90 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
Ensign Joseph Stewart, Massachusetts Militia; En-
sign Joseph Stewart, New York Militia; Master-at-
Arms David Stewart, Massachusetts.
Before the commencement of the War of the Revo-
lution, the Brig "Peggy Stewart" arrived at Annapolis,
on 15th October, 1774, from England, with an assorted
cargo. Anthony Stewart, the owner of the brig, was
one of the signers of the non-importation agreement
entered into by the Maryland Association; but in
order to land the rest of the cargo he paid the duty
on the tea. The people were indignant at what they
considered his treason and defiance. Stewart was
very contrite, and offered to burn the tea publicly.
His offer was refused, as it was desired that Stewart,
as a recreant Associator should be more severly pun-
ished. It was demanded that the brig "Peggy Stew-
art," itself should be burned, and Stewart, seeing there
was no escape, burnt the brig with his own hands,
his wife Peggy, for whom the brig was named, watch-
ing the flames from her chamber window.
The member of the family whose name is most
prominent in connection with the War of 1812 was
Rear Admiral Charles Stewart, "Old Ironsides." He
was born in Philadelphia on the 22nd July, 1776. His
father came to America at an early age, and was,
later, in the merchant service. Charles was the young-
est of eight children, and at the age of thirteen went
as cabin boy in a merchant ship, rising rapidly to
the command of an Indiaman. In March, 1798, he
was commissioned Lieutenant in the United States
Navy, and made his first cruise under Commodore
Barney, operating against French privateers. In 1800,
he was appointed to the command of the armed
Schooner, "Experiment," and cruised in the West
Indies where he rendered efficient service, capturing
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 91
the French schooner, "Deux Amis", and the "Diana" ;
besides recapturing a number of American vessels
which had been taken by the privateers. In 1802, he
served as executive of the frigate "Constellation",
blockading Tripoli, but returned in 1803 ^^^ was
placed in command of the brig "Siren". In this vessel
he was engaged in the expedition to destroy the
frigate "Philadelphia", and susequently in the siege
of Tripoli. In 1806, he was made Captain, and, in
1812, took command of the frigate "Constellation",
and assisted in defending the coast from English at-
tacks. In December, 1813, he sailed in command of
the frigate "Constitution," in which he took the
British ships "Cyane" and "Levant." He and his
prizes were chased by the British ships "Leander",
"Newcastle" and "Alcaster", and the "Levant" was
retaken, but Stewart and his other prize escaped. One
of the British ships, the "Newcastle" of fifty guns
was in command of another member of the family,
Lord George Stuart. On Charles Stewart's return to
America he was received with the highest honors, a
gold medal was ordered to be struck by Congress,
and the Legislature of Pennsylvania presented him
with a gold handled sword. He also received the
Freedom of the City New York. It was from his
ship, the "Constitution", that Stewart was affection-
ately known as "Old Ironsides." After the War he
was placed in command of the "Franklin", and was
later employed ashore in the naval service of his coun-
try. He was retired as Senior Commodore in 1856,
and, on i6th July, 1862, was commissioned Rear Ad-
miral, after which he was on waiting orders until
his death in 1869. An anonymous poet wrote of him,
"Oh oft may you meet with brave Stewart,
The tar with the free and true heart;
92 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
A bright welcome smile, and a soul free from guile.
You'll find in the hero, Charles Stewart."
His daughter, Delia Tudor Stewart, married Charles
Henry Parnell, and became the mother of Charles
Stewart Parnell, the Irish Home Rule leader.
The following other members of the family served
as Officers of the military forces of the United States
during the War of 1812; Captain Rufus Stewart,
Vermont ; Captain James Stuart, Tennessee ; Captain
Thomas Stuart, Tennessee ; Lieutenant William Steu-
art, Matyland; Lieutenant Alexander Stuart, Mary-
land; Lieutenant Charles Stewart, 15th New York
Infantry ; Lieutenant James Stewart, 22nd Infantry ;
Lieutenant William Stewart, Kentucky ; Lieutenant
John Stewart, South Carolina ; Lieutenant James M.
Stewart, Pennsylvania; Lieutenant Robert Stewart,
Delaware ; Lieutenant Charles S. Stuart, Pennsylvania ;
Lieutenant Rice L. Stewart, Kentucky; Lieutenant
John Stewart, Pennsylvania; Surgeon James V. Stew-
art, Pennsylvania; Surgeon's Mate Abraham Stewart,
Massachusetts.
In the War with Mexico, 1846-1848, the family was
again well represented among the Officers engaged :
Lieutenant-Colonel Adam D, Steuart, Virginia, bre-
vetted Lieutenant-Colonel for meritorious conduct
while serving in the enemy's country; Captain James
Stuart, South Carolina, brevetted First Lieutenant
for gallant and meritorious conduct in the Battles of
Contreras and Churubusco, and Captain for gallant
and meritorious conduct in the Battle of Chapultepec ;
Captain James E. Steaart, Maryland; Captain Benja-
min F. Stewart, Kentucky; Captain George F. Stew-
art, Mississippi Rifles; Captain Richard A. Stewart,
Louisiana; Captain Robert M. Stewart, Missouri;
Captain William W. Stewart, Louisiana; Cap-
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 93
tain Robert W. Stewart, Louisiana; Lieutenant
James M. Stuart, Michigan ; Lieutenant William P.
Stewart, Ohio; Lieutenant John W. Stewart, South
Carolina; Lieutenant George C. Stewart, Arkansas;
Lieutenant D. M. Stewart, Florida; Lieutenant James
E. Stewart, Mississippi Rifles; Lieutenant Samuel D.
Stuart, Ohio ; Lieutenant John W. Stewart, Missis-
sippi Rifles ; Lieutenant Alexander Stewart, Arkansas ;
Lieutenant James M. Stewart, Missouri ; Lieutenant
Joseph Stewart. Kentucky; Lieutenant George H.
Steuart, Maryland, and of the Confederate States
Army in the Civil War; Lieutenant and Paymaster
Josephus B. Stuart, Kentucky; Surgeon James D.
Stuart, Kentucky.
Political strife had for many years been undermin-
ing the ties connecting the North and South, and
before the New Year of 1861 had commenced, South
Carolina had declared its independence, the other
Southern States in turn seceding, until North and
South were openly arrayed against each other. The
first shell at Fort Sumter, on the 12th of April, 1861,
was the signal for the commencement of four years of
internecine strife and Civil War.
The Official Records of the Union and Confederate
Armies contain 312 references to the name of .Stew-
art, Steuart and Stuart, but as, in a great number of
instances, several of the same given name are covered
by one reference, this figure does not correctly denote
the total number of the name enrolled. Further, many
of the States and Territories to whom no quotas were
assigned furnished troops, and many men were en-
rolled on short enlistments.
Among Officers of the family name in the United
States Arm during the Civil War were: Brigadier-
General James Stewart, Jr.; Brigadier-General Will-
94 History of the Stewart or Stuart Famuy
iam S. Stewart, brevetted Brigadier-General for gal-
lant and meritorious service during the War; Briga-
dier-General William W. Stewart, brevetted Colonel
of Volunteers for gallant conduct at the Battles of the
Wilderness and Spotsylvania and Brigadier-General
for gallant conduct at the Battle of North Anna;
Brigadier-General David Stuart; Colonel Charles S.
Stewart; Colonel James Stewart; Lieutenant-Colonel
Adam D. Steuart, also served in the War with Mexico;
Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Stewart, Jr., brevetted
Major for gallant and meritorious service at Plymouth
and Lieutenant-Colonel for meritorious service during
the War; Lieutenant-Colonel Isaac S. Stewart; Lieu-
tenant-Colonel William D. Stewart; Major Lyman
Y. Stuart; Major R. T. Stewart; Major Charles Stew-
art, brevetted for faithful and meritorious ser-
vice; Major John Stewart, brevetted for efficient and
faithful service during the Atlanta Campaign ; Major
James H. Stewart; Captain William J. Stewart; Cap-
tain Charles Stewart; Captain William H. Stewart;
Captain Frederick V. Stewart ; Paymaster William H.
Steuart; Chaplain Isaac I. Stewart; Assistant-Adju-
tant-General Andrew Stewart, was confined in Libby,
Macon, and other Southern prisons for over a year.
Volunteering obtained, in the North, until late in the
third year of the War, and large numbers were raised
in the States and Territories. In the third year, the
draft also went into effect in most of the States. In-
cluded in the List of Field Officers of these forces are
the names of several of the family, among whom are :
Colonel Charles E. Stuart, Michigan ; Colonel Warren
Stewart, Illinois; Colonel Elias Stuart, Illinois; Col-
onel James Stuart, Illinois; Colonel Charles H. Stew-
art, New York; Colonel Charles B. Stuart, New York;
Lieutenant-Colonel Franklin B. Stewart, Pennsyl-
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 95
vania; Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Stewart, Pennsyl-
vania; Lieutenant-Colonel Milton Stewart, West Vir-
ginia; Lieutenant-Colonel James W. Stewart, Indi-
ana; Lieutenant-Colonel Owen Stuart, Illinois; Lieu-
tenant-Colonel Robert R. Stewart, Indiana ; Lieuten-
ant-Colonel Chapman J. Stuart, West Virginia; Major
Joseph M. Stuart, Ohio; Major Gordon A. Stewart,
Ohio; Major Samuel B. Stewart, Illinois; Major Israel
W. Stewart, Missouri; Major Robert E. Stewart, U.
S. Colored Infantry; Major John W. Stewart, Illinois.
With the Light Batteries were. Captain Arthur Stuart,
Stuart's Battery, Pennsylvania Militia and Captain
William Stuart, 3rd New York Battery.
Brigadier-General David Stuart of the United States
Army was born in Brookl}^, New York, 18 16. He re-
moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he practiced law,
and was a Democratic Representative in the 33rd Con-
gress, 1853-1855. He removed to Chicago and, on 31st
October, 1861, was commissioned Colonel of the 55th
Illinois Volunteers. He was given command of the
2nd Brigade, Sherman's Division, in 1862, and at the
Battle of Shiloh was stationed on the extreme left, and
severely wounded in the left shoulder. In Novem-
ber, 1862, Colonel Stuart was nominated Brigadier-
General, and commanded the 4th Brigade, Smith's
Division, succeeding to the command when General
Smith was wounded at Chickasaw Bayou. Later, he
commanded a Division, and took important part in
the capture of Arkansas Post, in 1863.
Colonel Charles S. Stewart, great grandson of Rear
Admiral Charles Stewart, was graduated in 1823 from
the United States Military Academ ', where he was
Assistant Professor of Engineering, i8t9-!:4. He was
made Lieutenant of the Corps of Engineers in 1853,
and as Assistant Engineer from 1854 to iS"7, and then
96 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
as Superintending Engineer, served in the construc-
tion of the defenses of Boston Harbor until 1861.
In i860 he was promoted Captain. During the Civil
War he served in the Corps of Engineers, was made
Major in 1863, and was Chief Engineer of the Middle
Military Division in 1864 and 1865. He was promoted
Lieutenant-Colonel in 1867, ^^^ Colonel in 1882.
In the sister branch of the Union Forces the family-
was also well represented ; among the officers serving
in the United States Navy during the Civil War, being
Rear-Admiral Charles Stewart, the hero of the War
of 1812, who retired 21st December, 1862 and died
November, 1869; Rear- Admiral and Paymaster Gen-
eral Edwin Stewart; Lieutenant Frederick D, Stuart;
Gunner Charles Stuart; Gunner Thomas Stewart; En-
sign Charles A. Stewart; Ensign David A. Stewart;
Midshipman Daniel D. V. Stuart afterwards Rear-Ad-
miral ; Master and Pilot William Stewart ; Mate James
M. Stewart; Engineer Henry V. Stewart; Engineer
Charles A. Stuart; Engineer Frederick D. Stuart, Jr.;
Engineer Alexander C. Stuart; Engineer William M.
Stewart ; Engineer Albert Stewart ; Pa} master A.
Murray Stewart ; Paymaster Charles Stewart ; Chap-
lain William H. Stewart; Chaplain Charles S. Stewart.
Paymaster-General Edwin Stewart was born in New
York City in 1837. While studying law he was ap-
pointed Assistant Paymaster in the Navy in Septem-
ber, i86r. In 1862, he was promoted to the grade of
Paymaster, and ordered to the "Richmond" in the
South Atlantic Squadron, to which ship he was at-
tached during the three most eventful years of her
career. At the end of the War he was assigned to
duty on the Lakes, and from 1869 he was three vears
in charge of the Purchasing Pay Office. In 1880 he
was commissioned Pay Inspector, and in i8qo became
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 97
Paymaster-General of the Navy. He was promoted
Rear Admiral in 1899.
Eliza D. Stewart, ''Mother Stewart", gave herself
up to the task of collecting and forwarding supplies to
the sick and wounded soldiers. Subsequently she
went to the front and there received from the soldiers
the title of "Mother Stewart".
In the South, a great number of the name of Stew-
art, Steuart and Stuart considered allegiance to their
State of supreme importance, and fought bravely with
the Army of the Confederate States. Three Generals,
representing each spelling of the name, are the most
prominent in the record of the family with the South-
ern forces.
One of the most brilliant and picturesque figures
of the War, General James Ewell Brown Stuart was
a Virginian by birth and not yet thirty years old,
having been born in Patrick County, Virginia, in 1833.
He was of Scottish descent, his ancestors coming to
America in 1726, first settling in Pennsylvania and
later removing to Virginia. In 1850 he obtained an
appointment to the United States Military Academy
at West Point, where he graduated in 1854, and was
commissioned Second Lieutenant in a regiment of
mounted riflemen serving in Texas. Later he was
transferred to the ist Regiment of United States Cav-
alry, and was wounded in the Indian warfare at Solo-
mon's River. When the Civil War commenced he
was therefore a Lieutenant in the United States Cav-
alry, but as soon as his State, Virginia, seceded, he
resigned his commission and joined the Confederate
forces, being commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel on the
loth May, 1861. The same year, on i6th July, he was
brevetted Colonel of Cavalry, and on 24th September,
he was made Brigadier-General. He was p^romoted
98 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
Major General on the 25th July, 1862. On the open-
ing of hostilities he joined Johnston in the Valley,
and impressed him with a high opinion of his abilities.
At Manassas he charged and broke a regiment of
Zouaves, and protected the rear of the army when
Johnston retired, marching and countermarching in
such a way as to make the impression that the cavalry
was twice as many as they really were. At Bull Run
he did much to give the victory to the Confederates,
and at the Battle of Deanesville, 24th December, 1861,
was in command of four regiments of infantry. In
June, 1862, Stuart conducted the reconnaissance to
the rear of McClellan's army, known as the Chicka-
hominy Raid, and in August took an active and brill-
iant part in the seven days fight at Richmond. He
made another daring expedition, crossing the Rappa-
hannock and raiding General Pope's camp and the
Federal depot at Manassas, capturing a large number
of prisoners and booty. After much valuable service
at the second Battle of Bull Run and at Sharpsburg,
General Stuart, at the head of 18,000 picked Cavalry,
conducted the celebrated raid on Chambersburg, in
which he captured 30 United States Government offi-
cials, 286 prisoners and 1,200 horses. At Chancellors-
ville. General Stuart personally led the charge that
resulted in carrying Hazel Green Ridge, the strategic
point, his battle cry being, "Charge — and remember
Jackson." He was mortally wounded in the cavalry
fight at Yellow Tavern, but continued urging on his
men, who were retreating, "Go back ! Go back ! I
had rather die than be whipped." These words of
soldierly entreaty were the last he uttered on the battle-
field. He died at Richmond, Virginia, on 12th June,
1864. In person, General J. E. B. Stuart, "Jeb", was
of medium height, broad and powerful ; he wor^ a
History of the Stewart or Stimrt Family 99
heavy brown beard flowing upon his breast, a huge
moustache with ends curHng up\vards, and the blue
eyes had at times the dazzling brilliancy attributed
to the eyes of an eagle. Young, ardent, ambitious,
as brave as steel, ready with jest or laughter, with
his banjo player following him, going into the hottest
fight humm.ing a song, this young Virginian was fn
truth an original character. To him, the war seemed
to be a splendid and exciting game. He swung him-
self into the saddle at the sound of the bugle, as the
hunter springs on horseback. So this joyous cavalier,
with his floating plume and splendid laughter, ap-
peared upon the great arena of the war in Virginhi.
Lee said when he was mortally wounded, "I can
scarcely think of him without weeping," and a gener-
ous foe. General Sedg^vick of the United States Army,
said, "Stuart is the best Cavalry Officer ever foaled
in North America."
Lieutenant-General Alexander P. Stewart was born
at Rogersville, Tennessee, 1821, a descendant of the
main line of the family. He graduated from the
United States Military Academy in 1842, but resigned
his commission in 1845. He joined the Confederate
Army in 1861 as Major of Artillery, and was promoted
Brigadier-General in November of the same year. Upon
the disablement of General Charles Clark at Shiloh, he
succeeded to the command of the Division. He com-
manded the 2nd Brigade, Cheatham's Division, at
Perryville, and at Stone's River. He was promoted
Major-General in June, 1863, commanding a Division
during the Chattanooga Campaign. Promotion to Lieu-
tenant-General followed, with the command of the
Army of the Mississippi, which subsequently became
known as Stewart's Corps. He was in the Atlanta
Campaign in 1864, in the Battles of Peach Tree Creek
100 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
and Mount Ezra, in Hood's Campaign into Tennessee,
and commanded his corps in the Battles of Franklin
and Nashville. After the retreat from Nashville and
retirement of General Hood, General Stewart com-
manded the Army of Tennessee, which fought the
Battle of Cole's Farm.
Brigadier-General George H. Steuart was a native
of Maryland, born at Baltimore in 1828. On graduat-
ing from the United States Military Academy, he was
commissioned Second Lieutenant in 1848. He thetl
served on frontier duty, and on the march through
Texas, 184S-49. He served in the Cheyenne Expedi-
tion, 1856, and the Utah Expedition, 1858. On the
outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, he resigned his
commission and joined the Confederate Army, in
which he was commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel in
June, and promoted Colonel in July of the same year.
He was made Brigadier-General in March, 1862. Gen-
eral Steuart led the Cavalry with General Jackson in
the advance upon General Banks in Ma}-, 1862, and
was subsequently in command of an Infantry Brigade.
He was wounded at Cross Keys, Virginia, in May,
1862, participated in the attack on Culpi's Hill, Gettys-
burgh, July, 1863, and occupied the right parallel of
the Confederate center, known as the "Bloody Angle",
at the Battle of the Wilderness in 1864. After being
taken prisoner and exchanged he took part in the
Battles of Spotsylvania and Five Forks.
CHAPTER VII.
jHE Atlantic coast line of America became
by degrees well occupied by the colonists,
and in the eighteenth century the move-
ment of the settlers from the seaboard
regions into the interior became more pronounced.
Further, in order to obtain lands for themselves, we
find many of the family name who arrived in the col-
onies during this period settled inland, or on the
frontier, taking up lands in the interior of Pennsyl-
vania, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine, or
crossed the mountains into Ohio, Kentucky and Ten-
nessee, joining the company of virile, tenacious and
aggressive frontiersmen, who with axe and plow were
fighting the unceasing contest between civilization and
the rude wilderness of the virgin land. With others
of their race — Highlanders, Lowlanders and Ulster-
men — they were the true pioneers of the onward move-
ment; the long discipline and warlike spirit of the
clan fearing neither Indian nor the difificulties of the
path, as they pitched their tents deep into the bosom
of the undeveloped country, and thrust the outer
bulwark further and further into the great land of
the West.
These hardy pioneers of the name left the indelible
impress of their character upon the succeeding genera-
tions of the family, who have, in more peaceful times
and amid milder institutions, taken part in the stren-
uous movements of American life, and in each State
and Territory of the Union filled high pbsitions of
honor and trust in every branch of politics, letters
art and industry.
lOI
f02 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
Five members of the family have been Governors of
States.
Robert Marcellus Stewart was twelfth Governor of
Missouri from 1857 ^o 1861. He was born at Trux-
lon, New York, on 12th March, 181 5. After being
admitted to the bar, he went, in 1838, to Buchanan
County, Missouri, and on the resignation of Governor
Polk in 1857, was elected Governor after the closest
contest ever known in the State. He died at St.
Joseph, Missouri in 1871.
The next member of the family to be elected to the
office of Governor was John W. Stewart, who was
Governor of the State of Vermont for the term 1870
to 1872. He was a native of the State, having been
born at Middlebury.
Edwin S. Stuart was Governor of Pennsylvania
from 1907 until 191 1. He was born at Philadelphia
in 1853.
The present Governor of Montana, Samuel Vernon
Stewart, was born in Monroe County, Ohio, in 1872.
He was elected in 1913, and has since been elected for
a second term, 1917 to 1921.
Henry C. Stuart was Governor of Virginia from 1914
to 1918. He was born at Wytheville, Virginia, in 1855,
and is descended from Archibald Stuart who came
to this country in 1726. General J. E. B. Stuart, the
celebrated Confederate cavalry leader was of the same
family.
The family has been represented in both Houses
of Congress.
David Stewart, born at Baltimore in 1800, was
United States Senator from Maryland to the 31st
Congress.
After serving as member of the House of Represen-
tatives in the 30th to 32nd Congresses Charles E. Stuart
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 103
was United States Senator from Michigan to the 33rd
to 35th Congresses.
William M. Stewart served in fifteen Congresses
as Senator from Nevada, namely in the 38th to 43rd
and in the 50th to 58th Congresses. A native of New
York State, he moved to Virginia City, Nevada, in
i860.
In the Continental Congress, 1784-85, the family
was represented by Archibald Stewart as Delegate
from New Jersey.
The following have served as Members of the House
of Representatives :
John Stewart, from Pennsylvania, to the 6th, 7th
and 8th Congresses; Philip Stuart, from Maryland, to
the I2th to 15th Congresses; James Stewart, from
North Carolina, to the 15th Congress; Andrew Stew-
art, from Pennsylvania, to the 17th to 20th, 22nd and
23rd, and 28th to 30th Congresses ; Archibald Stuart,
from Virginia, to the 25th Congress ; John T. Stuart,
from Illinois, to the 26th, 27th and 38th Congresses;
Alexander H. H. Stuart, from Virginia, to the 27th
Congress, and also Secretary of the Interior from 1850
to 1S53 ; John Stewart, from Connecticut, to the 28th
Congress ; Charles E. Stuart, from Michigan, to the
30th and 32nd Congresses ; Andrew Stuart, from Ohio,
to the 33rd Congress ; David Stuart, from Michigan,
to the 33rd Congress ; James A. Stewart, from Mary-
land, to the 34th to 36th Congresses ; William Stewart,
from Penns Ivania, to the 35th and 36th Congresses;
Thomas E. Stewart, from New York, to the 40th Con-
gress; Jacob H. Stewart, from Minnesota, to the 45th
Congress ; Charles Stewart, from Texas, to the 48th
to 52nd Congresses ; John W. Stewart, from Vermont,
to the 48th to 51st Congresses, and Governor of the
State; John D. Stewart, from Georgia, to the 50th and
104 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
51st Congresses; Andrew Stewart, from Pennsylvania,
to the 52nd Congress; Alexander Stewart, from Wis-
consin, to the 54th and 55th Congresses; James F.
Stewart, from New Jersey, to the 54th to 57th Con-
gresses; and John K, Stewart, from New York, to
the 56th and 57th Congresses.
Connected with the 66th Congress, now in session,
are the names of Charles W. Stewart, Supterintendent,
Office of Naval Records and Library, Author; of "The
Mississippi River," "St. Louis to the Sea," "The Stars
and Stripes"; William M. Steuart, Secretary of the
U. S. Tariff Commission; Charles A. Stewart,
Chief Clerk, office of the Controller of the Currency ;
Charles E. Stewart, Chief Clerk, Department of Jus-
tice; George C. Stewart, Receiving Clerk, General
Land Office; Joseph Stewart, Special Assistant to thtf
Attorney General, Post Office Department.
The story of the romantic journey of Robert Stuart,
one of the early explorers, is told in Washington
Irving's "Astoria". Stuart was a native of Callender,
Scotland and came to this country in 1807. In 1810
he went out as one of the founders of Astoria, Oregon,
and when it became necessary to communicate with
the Atlantic Coast, he set out, in June, 1812, with five
men across the continent, reaching St. Louis after
eleven months of travel and adventure. Later, as Com-
missioner for the Indians, his consideration and kind-
ness earned him the title of "The friend of the Indian."
His son, David, is mentioned as Brigadier-General
in the Civil War.
Another Pioneer of the West, Granville Stuart, born
near Clarksburg, Virginia, in 1834, went overland to
California in 1852, returning east on horseback in
1857. He again went into the Rocky Mountains, with
his brother James, pirospecting for gold mines, and for
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 105
forty years was a hunter, miner and stockraiser. From
1894 to 1898, he was United States Minister to Uru-
guay and Paraguay.
The first of the merchant princes of the country,
Alexander Turney Stewart, was born, of Scottish
descent, at Lisburne, Ireland, in 1803, and emigrated
to New York in 1823. His father was a native of Scot-
land who settled in the North of Ireland. After com-
ing to New York, Alexander T. Stewart was for a time
tutor in a school, but with a small legacy received
from his grandfather started in the dry goods business.
In 1848, he purchased the property at Broadway and
Chambers Street, New York, and erected the marble
building for many years celebrated as the finest dry
goods store in the United States. In 1862, the great
building at loth Street and Broadway was completed,
and he opened branches in different countries, and
numerous mills. He became a multi-millionaire. He
died in New York on the loth April, 1876. His wife
erected the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral at Garden
City, Long Island, in his memory.
Two brothers, Robert L. Stuart and Alexander
Stuart, sons of Kimloch Stuart of Edinburgh who
came to this country in 1805, were successful mer-
chants and generous p'hilanthropists. Robert L. was
born in 1806, and Alexander in 1810, both in New
York City. Carrying on their father's business, they
were the first successful users, in this country, of the
process of refining sugar by steam. The charitable
donations of the two brothers amounted to millions
of dollars. Robert L. died in 1882 and Alexander in
1879. Mary, the widow of Robert L. made generous
use of her husband's fortune, being one of the most
philanthropic women New York has even known.
Stuart Hall and the Stuart Professorship are at Prince-
106 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
ton University, and the "Robert L. Stuart" collec-
tion of rare books, prints and manuscripts in the New
York Public Library is a memorial of her late hus-
band. Mrs Stuart died in 1891.
Alvan Stewart, the reformer, was born at South
Granville, New York in 1790. He devoted the greater
part of his life to the temperance and anti-slavery
causes, and died in 1849.
Members of the family have from early days been
prominent in the educational work of the country,
among those notable being:
Moses Stuart was born at Wilton, Connecticut, in
1780, and graduated at Yale in 1799. He was ordained
as successor of Dr. Dana over the Central Church,
New Haven, in 1806, but, in 1810, removed to An-
dover as Professor of Sacred Literature, where he
passed the remainder of his life. He was a preacher
for forty-seven years, and a teacher for forty-one.
Among Professor Stuart's writings are "Commentaries
on Hebrews", many theological works, and a Hebrew
Grammar. He died in 1852. His son, Isaac William
Stuart, born 1809, was Professor of Greek and Latin in
the College of South Carolina, and the author of a
"Life of Nathan Hale" and "Hartford in the Olden
Time."
Philo P. Stewart, founder of Oberlin College, was
born at Sherman, Connecticut, in 1798. At the age of
thirty-three he became a missionary to the Choctaw
Indians. In 1832, he joined the Rev. J. J. Shipherd at
Elyria, and the result of their endeavors, is Oberlin
College. Nearly fifty years later, in 1880, the boarding
Hall was named "Stewart Hall" in memory of its
founder, who died in 1868.
Dr. Richard S. Steuart, born at Baltimore in 1797,
was, in 1828, elected President of the Marvland Hos-
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 107
pital for the Insane, and was one of the most noted
alienists of his time.
The Reverend Robert Stewart, D.D. was born at
Sidney, Ohio, in 1839, and ordained in the United
Presbyterian Ministry in 1866. He became Theolog-
ical Professor in 1881 and Principal of the Theological
Seminary of the Punjab, India.
Born at Glasgow, Scotland, in 1853, Reverend
Charles M. Stuart, D.D. was ordained in the Metho-
dist Ep'iscopal Ministry in 1880. In 191 1, Dr. Stuart
was elected President of Garrett Biblical Institute,
Evanston, Illinois. He published, "The Manifold Mes-
sage of the Bible" ; "Story of the Masterpieces", and
other theological works.
George N. Stewart, Professor of Experimental Medi-
cine, Western Reserve University, was born at Lon-
don, Canada, in i860.
Joseph S. S. Stewart, Professor of Secondary Educa-
tion, University of Georgia, was born at Oxford,
Georgia, 1863.
Dr. George D. Stewart, born Malagash, Cumberland,
N. S., 1862, was appointed Professor of Anatomy at
Bellevue Plospital, New York, and is part author of
the Gerrish Text Book of Anatomy.
Oscar M. Stewart, Assistant Professor of Physics,
University of Missouri, was born at Niosho, Missouri
in 1869.
Professor Duane R. Stuart was born at Oneida, Illi-
nois. He was appointed Professor of Classics, Prince-
ton University in 1907 and is the author of "The
Germania of Tacitus"' and other works.
Henry W. Stuart, born at Oakland, California, was,
in 1909, appointed Professor of Philosophy at Leland
Stanford, Jr. University.
Colin Campbell Stewart, born at Owen Sound, On-
108 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
tario, in 1873 became Professor of Physiology, Dart-
mouth College.
George W. Stewart, Professor of Physics, State
University of Iowa, was born at St. Louis, in 1876.
Cora Wilson Stewart, Founder of Moonlight
Schools, was born at Farmers, Kentucky in 1875, and
is author of the Bill creating the first Illiteracy Com-
mission. She has written several works on educational
subjects.
William Rhinelander Stewart has taken a promin-
ent part in the establishment of the New York State
Agricultural and Industrial School for boys, the New
York Training School for boys and other educational
work. He was born in New York City in 1852.
"A good book may be as great a thing as a battle,"
said Disraeli. In addition to those already mentioned,
a goodly number of members of the family have made
a noteworthy contribution to American literature and
art.
Ruth McEnery Stuart, author of "George Wash-
ington Jones" ; "Sonny" ; "A Golden Wedding" ; "The
Haunted Photograph"; "Holly and Pizen"; "The
Cocoon" ; and many stories of Southern life, was born
at Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, in i860, and died in
1917.
Charles D. Stewart, of Chicago, wrote "The Fugitive
Blacksmith"; "Partners of Providence"; "Finerty of
the Sandhouse", and other similar books.
Mary Allan Stuart, author of, "The Long Pack";
"Reformation of Peggy Paydie" ; "The Land of Prom-
ise", was born at New Haven, Connecticut, in 1881,
John A. Steuart is author of "In the Day of Battle" ;
"Kilgroom"; "The Minister of State"; "Wine in the
Lees."
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 109
Hester Stuart is author of "A Modern Jacob", and
other works of fiction.
Leonard Stuart, wrote "The Cosmic Comedy"; and
"The Great God Pan."
Eleanor Stuart, born at Orange, New Jersey, in
1876, is author of "Stone Pastures"; "Romance of
AH" ; "Averages" ; "The Deeper Diagnosis" ; and many
serial magazine stories.
Mary Stewart, author of "Once Upon a Time Tales."
Anna Bird Stewart, wrote "A Midsummer Dance
Dream", a comedy in one act; Poems; and "Illusive
Allusions."
Caroline Taylor Stewart, is author of "The Origin
of the Were Wolf Superstition", and modern lan-
guage books.
Jane Agnes Stewart, born at Boston, published
"The Frances Willard Book" ; "The Christmas Book" ;
also Editor of the American Sunday School Union,
and Editorial writer.
Charles B. Stuart is author of "Lives and Works
of Civil and Military Engineers of America" ; and
"Naval Dry Docks of the United States."
Thomas Milton Stewart, author of "Ancient Sym-
bolic Temples" ; "Temple Symbolism of Egypt" ;
"Temp>le Teachings of India"; was born at Cincin-
nati in 1866.
Addison A. Stuart is author of "Iowa Colonels and
Regiments."
William Henry Stewart is author of "A Pair of
Blankets Wartime History in Letters."
Rev. George C. Stewart, D.D., was born at Sagi-
naw, Michigan, in 1879. He was first ordained in
the Methodist Episcopal Church, in 1900, but, in
1903, was ordained priest in the Protestant Episcopal
Church, and acted as Secretary of the War Commis-
110 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
sion of the latter Church. He is author of "Why
Baptize Babies" ; "The Colours of the Republic", and
many contributions to Church Magazines.
Charles M. Stuart published "The Manifold Mes-
sage of the Gospel"; "Charles Joseph Little".
George Stuart was born at Saratoga, New York,
about 1834, and published, with Professor Chase, the
"Chase and Stuart Classical Series" of elementary
Latin books. Also School editions of "Caesar's Gallic
War" ; "Cicero's Select Orations" ; and works of Sal-
lust, Tacitus, Cornelius Nepos, Virgil and Ovid.
Judd Stewart was born at Lawrence, Kansas, in
1867, and is author of Pamphlets on Abraham Lincoln.
His collection of Lincolniana is the most complete
in existence.
A memoir of Gilbert Stuart the famous portrait
painter is contained in Chapter V.
James Everett Stuart, Landscape Painter, was born
in Maine, in 1852, and discovered a process of paint-
ing upon aluminum. He was awarded a Medal by
the American Art Society of Philadelphia for his
painting of Mt. Hood.
Julius L. Stewart, artist, was born at Philadelphia
in 1855 and awarded Medals at Antwerp, Berlin and
Paris, being made officer of the Legion d'Honneur,
190 1.
Humphrey John Stewart, Musician and Composer,
was born at London, England, in 1856. His compo-
sitions include, "His Majesty", comic opera; "The
Conspirators", comic opera ; "Montezuma", orchestral
suite ; "The Nativity", oratorio ; "King Hal", romantic
opera; Mass in G; and numerous songs, pianoforte
and violin pieces, and Church music.
William Stuart, Theatrical Manager and Journalist,
was born in Galway, Ireland, 1821. He was educated
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 111
at Eton, became interested in Irish politics, and was
elected to Parliament. In 1852, he was appointed
Commissioner of the Income Tax, but two years later,
becoming- pecuniarily embarrassed by election ex-
penses, and losses on the Turf, he made his way to
Paris and thence to New York, where he gained a
reputation as dramatic critic. He became a theatrical
manager in Washington and Philadelphia, and then
lessee of the Winter Garden Theatre in New York
City, where Booth, Boucicault and Agnes Robertson
were introduced to the public. After the burning of
the Winter Garden, in 1867, he was associated with
Lester Wallack, and died in New York, in 1886,
Anita Stewart, the Motion Picture star, claimed that
$10,000 was the minimum weekly salary to which she
was entitled.
A remarkable member of the family, Zuriah Stew-
art, widow of David Stewart, died at Kingwood, New
Jersey, in 1843, aged one hundred and three. By her
first husband, named Opdycke, she had eleven chil-
dren. She left 84 grand children, 180 great grand-
children, and 39 great-great-grandchildren.
CHAPTER VIII.
ANY titles of nobility have at different
periods of British history, been held by
members of the family, and at the present
time six peers bear the family name.
The head of the noble house of Galloway, Randolph
Henry Stewart, nth Earl of Galloway, loth Baronet
of Corsewell and 8th of Burray, was born in 1836,
and succeeded to the title in 1901. The heir to the
Earldom bears the courtesy title of Lord Garlics, and
the principal family seats are Cumloden, Wigtown-
shire, and Glen Trool Lodge and Garlics Lodge, Kirk-
cudbrightshire.
The present Earl of Moray is Morton Gray Stuart,
17th Earl, who is also Lord Abernethy, Strathearn,
Doune, and St. Colme, and Baron Stuart of Castle
Stuart. He was born in 1855, and succeeded in 1909.
There have been repeated Earldoms of Moray, some
from Celtic times. The first Earl of the present series
was a son of James V, James Stewart, Prior of St.
Andrews, Regent of Scotland, who was assassinated
in 1570. His daughter married the 2nd Lord Doune,
and tlie husband became 2nd Earl of Moray in
right of his wife. The first Lord Doune was Sir James
Stewart of Doune. The principal family seats are,
Darnaway Castle, Elginshire ; Castle Stuart, Inverness-
shire; and Doune Lodge, Perthshire.
The present Earl Castle Stewart is Andrew John
Stuart, 6th Earl and 12th Baronet. He is also Vis-
count Castle Stuart and Baron Castle Stuart, and was
born in 1841, succeeding to the title in 1914. The
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 113
ancestor of the family, Andrew, son of Sir Walter
Stewart who was beheaded with his father, the Duke
of Albany, in 1425, was created Lord Avandale by
James II, in 1456. The family seat is Stuart Hall,
Stewartstown, County Tyrone.
The 4th and present Marquess of Bute is John
Crichton-Stuart, who also holds the titles of Earl of
Windsor, Viscount Mountjoy, Baron Stuart, Baron
Cardiff, Earl of Dumfries, Viscount Air, Lord Crich-
ton of Sanquhar, Earl of Bute, Viscount King-arth,
Lord Mount Stuart, Cumrae and Inchmarnock. He
is also Hereditary Keeper of Rothesay Castle and
Hereditary Sheriff of Bute. He was born in 1881,
and succeeded in 1900. The founder of this lamily
was John Steuart, a son of King Robert II, who, about
1385, was made Hereditary High Sheriff of Bute. In
1702, Sir James Stuart was created first Earl of Bute,
the 4th Earl being made Marquess in 1796. The fam-
ily seats are, Mount Stuart, Rothesay ; Kames Castle,
Isle of Bute ; Cardiff Castle ; Dumfries House, and Old
Place of Mochrum.
The head of the noble house of Londonderry is
Charles Stewart Henry Vane-Tempest-Stewart, P. C. ;
M. V. O.; 7th Marquess of Londonderry, Earl of
Londonderry, Viscount Castlereagh, Baron London-
derry, Earl Vane, Viscount Seaham and Baron Stew-
art. He was born in 1878, and succeeded to the title
in 191 5. The heir to the Marquessate bears the cour-
tesy title of Viscount Castlereagh ; and the family
seats are, Wynyard Park, Durham ; Seaham Hall, Dur-
ham ; Springfield, Oakham ; and Mount Stewart, Coun-
ty Down.
Charles Beilby Stuart-Wortley was, in 1917, created
1st Baron Stuart of Wortley.
Many of the ancient branches of the family are now
114 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
extinct, but among those still existing the foUovvmg
may be mentioned.
The ancient Clan Appin and the faniil • of Ardsheal
are now represented by Robert Bruce Stewart, who
was born in 1863, and succeeded his father in 1890.
He is therefore the present head of Appin, Ardsheal
and the Stewarts of Lorn.
The head of the family of Steuart of Ballechin is
John Malcolm Steuart Steuart who was born in 1863.
The family seats are Ballechin, Ballinluig and Inver
House.
William Stewart, born in 1859, is the present repre-
sentative of the ancient family of Ardvoirlich, and the
ancestral seat is Ardvoirlich Lochearnhead, Perthshire.
The head of the branch of Auchlunkart and Tan-
achie is William Francis Day Steuart, born 1858. cf
Auchlunkart, Banffshire.
Alexander Kenneth Stewart, 12th of Achnacone was
born in 1852 and succeeded his brother. Achnaconp
the family seat is in Appdn, Arg- llshire.
The ancient famib- of Castlemilk is now represented
by William James Crawfurd Stirling-Stuart who was
born in 1854. The ancestral seat is Castlemilk, Ruth-
erglen, Glasgow.
Fifth Baronet and head of the branch of Allanton,
Sir Douglas Archibald Seton-Steuart was born in 1857,
and succeeded his brother in 191 3. The head of the
family is Hereditary Armour Bearer and Squire of
the Royal Bodv in Scotland. The famil- seats are
Touch, Stirling, and Allanton House Lanarkshire.
The head of the family of Greenock and Blackball
is now Sir Michael Hugh Shaw-Stewart, 8th Baronet,
and the familv seat is Ardgowan, Stirling.
Sir Harry Jocehn Urquhart Stewart is the nth
Baronet of Fort Stewart, County Donegal. Sir Harry
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 115
is a large landowner, owning 14,000 acres of land.
He was born in 1871.
Brigadier-General Sir Hugh Houghton Stewart, 4th
Baronet of Athenry, County Tyrone, was born in 1858,
and succeeded his father in 1905. Ballygawley Park
and I.ough Macroy Lodge are the family seats.
Sir Simeon Henry Lechmere Stuart, 7th Baronet
of Hartley Mauduit, Hants, was born in 1864.
Sir James Stuart-Menteth, 3rd Baronet of Close-
burn was born in 1841, and is a naturalized American,
residing at Canandaigua, New York.
Sir Mark John MacTaggart Stewart was created
1st Baronet of South wick, Kirkcudbrightshire, in 1893*
He was born in 1834, and his landed properties ex-
tend over 18,000 acres.
Sir Norman Robert Stewart, C. B., 2nd Baronet,
was born in 185 1.
The enumeration of all the Stewarts, Stuarts and
SteUfirts whose names have loomed large in the life
and history of the British Empire would alone tax
the capacity of a bulky volume, and it must, there-
fore, suffice to briefl ' mention a few notable names.
A romantic and historicallv interesting figure. Lady
ArabeHn Stuart, daughter of Charles, Earl of Lennox,
was born in 1575. She was next in succession to
James VI to the thrones of England and Scotland^
after Queen EHzabeth. Her father's mother was Mar-
garet Douglas, daughter of Henry VH of England's
daughter, Queen Margaret of Scotland, and the Earl
of Angus. During the reign of Elizabeth, Lady Ara-
bella Stuart was the centre of the intrigues of those
who ODposed the succession of James VI, and numer-
ous suitors contended for her hand. On the accession
of James VI to the English throne she was received
at Court, but her marriage against the express order
116 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
of the King, to William Seymour a grandson of Lord
Hertford, lost her his favor, and after numerous ad-
ventures and escapes she was imprisoned in the
Tower of London, where she spent the remainder of
her unhappy career. On her death, in 1615, she was
buried in the tomb of Mary, Queen of Scots, in West-
minster Abbey.
Viscount Castlereagh, Robert Stewart, later second
Marquess of Londonderry, was the son of the first
Marquess, and was born in 1769. In 1794, he entered
the British House of Commons, and, in 1798, was
chosen Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.
The suppression of the Irish rebellion of that year was,
in a great measure, due to the steps taken by him,
and the Union of Ireland with Great Britain was
passed by the Irish Parliament, "chiefly through the
powerful abilities of Lord Castlereagh." In 1805, he
became Secretary of State for War, and the failure of
the Walcheren Expedition, in 1809, exposed him to
censure, occasioning the duel between him and Can-
ning, his colleague in the ministry. The duel took
place on Putney Heath, Canning being wounded in
the thigh. In 1812, Lord Castlereagh became Secre-
tary of State for Foreign Affairs, and represented
Great Britain at the Peace of Paris, and the Congress
of Vienna, in 1814. On the death of his father, in
182 1, he succeeded to the Marquessate of London-
derry. His mind became aflFected, and he committed
suicide in August, 1822. He was buried in West-
minster Abbey between the graves of Pitt and Fox.
Admiral of the Fleet, Sir Houston Stewart, third
son of Sir Michael Shaw Stewart of Ardgowan, was
born in 1791, and entered the Navy in 1805. He served
at the reduction of Acre in 1840, and at Kinburn,
Black Sea, in 1855. He was Commander in Chief on
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 117
the North American Station, 1856-1860, and at Devon-
port, 1860-1863. Appointed Admiral of the Fleet, on
20th October, 1872, he died on loth December, 1875.
Sir Henry Seton-Steuart, of AUanton, author of
"The Planter's Guide", was born in 1759. In early
life he served as an officer in the army, but retired in
1787. Experiments in arboriculture became the chief
interest of his life. In September 1823, Sir Walter
Scott, Lord Belhaven and others visited Allanton, and
reported on the improvements effected there by Steu-
art's system of transplanting large trees. He published
"The Planter's Guide" in 1828. His methods of trans-
planting were tried with great success on estates in
the United Kingdom, and he was created a Baronet
in 1814. He died on the 4th of March, 1836.
"Walking Stewart" was the descriptive name given
to an eccentric member of the family. John Stewart
was born in London in 1749, and was' sent to Harrow
School, where he broke all rules and refused all lessons.
He went to India, and became interpreter to Hyder
Ali, later becoming Prime Minister of the Nabob of
Argot. Leaving the Nabob's court, he walked through
Persia, Ethiopia and Abyssinia, crossed to Marseilles,
and walked through France and Spain. After visiting
England, he again walked from Calais to Vienna, and
on to Constantinople, living entirely upon vegetables.
On his return to England, the East India Company
paid him £10,000 in satisfaction of his claim against
the Nabob of Argot, which enabled him to give lux-
urious banquets in "Epicurean apartments", brilliantly
decorated with mirrors and Chinese pictures. Another
of his eccentricities^ was to repose in a "trance-like
reverie among the cows in St. James' Park." He was
found dead in his rooms on the morning of 20th Feb-
ruary, 1822. He boasted of being "a man of nature,"
118 History of the Stewart or Stvurt Family
was a good hearted man, and all his doctrines aimed
at inducing men to promote the happiness of the
world.
John M'Douall Stuart, the South Australian ex-
plorer, was born at Dysart, Fife, Scotland, in 1818.
Between 1858 and 1862, he made six expeditions into
the interior, and crossed the Island continent from
south to north. Central Mount-Stuart is named after
him.
"No braver soldier or more brilliant leader of men
eyer wore the Queen's uniform." Such was Lord Wol-
seley's report regarding Major General Sir Herbert
Stewart. He was born in 1843, ^ great grandson of
the 7th Earl of Galloway. During the Zulu War he
served as Brigade Major of Cavalry. In 1882, he
took part in the Egyptian campaign which followed the
rising of Arabi Pasha, as Assistant Adjutant Gen-
eral of the Cavalry Division. After the victory of Tel-
eJ-Kebir, on 13th September, 1882, the cavalry was
pushed on to within a few miles of Cairo, largely owing
to Stewart's energy. Stewart sent for the Governor
of Cairo, and the same night the citadel was occupied.
He was made C. B., Brevet Colonel, and A. D. C. to
Queen Victoria. In 1884, he was made K. C. B. for
siervices in command of the cavalry at Suakim, and was
chosen to lead the desert column with the rank of
Brigadier-General. At Abu Klea, i6th January, 1885^
and Metemmeh, the Zerebas formed by Stewart with-
stood overwhelming Arab attacks, but in the latter
engagement he was wounded, and died on his way-
back to Khartoum on the i6th February. He had been
promoted to Major-General. There is a monument to
Sir Herbert in St. Paul's Cathedral, and at Win-
chester School a gateway into the cloisters from the
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 119
school quadrangle bearing his arms and the school
arms, "In Memoriam Herberti Stewart."
The old Scottish names have even been foremost
in Canadian history, and, in the early development of
the Dominion, those bearing the family name have
taken a distinguished part.
The "Father of the Upper Canada Church", the
Reverend John Stuart, took refuge in Canada during
the American War of Independence, as mentioned in
a previous chapter. He first settled at Cataraqui, i8o
miles from Montreal. In May, 1786, he opened an
academy at Kingston, and in the summer of 1788 he
went round his "parish", which was then two hun-
dred miles long. In 1789 he was appointed Bishop's
Commissary for the district, afterwards Canada West.
At the meeting of the first session of the Colonial
Legislature, in 1792, he was named Chaplain to the
Upper House of Assembh', and, in 1799, received the
appointment of Chaplain to the garrison of Kingston.
He died in 181 1, leaving four sons who became prom-
inent in Canadian affairs. His eldest son, George Okill
Stuart was Archdeacon of Kingston ; John Stuart be-
came Sheriff of the Johnstown District of Upper
Canada ; Sir James Stuart, Chief Justice of Lower
Canada, was created a Baronet and died at Quebec
in 1853 5 ^^<^ Andrew Stuart was Solicitor General
of Lower Canada.
The Hon. John Stewart was for sixty-four years
a resident of Quebec, and filled many offices in the
Government and commercial institutions of Canada.
Upon the accession of Lord Dalhousie to the Govern-
ment of the Province, he was called to a seat in the
Legislative and Executive Council, and was app^^inted
sole Commissioner of the Jesuit estates. He was also
President of the Board of Trade, President of the Bank
120 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
of Montreal and Master of the Trinity House. His
death occurred in 1858.
The Honorable and Right Reverend Charles James
Stewart, born 13th April, 1775, was third son of John
Stewart, 7th Earl of Galloway. He graduated at Cor-
pus Christi Coll., Oxford, in 1795, and after ordination
was Rector of Overton Longueville and Botolph
Bridge, Hunts, In 1807, he took up work in Canada,
and was appointed to the Mission of St. Armand. Here
he built a Church at his own expense, and from this
time devoted his life and fortune to the work of the
Church in Canada. In 1825, Dr. Stewart was nomin-
ated to the See of Quebec, and proceeded to Eng-
land, where, on ist January, 1826, he was consecrated
Bishop in Lambeth Palace. He returned to Canada,
where he died in 1837.
It is not generally known that the figure of Britan-
nia which appears on the British copper coinage is
that of a member of the family, Frances Teresa Stuart,
the court beauty and favorite of Charles II, known as
"La Belle Stuart." She was a grand daughter of the
first Lord Blantyre, and was born in 1647. Early in
1663 she became a Maid of Honour at the English
Court, and Pepys describes her as the greatest beauty
he had ever seen, "with her hat cocked and a red
plume, sweet eye, and little Roman nose," but another
critic summarized her character, "It was hardly pos-
sible for a woman to have less wit, and more beauty."
She had many aspirants for her hand, and the above
named criticism of her character seems especially per-
tinent, when we learn that one of such suitors, An-
thony Hamilton, won temporary favor in her eyes
by holding two lighted tapers in his mouth longer
than any other cavalier could manage to retain one!
She later became Duchess of Richmond and Lennox.
CHAPTER IX.
|Y symbols man is guided and commanded,
said Thomas Carlyle, and the emblems
used by our forefathers in days gone by
are well worthy of being remembered.
From the eminent position occupied by the family
and its branches, it follows, that the Armorial Bear-
ings granted and confirmed to those bearing the name
are very numerous ; eighty-five such Armorial Bear-
ings being recorded in the Lyon Register of Arms
at Edinburgh. Many are no longer in use, and a num-
ber, borne by those of the same line of descent, are
identical. The following are of most general interest.
The first Arms to be borne by the family are those
adopted by the High Stewards of Scotland in the
twelfth century namely : Or, a fesse chequy azure and
argent. The Arms therefore consist of an escutcheon,
or shield, of a gold color, with a fesse, or band, drawn
horizontally across the centre, one third in width of
the escutcheon, the band being chequy, that is, divided
like a chess board into checks of different colors alter-
nately, in^ this case sky blue and silver. The chequy
alludes to the chequers of the Steward's Board. These
Armorial Bearings are retained in the arms of families
claiming descent from the High Stewards. When
Robert Stewart, the Lord High Steward of Scotland,
ascended the throne as Robert II, he abandoned the
paternal arms of Stewart for the Royal Arms of Scot-
land. The Royal Arms began as the ptersonal arms of
Alexander II (1214-1249), or perhaps of his predeces-
sor, William the Lion (1165-1214). In 1292, they were
121
122 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
so far identified with the office of King of Scotland,
that John Baliol on succeeding to the throne placed
them on the reverse side of his seal. Robert the Bruce
on reaching the throne, placed them alone on his seal,
and abandoned the arms of Bruce, which course the
House of Stewart followed. The Royal Arms of
Scotland are :
Arms — Or, a lion rampant armed and langued azure
within a double tressure, flory-counterflory gules,
encircled with the order of St. Andrew, the
same being composed of rue and thistles, having the
image of St. Andrew with his cross on his breast,
thereto pendant.
Supporters — The Royal Arms do not appear with
even a single supporter till the reign of James I, (1406-
1437). In that reign one supporter, a unicorn sejant
appears. The two unicorns sejant appeared in the
reign of James III, (1460-1488).
Crest — On the crown proper, a lion sejant affrontee
gules, crowned or, holding in the dexter paw a sword,
and in the sinister a sceptre erect also proper, with
the motto, In Defens.
Motto — Nemo me impune lacessit.
The cry of "St. Andrew" was long the war cry of
the Scottish King and his people.
"O for an hour of Wallace wight,
Or Bruce's arm to rule the fight
And cry St. Andrew and our Right."
Arms of the Earl of Galloway: Or, fesse chequy ar-
gent and azure, surmounted of a bend engrailed gules,
within a tressure flory counterflory of the last.
Supporters — Dexter, a savage wreathed about the
head and loins with laurel, holding a club over his
dexter shoulder all proper; sinister, a lion gules.
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 123
Crest — A pelican argent, winged or, in her nest feed-
ing her young, proper.
Motto — Virescit Vulnere Virtus.
Arms of the Earl of Moray : Quarterly : ist and 4th,
or, a lion rampant, within a double tressure flory
counterflory, gules, surrounded with a bordure go-
bony, argent and azure (as a descendant of the Royal
House of Stuart) ; 2nd, or, a fesse chequy azure and
argent, for Stewart of Doune ; 3rd, or, three cushions,
two and one, of a lozenge form, within a double tres-
sure flory counterflory, gules, for Randolph, Earl of
Moray.
Supporters — Two greyhounds argent, collared gules.
Crest — A pelican, in her nest, feeding her young,
proper.
Motto — Salus per Christum redemptorem.
Arms of Earl Castle Stewart: Quarterly: ist, or, a
lion rampant, gules, within a double tressure flory
counterflory of the last, for Scotland; 2nd, or, a fesse
chequy argent and azure, in chief a label of three
points, gules, for Stuart ; 3rd, argent, a saltier between
four roses gules, for Lennox; 4th, or, a lion rampant
gules, for MacDuff ; the whole within a bordure com-
pony, argent and azure.
Supporters — Two dragons, vert.
Crest — A unicorn's head argent, armed or.
Motto — Forward.
Arms of the Marquess of Bute: Quarterly: ist and,
4th, or, a fesse chequy, azure and argent, within a
double tressure flory counterflory, gules, for Stuart:
2nd and 3rd, argent, a lion rampant, azure, for Crich-
ton.
Supporters — Dexter, a horse, argent, bridled gules*
sinister, a stag proper, attired or.
Crests — 1st, a demi-lion rampant, gules, and over it
124 History of the Stewart or Stuart Family
the motto, Nobilis est ira leonis, for Stuart; 2nd, a
wyvern, fire issuant from the mouth, all proper, for
Crichton ; 3rd, a wyvern, proper, holding in the mouth
a sinister hand coup^d gules, for Herbert.
Motto — Avito viret honore.
Arms of the Marquess of Londonderry: Quarterly: 1st
and 4th, or, a bend counter compony argent and azure,
between two lions rampant, gules, for Stewart; 2nd,
argent, a bend engrailed, between six martlets, sable,
for Tempest; 3rd, azure, three sinister gauntlets, or,
for Vane.
Supporters — Dexter, a moor, wreathed about the
temples argent and azure, holding in his exterior hand
a shield of the last, garnished or, charged with the
sun in splendour, gold ; sinister, a lion or, gorged with
a collar sable, charged with three mullets argent.
Crests — Stewart, a dragon statant ; Tempest, a griffin's
head erased, per pale, argent and sable, beak gules;
Vane, a dexter gauntlet, erect, holding a sword proper,
pommel and hilt or.
Motto — Metuenda corolla draconis.
Arms of Stewart of Appin and Ardsheal : Quarterly :
1st and 4th, or, a fesse chequy azure and argent, for
Stewart; 2nd and 3rd, a galley, her sails trussed up
and oars in action, sable, and flags, gules, for Lorn.
Supporters — Two roebucks, proper.
Crest — A unicorn's head, maned, horned and bearded
or.
Motto — Quhidder will zie.
Arms of Steuart of Ballechin : Quarterly: ist and 4th;
or, a lion rampant, gules, armed and langued azure,
with a double tressure flory counterflory of the sec-
ond, as descended from the Royal Family of Scotland ;
2nd and 3rd, or, a fesse chequy, azure and argent,
all within a bordure engrailed per pale, or and argent.
Motto — Semper fidelis.
History of the Stewart or Stuart Family 125
Arms of Stewart of Ardvoirlich : Quarterly : ist and
4th, or, a lion rampant within a double tressure flory
counterflor) , gules; 2nd, or, a fesse chequy azure and
argent, in chief a mullet, gules; 3rd, argent, a saltier
engrailed between four roses gules, barbed and seeded
vert, all within a bordure engrailed compony azure,
and of the first.
Crest — A dexter naked arm issuant, grasping a sword
in bend sinister, all p^roper, pommel and hilt, or.
Motto — Deo juvante vinco.
Arms of Stirling-Stuart of Castlemilk: Quarterly:
1st and 4th, or, a fesse chequy argent and azure, over
all a bend gules, for Stuart; 2nd, argent, on a bend
sable, three buckles or, within a bordure gules, for
Stirling; 3rd, gules, a fesse ermine with three crosses
patee azure, for Crawfurd.
Crest — A dexter arm erect, couped below the elbow,
holding in his hand a dagger, all proper.
Motto — Avant.
Arms of Seton-Steuart of Allanton ; Or, a fesse che-
quy azure and argent, surmounted of a bend gules,
charged with three buckles of the field, on a sinister
canton of the 4th, a lion passant guardant of the first,
pierced with a dart proper, and in base a broken spear
surmounted of a helmet both p*roper.
Supporters — Two lions rampant guardant proper,
armed and langued gules, collared of the last, charged
with three buckles, or.
Crest — Out of an Earl's coronet, a dexter hand grasps
ing a thistle, all proper.
Mottoes — Above the crest, Juvant aspera fortes;
under the shield, Virtutis in bello praemium.
"Crest of my sires ! whose blood it seal'd
With glory in the strife of swords.
Ne'er may the scroll that bears it yield
Degenerate thoughts or faithless words."
J
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