HISTORY of the Stewart Or Stuart Family

I.... I I: ........~.~-~~.-~««...>.Mv«««..« .aatii»).,-, ttmmmmmmmm tmimmmmu»mttmm»mmfmnmwimu m X M H H A Ma ndelle Memorial Lib rary From the Library of DONNA P. STEWART 2 ALLEN COUNTY PUBUC LIBRARY G^N GENEALOGY 929 . 3 1833 01772 8798 ST91LA Wfft iWaxtuell ^tviti jfamoug 0iti jfamilieg HISTORY OF THE Stewart or Stuart Family BY HENRY LEE NEW YORK R. L. POLK AND COMPANY, INC PO Box 2270 '\ Fort WayneJN 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 history 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 ancestors, which he himself has heard from his parents. The commandment, "Honor thy father and thy mother," is good and sufficient authority for that feeling of reverence which is so generally shown towards a line of honorable ancestry. The history of the family 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 illustrious 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 different 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 writing 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 orthography ; 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 descended. 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.

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