Genealogical Records of Stewart-Stuart Families

Editor - George T. Edson, 817 Elk St., Beatrice, NE

Associate - Horace Dickerman, New Haven, CT

STEWARTS OF CONCORD AND COLRAIN, MA. A:3

James³ Stewart was born about 1680, probably in the north of Ireland, and is thought to have come to America with the immigrants of 1718. A James Steuart was among the more than 200 signers "inhabitants of north of Ireland," Mar. 26, 1718, who petitioned the governor of Massachusetts through Rev. William Boyd of Macosquin, county Londonderry, for a grant of land in New England. He may have been a brother of John and Walter Stewart, who settled in Londonderry, NH, and later went out to Blandford, MA, A:153. James was only remotely related to John³ Stewart (Robert², Walter¹) of Londonderry, NH, A:1. He had a genealogy of his family going back to King Robert III Stewart, it is said, but his son Alexander carried it with him to Pennsylvania where it probably became lost. James Stewart was living in Concord, MA, in 1729, where he was a wigmaker. His wife was Jane ---,* born in 1700. In 1742 or 1743, he and his son-in-law, Thomas McGee, a weaver, went to Colrain, a frontier settlement. Mar. 9, 1742-43, James Stewart, wigmaker, and Thomas McGeem, weaver, both of concord, bought lot 2 in (Deerfield) Colrain of William Whitaker of Leicester (Hampden County deeds, O:691). Apr. 26, 1746 James Stewart and Thomas McGee bought house lot 61, fifty acres, in Colrain of Alexander [D:352]. James was in a company of soldiers posted in Colrain in 1743.₁₂ He died in Colrain Sep. 20, 1773, aged 93, and his widow Jane died there Sep. 8, 1777, in her 78th year.₃ Children, two of whom were recorded in Concord:

*Jean may have been his second wife. See tome A, page 153, for tradition of Stewarts of Blandford.

Alexander⁴ Stewart (James³) was born about 1721 and probably accompanied his father to Colrain in 1743. He owned house lot 61, consisting of 50 acres, in Colrain, which he deeded Apr. 26, 1746, to his father and brother-in-law, Thomas McGee, for £25. He was called a wheelwright in this deed, and his residence was Colrain. He was perhaps unmarried at this time, as the deed made no reference to a wife. He may have been the Alexander Stuart who served as a centinel in Capt. Jonathan Bean's company from Mar. 30 to Oct. 26, 1748, and from Oct. 27 to Nov. 24, 1748. There was an Alexander Stuart who was an ensign in Capt. Humphrey Hobbs' company, Mar. 28 to Oct. 20, 1748, according to a muster roll dated Nov. 8, 1748, at Boston: in another roll of Hobbs' company dated at Boston April 10, 1749, Alexander Stuart was given as ensign, Oct. 15 to Dec. 15 (1748) among the dismissed men, "omitted in the last roll, Mar. 1 to Mar. 28, as ensign."₈ In 1749 Alexander Stuard was paid 11 shillings and 3 pence as a travel allowance for 90 miles returning from the western frontiers, in a pay account turned in by Humphrey Hobbs. Alexander Stewart evidently lived in Sudbury after leaving Colrain, as he was designated Alexander Stewart of Sudbury in a deed dated Dec. 2, 1748, conveying some land in Colrain to James Stewart of Colrain (Hampden County deeds, D:352). He had in his possession, according to old Joseph Stewart of White Creek, NY, A:2, "a catalogue of the house of Stewarts for many hundred years," which his father had had, and he "carried it away with him to Pennsylvania." We have tried, without success, to locate this Alexander in Pennsylvania. He may have settled in Paxtang about 1750. Cf B :86.

 Lt. James⁴ Stewart (James³) born Nov. 11, 1729, in Concord, MA, removed to Colrain in the northwestern part of the province, with his parents when he was 13 years of age. He grew up in that wild and romantic region and served as a soldier in the Indian wars. He enlisted Dec. 10, 1747, as a centinel under Lt. Daniel Severance, and his name appeared in a list of this organization posted in Colrain, dated July 29, 1748, at Deerfield.₈ He was a centinel at Colrain south fort under Sgt. Oliver Richmond from June 11 to Sep. 28, 1748, and under Sgt. James Rider from Sep. 29 to Oct. 31, 1748, according to a muster roll of Maj. Israel Williams's company, dated at Boston Nov. 3 of that year. He served in the next French war, his name appearing as a centinel in Capt. Israel Williams's company in a muster roll dated at Hatfield, Oct. 20, 1756, as having served from Mar. 18 to Oct. 18 at Colrain, and he also continued on duty as a centinel at that place in the same company from Oct. 19 to Dec. 2, as shown by a muster roll dated Jan. 31, 1757, at Boston [Colonial war records, xciv:573; xcv:184]. He became a sergeant June 28, 1758, under Capt. John Burk, and served in that capacity at the south garrison in Colrain until Oct. 21; his name was borne on the roll from April 20 to Sep. 24 in Capt. John Catlin's company, and from Sep. 25 to Nov. 30 in Capt. Burk's company, as shown by a muster roll dated Dec. 15, 1758, at Deerfield [xcvi:5]. Subsequently he served in military capacities and was one of the three members of the Committee of Correspondence, Nov. 27, 1771, and an officer for the town of Colrain in the Revolutionary War, with the brevet of lieutenant. In 1754, his father deeded him some land in Colrain -- James, Sr. to James, Jr. James Stewart taught the first school in the town, was town clerk from 1764 to 1789 and a prominent man in community affairs. He married (1) about 1755, Agnes ---, born about 1736, who was the mother of his children. She died very suddenly Feb. 12, 1784, in her 48th year.₃ He married (2) Margaret (Stewart) Kately Anderson. She was born Oct. 4, 1731, in Londonderry, NH, daughter of Charles Stewart, A:2. She married (1) in Deerfield, Aug. 29, 1751, John Kately, and had two children -- Hannah and John -- by him [see Stewarts of Londonderry, NH]. He died about 1753. Margaret married (2) John Anderson and had 10 children by him [see Stewarts of Londonderry, NH]. He died Dec. 22, 1780, in Shelburne, and she married (3) about 1785, Lt. James Stewart of Colrain. She probably died before he did. James died in Colrain, Aug. 14, 1809, in his 80th year.₃ Administration on his estate was granted Jan. 2, 1810, to Jonathan McGee, who gave bond for $2,000 and returned an inventory showing assets of $2,366 and debts aggregating $202.46.₅ The children living were Martha, Elizabeth, Hugh, Simeon, and Mary Ann. Children of Lt. James Stewart and Agnes, record in Colrain:

James⁵ Stewart (James⁴, James³) born Feb. 9, 1759, in Colrain, MA, was of almost the same age as James, born Jan 5, 1759, in Colrain, son of Samuel⁴ Stewart, A:7, and it is impossible for us to say which was the minute-man from Colrain who marched Apr. 20, 1775, in Capt. Hugh McClellan's company, on the alarm at Lexington, or which was the soldier at Ticonderoga in 177, or which was in the company from Colrain which set out for Bennington in August, 1777. The latter James went to Salem, NY, about 1780 and left there in 1784 for Kentucky, where he was killed in Gen. Harmar's defeat by the Indians in 1791.₁₄ James married about 1783, Esther ---. They removed about 1788 to Washington Co., NY, locating north of Hudson Falls. He appeared in the census of 1790 in Kingsbury, I-3-2, and again in 1800, man and woman between the ages of 26 and 45, two boys and two girls between 10 and 16, and four girls under 10. James died Jan. 11, 1808, aged 48, and his widow Esther died Aug. 2, 1836, aged 71.₄ They were buried in the King buring ground north of Tefft Corners in Kingsbury. Their first three children were recorded in Colrain, but the only one of the other children we can name is Levi, born after the family left Colrain:

Hugh⁵ Stewart (James⁴, James³) born Aug. 19, 1761, in Colrain, MA, enlisted from that town in August, 1777, as a private in Capt. Hugh McClellan's company in Col. Wells' Massachusetts regiment, and spent a week or two at Bennington, VT; he served two months ending Oct. 20.₉ Later he served 9 months during 1781 as a soldier under Capt. William Hutchins in Col. Samuel Fletcher's regiment of Vermont troops. He married, perhaps early in 1785, Rhoda ---. He was granted a cattle mark in Colrain, May 24, 1787.₃ In the census of 1790 he had a boy under 16 and two girls. He removed to Cuyahoga Co., OH, about 1795, settling in Parma township. There he applied Nov. 9, 1832, for a pension, stating that he was born in Colrain in 1761. The following children of Hugh and Rhoda Stewart were recorded in Colrain, and perhaps they had others after moving to Ohio:

Simeon⁵ Stewart (James⁴, James³) born Sep. 27, 1766, in Colrain, MA, was living in 1810, when his father's estate was administered. He was probably the Simeon Stewart who died Feb. 15, 1845, aged 79 years, 5 months and 19 days, at the home of his son Truman in Beaverdam, Erie Co., PA, although according to these data he would have been born on Aug 27, 1765. This Simeon was buried in a cemetery in Amity township, Erie Co., and his wife was Hannah. His children were: James, married (1) Laura Comstock, (2) Anna ---; Walter, went to Wisconsin; Norman, went to Wisconsin; Truman, born Feb. 15, 1806, married Jane Alsdiff and died May 13, 1884; Henry, drowned when young; Rebecca, married Enoch Raiment; Nancy, married a Foster; Laura; Lucretia, married Ira Shattuck; and Simeon, who married Hannah Blakely and resided in Concord, Erie Co., PA.

Walter⁵ Stewart (James⁴, James³) born Dec. 18, 1768, in Colrain, MA, was not mentioned in the settlement of his father's estate in 1810. We have no record of him.

Daniel⁵ Stewart (James⁴, James³) born Jul. 29, 1773, in Colrain, MA, was not mention in the settlement of his father's estate in 1810. We have no record of him.

Mrs. Mary Hoss Headman, Haddonfield, NJ, has collected considerable data on the Stewarts of Bucks Co., PA, and Warren Co., NJ, B:129. She has found that Robert Stewart of Warwick, Bucks Co., married (1) Mary ---, who died Feb. 2, 1748-9, in her 29th year, and (2) Rachel ---. Robert died Aug. 24, 1767, aged 50. His widow Rachel removed to Tinicum, and her daughter Mary married, in 1788, Robert³ Stewart, Jr., son of Robert² and grandson on Thomas¹ of Tinicum. Rachel's son, Robert Stewart, served as a soldier from Bucks County in the Revolution, being one of three of that given name to serve from the same county, and later he removed to Franklin County. Rachel died in 1802, and in her will she gave her Bible to her only son, Robert Stewart. Now, who can help us get a copy of the family records contained in that old Bible?

Mrs. Z.V. Conyers, 175 Summit Ave., Greensboro, NC, B:199, is to have charge of a program in April, 1933, when her chapter of the D.A.R. places a bronze marker on the grave of Finley Stewart, a Revolutionary soldier in Guilford County, buried at Alamance Church a few miles from Greensboro.

Miss Ora L. Stewart, Wathena, KS, A:78, is descended frm the same James G. Stewart of near Bowling Green, KY, as is Mrs. Minnie Parks, McAllen, TX, B:218, and these two ladies are now corresponding and cooperating in the search for records of this branch of the family. Miss Stewart has enlisted the help of Miss Hester Hunter of Russellville, KY, who kindness and accommodation she wishes to have mentioned in the Stewart Clan Magazine. Miss Hunter's capable help is deeply appreciated by Miss Stewart and Mrs. Parks.

Mrs. Alice G. Kincaid, 625 Rhode Island St., Lawrence, KS, in continuing the subscription begun 10 years ago by her mother, Mrs. Addie Stewart Graton, has sent us a copy of family records, letters and reminiscences collated by the late Mrs. Graton, B:222. When the Stewart Clan Magazine has grown big this interesting material will be published.

Stewart H. White, formerly of Schenectady, NY, B:250, has removed to 730 East Sixth St., Port Angeles, WA. We have been wondering lately if Mr. White's Stewarts in Greene County, NY, didn't come from Blandford, MA, A:154. Those middle names -- Morton, Noble, and Scott -- all belonged to families in Blandford who married Stewarts.

Mrs. Burton Ashley Crane of Erie, PA, has brought up a question as to the name of the husband of Lydia⁴ Steward, born Mar. 26, 1749, in Paxton, MA, daughter of Daniel³ Steward, B:251. Family tradition said that she married a Newton, perhaps a brother to Ruth Newton of Royalston, MA, who married Lydia's brother John. But Mrs. Crane adduces evidence that Lydia, and not her sister Mary, married Daniel Knight. Last year Mrs. Crane found in the vital records of Marlboro, VT, the following births of Daniel Knight and wife Lydia: John, Nov. 13, 1768; Persis, Apr. 22, 1770; Silas (possibly Giles), Apr. 13, 1772, died Sep. 3, 1776; Daniel, July 6, 1774; Mary, May 12, 1777; Royal, Dec. 30, 1779; Lydia, Mar. 7, 1781; Willard, Feb. 6, 1791; and Gratia, Dec. 8, 1794. (The vital records do not state that Gratia was a daughter of Daniel and Lydia Knight.) The History of Marlboro, 1930, by Newton, mentions the children Mary, Royal, Lydia, and Willard, and interpolates two others, Anna and Stewart, between Lydia and Willard. The three eldest children may have been born elsewhere.₁₅ Daniel and Lydia Knight later removed to Edinburg, Saratoga County, NY. The supposition is rather strong that Lydia was the daughter of Daniel³ Steward, for several families in Marlboro were connected with families in Brattleboro, in the same county.

_______________________

Well, by the time the next number of this magazine is out the voters will have decided the fate of Hoover for President and Edson for state legislator. We hope one of them wins.

50. STUART. Who was the Miss Stuart who married Joseph Charles? Their daughter, Martha R., married Mar. 29, 1836, Norris Dilworth, in Philadelphia. Mrs. W.A. Hobson, Swallows, CO.

_______________

Symbols and references: a number preceded by a dash, as --90, means refer to that page; m. means married; m.int. means marriage intention; m. lic. means marriage license; b. = born; bp = baptized; d. = died; bur. = buried. (₁) = Bible record; (₂) church; (₃) town; (₄) gravestone; (₅) probate; (₆) court; (₇) land; (₈) military; (₉) pension; (₁₀) census; (₁₁) tradition; (₁₂) local history; (₁₃) patriotic society; (₁₄) biography or genealogy; (₁₅) deduction of the editor.