James Stuart CB of Gracehill

[Gilby]

The 1691 will of John Stewart of Dunduff (Co. Donegal) mentions: William Stewart, my cousin germane eldest son of Capt. James Stewart, assigns all his arrears in pay from the Regiment of Colonel William Stewart.

http://donegalgenealogy.com/stewartdunduffr.htm

Presumably Capt. James Stewart is the one who apparently died at the Siege of Derry?  I can’t find any reference to him in Fighters of Derry.  Is it possible James = Henry?  (The two names have got mixed up in the family history before.)

I think this John Stewart’s parents were Major John Stewart of Dunduff and Jean Stewart, daughter of Archibald Stewart of Ballintoy.

[Benody1921]

I’ve seen that photo album before. It’s really interesting and so great that the family has it.

I wonder if Scottish naming patterns play a role here. I know that Irwin Stewart had brothers Bernard and Christopher and possibly a Henry. Irwin was named after his mother, Jane Irwin. Christopher would be from Jane Irwin’s father. I wonder where Bernard fits in.

Then if the naming pattern is what’s going on, William Stewart would have shared a name with his father and his grandfather, Colonel William Stewart and William Stewart of Mains. Then the brother Captain James Stewart would have named his oldest son, the ungrateful William Stewart, after his father and his second oldest son would be James, after himself. That’s if I have the naming pattern correct.

[Gilby]

To me it looks like the family followed the broader tradition of naming children after recent ancestors.  I don’t think they are strictly following the Scottish naming pattern (first son after father’s father; second son after mother’s father, etc etc).  Therefore, I wouldn’t want to read too much into the names they’ve chosen here.

Amy Young says, “it is significant that their eldest son was called Bernard, the second Irwin, and another Christopher – a very usual Irwin name in those days”.

[Gilby]

I was re-reading the will of John Stewart of Ballintoy (d. 1791) which mentions his brother-in-law Rev. Charles McDaniel Stewart.  John’s first wife was Jane Moore of Ballydivity (hence the Stewart-Moore descendants), and his second wife Frances must have been the daughter of Irwin Stewart and Elizabeth McDaniel.

So Irwin and Elizabeth’s children were:
-   James Stuart (c1743-1824) m. Grace Lynd
-   Rev. Charles McDaniel Stewart (c1745-1826) m. Sarah Dunlop
-   Archibald Stewart (c1750-?) m. Jane Henry
-   Frances Stewart (alive in 1791) m. John Stewart
-   Christopher (?-?)
-   Henry (?-?)
-   3 other daughters

[John Falvey]

I may have missed this but has anyone looked at the Stewart Will Abstracts at the NAI? See https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSNR-W9GL-M?i=494&cat=225052

[Benody1921]

I may have missed this but has anyone looked at the Stewart Will Abstracts at the NAI? See https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSNR-W9GL-M?i=494&cat=225052

Excellent find! Thank you. I have no luck with searching for these records. I don’t know why I’m so limited. I wonder why he didn’t leave anything to his son James. Was it because he was over in India? Very interesting. I wonder if there’s an abstract for Henry Irwin Stuart. He must have left the house to his brother James or let him live there when he retired from the HEIC.

[Benody1921]

So Irwin and Elizabeth’s children were:
-   James Stuart (c1743-1824) m. Grace Lynd
-   Rev. Charles McDaniel Stewart (c1745-1826) m. Sarah Dunlop
-   Archibald Stewart (c1750-?) m. Jane Henry
-   Frances Stewart (alive in 1791) m. John Stewart
-   Christopher (?-?)
-   Henry (?-?)
-   3 other daughters

And Bernard Stewart was Irwin’s brother? I’m getting so confused 

So where are these Stewarts from? They aren’t Stewarts of Ballintoy. Are they the Stewarts of Ballyhivistock?

I was reading about Bernella or Bernarda Stewart who married her relation James Stewart, son of John Stewart of Straidh. She’s buried in the Church of Ballintoy and died in 1663. I wonder if she’s who the Stewart children were named after. Probably too much of a stretch but I’m not seeing the name anywhere else.

[Benody1921]

I just spent some time going over the older posts and I think I might be able to make some connections now. Please point out any and all inaccuracies 

In regards to the Duffin/Lynd connection:
- Maria Duffin (b 1785) was married to Colin Johnstone and then to my Major General James Stuart. Her father was Charles Duffin.
- Charles Duffin died about 1814 in Dublin. I believe he was a linen merchant. He had a brother named William Duffin who was an acquaintance of the famous Ann Lister. He was also something like a head surgeon for the HEIC and then lived in York.

- Grace Lynd nee Bell died in about 1783. She was the wife of Rev Charles Lynd. The abstract of her Will mentions her daughter Jane Duffin and som William Lynd. William was the father of Grace Lynd (my 4th great-grandmother) who married James Stuart and would have been the mother-in-law of Maria Duffin.

I don’t know how it all fits in. I think Jane Lynd might be too old to be Maria Duffin’s mother but could she her her grandmother?


Now back to the Stuarts. I was reading about the Siege of Londonderry and it talks about the Brigadier General Stuarts:
- Brigadier Stuart, colonel of the 5th now 9th regiment of foot was descended from the Stuarts of Blackhall in Scotland. One of his ancestors was a member of the Church of Rome and settled in Ballylusk, Antrim.
- this Brigadier Stuart was implicated during the Troubles of 1641, forfeited his lands in Ireland and fled back to Scotland.
- he eventually joined the Spanish service and fought beside James, Duke of York, at Dunkirk and died there in 1688
- a younger brother of the Brigadier decided to join the opposite side and became a Brigadier General in King William’s army. He had a very successful career but was not repaid by William. He supposedly married a daughter of the Earl of Drogheda and had one son who was a captain in his father’s regiment. This Brig-Gen Stuart purchased land in Leitrim and settled there but also had lands in Cavan and Cork until sold by a Bernard Stewart in 1798 when he (Bernard) went abroad.

I believe this son of the Brigadier General was Henry Stewart who married Jane Irwin and the father of Irwin Stewart. I don’t know if there’s any connection to the Brigadier General Steuarts that have been mentioned previously.

What do you think?

[Gilby]

Thanks John.  I didn’t know about these abstracts.  It appears they were made by Barbara Frances Stuart née Harvey.  She was evidently researching the origins of her husband’s family, but according to her daughter Amy Isabel Young, she never quite got to the bottom of it.

I’ve gone through the abstracts and made some notes…

-   James Stuart of Gracehill (will dated 1823).  Son of Irwin Stewart and Elizabeth McDaniel.  Married Grace Lynd.  I didn’t know he had a daughter who married ____ Ledlie … do we know who she was?

-   Francis Stewart who married Catherine Ormsby in c1750.  I’ve no idea what family he came from.

-   John Stewart of Dunduffe (will dated 1691/2).  I’m not sure exactly where he fits into the Donegal Dunduff family.  But his mother was Jean Stewart, daughter of Archibald Stewart of Ballintoy, agent to the Earl of Antrim.  See http://donegalgenealogy.com/stewartdunduffr.htm

-   Widow Catherine Stewart (will dated 1716).  Probably related to the Orrs from near Newtownards who had connections to Stewarts and Reids.

-   Irwin Stuart of Sunnagh, Co Leitrim (will dated 1821).  My guess is Barbara looked up this will because of his name, but he probably is not a close relation to the Stuarts of Derrykeighan / Gracehill.

-   William Stewart of Wilmont, Drumbeg (will proved 1808).  I’ve no idea where he fits in…?

-   Robert Steuart of Aughnacloy (1728).  Again, I’m not sure about his relevance.

-   Charles Stewart of Ballintoy (will dated 1703).  I’ve seen abstracts of his will before, but this adds some more detail.  I think he died in 1710 in London (O’Neill’s “old comrade”), though the registered pedigree says 1711 in Spain.  He was a major or colonel in the army.  Married Sarah Poyntz, daughter and co-heir of Toby Poyntz of Acton, Co Armagh.

-   Charles Stewart of Baileborough.  Date not given, but this is the Charles Stewart who died in 1793.  He was son of William Stewart (c1710-c1778), who was son of Charles Stewart (c1677-1740) of Bailieborough, Co Cavan.  Some say this last-mentioned Charles was nephew of General William Steuart (1652-1726).  The History of the Irish Parliament just says he was son of James Stewart of Lurgan, Co Armagh.

-   Robert Stewart late of Ballywilliam, now of Liverpool (1768).  His son’s names (Alexander and Archibald) are common Ballintoy Stewart names.  The reference to James Moore of Ballydivity suggests Robert may have been related to John Stewart of Ballintoy who married Jane Moore. 

-   James Moore of Bellisle (1784/1788).  This is the son of James Moore of Ballydivity (c1705-1783) and his wife Margaret Gilliland, daughter of William Gilliland of Tildarg (c1669-1746) and his wife Esther Logan (c1673-1727).  James Moore junior had no legitimate children, so the Moore property passed to his sister Jane’s family.  Jane Moore (c1752-1783) was married to John Stewart of Ballintoy (1733-1791), and their descendants became the Stewart-Moores.

-   Alexander Stewart of Ballylough (will dated 1739).  Died about 1742.  He was son of Charles Stewart and Sarah Poyntz (see above).  His daughter Anne Stewart (d. 1765) went on to marry Conway Richard Dobbs, while Rose Stewart married Edward Brice (c1725-1808).  His son Alexander moved to Acton, Co Armagh, to live on property inherited from the Poyntz family.