Ryk Brown's Genealogy Forum

[stewey]

Hello,
I am a descendant of Thomas Stewart mentioned in the Strays section. Thomas settled in South Dumfries Twp, Brant County. His eldest son Andrew settled in Puslinch around #6 and 401 Hwy area. My cousin John (a ggrandson of Andrew) and I have been researching our Stewart family. Until recently we thought they were from St. Ninians, Stirlingshire,Scotland. The parents of Thomas we have listed are under question and some research is being done in Scotland at this time. I note your posting mentioned Thomas is born in 1807, possibly around Glasgow and his father could be an Andrew Stewart which would be why Thomas's firstborn son is Andrew. I wonder if you know where or who supplied this information. I am very interested in contacting the source in an effort to find out where we came from in Scotland.
Elizabeth Stewart daughter of Thomas and sister of Andrew married James Dickie and lived in Puslinch Twp. No further info available at present.
Regards
Brian Stewart
Paris(Not the one from Hamilton)

[RykBrown]

Brian

Welcome to the group. Thanks for your post. I'm very interested to pursue this line with you. I have a few things ahead of this in the cue right now so if you haven't had a substantive reply from me here within a few days, please post a little reminder to me here.

I'll get back to you on this asap.

Ryk
_________________
Ryk Brown
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Descendant of...well, all of these families, except for the ones that my wife is descended from, save for the ones we share in common...Eek! I married my cousin!

[RykBrown]

Okay, Brian, I managed to get to this quicker than expected.

Your Andrew is found residing with his parents in 1851 in Dumfries. From the 1851 census we can determine that his father Thomas was born ca 1807 in Scotland. We know that this family imigrated prior to 1830 because Andrew was born here in 1830. So we can't rely on the 1841 Scottish census to help us find the family. That leaves only the IGI in terms of on-line resources. I merely did a search in the IGI for a Thomas Stewart, son of Andrew and the Glasgow entry is the one that poppoed up. Hence he may "possibly" be that one -- it's just a guess at the moment based on a good onomastic and chronological match. The fact that Thomas' second daughter is named Elizabeth also matches onomastically with the Glasgow birth and the mother, Elspeth Oliver. But it's really nothing more than a good IGI match; I wouldn't put any faith in it without supporting evidence.

I would be curious to learn what leads you in the direction of St. Ninians? I am also the webmaster for the Stewarts of Balquhidder Research Group and some of those Stewarts migrated as far as St. Ninians. So there's a possible connection there that I'd be interested in investigating. And if it turns out to be valid, then I have a pile of resources that could help you.
_________________
Ryk Brown
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Descendant of...well, all of these families, except for the ones that my wife is descended from, save for the ones we share in common...Eek! I married my cousin!

[stewey]

Hi Ryk,
We know from Thomas's gravestone he was born on 29 Apr 1808.(counting backwards from the death date). The obit notice also says 1808 and born near Stirling. The death registration #1319 Brant, South Dumfries says 82 years old, died 24 Oct 1890 born Scotland. The accuracy of that info depends on the reporter. We also have a LDS printout for Thomas with the c. Aug 1811, Saint Ninians, Stirling, Scotland and his parents are F Archibald Stewart and M Jean Baird. The Stewarts that also have the same parents for their relatives can not find our Thomas on their tree. We also have a marriage reg from LDS for Thomas and Hannah Smith (Hannah is listed on her obit and the gravestone as Smith) for the 3 May 1829, St Ninians. His birth is listed as c. 6 Aug 1811 and parents Archibald and Jean whose marriage date was 5 Aug 1809. Family Search LDS will bring up most of this info.
So with our Thomas not listed on the other Stewart tree with Arch and Janet on it and their marriage date after our Thomas dob and christning their starts our doubt. Why did our Thomas have his parents listed as Arch and Janet. Was our Thomas born before their marriage or was he being looked after by them if so why does the tree not show him being part of it. I realize records are not very reliable at times. We are trying different ways to find out where we belong. The Arch S listed as his parents came to Canada and settled in Kent Cty, Ridgetown where he is buried. None of their family knows of our Thomas even when he is living in Brant Cty. Arch was a tartan weaver living in town. Our Thomas comes to Canada and buys a farm.
When I read your information I saw there is new info on our Thomas.
I was checking Andrews name out as being the first born son and that being the possible name of Thomas's father when I came across him on your site. Maybe you know more than we know and could help us out.
Confusing?
My cousin John knows more about the details, especially on Andrews time in Puslinch. I will see if I can get him to join the forum.
Thanks for your help.
Brian

[Belinda]

If Thomas Stewart was born near Stirling he is unlikely to to be the one b 1802 in Lanark, son of Andrew Stewart and Elizabeth Oliver, as these parents were married in Roxburghshire, nowhere near Stirling.

Was interested to see the baptism of Thomas Stewart on 6 Aug 1811 at St Ninians, Stirling is an extracted (OPR) entry and parents Archibald Stewart and Jean Baird are not listed in the OPRs as having any other children. This implies that those parents might be the ones for your Thomas, and possibly not for the other Stewarts who also claim these parents, but don't have Thomas on their tree.

I realise that those Stewarts could have other, equally valid evidence for their claim but the appearance of Thomas as a standalone entry suggests some degree of dislocation.

Belinda

[stewey]

Very interesting. I will forward your ideas to my contact in Scotland so they can followup. I am not familiar with the workings of the OPR. At this time anything is possible.
Brian

[stewey]

Belinda,

Thomas Stewart and Hannah Smith's youngest son and brother to Andrew Stewart of Puslinch, John Stewart, b 1854, South Dumfries Twp, Brant County, Ontario, Canada went to Australia never to be heard from again. It is possible he went around 1890 according to an obit notice but could have been sooner. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Brian

[Belinda]

Hi Brian

Do you have any other info on the John Stewart who went to Australia, like dates and details in an obit (whose obit?) where he went to, whether he married or if he simply disappeared into the blue? Also the names and dates of birth of his siblings might be helpful.

Some Australian state registry offices have BDM indexes online and these are very useful for searches. I'm particularly familiar with NSW (where I live) but Victoria and Queensland are also on the web. Other states will reply to written queries if you have enough info to ask a meaningful question. I'll have a look around and see what comes up.

I have Stewart ancestors (Ryk Brown is a distant cousin) so am always happy to help a Stewart.

In relation to Thomas Stewart, b near Stirling about 1807, I checked on the official ScotlandsPeople site for Thomas b in Stirlingshire between 1800 and 1812, and found baptisms for six possible Thomas Stewarts:

7/7/1802: F: Daniel Stewart, M: Ann Meiklejohn, Campsie
24/3/1805: F: Alexander Stewart, M: Ann Tottance, Campsie
22/3/1807: F: Thomas Stewart, M: Mary Carr, Campsie
6/11/1811: F: Archibald Stewart, M: Jean Baird, St Ninians
8/11/1811, F: Daniel Stewart, M: Elizabeth Hunter, Kilsyth
31/7/1811: F: John Stewart, M: Christian Adam, St Ninians.

Belinda

[RykBrown]

Belinda, Thank you very much for jumping in on this discussion. Your input is always welcome and highly competent as usual.

Brian, I'm in complete agreement with Belinda that the Glasgow birth I found in the IGI should now be discarded. There's no question that the information you have presented completely removes it as a candidate.

I am also persuaded by Belinda's suggestion that your Kent County contacts may be the ones with the mistaken parents. I would be inclined to want to find out what supporting evidence they have.

But, don't be surprised if it turns out that you're both right and that Thomas' branch should be grafted into their tree. My own Stewarts settled in Puslinch and had a branch (Duncan Stewart) who moved to Elgin County and the various families lost touch with each other. It wasn't until about four years ago, through the efforts of this project, that we were able to determine that both families had a common immigrant family origin. Since their Duncan was born in Scotland, they had no thought of looking in Puslinch for their Elgin County kin, and our branch had no thought of looking in Elgin county for any cousins. The same could easily be true of your branch, especially given the fact that Thomas probably came to Canada as a child or youth. He could have settled in Kent County as a child and then moved to Brant County to acquire land. However, the disparate occuptions does give me some pause.

Just some food for thought.

[stewey]

Hi Belinda and Ryk,

I lost my first message so I will try to remember what I said. The researcher in Scotland says we could be wrong. Apparently there are 2 Thomas S listing Archie and Janet as parents. My Thomas lists them on a marriage registration on Family Search. The other Thomas 1811 has his parents listed on the Death registration. There is also family documentation. We do not have our Thomas listing his parents names anywhere. On his death reg no parents are given. We are at a standstill at this point. John and I will have to do some more checking locally. Our cousin in Scotland continues to do some checking.

John Stewart,1854,South Dumfries Township,Brant County,Ontario,Canada, parents Thomas Stewart and Hannah Smith.
others in family are

Thomas Stewart, c 1808 St. Ninians,Stirlinshire,Scotland, 24 Oct 1890, Glen Morris, South Dumfries, Brant, Ontario, Canada,

m

Hannah Smith, 1809, Scotland, 12 Dec 1894, Galt,Ontario

Children

Andrew 1830-15 Feb 1875 m Janet McFarlane
Hannah 18 May 1832-m Andrew Scott
Margaret 24 Mar 1836 m Alexander Buchanan
Charles 1837-1 Oct 1914 m Jessie Scott m Helen Sharp
Jessie
Elizabeth m James Dickie
Janet 1841 m Robert Grant
Isabella 4 Aug 1842-11 Jun 1915 m Levi Bawtinhimer
William 1844-1921 m Isabella Sharp
John(Jack) 1854

I could not find John on the 1881 Cdn census so he could be wandering at that time. Hannahs obit said he had been in Australia for the past three years. She died in 1894.

My grandfather Williams son Elwyn Buchanan Stewart was born in Elgin County, St. Thomas in 1873. It is not known why they were in St. Thomas. Isabella and Helen Sharp were sisters living across the road from the Stewart farm at the home of their parents. The Sharps are a well documented family but not so the Stewarts.

Bye for now

Brian

[stewey]

Hi Ryk,

The Sharp family mentioned in my previous posting came from Anstruther, Fife, Scotland 1818 to Grimsby, Ont. The elest son John b 21 Mar 1799 at the age of 19 went to Virginia for a short time. He returned to Grimsby and then moved to Chatham Township. In 1823 he married Sarah Arnold the daughter of an old settler and devout Methodist. By 1830 he had two daughters. There is no further info on the daughters. Around 1833 he returned to Glenmorris (known then as Middleton) where the Sharp family had moved to in 1826 (the homestead farm remains in the family). Around 1850 he left for California with his second wife (where he became an Evangelist). It is not known how long he was married to Sarah or what happened to her. John had 4 boys James, Andrew,Lewis and John. It is not known who is their mother.
....Information from the Sharp Family Tree, 175 th Anniversary Celebration...

This information may or not be of interest to you and your Kent County Arnold family. I can not see any connection with your Sharpe, Sharp family.

Regards
Brian

[RykBrown]

Brian

Thanks for the additional info. You're correct: I do not see any connection between your Sharps and mine.

Your Sarah Arnold could easily fit with the Arnold family who married into the Taylors of Dawn Mills, however the Arnold family is not an ancestral branch for me, but an antecedent cousin branch and thus exceeds the scope of my present research interests. However, I will certainly leave your information posted here in case it is of interest to others.

Ryk
_________________
Ryk Brown
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Descendant of...well, all of these families, except for the ones that my wife is descended from, save for the ones we share in common...Eek! I married my cousin!

[stewey]

Hi Belinda,
John Stewart has been found living with his sister Elizabeth Dickie widow of James Dickie in Puslinch Twp. The 1881 Cdn census for Puslinch lists his age as 29, birth date as 1852 and occupation Teacher. The marital status was blank.
Brian

[Carole]

Hello Brian: I am a direct decendant of Andrew Stewart and Janet MacFarlane. Their son John Stwert was my great grandfather. You may already know that after the parents Andrew and Janet died the children were sent to live with relatives. My great grandfather lived with an aunt in Thamesville, Here he grew up and married Harriet Spackman and raised three children. Their only daughte Helen was my maternal grandmother. I have pictures etc. of John as a young and old man.

I had heard that Andrew's father was buried in a grave yard in or near Paris, Ontario, but I have never been there.

A cousin of my mother's in Kitchener has also been researching Stewart information and he may have contacted you at some point. I know he has found and been to one of the old stone houses in the Puslinch area that was built by Andrew

I don't have information about Scotland, but I too had heard Stirling mentioned as well.

I would be interested in more info as it becomes available.

regards Carole