The Stewarts in Craiglevan, Callander, Perthshire, Scotland
Cadet Branch IV of the Stewarts of Glenbuckie
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This page is part of the Stewarts of Balquhidder Research Group Web Site jointly hosted by myself, Ryk Brown, and my research partner, Chuck Speed. The research presented on this page is not ours alone. It is the product of all the Fellow Researchers of the Stewarts of Balquhidder Research Group. We are indebted to them for their generous contributions. This page is intended as a place for researchers to freely and cooperatively share our research with each other. The first-time reader is advised to begin with the introduction found on the Principal Families Page before proceeding on with this page.
The Stewarts in Craiglevan were a cadet branch of the Stewarts of Glenbuckie. Please refer to the Glenbuckie page for a full introduction.
Craig Leven - The likely location of Craig Leven Farm is shown at the red
circle. Craig Leven Farm is not shown on modern or historic maps. Craig Leven derives from the Gaelic craig leamhan,
which means "rock of elms." There is a rock named Craig Leven located just
above the Loch Katrine Pier. The 19th century map below shows a farm at
the pier that is not identified. We suspect that to be the location of
Craig Leven Farm.
www.multimap.com
Craig Leven - This 19th century map and the modern map below show no
farm named Craig Leven. Craig Leven is the name of the rock shown on these
maps. The closest farm to that rock is shown circled above. As
there is no other farm nearby it is likely that the farm shown above is Craig
Leven farm, however we cannot be sure.
www.nls.uk
Craig Leven is said to be located near to Ardcheanochdan. This map
shows the rock named Craig Leven and the likely location of Craig Leven Farm (shown by the red
circle), showing its proximity to Ardcheacnochdan (now called Tigh-Mor).
www.multimap.com
The Craigleven Stewart initially resided at Craig Leven farm. The name "Craig Leven" derives from the Gaelic craig leamhan which means "rock of elms." No such farm has been found on modern or historic maps. Stewarts of the South describes Craig Leven as being "as small farm possessed by them near Ardcheanochdan." The maps above show the location of a rock named Craig Leven just west of Ardcheanochdan (Tigh-Mor). The 19th century map above shows an un-named farm at the base of Craig Leven on the shore of the bay on Loch Katrine. As there is no other farm located nearby it is presumed that this is Craig Leven farm.
The Craigleven Stewarts are a sibling branch to Branch III of the Stewarts of Glenbuckie. Stewarts of the South indicates that the Craigleven Stewarts descend from "Donald Stewart brother to foresaid James." The "foresaid James" is believed to refer to the patriarch of Branch III who is identified as "James, son of Alexander, son of Duncan." The Duncan in question is believed to be Duncan Stewart, 5th of Glenbuckie. (See Branch III for further discussion on the exact identity of the patriarchs of these branches.) Thus, the patriarch of the Craig Leven Stewarts would be Donald, son of Alexander, son of Duncan.
Stewarts of the South describes this branch very briefly as follows:
Donald Stewart brother to foresaid James called "Craiglevan Stewarts" from a small farm possessed by them near Ardcheanchnockan.
I give the History of James Stewart of Tar formerly (believed to mean "formerly of Tar") who had five sons [who are] all dead and the estate [has been] sold. [It was in the Lordship] of Monteith [which is] now Montrose['s] estate. I remember when he had four sons [who are] now all dead. Of his sons:
- Alexander, the oldest of them was married to an aunt of the present [Stewart of] Glengoil. [Alexander] left five sons; three sons of them are dead. [The two living sons are:]
- James, the oldest, is a soldier
- Gregor is a grocer in Glasgow
6 Line
[John Dubh Stewart who is shown below to be the father of:]
- Alexander Stewart mac Iain Duibh brother to
- James of Dunveirg, [a] tacksman [at] Duncragan [in] Callander parish [on] Sir P[atrick] Murray's estate. [He has]
- one son [who is] alive.
This shows the variety of human affairs [as] I saw this family at [one time] friendly and flourishing [but] now all dead, except [for that] one son who is a seaman at sea.
This finishes Sliochd Dhonal mhic Alastair mhic Dhonachie ("Children of Donald, son of Alexander, son of Duncan"), called the Craiglevan Stewarts.
The fact that the author of Stewarts of the South accounts for the latter half of this family as 6 Line is because he is continuing his accounting from the previous family, Branch III. This continuous numbering across the two branches just further shows how these two families were sibling branches. Line 6 above descends from a John Dubh Stewart. Branch III concludes with a line that descends from a John Dubh Stewart. It is worth clarifying that these are two different persons named John Dubh Stewart. However, it's also possible that Line 6 actually belongs as the final line of Branch III and the author inserted it here as an omission. However the fact that James Stewart of Line 6 is said to have been "of Dunveirg", which is located immediately adjacent to Tar in Ruskie makes it more likely that 6 Line is actually the second line of the Craigleven Stewarts.
Mitchell's Monumental Inscriptions presents the following gravestone from Brig o' Turk cemetery (just east of Ardcheanochdan) which pertains to James Stewart of Tar:
12 (at top � a pelican plucking its breast, on her nest) (in Latin) Katharine STEWART, 24 DEC 1735, husband James STEWART esquire of Tar (Mitchell notes: Duncan STEWART in Achray, feuer of Tar in Ruskie in 1754, son James succeeded him in 1784 and died before 1811 � son John, daughters Janet, Anne, etc, two wives)
We do not have a transcription of the Port of Menteith parish records as of yet so we have not been able to consult the OPR for matching records at this time.
We account for the origin of the Craigleven Stewarts as follows:
Alexander STEWART 1st of Ardcheanochdan b: ABT 1589 in Glenbuckie, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland as a natural son of Duncan Stewart, 5th of Glenbuckie. A challenging reading of Stewarts of the South seems to indicate that Alexander was patriarch of III Branch Sliochd Sheumais mhic Alistir mhic Dhunachy or "Children of James son of Alexander son of Duncan"; IV Branch "Craiglevan Stewarts", a.k.a. Sliochd Dhonal mhic Alastair mhic Dhonachie, or "Children of Donald son of Alexander son of Duncan", and referred to as "Donald Stewart brother to foresaid James"; and V Branch "Lorrachan Stewarts", described as descended from "James McAlistir foresaid". Thus, these three branches descend from James and his brother Donald who were both sons of Alexander, son of Duncan. The key question is from which Duncan do they descend? There are two clear possibilities: 1. Duncan, 5th of Glenbuckie, in which case the son Alexander would be this Alexander and the James and Donald would be his sons; or 2. Duncan, son of Duncan, 5th of Glenbuckie, in which case the descendant branches shown here would descend from this Alexander's brother Duncan. There is no sure way to tell which is correct. One must ask which makes more sense, that a clan would name itself after the estate laird or after his third son? Either is possible. The first is preferred on the basis of pure logic. However Stewarts of the South introduces Branch III with the following: "Duncan Stewart, brother to Iain Du Beg of Glenbuckie, had three sons." This would seem to imply that Branches III, IV & V descend from Duncan, son of Duncan 5th of Glenbuckie as MacGregor shows. At present, these three lines descending from Alexander, son of Duncan, 5th of Glenbuckie. Thus we suggest that Alexander had the following sons:
Donald mac Alasdair STEWART, in Craiglevan, b: ABT 1625 in Glenbuckie, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland, shown above as a son of Alexander Stewart, 1st of Ardcheanochdan. Donald is described in Stewarts of the South as the patriarch of IV Branch "Craiglevan Stewarts", a.k.a. Sliochd Dhonal mhic Alastair mhic Dhonachie, or "Children of Donald son of Alexander son of Duncan", and as "Donald Stewart brother to foresaid James called 'Craiglevan Stewarts' from a small farm possessed by them near Ardcheanchnock.". Donald was father of:
Auchrig, Dunaverig and Tarr-in-Ruskie
c/o
www.multimap.com
Lower Tarr Farm
� Copyright
Iain Thompson and licensed for reuse under this
Creative Commons Licence.
Easter Tarr Farm
� Copyright
Angela Mudge and licensed for reuse under this
Creative Commons Licence.
This family resided in Auchrig and Tarr in the parish of Port of Menteith. Auchrig is located about two miles northeast of the town of Port of Menteith and Tarr is located about five miles east of the town of Port of Menteith midway along the road to Thornhill. (See map above.) The modern spellings for these farms are Auchrig and Tarr whereas the older spellings are Auchraig and Tar. There are actually three farms identified as Tarr: Upper Tarr, Lower Tarr and Easter Tarr. They surround the village of Ruskie. Stewarts of the South and the Aberfoyle OPR both indicate that James Stewart (below) was "of Tar" -- that is, he owned the property and was not merely a tenant -- but none of these documents specify which Tar. Given that these older documents don't seem to differentiate between the various Tarr farms and refer only to "Tar in Ruskie" then we are interpreting these references to mean that James was the owner of all three Tarr farms.
This family is described in Stewarts of the South as:
I give the History of James Stewart of Tar formerly (believed to mean "formerly of Tar") who had five sons [who are] all dead and the estate [has been] sold. [It was in the Lordship] of Monteith [which is] now Montrose['s] estate. I remember when he had four sons [who are] now all dead. Of his sons:
- Alexander, the oldest of them was married to an aunt of the present [Stewart of] Glengoil. [Alexander] left five sons; three sons of them are dead. [The two living sons are:]
- James, the oldest, is a soldier
- Gregor is a grocer in Glasgow
Duncan STEWART in Auchrig and Tarr in Ruskie b: ABT 1700 in Craigleven, Strathgartney, Callander, Perthshire, Scotland, shown above as the lineal male descendant of Donald mac Alasdair Stewart in Craigleven. Duncan is shown in Mitchell's Monumental Inscriptions for Brig o' Turk cemetery in reference to his son, James, as follows: "12 (at top - a pelican plucking its breast, on her nest) (in Latin) Katharine STEWART, 24 DEC 1735, husband James STEWART esquire of Tar (Mitchell notes: Duncan STEWART in Achray (sic "Auchrig"), feuer of Tar in Ruskie in 1754, son James succeeded him in 1784 and died before 1811 - son John, daughters Janet, Anne, etc, two wives)." As Duncan's son James is shown as succeeding Duncan in 1784 then it is presumed that Duncan died in 1784. Duncan had the following son:
James STEWART of Tar in Ruskie b: ABT 1728 in Auchrig, Port of Menteith, Perthshire, Scotland. James is described in Stewarts of the South as:
"I give the History of James Stewart of Tar formerly (believed to mean "formerly of Tar") who had five sons [who are] all dead and the estate [has been] sold. [It was in the Lordship] of Monteith [which is] now Montrose['s] estate. I remember when he had four sons [who are] now all dead."
James is listed in Mitchell's Monumental Inscriptions for Brig o' Turk Cemetery in Callander parish as:
"12 (at top - a pelican plucking its breast, on her nest) (in Latin) Katharine STEWART, 24 DEC 1735, husband James STEWART esquire of Tar (Mitchell notes: Duncan STEWART in Achray (sic "Auchrig"), feuer of Tar in Ruskie in 1754, son James succeeded him in 1784 and died before 1811 - son John, daughters Janet, Anne, etc, two wives)."
James' children are all (but one) found in the Aberfoyle OPR in which James is recorded as "Esquire of Tar." The birth of James' eldest son, Alexander, is recorded in the Kilmadock OPR in which James is recorded as "of Auchrig" and his wife Katherine is recorded as "in Argaty." From these references we see that James inherited both Auchrig and Tar from his father and presumably sold Auchrig. Auchrig had previously been the possession of the Stewarts of Ardvorlich Branch III. Although Stewarts of the South shows Tar being in Port of Menteith, as indeed it appears to be on maps, the baptisms of James' children are recorded in Aberfoyle parish. The reason for this discrepancy is not known. No marriage records have been found for either of James' marriages. Stewarts of the South also notes above that all of James' sons had died prior to the writing of that document ca. 1815 and the author only lists children for one son, Alexander. Given the likely ages of the other sons when they died it is inferred that none of them had any male descendants, and likely none of them had any children at all. As son John is the only son to be mentioned by Mitchell, then it is inferred that John lived the longest.
The author of Stewarts of the South writes more about James Stewart of Tar in the Appendix:
"I think I wrote you something concerning the Stewarts of Tar, before, and will do again if you think proper, though not in this paper. My reason for neglecting in description is [for] their being extinct, [all] but two daughters that are married and in very low circumstances. The late James Stewart of Tar father was in partnership with the late General Stewart of Raith's father in purchasing Oakwoods, which trade was not at that time taken by any but clever active men. He was called James Stewart of Boblach in the four and twenty farms of the Carse of Frews, in the Lordship of Doune, and was ground officer to the Earl of Murray. And should I have the pleasure of seeing you soon, I shall relate some fine anecdotes that passed between them, both of them being very active grasping men."
James married firstly ABT 1755 in Perthshire, Scotland to Katharine STEWART in Argaty b: 24 DEC 1735 in Argaty, Kilmadock, Perthshire, Scotland. Katherine is mentioned in Mitchell's Monumental Inscriptions for Brig o' Turk cemetery in Callander parish in reference to her husband as follows: "12 (at top - a pelican plucking its breast, on her nest) (in Latin) Katharine STEWART, 24 DEC 1735, husband James STEWART esquire of Tar (Mitchell notes: Duncan STEWART in Achray, feuer of Tar in Ruskie in 1754, son James succeeded him in 1784 and died before 1811 - son John, daughters Janet, Anne, etc, two wives)." The date of 24 DEC 1735 shown with her name is presumed to be her date of birth, however the reference is ambiguous and no matching birth record has been found. Katharine is presumed to have died in conjunction with, or shortly after the birth of her last child as her husband James remarried abt four years later. James and Katharine had the following children:
He is believed to be the John STEWART who married on 24 NOV 1784 in Aberfoyle, Perthshire, Scotland to Janet FERGUSON
This family is being discussed here: http://www.hostmybb.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=458&mforum=stewart
Mitchell's Monumental Inscriptions contains the following entries for this family in Aberfoyle Cemetery:
96 by Finlay KEIR, 12.3.1909, 81, in memory of wife Jane MCGREGOR, died Aberfoyle 3.12.1876, 36, daughter Margaret Stewart 8.1.1877, age 12, son in law John FRASER, 17.2.1936, age 67 (with Jean Helen KEIR 11.5. 1959, age 85)
97a Robert KEIR, died at Dunnance, 20 OCT 1850, age 55, wife Janet STEWART 22 MAR 1851, age 54, son John died (at) Duchray 12 SEP 1895, age 59, son Walter 8 SEP 1908, age 89 (and his wife Janet BLAIR 29 JAN 1913, age 91).
97b (next to 97a) by Duncan KEIR, died 15. ..., aged 77 years, in memory of wife Mary MCCURTAIN, 22.12.1881, age 65, daughter Janet died Waterworks Cottage Duchray, 15.11.1887, age 31 (husband George WEIR).
John Stewart and Janet Ferguson had the following children:
Dounans in Aberfoyle. Grassom's Map 1817
James Stewart of Tar married secondly ABT 1778 in Perthshire, Scotland to Anne STEWART b: ABT 1750 in Perthshire, Scotland. Her birth family has not been identified. They had the following children:
The following family is found in Mitchell's MIs and in the Callander OPR. They resided in Craigleven and could partially match with John Dubh Stewart above. They are buried in Kilmahog adjacent to the family of Robert Stewart in Duart (Gartnafuaran branch), but do not seem to match with that family. Mitchell indicates that the three families buried at graves 44-46 are not related to the "other" Stewarts in Duart. This could be understood that the families at 44-46 were related to each other, or it could also be interpreted that they were merely not related to the "other" family in Duart (the Invernahyle branch) and it's not necessarily the case that the entry at 46 is related to 44 & 45.
46 1793. pelican plucking its breast, in her nest (crest of the STEWART family). John STEWART and Mary MCINTYRE.
There are two who potentially match this description:
John STEWART and Mary MCINTYRE/WRIGHT, m 29 MAY 1769 in Aberfoyle
- Margart STEWART, 18 FEB/12 MAR 1770 in Culntogl (Wright)
- John STEWART, b/b 7/13 MAR 1774 in Ardcheanochdan, Callander. (McIntyre)
- Henny STEWART, 11/12 OCT 1777 in Creaghvan (Wright)
- Janet STEWART, 2/2 NOV 1779 in Creaghvan (Wright)
- James STEWART, 3/6 MAY 1781 in Creglevan (Wright)
- Mary STEWART, 3/7 SEP 1783 in Creglevan (Wright)
- Elizabeth STEWART, 9/9 SEP 1785 in Creaglevan (Wright)
This family is also presented on our Sliochd Rob Duibh Mhor in Duart page.
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ABT = "about" and is used in three ways:
Where it precedes a precise date of birth, such as "ABT 3 DEC 1855", then it means that the person was baptized on 3 DEC 1795, but his/her exact date of birth is unknown.
Where it precedes a semi-precise date of birth with the month only given, such as "ABT DEC 1855", then that means that the birth is recorded in the civil birth registrations for the quarter ending with that month. Thus the person's birth was registered sometime between the beginning of October 1855 and the end of December 1855, but no baptism record has been found nor any more precise birth record.
Where it precedes a year only, such as "ABT 1855", then it means that there is no information on the person's birth date at all and an educated guess has been made that he/she was probably born sometime around 1855.
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This page was last updated on September 17, 2010