The Wright Stewarts in Ardveich & Coilmore

Cpl. Robert Stewart,   b. Abt 7 Jul 1776, Killin, Perthshire, Scotland ,   d. UNKNOWN

Robert’s mother is identified as “Kat. McKercher” at his baptism.

The Stewarts of Ardvorlich, Vol. 3, says Robert Stewart “died without children.” However Stewarts of the South contradicts this, describing him as “a soldier in the 79th Regiment (with) a family of sons.” His nephew Murdoch Fergson also served with the 79th Regiment of Foot.

Military records show that Robert Stewart served as a Corporal in the 79th Regiment of Foot (Cameron Highlanders) from 1798 to 1816.

No marriage or children have been found for Robert.

James Stewart, in Coilmore,   b. Abt 27 Nov 1781, Wester Ardveich, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland ,   d. 2 Jan 1861, Ardvorlich, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland   (Age ~ 79 years)

James Stewart’s mother’s name at his baptism is recorded as “Cath. McArchir.”

Stewarts of the South says that James “was brought up as a weaver, then in Callander. Afterwards he became a shepherd at Balmenoch and Ardvorlich. Latterly he became a crofter at Coilmore.” The Stewarts of Ardvorlich, Vol. 3, says he was “a lotter (a buyer and seller of wool) at Coilmore on Ardvorlich’s estate” and that he “died in 1861.”

In 1841, at age 60, James Stewart was residing at Coilmore, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland, with his wife. He was employed as an agriculatural labourer.

In 1851, at age 69, James Stewart was residing at Coilmore, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland, with his wife and daughter. He was employed as a labourer. (Coilmore is located on the south shore of Loch Earn, just east of Ardvorlich.)

In 1861, at the time of his death, James was employed as a labourer at Ardvorlich, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland.

James Stewart married on 16 Jan 1811 at Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland   to Catherine McGregor,   b. 1772, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland ,   d. 20 Dec 1856, Coilmore, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland   (Age 84 years). They had the following child:

1. 1. Annie Stewart,   b. Abt 2 Oct 1814, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland ,   d. 1897, Ardvorlich, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland   (Age ~ 82 years)Annie Stewart is described in The Stewarts of Ardvorlich, Vol. 3, as “Annie was the faithful servant at Ardvorlich, who was well known to the last generation. She served four lairds and eventually died at Ardvorlich about 1897. She was buried at Dundurn inside the chapel.” Mitchell’s Monumental Inscriptions records her gravestone: “Ann Stewart, for 60 yr faithful servant at Ardvorlich, 1813-1897.”

      In 1841, at age 25, Annie Stewart was residing at Ardvorlich House, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland, in the home of Robert Stewart, 9th of Ardvorlich. She was employed as a servant.

      In 1851, at age 36, Annie Stewart was residing at Coilmore, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland, with her elderly parents. He was employed as a servant.

      In 1861, at age 42, Annie Stewart was residing at Ardvorlich Cottage, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland. She was employed as a servant.

      In 1881, at age 65, Annie Stewart was residing at Ardvorlich Cottage March Cottage, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland. She was employed as a housekeeper domestic servant.

      In 1891, at age 76, Annie Stewart was residing at Ardvorlich House, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland, in the home of John Stewart, 12th of Ardvorlich. She was listed as an annuitant.

Isabel Stewart,   b. Abt 18 Apr 1784, Ardveich, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland ,   d. UNKNOWN. 

Isabel Stewart’s mother was identified as “Cathr. McKaricher” at her baptism.

She is described in The Stewarts of Ardvorlich, Vol. 3, as “Bell, a cook, died in William Street, Edinburgh.”

Margaret Stewart,   b. Abt 8 Mar 1789, Wester Ardveich, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland ,   d. UNKNOWN.

Margaret Stewart’s mother was identified as “Cathr. McArthur” at Margaret’s baptism. Margaret is not mentioned in The Stewarts of Ardvorlich Vol. 3 and is presumed to have died young.

Sgt. John Stewart, Sr. in Lochearnhead,   b. Abt 16 Oct 1791, Bridge of Teith, Kilmadock, Perthshire, Scotland ,   d. 17 Nov 1855, Lochearnhead, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland   (Age ~ 64 years).

Information on Sgt. John Stewart and his descendants is presented below.

Catherine Stewart,   b. 1833, Ireland ,   d. UNKNOWN  

In 1841, at age 9, Catherine Stewart was residing in Lochearnhead, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland, with her parents and siblings.

In 1851, at age 18, Catherine Stewart was residing in Achraw, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland, working as a household servant for the family of Alexander Irvine, who may be related to the Helen Irvine who married Catherine’s grand-nephew, Alexander Blair Stewart (son of Michael Stewart).

Catherine Stewart is listed as 22 years old in 1855 on her father’s death registration.

Catherine has not been found in 1861. She may have married, emigrated, or died.

A matching Catherine Stewart, the same age, and born in Ireland, married Joseph Wright and living in Massachussets (where her nephew Michael Stewart’s family ended up); listed as born in Tyrone, Ireland. It is not confirmed that it is this Catherine Stewart. However, there is not enough information to know if it was this Catherine Stewart.

John Joseph Smale Stewart, poet,   b. 1834, Ireland ,   d. Aft 1893, Tamarara, South Island, New Zealand   (Age > 60 years).

John Joseph Smale Stewart. The son of a Perthshire soldier, was born about 1838 while his father was with his regiment in Ireland, but was brought up at Lochearnhead where his father, on retiring from the army, wrought for a time as a gardener, and latterly occupied the position of police inspector for the district. At the age of sixteen he went to serve on her Majesty’s Ship, Cumberland, then under command of Captain Seymour, and, after cruising for some time, sailed for Bermuda, and thence to Halifax and Nova Scotia. He took part in the Russian War, and, after being discharged, returned home for a brief season. Subsequently, after voyaging to various parts of the world, he took a farm in Australia (sic, New Zealand), and for some years, along with a brother [Alexander], was a successful farmer. Ultimately he settled as a schoolmaster at Tamarara, near Hooker’s Bay, where he still resides, enjoying much popularity as a teacher and a citizen of the world.

(Ford, Robert. The Harp of Perthshire. A Collection of Songs, Ballads, and other Poetical Pieces chiefly by local authors with notes explanatory, critical, and biographical. Paisley and Paternoster Square, London: Alexander Gardner, Publisher to her Majesty the Queen, 1893, p. 512.)

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JOHN JOSEPH SMALE STEWART. The son of a soldier and brother of the poetess, Mrs. Hyslop, sketched in our series, was born about 1838 while his father was with his regiment in Ireland, but was brought up in Lochearnhead where his father removed after leaving the army. He was a great favourite with his teacher and they used to spend hours together reciting poetry after the school was dismissed in the evening. His poetical sister was years his junior and the kindred spirits were deeply attached to each other. She was the companion of his rambles and she speaks with pardonable pride of the time when he first confided to her the secret that he had made a song. She looked upon him with other eyes and dreamed of something great in store for her poet brother. At the age of sixteen he went to serve on Her Majesty’s ship, Cumberland, then under command of Captain Seymour and, after cruising for some time, sailed for Bermuda and thence to Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada). He took part in the Russian War and after being discharged returned home to find that his dearly loved mother’s chair was vacant. After several voyages to various parts of the world, he took a farm in Australia (sic, New Zealand) and for some years, along with a brother (Alexander), was a successful farmer. He was seized with the gold fever, sold his farm, and ultimately we find him a schoolmaster at Tamarara near Hooker’s Bay where he has proved himself a successful and popular teacher. We have seen several specimens of Mr Stewart’s poetical epistles – a form of correspondence he generally adopts in writing home to his friends, and these are neatly expressed very entertaining and instructive and show the observant eye and warm heart. A vein of reflective melancholy runs through many of his poems. These show him to be a keen and intelligent student of Nature while his songs are musical and felicitous in sentiment.

(Edwards, David Herschell. One Hundred Modern Scottish Poets: With Biographical and Critical Notices. Brechin: D. H. Edwards Publishing, 1884. Vol. 7, p. 61)

The above biographies indicate that John settled in Australia with his brother Alexander (also known as Abel). However, in the 1800s, the term “Australia” was often used generically to include New Zealand, in much the same way as “America” was used to refer to both the USA and Canada in that time period. The locations mentioned in John’s poetry are all found on the South Island of New Zealand. Furthermore, Wakamarina was the location of a gold rush in the 1860s-1870s on the South Island of New Zealand, which fits with John’s biography. It is our assertion that John and Alexander settled on the South Island of New Zealand and not in Australia-proper.

John and Alexander are believed to have been still living in Lochearnhead at the time of their parents’ deaths in 1854/55. They are not found in the 1861 census and are believed to have begun their global trek by that point. The earliest biography of John was published in 1884 and speaks of him as already having been a farmer, a gold prospector and a teacher of good repute by 1884, suggesting he had been in New Zealand for several years by that point.

We have no further records of John or Alexander in New Zealand. We do not know if either of them married or had children or where exactly they lived or when they died.

So far as we can tell, neither of the Stewart Poets of Lochearnhead, John or Sarah, had any descendants.

John’s poetry can be found here:

https://stewartsofbalquhidder.com/2022/09/15/the-stewart-poets-of-lochearnhead/

John Stewart is described in The Stewarts of Ardvorlich, Vol. 3, as the son of John Stewart [residing] in Australia.

In 1841, at age 7, John Stewart was residing in Lochearnhead, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland, with his parents and siblings.

In 1850, at age 16, John Stewart went to serve on Her Majesty’s Ship, Cumberland, then under command of Captain Seymour.

John is listed as being 21 years old in 1855 on his father’s death registration.

John is not found in later census records. His biography indicates that he died in New Zealand.

Isabella Stewart,   b. 10 Sep 1835, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland ,   d. UNKNOWN 

In 1841, at age 5, Isabella Stewart was residing in Lochearnhead, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland, with her parents and siblings.

Isabella Stewart is listed as 18 years old in 1855 on her father’s death registration.

Jane Stewart,   b. 11 Feb 1837, Muthill, Perthshire, Scotland ,   d. 1838, St Fillans, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland   (Age 0 years).

Jane Stewart is not not shown with her family in 1841. She is also not listed in 1855 on her father’s death registration. As her younger sister, Sarah Jane Stewart, carries her name as a middle name, it is presumed that Jane Stewart died prior to the birth of Sarah Jane Stewart in 1839.

Sarah Jane Stewart, poet,   b. 4 Aug 1839, St. Fillans, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland ,   d. 15 Jan 1920, Stirling, Stirlingshire, Scotland   (Age 80 years)

Sarah Jane Stewart. A sister of the subject of the foregoing notice (John Joseph Smale Stewart), was born at St. Fillans in the autumn of 1845 (sic, baptism records confirm she was born in 1839. Census records show that she started fudging her age in her early 30s). With a view to fitting her for a professional career, Sarah received the full educational course of the local school. Her mother dying suddenly, however, and her father following her into the silent land in little more than a year thereafter, her prospects in life were changed, and she had to go out to service. In the winter of 1877, she became the wife of the late Mr. John Hyslop, the well-known Kilmarnock postman-poet; author of “The Dream of a Masque and Other Poems,” and her wedded career was one of unbroken happiness. Since she was fourteen years old Mrs. Hyslop has cultivated, as opportunity afforded, a natural and true poetic gift, and has written many tender heart-warming poems and songs, which have been widely circulated and esteemed.

(Ford, Robert. The Harp of Perthshire. A Collection of Songs, Ballads, and other Poetical Pieces chiefly by local authors with notes explanatory, critical, and biographical. Paisley and Paternoster Square, London: Alexander Gardner, Publisher to her Majesty the Queen, 1893, p. 512.)

John [Hyslop] was twice married. The first marriage took place in the summer of 1863, when he was in receipt of 11s 6d per week, but odds and ends brought in a shilling or two more. Six children were born to them, three girls and three boys; of whom two girls and one boy died before their mother left his side to join them in the Better Land. After fourteen years of wedded life filled with sunshine and shadow; with smiles and tears; with many struggles and many triumphs, who who had been a loving mother and a good and loyal wife, died in the summer of 1877. Feeling his household getting into disorder, he married again in December of the same year, Sarah Jane Stewart, who had been spoken of to him by his first wife weeks before she died as the one she would like as her successor. Alluding to her, John wrote: “Clever, warm-hearted, and impulsive, widely read, with a magnificent memory, in many things our tastes and feelings are identical, and she, like myself, has been for years a maker of verses, some of which have appeared in various journals. Some of her lines are inscribed along with Surfaceman’s, and others in the Poet’s Album in Kilmarnock Burns’ Monument.”…

Mrs. Hyslop was born in Saint Fillans, in Perthshire, beautifully situated at the foot of Loch Earn. Her father, John Stewart, was a soldier in his youth, and served in that capacity for twenty-four years, the greater part of that time being spent abroad. He was in St. Helena during the whole time of Napoleon’s captivity. He married before leaving the army, but Sarah Jane was not born until after his discharge, and after he had returned to Loch Earn. She was born about the Autumn of 1845 (sic). Related to the Stewarts of Ardvorlick (sic), its then proprietor, unsolicited, procured for her father a police inspectorship at Loch Earn Head, which situation he held until within a few months of his death. With his salary as inspector and a sergeant’s pension the father was able to bring up his family of eleven (sic, eight) children without the struggle experienced by many parents with large families. Sarah Jane received her early education at Loch Earn Head, and resided there until she had reached the age of twelve years, when she was sent to the Normal School, Glasgow, having early displayed special aptitude for learning. Before she had reached her seventh year she could repeat several old Scotch ballads, and at the age of nine could repeat the Psalms from the 1st on to the 24th without a mistake, and also every line of the 119th. Not long after entering the Normal her mother died, and in a little more than a year afterwards her father was laid in the grave. Writing of this period, she says, “All joy seemed blotted out of my life. I had then to be taken from the Normal School, to which I had been sent after my mother’s death, and nothing remained for all of us who were able but to turn out to service. My eldest brother had gone to sea as admiral’s clerk, and within a year or two after these sad events, the home we loved so well was for ever closed against the boys and girls who enjoyed and played around its blythesome hearth. After serving in different capacities in several well-to-do families, I was married to John Hyslop in the winter of 1877.” As early as her fourteenth year she commenced writing verses, and throughout her life poetry has been the solace and refuge of spare hours. She has said: “My verses are not like these written by long-handed men, for I just make a dash at them, and scarcely ever given them a second thought or look.” Mrs. Hyslop sometimes after the decease of her husband got a situation with a family in Stirling, and there she is now, feeling comfortable and at home. Like John, Mrs. Hyslop was a frequent contributor for years to various journals and was successful in different competitions. The People’s Friend, the People’s Journal, Dundee Weekly News, and the Kilmarnock papers from time to time published poems and stories from her gifted pen.

(Johnston, William, editor. Memorial volume of John Hyslop, the postman poet. Kilmarnock: J.C. Motson, “Herald” Office, 1895. pp. xi, xv, xvi.)

The above biographies of Sarah indicate that she and John’s first wife were acquainted with each other prior to his first wife’s death. It’s possible that Sarah was working as a household servant to John Hyslop before his first wife died.

In 1841, at age 1, Sarah was residing in Lochearnhead, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland with her parents and siblings, Catherine, John, and Isabella.

In 1851, at age 10, Sarah was residing in Lochearnhead, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland, with her parents and siblings, Mary, Isabella, Alexander and Helen. She was a student.

In 1855, Sarah Stewart is listed as being 16 years old on her father’s death registration.

In 1861, at age 20, Sarah is believed (but not confirmed) to be residing in West Lundie (Braes of Doune), Kilmadock, Perthshire, Scotland, employed as a dairymaid in the household of Alexander Dewar.

Sarah has not been confidently identified in 1871.

In 1881, at age 36, Sarah was residing at 2 St. Marnock Place, Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland, with her husband John Hyslop, and his children from his first marriage, John, Agnes and Jane. Sarah was a letter carrier’s wife.

In 1891, at age 45, Sarah was residing at 5 Mill Lane, Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland, with her husband, John Hyslop, and 2-year-old grandson, Alexander.

In 1901, at age 55, Sarah was residing at 28 India Street in Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland, widowed and employed as a domestic servant to Margaret Galbraith.

Sarah Jane Hyslop, widow of john Hyslop, former Postman, died 15 January 1920, 7 Bayne Street, Stirling, age 80 years. Daughter of John Stewart, sergeant of police (deceased) and Sarah Margaret Stewart nee Lowell (sic) (deceased). Informant: Grace Stewart, grand-niece, 6 Bruce Street, Stirling.

Alexander Abel Stewart,   b. 18 Jul 1841, Lochearnhead, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland ,   d. Aft 1893, Tamarara, South Island, New Zealand   (Age > 53 years).

In 1854, when Alexander Stewart was 13 years old, his mother died.

A year later, when Alexander was 14 years old, his father died, leaving him an orphan. Alexander Stewart is listed as 14 years old in 1855 on his father’s death registration.

After his parents’ deaths, Alexander’s older brother, John Stewart returned to Scotland and took Alexander to New Zealand with him where Alexander lived out his life as a farmer and gold prospector.

It is not known if Alexander married or had any children.

Helen Maxton Stewart,   b. 1845, Lochearnhead, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland ,   d. UNKNOWN.

Helen Maxton Stewart was born in 1845 in Lochearnhead, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland. She was named after Helen Maxton, wife of William Stewart, 8th of Ardvorlich.

In 1851, at age 5, Helen Stewart was residing in Lochearnhead, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland.

In 1854, when Helen was 9 years old, her mother died.

In 1855, a year later, when Helen was 10 years old, her father died. Helen Stewart is listed as 10 years old in 1855 on her father’s death registration.

After being orphaned at the age of 10, Helen went to live with her eldest sister, Mary Ann Stewart and her husband, William Rattray.

In 1861, at age 15, Helen Stewart was residing at 25 King Street in the town of Stirling, Stirlingshire, Scotland, in the home of her sister, Mary Ann Rattray. Helen was employed as a domestic servant.

Helen has not been found in later census records. She may have married, emigrated or died.