The Stewarts of Laggan in Strathyre,Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland

Branch I, Line 1 of the Stewarts of Ardvorlich

The Stewarts of Laggan were a cadet branch of the Stewarts of Ardvorlich.  They resided at the farmstead of Laggan on Loch Lubnaig in Strathyre in Balquhidder parish, Perthshire, Scotland.  Laggan means “warm hollow” or possibly “little hollow”.

Stewarts of the South wrongly shows the Stewarts of Laggan as 3 Line under the Balimeanach branch of the Stewarts of Ardvorlich, with the following entry:

a) Robert Stewart, late tenant of Ardvorlich, his son James Stewart is a gentleman farmer of Laggan, Strathyre, Balquidder parish, on Buchanan of Cambusmore’s estate.  He (James) has one son who is a minor and pays �260 of rent.  This James Stewart is one of the best managers of a farm of any in this country and keeps excellent cattle – as to character, he as a man it surpasses that of the farmer for generosity and humanity.  Here the stranger finds hospitality and the poor and needy shelter & relief.  He is an ornament to his Clan in many respects. 

b) William, his (James’) brother, lives with him as a foreman. He (William) is a bachelor.

However, we now know that this line descends illegitimately from Robert Stewart, 3rd of Ardvorlich.  The fact that this family lived in Balimeanach of Ardvorlich for several generations may have led to the mistaken association with the Balimeanach family in Stewarts of the South.  The Stewarts of the South Appendix says the following about James Stewart in Laggan, son of Robert, above:

(Balquhidder Parish) 1. Mr James Stewart, [in] Laggan of Strathyre, of the Ardvorlich family, a respectable and friendly character and a good manager, £240, [who did] lately sell [his property], [lived on] Buchanan of Auchleskie’s property

Charmian Bondi of Laggan sent us the following obit:

STRATHYRE – 1917 – THE LATE MRS. STEWART LAGGAN – There passed away peacefully at Laggan, Strathyre, on 25th Jan., Mrs. Helen Stewart, widow of Mr. John Stewart, farmer, Laggan. She had been ailing for some time, but was thought to be improving, when she had a relapse, and passed away at the age of 59. Mrs Stewart was a lady of most estimable character – kind to the poor, and respected by all classess. She was a native of Inverness-shire and is survived by a family of three sons and two daughters. The eldest son is Mr. John Stewart, (my father) solicitor, Dunblane, who is Clerk to the District Committee of the Western Division of the County Council, and who holds a number of other public offices. The funeral, which was largely attended took place on Monday to the family burying-ground at Dundurn Chapel, St Fillans, where as a scion of the Stewart of Ardvorlich, they have the right to bury inside the chapel. As the place, however, is rather overcrowded, Mrs. Stewart’s remains were interred immediately outside the chapel. The funeral service at the house was conducted by the Rev. David Cameron, B.D., and at the grave by the Rev. Mr. Scott, Dundurn, and the Rev. Mr. Cameron, Balquidder.

It is interesting to note that her husband, Mr. John Stewart, was for a long time manager of the home farms at Immerion, belonging to Mr Carnegie of Stronvar, under the last and the present laird. Mr. Stewart, after he retired, succeeded his brother, Mr. Robert Stewart in the tenancy of Laggan Farm, where he died some six years ago.

Before going to Laggan the Stewarts occupied lands on the shores of Loch Earn, not far from their kinsmen, the Stewarts of Ardvorlich, the present chief being Major Stewart, Governor of the Calton Jail, Edinburgh.

Mitchell’s Monumental Inscriptions shows the following entries for the Laggan Family:

29 James STEWART, farmer (at) Laggan (in) Strathyre, died SEP 1852, wife Mary STEWART predeceased him, brother William STEWART (at) Ardoch Mill (in) Strathyre, died 23 APR 1860 (family: Christina 12 MAR 1881, Robert farmer (at) Laggan, died 24 NOV 1900 (his wife Janet STEWART 26 NOV 1880, son Peter farmer (at) Immervoulin, died 15 APR 1935), John farmer (at) Laggan, 29 MAR 1911 (his wife Helen MACKAY 25 JAN 1917, son James farmer (at) Laggan died 5 MAR 1935)).

32 (next to 31) John STEWART, died (at) Laggan (in) Strathyre 29 MAR 1911, wife Helen MCKAY, died there 25 JAN 1917, youngest son James died there 15 MAR 1935, youngest daughter Sarah 19 MAY 1967.

Judging by the photo of the stone, the two stones mentioned by Mitchell above have since been replaced by a single newer stone with all of the family information on one stone.

From these entries, census information, OPR excerpts and the Laggan Family Tree (c/o Charmian) we can reconstruct the following accounting of the Stewarts of Laggan:

The Predecessor of the Stewarts of Laggan

As noted above, Stewarts of the South wrongly accounts for the Stewarts of Laggan as a cadet branch of the Stewarts of Balimeanach.  The confusion is understandable as the accounting below shows that the early predecessors of the Stewarts of Laggan actually resided at Balimeanach, but they were not descended from the Stewarts of Balimeanach.

Robert Stewart, 3rd of Ardvorlich

Robert Stewart, 3rd of Ardvorlich (shown above), “went over the hill” and had a natural son by an unknown woman. Whether “he went over the hill” is a euphemistic reference to his non-marital liaison or whether it was a literal geographic reference to the location of Laggan in Strathyre, the later residence of this family, is not known. But Laggan is located just over Ben Vorlich from Ardvorlich.  Robert’s lawful children are presented above.  Robert was also the father of:

1. Robert STEWART, in Balimeanach of Ardvorlich, Predecessor of the Stewarts of Laggan, b. ABT 1653 in Balquhidder or Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland as a natural son of Robert Stewart, 3rd of Ardvorlich, by an unknown mistress (shown above). Robert was predecessor to the Stewarts of Laggan. Robert married Margaret MCINVINE (McNiven) although no record of their marriage has been found. They had the following (known) children, however chronology and onomastics would suggest they had further unrecorded children who did not survive:
   1. Jean STEWART b: ABT 7 MAY 1693 in Balimeanach, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland
   2. Alexander STEWART , in Balimeanach b: 1700 in Balimeanach, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland.  Alexander’s birth is not recorded in the Comrie OPR, but is recorded in the Laggan family tree.  Alexander married to Helen MCNIVEN although no record of their marriage has been found..  They had the following children:
      1. Robert STEWART , in Balimeanach b: 30 APR 1726 in Balimeanach, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland.  Robert is described in Stewarts of the South as: “late tenant of Ardvorlich, his son James Stewart is a gentleman farmer of Laggan, Strathyre, Balquidder parish, on Buchanan of Cambusmore’s estate.” He married Christian (a.k.a. Mary) MCLAREN although no record of their marriage has been confirmed. A marriage for Robert Stewart and Christian McLaren took place on 18 APR 1767 in Balquhidder and 30 APR 1767 in Callander parishes. It is not known if this was a late marriage for this couple or a different couple altogether. The births of their children all give their mother’s name as “Mary McLeran”.  They had the following children:
         1. Jean STEWART b: ABT 2 MAY 1761 in Ardvorlich, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland
         2. Janet STEWART b: ABT 21 MAR 1763 in Ardvorlich, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland
         3. James STEWART , 1st of Laggan b: ABT 10 JUL 1765 in Ardvorlich, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland.
            1. James’ information and descendants are shown below.
         4. John STEWART b: ABT 12 NOV 1767 in Ardvorlich, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland
         5. Robert STEWART b: ABT 11 DEC 1770 in Ardvorlich, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland
         6. William STEWART , in Ardoch b: 1776 in Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland.  William was a miller and forester in Ardoch. William is described in Stewarts of the South as: “William, his (James’) brother, lives with him as a foreman. He (William) is a bachelor.” He is recorded in Mitchell’s Monumental Inscriptions as: “William STEWART (at) Ardoch Mill (in) Strathyre, died 23 APR 1860.”
         7. Duncan STEWART, b: ABT 1 MAY 1781 in Ardvorlich, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland.
      2. Margaret STEWART b: ABT 15 OCT 1727 in Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland
      3. James STEWART b: ABT 10 MAY 1730 in Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland

James Stewart, 1st of Laggan

James STEWART , 1st of Laggan b: ABT 10 JUL 1765 in Ardvorlich, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland.  James m. 29 JUL 1820 in Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland to Mary STEWART with James of Balquhidder parish and Mary of Callander parish. James is recorded in Stewarts of the South in very flattering terms as follows: “(James) has one son who is a minor and pays �260 of rent. This James Stewart is one of the best managers of a farm of any in this country and keeps excellent cattle – as to character, he as a man it surpasses that of the farmer for generosity and humanity. Here the stranger finds hospitality and the poor and needy shelter & relief. He is an ornament to his Clan in many respects.” He is recorded in Mitchell’s Monumental Inscriptions as follows: “James STEWART, farmer (at) Laggan (in) Strathyre, died SEP 1852, wife Mary STEWART predeceased him.”  James and Mary had the following children:

1. Robert STEWART , 2nd of Laggan b: ABT 6 JUN 1821 in Laggan in Strathyre, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland.  Robert married on 15 JAN 1853 in Balquhidder and 18 JAN 1853 in Port of Menteith, Perthshire, Scotland to Janet STEWART, b ABT 1 SEP 1822 as the daughter of Peter Stewart in Immervouin in Strathyre and Jean McGregor of the “Caleb Stewart” family, a cadet of the Stewarts of Glenogle. Janet was also sister to Margaret Stewart, wife of John Stewart of the Grodich of the Stewarts of Auchnahard in Glenfinglas. Robert is described in Mitchell’s Monumental Inscriptions as “Robert farmer (at) Laggan, died 24 NOV 1900 (his wife Janet STEWART 26 NOV 1880.”  The 1861 census reveals that Janet had an uncle named Daniel STEWART, b 1793 in Callander. Robert inherited the estate of Laggan on the death of his father, however the estate later passed to Robert’s brother John instead of to Robert’s sons. The reason is presently unknown.  Robert and Janet had the following children:
   1. Mary STEWART b: 16 OCT 1854 in Laggan, Strathyre, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland
   2. Jean STEWART b: ABT 23 SEP 1856 in Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland
   3. Daughter STEWART b: ABT 21 AUG 1858 in Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland.  Her forename is not recorded in the parish record so it is presumed that she died at birth.
   4. James STEWART b: ABT 30 SEP 1858 in Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland
   5. Peter STEWART , in Immervoulin b: ABT 30 NOV 1862 in Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland.  Peter is recorded in Mitchell’s MIs as “son Peter farmer (at) Immervoulin, died 15 APR 1935.”
2. John STEWART , 3rd of Laggan b: ABT 8 JUL 1823 in Laggan in Strathyre, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland.  John married ABT 1877 to Helen MCKAY who was born 1858 in Inverness. They are recorded in Mitchell’s Monumental Inscriptions as “John STEWART, died (at) Laggan (in) Strathyre 29 MAR 1911, wife Helen MCKAY, died there 25 JAN 1917.” John and Helen were residing in Imereon in Glenbuckie in 1891. It’s worth noting that John was 54 and Helen was 19 when they married!  They had the following children:
   1. John STEWART , 4th of Laggan b: 1878 in Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland.  John was a solicitor in Dunblane. John was father of:
      1. Charmian STEWART, 5th of Laggan b: Private
   2. Donald STEWART b: 1881 in Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland
   3. Mary STEWART b: 1883 in Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland
   4. James STEWART b: 1885 in Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland
   5. Sarah STEWART b: 1887 in Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland
3. Christian STEWART b: ABT 20 FEB 1825 in Laggan in Strathyre, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland.  Christian never married but had a “natural” child with Robert Stewart, farm servant in Laggan. This Robert is suspected as being Robert Stewart, bap 22 DEC 1823 in Immervuline in Strathyre, son of Peter Stewart in Immervuline, of the “Caleb Stewart” family, a cadet of the Stewarts of Glenogle. If so, then Robert’s sister, Janet, was the wife of Christian’s brother, Robert Stewart, 2nd of Laggan.  They had the following child:
   1. Mary STEWART b: 1 FEB 1854 in Laggan in Strathyre, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland.  She is recorded in the Balquhidder OPR as “begotten in fornication with Robert STEWART, farm servant in Laggan.”
4. Mary STEWART b: ABT 1 JAN 1828 in Laggan in Strathyre, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland.  Mary married on 30 JUN 1850 in Kincardine by Doune, Perthshire, Scotland to Finlay FISHER , in Blair Drummond b: 1790 in Perthshire, Scotland.  They had the following child:
   1. Euphemia FISHER b: ABT 13 JUN 1852 in Kincardine by Doune, Perthshire, Scotland.  Euphemia never married.