When did Duncan Stewart die?

[Betty S]

I wonder if someone could help me with ONE of my brick walls???       Ducan Stewart, born 1823,Kilmichael,Glassary, Argyll, married Isabella Blair,born 1825, also in Kilmicheal.
 I have been able to trace all of them until early 1900, EXCEPT for Duncan.(snr) ....the last official note of him is at Low Foxbar Farm, in Abbey,Renfrew I think this is him with his son Duncan, the places of birth seem to be around the wrong way, but the dates fit in well, also the rest of the family all seem to have either married or are in Paisley. I have narrowed down the time frame that I think Duncan would have died and have looked extensively on Scot. People, but no Luck!! I think he would have died between Sept.91-Sep.t95,according to Marriage cetrs. of some of the children.....
Any help would be wonderful, or suggestions...Thanks

[gavuzzo]

When Duncan Stewart died I do not know, but he was a member of my family! He was one of ther Glassary Stewarts. They are decendants of a single family which came from Renfrew or Ayr about 1650 and settled in Glassary. The Stewarts lived at the southern extremity of the parish, very near where Lochgilphead now is. I have documented the family in a book:

Alexander Donald Stewart, A History of the Glassary Stewarts, Amelia 1999. There are copies in the Salt Lake library, the British Library, New York Public Library, etc.

However, I have to admit that, since Duncan was a member of the Free Church of Scotland, his marriage and his descendants escaped me until I saw this request for information.

[Betty S]

 Thank you for your reply....I have been tracking this side of the family for years, and have found out  alot about them, except for the fact of Duncans Death!
I would be very happy to exchange info. with you, if you like.
Do you know how I could get a copy of the book you mentioned? I live in Australia.
Duncan Stewart ,who mmarreid Isabella Blair, had 10 children....Jessie their 3rd child, married my gggrandfather, William Rodger.
Looking forward to hearing from you, Regards Betty S

[gavuzzo]

All that I know about Duncan Stewart is given below. My book is, unfortuntely out of print, and the files were all lost in a computer crash shortly after printing it. You may be able to get a copy through inter-library loan. The book is in the National Library of Scotland, as well as the British Library, but I doubt if there is a copy in Australia. I would inded be glad to see your data, which I suspect is more extensive than mine. Incidentally, the birth of Duncan’s eldest child, Mary, is not in the Lochgilphead Free Church register. I checked a couple of weeks ago when I was in Lochgilphead.

Regards from Alexander Stewart


Duncan Stewart, b. 17 Aug. 1823 at Auchoish in Glassary, m. Jan. 1846, at Lochgilphead, Isabella, daughter of Malcolm Blair & Mary McTavish. Isabella was b. 30 Nov. 1825  at Acres of Castleton, near Lochgilphead, and d. 26 May 1907 in Govan. Duncan and his wife had eleven children, 1-11.

Duncan and his wife were members of the Free Church of Scotland, the marriage register for which at Lochgilphead has been lost. Duncan was a farm servant except for the period c.1866-c.1875 when he rented the 30 acre arable farm of Bellsgrove, near Beith. This was the zenith of the family’s fortunes. In 1875 Duncan was again a ploughman and by 1881 appears to have abandoned the family. That year his wife and her three youngest daughters Isabella, Christina and Margaret were living in Paisley, the mother working as a lady’s nurse and the daughters in the cotton textile industry. However, it was not until 1901 that Isabella Blair described herself as a widow.


The children of Duncan Stewart & Isabella Blair


1. Mary, b. c.1846 in Glassary, m. 23 July 1869 at Bellsgrove Farm (Beith), Alexander, son of James Houston & Margaret Alexander.

Mary was named after her mother’s mother, in accordance with tradition. She was a mill worker in Johnston in 1861. Her husband was a farm servant. The couple was resident at 299 Caledonia Road, Govan, in 1881, with their five children, all born in Kirkintilloch.

2. Alexander, b. 15 Sept. 1848 at Ballamore (i.e. Ballimore, Aird of Lochgilphead), d. before 1851.

Alexander was named after his father’s father.His birth is recorded in the Lochgilphead Free Church register.

3. Janet (Jessie), b. c.1850 at Kilfinan, m. 29 June 1876 at Paisley High Church manse, Wiiliam, son of Robert Rodger & Marion Stewart.

4. Malcolm, b. 15 May 1853 at Kilfinan, fl.1861 but not 1881

5. Daniel, b. 1854 at Kilmalcolm, m. 12 Nov. 1875 at Stevenston (Ayr), Isabella, daughter of Alexander McArthur & Catherine McArthur.

Daniel was then a railway porter in Kilmarnock in 1875 and a carter in Govan in 1881.

6. Donald, b. 21 Jan. 1856 at Craiginch (Kilmalcolm), fl.1861 but not 1881

7. Isabella, b. 1 April 1858 at Benston, near Johnston (Renfrew), m. 3 Feb. 1886 at Clark Town Hall, Paisley, James, son of Hugh Ritchie & Janet Hair.

Isabella was a sewing machinist in 1886 and her husband a joiner


8. Duncan McFarlane, b. 8 Mar. 1860 at Blacklandmill (Paisley), fl.1871 but not 1881

9. Christina, b. 28 Mar. 1864 at Johnston (Renfrew), m. 8 Sept. 1891 at Clark Town Hall, Paisley, William Frame, son of Alexander Prentice & Janet Frame.

William Prentice was a draper at 99 High Street, in Paisley

10. Margaret, b. 4 Oct. 1866 at Bellsgrove Farm (Beith), fl.1881 in Paisley

11. Alexander, b. 7 Feb. 1870 at Bellsgrove Farm (Beith), fl.1871 but not 1881

[Betty S]

 Thanks for that info. Alexander.....it confirms most of my data.....but I was never able to find Mary's marriage, so that's another brick in the wall....I also thought that  Donald changed his name to Daniel for some strange reason, as I didn't have Daniel's birth.....I will now sort that out.
I am wondering if the 2 Duncans in the 1881 census are ours. They are at Low Foxbar Farm, as ploughmen. At first I thought I had the wrong Duncans, but when you reverse the places where they are supposed to be born it fits. What do you think?
I have photos of Jessie Stewart (who maried William Rodger) with her 4 girls, if you would like a copy? The only son, Robert, my grandfather, is not in it unfortunately, he could have been over in Africa (Boer War) its hard to date the photos sometimes....I do have a photo of him in his A& S Highland uniform before he went to war. He came out to Australia in 1912, and married my grandma the following year. She was a Macleod from Clachtoll, near Lochinver.
I visited Scotland in 2006 and actually met some of her relatives, it was just great! I loved Scotland and hope to go back next year.
Regards Betty S

[Ringoroses]

Hi, intersting thread.

These Free Church of Scotland registers in Lochgilphead, where are they exactly?

My 3x great grandparents worked on the Castleton/Shirvan estate (owned by the Graham-Campbell family at the time) in the 1840s. Their daughter was born there in c1845. As only their first child was registered before the split in 1840,  I'm pretty sure they were Free Church but didn't know where to look for the records (the only records I've seen were in the SNA, but  it wasn't a 'register' as such, and proved fruitless).

Regards, Ann