Clan Stewart of Balquhidder - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Stewart of Balquhidder is a Perthshire

Perthshire

Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...

branch of the Stewart clan. They are descended from Sir William Stewart of Baldorran

William Stewart of Baldorran

Sir William Stewart , 2nd Laird of Baldorran, 1st Royal Bailie of the Crown lands of Balquhidder, was a fifteenth century Scottish landowner, and founder of the Balquhidder Stewart clan.-Early life:...

(c1440-c1500), who was the great grandson of Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany, executed by King James I of Scotland

James I of Scotland

James I, King of Scots , was the son of Robert III and Annabella Drummond. He was probably born in late July 1394 in Dunfermline as youngest of three sons...

for treason in 1425. Murdoch Stewart was himself the grandson of King Robert II of Scotland

Robert II of Scotland

Robert II became King of Scots in 1371 as the first monarch of the House of Stewart. He was the son of Walter Stewart, hereditary High Steward of Scotland and of Marjorie Bruce, daughter of Robert I and of his first wife Isabella of Mar...

, who founded the Stewart dynasty.

The Stewarts of Balquhidder include the Stewarts of Ardvorlich, Glen Buckie, Gartnafuaran, and Annat. These families lived in the areas of Balquhidder

Balquhidder

Balquhidder is a small village in the Stirling council area of Scotland. It is overlooked by the dramatic mountain terrain of the Braes of Balquhidder, at the head of Loch Voil. Balquhidder Glen is also popular for fishing, nature watching and walking...

, Callander

Callander

Callander is a burgh in the region of Stirling, Scotland, situated on the River Teith. The town is located in the former county of Perthshire and is a popular tourist stop to and from the Highlands....

, The Trossachs, Loch Earn

Loch Earn

Loch Earn is a freshwater loch in the central highlands of Scotland, in the districts of Perth and Kinross and Stirling...

and as far south as Stirling

Stirling

Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...

, from the 15th century to the present day. For the most part they were Tacksmen

Tacksman

A tacksman was a land-holder of intermediate legal and social status in Scottish Highland society.-Tenant and landlord:...

(Scottish Gaelic: Fear-Taic, meaning "supporting man"), land-holders of intermediate legal and social status in Scottish Highland society.

Although there is no formal clan association, the titular Clan Chief (were one to exist) would be Alexander Donald Stewart, 15th Laird

Laird

A Laird is a member of the gentry and is a heritable title in Scotland. In the non-peerage table of precedence, a Laird ranks below a Baron and above an Esquire.-Etymology:...

of Ardvorlich, of Ardvorlich House, near Comrie

Comrie

Comrie is an affluent village and parish in the southern highlands of Scotland, towards the western end of the Strathearn district of Perth and Kinross, seven miles west of Crieff. The village has won the Royal Horticultural Society "Large Village Britain in Bloom Winner" in 2007 and 2010...

, Perthshire

Perthshire

. Stewart's family have lived at Ardvorlich House for over 400 years.

Geography

Balquhidder

is a parish in Perthshire, Scotland. The Stewart lands once included parts of neighbouring Comrie, Doune

Doune

Doune is a burgh in the district of Stirling, Scotland, on the River Teith. Doune's postal address places the town in Perthshire, although geographically it lies within the District of Stirling, and administratively Doune is under the control of Stirling Council...

, Callander, and Kilmadock

Kilmadock

Kilmadock parish, containing the settlements of Doune, Deanston, Buchany, Drumvaich, and Delvorich, is situated in Stirling council area, Scotland, and is on the southern border of the former county of Perthshire. Its length is , its breadth from , and with an area of .The River Forth runs along...

. The families were associated together in a clan-like relationship in much the same way as the better known Clan Stewart of Appin

Clan Stewart of Appin

Clan Stewart of Appin is a west highland branch of the Clan Stewart and have been considered a distinct clan since the 15th century. They are descended from Sir James Stewart of Perston, who was himself the grandson of Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland...

History

After the execution of Murdoch Stewart Duke of Albany in 1425 and the forfeiture of the Albany Estates, Albany's youngest and only surviving son, James Mor Stewart

James the Fat

James Mor Stewart, called James the Fat, was the youngest son of Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany and Isabella of Lennox. When his father and brothers were executed by King James I for treason in 1425, James led a rebellion against the king, taking the town of Dumbarton and killing the keeper of...

, fled to Antrim

Antrim, County Antrim

Antrim is a town in County Antrim in the northeast of Northern Ireland, on the banks of the Six Mile Water, half a mile north-east of Lough Neagh. It had a population of 20,001 people in the 2001 Census. The town is the administrative centre of Antrim Borough Council...

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

to escape the King's vengeance. Though James would never return to his native Scotland, His youngest son James "Beg" Stewart

James "Beg" Stewart

James "Beag" Stewart of Baldorran was the seventh illegitimate son of James Mor Stewart , who fled into exile in Ireland when his father Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany was executed for treason by James I of Scotland in 1425...

was eventually able to secure a royal pardon and return home. He married Annabel Buchanan, daughter of Patrick, 14th Laird of Buchanan, and was granted the estate of Baldorran (aka "Balindoran"), Stirlingshire

Stirlingshire

Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling is a registration county of Scotland, based around Stirling, the former county town. It borders Perthshire to the north, Clackmannanshire and West Lothian to the east, Lanarkshire to the south, and Dunbartonshire to the south-west.Until 1975 it was a county...

. William Stewart was their second son.

In or around 1488 William Stewart of Baldorran

William Stewart of Baldorran

was appointed Royal Bailie of the Crown Lands of Balquhidder

Balquhidder

, Perthshire

Perthshire

. William brought the Stewart name to Balquhidder and founded the Balquhidder Stewart clan. The Stewarts of Ardvorlich, Glen Buckie, Gartnafuaran and Annat and their cadet families are all descended
from him.

The Stewarts carved out a home for themselves in a relatively lawless part of Scotland, sharing the neighbourhood with the generally hostile Campbell

Clan Campbell

Clan Campbell is a Highland Scottish clan. Historically one of the largest, most powerful and most successful of the Highland clans, their lands were in Argyll and the chief of the clan became the Earl and later Duke of Argyll.-Origins:...

s of Edinample Castle

Edinample Castle

Edinample Castle is a late 16th century castle on the southern shores of Loch Earn near Balquhidder in the Stirling council area of Scotland....

, Aberuchill Castle, and Lawers House.
More distant, but still close, were the Drummond

Clan Drummond

Clan Drummond is a Scottish clan deriving its name from the parish of Drymen, in what was western Stirlingshire. Legend gives Maurice of Hungary as founder of the clan...

s of Drummond Castle

Drummond Castle

Drummond Castle is located in Perthshire, Scotland. The castle is best known for its gardens, described by Historic Scotland as "the best example of formal terraced gardens in Scotland." It is situated in Muthill parish, south of Crieff. The castle comprises a tower house built in the late 15th...

, the MacLaren

Clan MacLaren

Clan MacLaren is a Highland Scottish clan.-History:-Origins:The origins of the clan are uncertain, but by tradition the MacLarens are descended from Loarn mac Eirc of Dál Riata, who landed in & settled Argyll in 503 A.D. The clan name is supposedly derived from Lorn ; these variations are all...

s of Strathyre

Strathyre

Strathyre is a district and settlement in the Stirling local government district of Scotland. It forms the south-eastern part of the parish of Balquhidder and was, prior to the 1973 reorganisation of local government, part of Perthshire...

, the Murray

Clan Murray

Clan Murray is a Highland Scottish clan. The Murrays were a great and powerful clan whose lands and cadet houses were scattered throughout Scotland.- Origins of the Clan :...

s of Ochtertyre

Ochtertyre

Ochtertyre is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland....

, the Neishes of Neishes Isle, the MacNab

Clan MacNab

Clan Macnab is a Highland Scottish clan.-History:Clan Macnab is often said to have been a branch of the Clan Macdonald. However a bond of manrent exists to say that the Clan Macnab was an ally of the Clan Mackinnon and the Clan Gregor...

s of Kinnoull

Kinnoull

Kinnoull is a residential area of Perth, Scotland, approximately half a mile east of the centre of Perth.The main access roads to Kinnoull from the centre of Perth are Strathmore Street and Muirhall Road, both in Bridgend....

in Glen Dochart

Glen Dochart

Glen Dochart in Perthshire, Scottish Highlands is a glen which runs from Crianlarich eastwards to Killin, following the course of the River Dochart as it flows through Loch Dochart and Loch Iubhair. It is met by Glen Ogle at Lix Toll....

, and the MacGregor

Clan MacGregor

Clan Gregor, Clan McGregor, Clan MacGregor or Clan M'Gregor is a Highland Scottish clan. It is the most senior clan of Siol Alpin, translated as referring to King Kenneth I, descending from the ancient Kings of the Picts and Dál Riata...

s of Balquhidder. Some were friends and others hostile.

Sir Walter Scott's A Legend of Montrose

The following story of murder provided the inspiration for Sir Walter Scott’s tale, A Legend of Montrose
A Legend of Montrose
A Legend of Montrose is an historical novel by Sir Walter Scott, set in Scotland in the 1640s during the Civil War. It forms, along with The Bride of Lammermoor, the 3rd series of Scott's Tales of My Landlord...

.

In the Seventeenth Century it was the custom to provide hospitality to anyone who asked for food and shelter. If the guest was not a friend, they were still put up, but instead of a cooked meal were given cold meat (this is where the phrase "given the cold shoulder" comes from). In accordance with this custom, Lady Margaret Stewart at Ardvorlich, pregnant at the time, gave hospitality to some travelling MacGregors. However, they had just come from murdering her brother, John Drummond of Drummonderinoch

Drummonderinoch

DrummonderinochThe origin of the name Drummonderinoch in Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland, comes from the tragic episode of the Massacre of Monzievaird on October 21, 1490....

, and while she was out of the room placed his severed head on a silver platter, and placed in his mouth some of the cold victuals she had served them. She was so distraught that she ran out to the hills and gave birth to James Stewart, later known as the "Mad Major". The Loch she gave birth by is now known as Lochan na Mna, the Loch of the Woman, on the side of Beinn Domhnuill.

Major James Stewart is one of the great historical characters of the Covenanting Wars and is the hero of Sir Walter Scott's novel The Legend of Montrose, in which Scott changed James Stewart's name to Allan M'Aulay. This name is actually engraved on the foot of Major Stewart's gravestone in the Stewarts of Ardvorlich old kirk of Dundurn just outside the village of St Fillans

St Fillans

St Fillans is a village in the central highlands of Scotland, in the district of Perth and Kinross.It lies at the eastern end of Loch Earn, 6 km west of Comrie on the A85 road. St Fillans was a small clachan in the 18th century, known as Port of Lochearn, or Meikleport...

on the shores of Loch Earn

Loch Earn

Loch Earn is a freshwater loch in the central highlands of Scotland, in the districts of Perth and Kinross and Stirling...

Ardvorlich House

Ardvorlich House, near Comrie

Comrie

, Perthshire

Perthshire

, long the seat of the Stewarts of Ardvorlich, remains intact today. An account published in 1819 describes the house as: "The seat of William Stewart, Esq., surrounded by fine old timber, and very young plantations". The fictional castle of “Darnlinvarach”, described in Sir Walter Scott's 1819 novel A Legend of Montrose
A Legend of Montrose
A Legend of Montrose is an historical novel by Sir Walter Scott, set in Scotland in the 1640s during the Civil War. It forms, along with The Bride of Lammermoor, the 3rd series of Scott's Tales of My Landlord...

, was based on Ardvorlich House, which Scott had himself visited.Stewarts of Ardvorlich webpage Retrieved November 2010 The Stewarts of Ardvorlich have owned the estate for more than 400 years and continue to do so to the present day. The present 15th Laird of Ardvorlich is Alexander "Sandy" Stewart.

Clan Association

There is no official registered Clan Association for the Stewarts of Balquhidder, though this branch of the Stewarts is no less legitimately described as a clan than would be the Stewarts of Appin

Appin

Appin is a remote coastal district of the Scottish West Highlands bounded west by Loch Linnhe, south by Loch Creran, east by the districts of Benderloch and Lorne, and north by Loch Leven...

, Atholl

Atholl

Atholl or Athole is a large historical division in the Scottish Highlands. Today it forms the northern part of Perth and Kinross, Scotland bordering Marr, Badenoch, Breadalbane, Strathearn, Perth and Lochaber....

, Bute

Isle of Bute

Bute is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. Formerly part of the county of Buteshire, it now constitutes part of the council area of Argyll and Bute. Its resident population was 7,228 in April 2001.-Geography:...

or Galloway

Galloway

Galloway is an area in southwestern Scotland. It usually refers to the former counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire...

. The others are, today, simply better known and better organized, each with their own tartan

Tartan

Tartan is a pattern consisting of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in many other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Scotland. Scottish kilts almost always have tartan patterns...

and clan officers. As there is no official clan association, there is no official clan motto.

If there were a formal Clan Association, the titular Clan Chief would be Alexander Donald Stewart, 15th Laird of Ardvorlich. However, the current Laird of Ardvorlich does not make any such claim.

There is at present no official Balquhidder Stewart tartan. Anyone claiming association with any of the Balqhuidder families may wear any of the Stewart tartans that are available to anyone of the name "Stewart". Burke's Landed Gentry (p.2147) states that the Stewart of Ardvorlich tartans are Hunting Stewart and Royal Stewart. There are approximately 96 Stewart tartans.

Cadet Families

There are four principal branches of the Stewarts of Balquhidder, namely, Ardvorlich, Glen Buckie, Gartnafuaran, and Annat. Each of these four principal families have several cadet branches and can also spell the name Steuart or Stuart.

Notable Clan Members

John Stewart of Ardvorlich
John Stewart of Ardvorlich
Major John Stewart Of Ardvorlich was a Scottish military officer and the author of several authoritative works on the history of various Scottish clans.-Published works:...

, author of The Stewarts (1963), and The Camerons, A History of Clan Cameron (1971)
George H. "Maryland" Steuart, (1828-1903), Steuart was one of the officers of the Army of Northern Virginia
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...

who surrendered in 1865 at Appomattox Court House
Appomattox Court House
The Appomattox Courthouse is the current courthouse in Appomattox, Virginia built in 1892. It is located in the middle of the state about three miles northwest of the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, once known as Clover Hill - home of the original Old Appomattox Court House...

to end the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.
John Stuart
John Stuart (explorer)
John Stuart was a nineteenth century Scottish-Canadian explorer and fur trader, employed by the North West Company...

, (1780-1847), explorer, fur trader
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...

and partner in the North West Company
North West Company
The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...

. Stuart Lake
Stuart Lake
Stuart Lake, or Nak'albun in the Carrier language is a lake situated in the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. The town of Fort St. James is situated by the lake near the outlet...

and Stuart River
Stuart River
The Stuart River is a river in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. The river flows over from Stuart Lake to its junction with the Nechako River. The river drains a portion of the Nechako Plateau — a gently-rolling region characterized by small lakes and tributaries...

, both in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, are named after him.
George Hume Steuart
George Hume Steuart
George Hume Steuart, was a physician, tobacco planter, and Loyalist politician in colonial Maryland. Born in Perthshire, Scotland, Steuart emigrated to Maryland in around 1721, where he benefited from proprietarial patronage and was appointed to a number of colonial offices, eventually becoming a...

(1700–1784), physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

, tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...

planter and Loyalist
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...

politician in colonial Maryland
Province of Maryland
The Province of Maryland was an English and later British colony in North America that existed from 1632 until 1776, when it joined the other twelve of the Thirteen Colonies in rebellion against Great Britain and became the U.S...

.
James Baeg Stewart, 2nd Laird of Ardvorlich, "The Mad Major", an officer in the army of Sir David Leslie during the Scottish Civil Wars.
Sir William Stewart of Baldorran
William Stewart of Baldorran
Sir William Stewart , 2nd Laird of Baldorran, 1st Royal Bailie of the Crown lands of Balquhidder, was a fifteenth century Scottish landowner, and founder of the Balquhidder Stewart clan.-Early life:...

(c1440-c1500), 2nd Laird of Baldorran, 1st Royal Bailie of the Crown lands of Balquhidder, founder of the Balquhidder Stewart Clan.

Ancestry of Stewarts of Balquhidder

External links

Stewarts at www.clan.com Retrieved November 2010
Stewarts of Balquhidder official website Retrieved November 2010
Ardvorlich House webpage Retrieved November 2010
Stewarts of Ardvorlich webpage Retrieved November 2010
A Legend of Montrose by Sir Walter Scott Retrieved November 2010
Books by John Stewart of Ardvorlich at amazon.co.uk Retrieved November 2010
Introduction to A Legend of Montrose by Sir Walter Scott Retrieved November 2010

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