After having now written several blog posts regarding the Stewart royal mystery, I thought it would be helpful to pull all of the disparate puzzle pieces together into a cohesive story. If the family legend is correct, and that is a HUGE if, then this is how I believe the Stewart line could feasibly have descended from the Duke of Berwick.
Reconstructed timeline (speculation in red):
- 1670: James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick is born
- 1687: Berwick returns to England from Hungary
- 1688: Berwick takes up a commission as the Governor of Portsmouth in support of his father, King James II, during the Glorious Revolution
- December 1688: Berwick flees England to join his father in French exile
- 1688-1691: John Stewart Sr. is born in England, Ireland, or Scotland
- 1705: John Stewart Jr. is born in England, Ireland, or Scotland
- 1710-1720: John Stewart Sr. flees England, Ireland or Scotland with his wife and young son, and establishes himself as a planter in Henrico County, VA
- 1724: John Stewart Jr.’s land on Fighting Creek is referenced in a land grant
- 1727: John Stewart Jr. sells land on Fighting Creek
- 1749: Fighting Creek becomes part of Cumberland County, VA
- 1775: John Stewart Jr. of Cumberland County, VA purchases land in Amherst County, VA
- 13 April 1784: John Stewart III marries Mourning Burford Floyd
- 14 April 1784: Will of John Stewart Jr. of Amherst County, VA leaves 3,750 acres of Kentucky land to his son John Stewart III, daughter Ann is also mentioned
- 1797: Ann Stewart marries John Burford Floyd
Clearly, the period from 1688 to 1724 presents the greatest challenge in terms of documentation. Right now, the best clue that I have to work from is the following:
17 February 1729. John Stewart, son of John Stewart, of Henrico Co., planter, to John Povall of same, for 48 pounds, 400 acres on south side of Fighting Creek on north side of Appomattox River, next to William Randolph Esq. Wit: John Woodson, William Lewis, John Woodson Signed: John Stewart. [Goochland Deeds, Deed 14 p. 162]
I have ordered some books on Henrico County, VA that cover the period from 1737 to 1750 in Henrico. I am hoping that these may turn up some more clues on the elusive John Stewart Sr., planter, perhaps even a will or some land transactions evidencing a transfer of wealth from father to son. More to come.
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