"Some Colonial Families" -- Stewart Family

So, I came across this book that has a short section on my Stewart ancestors that I got copies of.  I typed up the record yesterday, and thought I'd share it here.  I have found some errors in name spellings, but it does provide some helpful family information, I think.  The author believed that Luther Stewart's father was James Stewart, but also notes the other possibility that Luther's parents were instead Paul Stewart and Jerusha Spencer (which is the family line that I have recorded in my genealogy file).  Lucinda Stewart Giffin, the youngest child of Luther Stewart and Esther Smith, is my fourth great grandmother.

“Some Colonial Families: Avery, Brewster, Mills, Morgan, Smith, Starr, Stewart, Tracy” (book) compiled by Eloise M. Roberts, Avard, Oklahoma, 1926. Book in the ‘American Genealogical-Bipgraphical Index’ collection, at the Godfrey Memorial Library, 134 Newfield Street, Middletown, Connecticut 06457. Photocopies of the ‘Stewart’ section of the book ordered from the Godfrey Library by Stephanie Chidester Bradshaw in April 2011. Includes photocopies of cover page, page with Stewart family crest [not numbered], and pages 53-57. [Typed by Stephanie Bradshaw, April 2011].

Page 53:
“From Hampshire County Deeds, on record at Springfield, Mass. ‘No. 20, p 370 Warranty Deed from Thomas Kanada of Blandford, Mass., to Thomas Smith of Norwich, Conn., yoeman, conveying a certain tract of land in Blandford, bounded, beginning at a maple swamp at the N. E. corner of said lot, thence running north 71 degrees, 30 m west, one hundred sixty rods to a hemlock stake and stones, then running southerly and bounded westerly partly on John Savage’s land, and partly on Lt. Wm. Knox’s land, bounded south upon Philemon Doolittles’ farm, to a hemlock stake and stones, thence northerly on the town line to the first mentioned bounds, containing 50 acres with a mansion house.’ Dated March 18, 1783.
Ibid. No. 25, p 554. Deed of above property ‘being the farm I now live upon,’ from Thomas Smith of Blandford, Mass., yeomen, consideration 140 pounds, to Thomas Kanada of said Blandford. Dated Dec. 2, 1783.
Ibid. No. 24, p 558. Deed from Samuel Smith, Jr., of Norwich, Conn., consideration 45 pounds to Thomas Smith of Montgomery, Mass., conveying a tract in Norwich, Hampshire County, Mass., of one hundred acres ‘being the easterly part of lot No. 63 in the second division.’ Dated May 28, 1785.
(Norwich bounds Montgomery on the North.)
Ibid. No. 25, p 707. Thomas Smith of Montgomery, Mass., yeoman, for 45 pounds sells the above tract of land to John Sanford of Saybrooke, Conn., June 1, 1785.’
Ester Smith, born Apr. 18, 1768, daughter of Thomas Smith and Tamar (Williams) Smith married 1784 Luther Stewart.
According to tradition in the Stewart family Luther Stewart was the son of James Stewart, a native of Scotland who left his home at the beginning of the eighteenth century and settled in Mass. Tradition believed by different branches of the family tells that he lost his wife and 8 children through illness on the voyage to America. Only a . . .”

Page 54:
“. . . foster daughter was left, and he afterwards married this foster daughter. It is claimed that the father, James Stewart, and five sons fought in the Revolutionary War. These sons were Luther, William, and Calvin. The other names are unknown.*
Genealogists tracing the line have thought that there was a second James between James and the emigrant, this James being James, Senior, of Concord, Mass.,** who married Jane and had five children, Phoebe, born Jan. 28, 1731/2: Anna, married Nov. 26, 1741, Thomas McGee and James who married Agnes and lived in Colrain, Mass.*** In proof of this line the genealogist gives much the same records that Mr. Edson gives in support of the theory that Paul Stewart, and not James, was the father of Luther. These lines being conflicting and confusing I am omitting them.
The Revolutionary services of James Stewart as given by the War Department and accepted by the Society of Daughters of the American Revolution is: . . .

[Footnotes]
*This tradition is doubted by George Thomas Edson, of Filley, Neb., who gives another ancestry entirely. But as his supposition as to the ancestry is supported by no proof, I prefer the family records given to me by Andrew Stewart, grandson of Luther Stewart, who claimed his great grandfather’s name was James. Mr. Edson says the town records do not give the parentage of Luther Stewart, but merely lists his birth as on such a date. The records as given in the “Stewart Clan Magazine,” by Mr. Edson, Editor, are:

‘Paul Stewart (Walter 2) born March 23, 1723, in Boxford, Mass., married Jerusha (Spencer?). In 1749 Paul Stewart of Suffield bought land in Blandford, where he spent the greater part of his life. He was in a list of pewholders May 28, 1760, and in 1778 was a creditor with Spencer Stewart to the estate of William Henry; and he, his son Calvin and William Gilmore made a deed of land to the minister, with love as the consideration. In 1782 he deeded land to his son Calvin. In 1790 he appears in the first census with himself and his wife the only members of the family, after which we have no record of them. Children, as taken from town records by Mrs. Jessie A. Porter of Springfield, Mass:
9- Jehiel, Oct. 22, 1750. Marriage intentions Dec. 20, 1778, Rachel Williams.
10- Lusannah, Nov. 22, 1752.
11- Daniel Spencer, Feb. 17, 1775.
12- William, Nov. 3, 1759. Marriage intentions April 22, 1780, Beaulah Meachem.
13- Luther, April 2, 1762, married Mar. 18, 1784, Ester Smith.
14- Jerusha, Sept. 11, 1764, marriage intentions Apr. 22, 1780 William Gilmore.
15- Calvin, May 22, 1767: Married Nov. 8, 1787, Eleanor Taylor, West Springfield.
16- Elizabeth, Sept. 19, 1769: marriage intentions June 4, 1789, Edmund Gilmore.’
** ‘Concord, Mass., Births, Marriages and Deaths,’ printed by the Town. P 129.
*** ‘Early Settlers of Colrain, Mass.’ By Chas. McClellen, pp 72-73.”

Page 55:
“. . . ‘Private in Capt. Hugh McClallen’s Company, Col. David Fields’ Regt., which marched from Colrain to Bennington on the alarm of August 17, 1777, six days.’ Also, ‘Private in Capt. McClellen’s Co., Col. Wells’ Regt. From Sept. 22, to Oct. 18, 1777, with the Northern Army.’
The wife of James is unknown. Of the five sons but one is known” Luther, born Apr. 2, 1762 in Blandford, Mass.* Married Mar. 18, 1784 Ester Smith. Luther Stewart’s war record, as given by the War Department and accepted by the Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, were: ‘Private in Capt. John Carpenter’s Co. of Guards stationed at Springfield from Oct. 6, 1779 to Jan. 6, 1780.’
Children of Luther Stewart and Ester (Smith) Stewart:
12. Lucina – born April 1, 1785. Died Oct. 29, 1875. Married# ‘In New York State in the Delaware’ to Edward Mills. Their descendants are given in the ‘Avery’ chapter of this book.
13. Lydia – born Jan. 11, 1787.
14. Rolan – born Jan. 27, 1789.
15. Tamar – born March 8, 1791.
16. Nancy – born Jan. 20, 1793.
17. Luther – born Oct. 20, 1794.
18. Ada – born July 19, 1798.
19. Asa – born May 12, 1801.
20. Marvin – born Feb. 17, 1803. Married** 1842 Sally Ann Flower, said to be one fourth Indian blood. They had at least three children, William D., Thomas, and Mary Lucina, who married Eber Hodge in Ohio.
21. James – born Mar. 4, 1806, married* Nancy Whitley, Dec. 27, 1834. Moved to Logan County, Ohio, where the following 13 children were born: . . .

[Footnotes]
*From original town records of Blandford, Mass., copied by Mrs. Jessie A. Porter, Springfield, Mass., for the ‘Stewart Clan Magazine.’
#‘Pioneer and Patriot Families of Brandford Co. Penna.’
*This Stewart family history given to me by my mother, Laura Caroline Taylor, and by Andrew Stewart.”

Page 56:
“. . . I. Andrew – (The family historian who supplied the Stewart line for this book). Born July 5, 1836. Married Kenracie Stratton, his cousin, a daughter of Olive (Stewart) Stratton and Hiram Stratton. Two children were born to Andrew and Kenracie, Olive and Nan. Andrew Stewart died in Lincoln, Nebraska, after 1918.
II. Kitty Ann – born Nov. 19, 1837.
III. John – born May 10, 1839. Died young.
IV. Ester – born Jan. 26, 1841. Married.
V. Milton – born July 10, 1842. Died young.
VI. Joseph – born Aug. 17, 1845.
VII. Whitely – born May 28, 1847. Unmarried. Soldier in Union Army in Civil War.
VIII. Wilson – born May 31, 1849.
IX. Luther – born April 11, 1851.
X. Ed – born June 11, 1853.
XI. Laura – born Aug. 3, 1855.
XII. Nancy – born July 21, 1857.
XIII. Eddy – born Feb. 1, 1861.
22. Olive Stewart, eleventh child of Luther and Ester (Smith) Stewart was born April 1, 1808, in Little Valley, Cattaraugus Co., N. Y. Married in Towanda, Penna., to Hiram Stratton, Feb. 4, 1831. Lived in Missouri. Children of Olive (Stewart) Stratton and Hiram Stratton:
I. Louisa – born April 8, 1832. Unmarried.
II. Myron L. – born May 28, 1833, married Mary Rauk and had children, Luther, Frank, Julia, Mary, Sarah. Myron L. served in the Union Army in the Missouri Militia during the Civil War.
III. Stewart C. – born Jan. 31, 1836. Married Crissie Orr. Children, George, Nannie, Charles C., Oliver, Edward, May, Myrtle E., Stewart C. Stratton was a Methodist Preacher.
IV. George B. – born Sept. 12, 1837. Married Ruth Ellen League. Children, Myron L., William J., and Almeda. George B. Stratton was in the 33 Iowa Regt. Union Army in the Civil War for three years. Was a war prisoner for ten months. . . . ”

Page 57:
“. . . V. Emmaline – born Mar. 20, 1842. Unmarried.
IX. Wilson – born July 21, 1844. Unmarried.
X. Kenracie – born June 13, 1846. Married her cousin Andrew Stewart.
XI. Olive – born Nov. 16, 1849. Married Thomas J. League.


13. Thomas Stewart, thirteenth child of Luther and Ester (Smith) Stewart, born Sept. 9, 1812. Married 1st 1838 in Ohio to Eliza Timmons. Lived in Logan County, Ohio. Had at least three children, Luther, Lucy, and Edmond who died young. Married second, to Ellen La Fre. Children John Mufford and Millard Fillmore.


15. Lucinda, fifteenth child of Luther and Ester (Smith) Stewart, born Dec. 11, 1815. Married Matthew Griffin, and had at least two children, Olive and Ann. Lucinda is said to have been born in Blandford, Mass., but I am inclined to think Lucina is meant, as in 1815 the Stewart family was living in Ohio.


After the Revolutionary War Luther Stewart and family moved from Conn. (?) to N. Y. State, probably Delaware County, then to Seneca Co., and perhaps to Genesee. Then in 1811 to Hamilton Co. Ohio. In 1814 they moved to Clarke Co., and there in 1815 Luther Stewart died. Ester, his wife, moved to Logan County Ohio, and there died in 1845. If Lucinda was born in Blandford Mass., it means that Ester went back to Mass., in 1815, and then back to Ohio.”


My notes:

• Numbering of the children of Luther and Ester Smith Stewart is typed as found in the original document: 1 through 11, 13, and 15. No 12th or 14th children were listed. I suppose that this was probably just a numbering error in the original text. Although it does specifically say that Thomas was the thirteenth child, and Lucinda was the 15th, so I suppose it could also mean that there are two children not listed that the author did not know the names of???
• Also, “Ellen La Fre” who is referred to as the second wife of Thomas Stewart, should be Elenor Morgan Lefevre Stewart. I have copies of an original letter written by Elenor, which you can view here: http://stephsgenealogy.blogspot.com/2008/07/old-letter.html
• And the husband of Lucinda Stewart was Matthew Giffin (not Griffin).