Steward/Stuart of Surry & Sussex, VA
THE FAMILY OF WILLIAM(1) AND MARY SHANDS STEWART
OF SURRY COUNTY, VIRGINIA
On 19 Jul 1742 William Stuart(1) purchased 150 acres on the south side of the Nottoway River from William Freeman and his wife Elizabeth. It is with this William that we can place our family of Stewarts in Surry County, Virginia. He is the son of Charles Steward who married Anne Pace.
In Charles Steward's will dated 2 Dec 1752 and probated on 25 Sep 1753, Surry County Deed Book # 6, p. 446, 1749-1753: (Extracted from STEWART CLAN MAGAZINE, Tome E, Jan and Feb 1944, Vol. XXI: No. 8) -- Richard(4) Stewart son of Charles(3), born about 1720, married (1) _____________ and (2)___________. . . His father, in his will dated Dec. 2, 1752, and probated Sep. 25, 1753, gave him and his brother, William, 200 acres of land in Surry, south of the Nottoway River. . .After he gives property and possessions to his other children and his wife, he states that he gives his son William the remainder of his land. . .This William is the son of Charles and Anne Pace Steward and the William who marries Mary Shands. A Charles Steward was sponsored to America in 1635 by Edward Osborne and mentioned in 1638 with Christopher Branch of Henrico, VA.
During this period of time our Stewart/Steward/Stuart/Stuard name was not spelled consistently, nor were other family spellings. On the 1790 Census of the United States some family names had as many twenty spelling variations. Many people are thrown off track when searching for their ancestors if they believe the family has spelled its name only one way. Most of these Southerners could neither read nor write; therefore, the person doing the recording or census taking spelled names as he heard them spoken in the various dialects.
By 1742 William Stuart was strongly affiliated with the Shands/Robards/Rives families, which would indicate an earlier connection. A close friend was Sloman Wynn—the Wynns were said to have come from Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. They descended from Robert Wynne, mayor of Canterbury, who was born in 1563 in Shrewsbury. . .
William Stuart and Mary Shands were married after 1740 as proven by her Grandfather Robards' will. Their first child James was christened on 3 Nov 1743. His godparents were William Shands, William Shands, Jr., and Elizabeth Shands. . . Several of their children's christenings were registered in the ALBEMARLE PARISH REGISTER recorded by Rev. Willie. Two of their daughters, Anne and Frances, and their son, William, Jr., were not recorded, causing one to believe that they resided elsewhere at the time, perhaps in Brunswick Co.
In 1749 their known children were James, Anne, Frances, and William, Jr. Son, John, was born on 23 Feb 1749/50 and christened on 8 Apr. John's godparents were John Shands, Elizabeth Shands, and Edward Shelton. . . Son, Thomas, was christened on 18 Jun 1752, his godparents' being Matthew Wynne, son of Sloman, James Williams, and Mary Marriable. Another son, Charles, was christened on 18 Jan 1757, with Isaac Mason (cousin by marriage), William Willie, registrar of the ALBEMARLE PARISH REGISTER, and Anne McGee, named as his godparents.
Two daughters were born in the 1760's. Elizabeth was christened on 7 Mar 1762, her godparents being William Weathers, and her sisters, Anne Stewart and Frances Stewart. Charlotte was christened on 29 Sep 1763, her godparents being an uncle, Henry Mitchell, and aunts, Sally Ogburn and Amy Shands.
Many land transactions and deeds involving our Stewarts occurred over the next several years and are recorded in deed books of Surry and Sussex Counties.
WHERE DID THE CHILDREN GO?
In William Lindsay Hopkins's book SUSSEX COUNTY, VIRGINIA, DEED BOOKS A-E, 1754-MARCH 1779, we can track some of William(4) and Mary Shands Stewart's children. Son, William, Jr., was purchasing land from his father and others by the late 1760's; son, James, bought a slave from his father in 1770; plus daughter, Frances, who had married Marcus Gilliam, was given a Negro girl, Hannah, in 1768, witnessed by her brothers: James and John, and brother-in-law, Thomas Stokes, who had married Anne. . .
Frances Stewart and Marcus Gilliam were married before 1767 since their first child was christened in January of that year. Their children, indicated on the ALBEMARLE PARISH REGISTER, were Nathaniel, c. 11 Jan 1767, godparents being William Stewart, Thomas Hall, and Mary Hern. Son, Drury, was c. on 8 Feb 1769 with godparents listed as William Rives, Jr., William Hern, and Lucy Hern. Son William was c. on 1 Oct 1771. William Stewart, Jr., William Lamb, and Sarah Sommerville were his godparents. By 1774 the Marcus Gilliam family was living in Bute Co, NC, later Warren and Franklin Counties.
Daughter, Anne Stewart and Thomas Stokes were married after 1762. Thomas could have had a son, Christopher Stokes, when they married. Their children recorded on the ALBEMARLE PARISH REGISTER were as follows: Richard was christened on 17 Apr 1771, godparents being William Stewart, Jr., Jesse Sturdivant, and Lucy Gilliam. Anne was c. on 13 Mar 1773 with her godparents listed as Moses Knight, Susanna Newsom and Frances Woodruff. Daughter, Mary (Polly), was christened on 19 Jun 1775. Her godparents were William Hardy, Frances Sturdivant, and Anna Williams. By 1777 Thomas Stokes is listed as deceased, apparently a casualty of the Rev War.
{In Dr. Stephen E. Bradley's book THE DEEDS OF SUSSEX COUNTY VIRGINIA 1779-1792, 1993, more is found about this family:} "38-(40) Christopher Stokes of Sussex Co. makes bond to Ann Stokes of same for 50 pounds VA 22 Oct 1779. Sd Christopher Stokes was heir to his father Thos. Stokes' estate, & he gives up his right to 2 Negroes Janne & Frank, also the use of 1/3 of land during her life, to complete the administration of his father's estate, & after sd Ann's death the Negroes to be divided among his brothers & sisters Elizabeth, Catharine, Thomas, Richard, Nancy, & Polly. Wit: Robt. Jones, Joseph Dennis 18 Nov 1779. W. P. Claiborne Clerk."
Son, William Stuart, Jr., married Jemima Johnson after Feb 1772. Mrs. C. H. Stuart of Stanton, TN, gives an account of her family in the book THIS I GIVE TO YOU. Mary Ann Mitchell of Jackson, Tennessee, is also a researcher of this family.
My direct ancestor, John Stewart, son of William and Mary Shands Stewart, was listed as a merchant on some deeds of the 1770s. On 20 Oct 1774 he was living in Brunswick and is shown purchasing 200 acres on the south side of Nottoway River and the Hunting Quarter Swamp, being the land whereon William Rieves now lives and bounded by Stith Parham, William Hern, and William Hardaway. Apparently, he was married or married soon thereafter, Lucy Parker, thought to be the daughter of Drury/Drewery and Elizabeth Barham Parker since their first child, our ancestor William B. Stewart is shown on the ALBEMARLE PARISH REGISTER in 1775, being christened on 3 May 1775. His godparents were William Stewart, Thomas Ogburn, and Scota Stewart, believed to be either Elizabeth or Charlotte. {Scota Steward married John Mitchell, her cousin. After his death she married Peter Cain, Jr., their building a house in Sussex County, VA, which is still standing today.} In some recordings this name is transcribed Seala or Scota, but I believe it is Scota—back to ancient Stewart lore about Scota, princess of Ireland and Scotland from whom the Stuart Kings prove their lineage back to King Solomon, King David and the Pharaoh of Egypt during the time of the great Exodus of the Israelites.
John and Lucretia Parker Steward had four children. William B., Frederick P., Elizabeth Gilliam, and David, who died young. Elizabeth married Gray Gilliam and moved Halifax, NC, eventually moving to Logan County, KY. Col. Stephen Temple was the surety on their marriage. He was married to Harriett Judkins, a possible cousin of Elizabeth through the Barham family. The Temples also moved to Logan Co, KY by 1800. Frederick P. Stuart married Cassandra Jones and moved to Logan County, KY, as well. William Steward moved to Georgia, marrying Elizabeth Parker, daughter of Cader Parker formerly of Nansemond Co, VA, 1782 and later Greene Co, GA. William and Elizabeth Parker Steward moved to Lowndes County, Alabama, where many of their friends and relatives had moved from Virginia, Surry and Sussex in particular. Most of their children married in Alabama before moving westward to LA, ARK, TX. All of this is recorded in the book JAMES A. STEWART: SOMEWHERE IN TEXAS, 1994, by Peggy A. Givens, GPG Publishing Co, 5992 Walnut Glen, McAlester, OK 74501 [e-mail address: gpgpubl@icok.net].
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