A Whole Lotta Family - Person Sheet
A Whole Lotta Family - Person Sheet
NameRev William Steuart Sr 
13
13Birth9 Aug 1732, Stirling, Stirlingshire, Scotland13
DeathFeb 1797, Cowpasture, Augusta (Highland) Co, Virginia13 Age: 64
Occupationfirst school teacher in the Highland and Bath VA areas, Augusta Co Court Clerk13
FlagsFrench and Indian Wars, Revolutionary War
FatherJames Stewart (1702-~1748)
MotherJean Millar (1703-)
Spouses
Birth1736, Augusta (Highland) Co, Virginia Colony, BCA
Death1800, Augusta Co, Virginia Age: 64
FatherEdward P Usher (1711-1744)
MotherJane Ann “Nancy” Swift Perry (1717-1745)
ChildrenJames Usher (1757-1835)
Edward Usher (1758-1844)
John James (1761-)
Jane (~1764-)
William R (~1767-)
Usher (1769-)
Notes for Rev William Steuart Sr
William Steuart's arrival and life story
"The earliest teacher of whom we have knowledge was William Steuart (sic), progenitor of the Steuart family. He taught quite regularly from the time of his arrival about 1755, and appears to have been well educated, especially in the mathematics."--Oren F. Morton, History of Highland County, Virginia, 1911, 1985, p. 150 William Steuart purchased 105 acres of land on the Cowpasture from George Wilson in 1759 and 125 acres on the Bullpasture from Dawson Wade in 1773. In addition, 65 acres on the Cowpasture were surveyed for him in 1769, 122 acres on the Bullpasture in 1782, and two tracts totalling 292 acres on the Bullpasture in 1786. James Stuart received a patent for 300 acres on the Cowpasture River in Bath County surveyed for him in 1745. --Morton, op. cit., pp. 173-4, 177 & 402
The following is excerpted from Walter Stuart's History of Stuart Family, published by his wife, Essie W. Stuart, after his death in 1950, 89 pages: "The date of the arrival of the first Stuart...in America is not known. But from the time of the settlement at Jamestown until along about the time of the Revolutionary War they came in goodly numbers. There were more than two hundred members of the Stuart family in the Colonial army from the Colony of Massachusetts alone. There were probably even more from Virginia."...
"The earliest Virginia ancestor of the Stuarts who settled on Elk Creek in the early part of the 19th century was William Stuart. He came from Scotland, the land of his birth, and settled in the Augusta colony of Virginia in what is now Highland County. When he was born and when he came, we do not know. One account states that he was born about 1732 and came to America about 1755. He bought land of one George Wilson at the mouth of Shaw's Fork on the Cowpasture River and settled there in 1759. From that time until his death there was his home. "William Stuart's coming to America isÖdescribed in Morton's History of Highland County: 'Stuart, a young Scotchman, had a thrilling experience in reaching these mountains. Being well educated, he expected to follow a profession. The ship on which he took passage was captured by Spanish pirates and the crew was killed. He was the only passenger and was put on the South Atlantic shore with no clothing save a piece of canvas and without his chestful of books. Thence he drifted northward to the Augusta colony, doing at first manual labor. His soft hands and intellectual air brought him a welcome invitation to teach school, and he followed this calling the rest of his life. But downcast at the loss of his beloved library, he was content to spend his days in the frontier wilderness. Stuart settled just below the mouth of Shaw's Fork.' (Morton, pp. 71-2)
"The Indians used the Shenandoah Valley as a hunting ground and as a road over which Southern and Northern tribes travelled to and from battle engagements. It does not appear from records available that there were any Indian villages in the valley. The Indian prized the valley greatly as a hunting ground, and bitterly struggled to repel the white invader. It was the scene of many bloody encounters between the two races. "There were no fights of any consequence between the whites and the Indians in the area now comprised by the county of Highland. A few women and children were carried off as prisoners and a few white men were killed, but the losses suffered in that area were insignificant as compared to the losses in some other sections of Augusta. "There was only one fort in Highland. Of course every house, or cabin, was built with the view to protection of the inmates from Indian attacks. It was built of heavy logs, and had loopholes through which those within could fire upon the savages. It had only one or two windows, and they were so small that a person could not crawl through them. The cabin was built near a spring and at some distance, if possible, from any place that might afford ambush or concealment for the foe.
"The fort was known as the Clover Creek Fort. At the time the fort was built, about 1754, the stream that is now known as the Bullpasture River was probably called Clover Creek...There is no record of the fort's ever having been attacked. But for several summers the settlers of that community lived in it, because they did not know what hour they might be attacked. During the winter seasons the settlers were fairly free from attacks. The Indians did not roam about much in the winter time. "From the outbreak of the French and Indian War (1755) until General Wayne's victory in 1795 no cabin in Highland was free from the menace of the red man for any considerable time...For the protection of the settlers two men would take enough food to last three or four days and go out into the forest to look for Indian trails and signs. Upon finding evidence of the presence of savages they would at once proceed to warn the settlers. These men were called rangers. They would cover a territory of many miles in circumference, sometimes as many as 30 miles. When their provisions gave out they would return to the settlement, and then two other men similarly equipped would go out into the forest to look for the savages. Many of the rangers became more proficient than the Indians in woodcraft and in detecting and trailing a foe.
"Our ancestor, William Stuart, it appears, saw much service as a ranger. At the commencement of the French and Indian War he joined a company of rangers under Captain William Preston. His brothers-in-law, Loftus Pullin and John Dickenson, were also members of Capt. Preston's rangers. "That part of Augusta embraced by the present county of Bath suffered far more from Indian depredations than did the Highland area. A tribe of Shawnee Indians lived in the southern part of Bath...Several whites were killed at Fort Dinwiddie (in Bath Co.), among whom were James Stuart and John Byrd...James Stuart...was probably a brother of William Stuart. He came to the Cowpasture in 1750 where he received by patent some 300 acres of land. He was killed in 1757...
"John Byrd's wife and six children were captured while fleeing from their home to Fort Dinwiddie. The only one of the family that ever returned was John Byrd, Jr., who was 8 years old when captured. He was 16 when he came back...When he returned he was wearing a gold chain fastened to punctures in his nose and ears. It is said that the Indians became very fond of the boy on account of his manly bearing and his bravery and intended to make him a chief. He twice tried to return to the Indians but was prevented from doing so. John Byrd, Jr., became the progenitor of the Bath, Highland and Harrison Byrds, or Birds. He died in 1840 on his farm in Bath County at the age of 90, while he was plowing a field near his home...
"William Stuart married Margaret Usher, daughter of Edward and Anne Usher...he was given land by the English government for his services in (the French and Indian War)...he was the first school teacher in the Highland and Bath areasÖ (and) he was for some years clerk of the county court of Augusta...The children born to William and Margaret Stuart were James, Edward, John, Usher, William, Mary and Jean. All married except Usher. James, Edward and John were soldiers in the Revolution. Two of them, Edward and John, were at Yorktown at the surrender of Cornwallis..." --Walter Stuart, pp. 7-33.
NOTES AND SOURCES OF INFORMATION: Text --as indicated from Oren F. Morton, History of Highland County, Virginia, 1911, 1985, pp. 71-2, 150, 173-4, 177, & 402 and Walter Stuart, History of Stuart Family, pp. 7-30, 33 Family data from Walter Stuart, History of Stuart Family, published after 1950, pp. 9-30 [Br¯derbund WFT Vol. 7, Ed. 1, Tree #2296, Date of Import: Nov 23, 1997]: William Stewart was living on Bull Pasture Mountain, 7 March 1745/6.13
"The earliest teacher of whom we have knowledge was William Steuart (sic), progenitor of the Steuart family. He taught quite regularly from the time of his arrival about 1755, and appears to have been well educated, especially in the mathematics."--Oren F. Morton, History of Highland County, Virginia, 1911, 1985, p. 150 William Steuart purchased 105 acres of land on the Cowpasture from George Wilson in 1759 and 125 acres on the Bullpasture from Dawson Wade in 1773. In addition, 65 acres on the Cowpasture were surveyed for him in 1769, 122 acres on the Bullpasture in 1782, and two tracts totalling 292 acres on the Bullpasture in 1786. James Stuart received a patent for 300 acres on the Cowpasture River in Bath County surveyed for him in 1745. --Morton, op. cit., pp. 173-4, 177 & 402
The following is excerpted from Walter Stuart's History of Stuart Family, published by his wife, Essie W. Stuart, after his death in 1950, 89 pages: "The date of the arrival of the first Stuart...in America is not known. But from the time of the settlement at Jamestown until along about the time of the Revolutionary War they came in goodly numbers. There were more than two hundred members of the Stuart family in the Colonial army from the Colony of Massachusetts alone. There were probably even more from Virginia."...
"The earliest Virginia ancestor of the Stuarts who settled on Elk Creek in the early part of the 19th century was William Stuart. He came from Scotland, the land of his birth, and settled in the Augusta colony of Virginia in what is now Highland County. When he was born and when he came, we do not know. One account states that he was born about 1732 and came to America about 1755. He bought land of one George Wilson at the mouth of Shaw's Fork on the Cowpasture River and settled there in 1759. From that time until his death there was his home. "William Stuart's coming to America isÖdescribed in Morton's History of Highland County: 'Stuart, a young Scotchman, had a thrilling experience in reaching these mountains. Being well educated, he expected to follow a profession. The ship on which he took passage was captured by Spanish pirates and the crew was killed. He was the only passenger and was put on the South Atlantic shore with no clothing save a piece of canvas and without his chestful of books. Thence he drifted northward to the Augusta colony, doing at first manual labor. His soft hands and intellectual air brought him a welcome invitation to teach school, and he followed this calling the rest of his life. But downcast at the loss of his beloved library, he was content to spend his days in the frontier wilderness. Stuart settled just below the mouth of Shaw's Fork.' (Morton, pp. 71-2)
"The Indians used the Shenandoah Valley as a hunting ground and as a road over which Southern and Northern tribes travelled to and from battle engagements. It does not appear from records available that there were any Indian villages in the valley. The Indian prized the valley greatly as a hunting ground, and bitterly struggled to repel the white invader. It was the scene of many bloody encounters between the two races. "There were no fights of any consequence between the whites and the Indians in the area now comprised by the county of Highland. A few women and children were carried off as prisoners and a few white men were killed, but the losses suffered in that area were insignificant as compared to the losses in some other sections of Augusta. "There was only one fort in Highland. Of course every house, or cabin, was built with the view to protection of the inmates from Indian attacks. It was built of heavy logs, and had loopholes through which those within could fire upon the savages. It had only one or two windows, and they were so small that a person could not crawl through them. The cabin was built near a spring and at some distance, if possible, from any place that might afford ambush or concealment for the foe.
"The fort was known as the Clover Creek Fort. At the time the fort was built, about 1754, the stream that is now known as the Bullpasture River was probably called Clover Creek...There is no record of the fort's ever having been attacked. But for several summers the settlers of that community lived in it, because they did not know what hour they might be attacked. During the winter seasons the settlers were fairly free from attacks. The Indians did not roam about much in the winter time. "From the outbreak of the French and Indian War (1755) until General Wayne's victory in 1795 no cabin in Highland was free from the menace of the red man for any considerable time...For the protection of the settlers two men would take enough food to last three or four days and go out into the forest to look for Indian trails and signs. Upon finding evidence of the presence of savages they would at once proceed to warn the settlers. These men were called rangers. They would cover a territory of many miles in circumference, sometimes as many as 30 miles. When their provisions gave out they would return to the settlement, and then two other men similarly equipped would go out into the forest to look for the savages. Many of the rangers became more proficient than the Indians in woodcraft and in detecting and trailing a foe.
"Our ancestor, William Stuart, it appears, saw much service as a ranger. At the commencement of the French and Indian War he joined a company of rangers under Captain William Preston. His brothers-in-law, Loftus Pullin and John Dickenson, were also members of Capt. Preston's rangers. "That part of Augusta embraced by the present county of Bath suffered far more from Indian depredations than did the Highland area. A tribe of Shawnee Indians lived in the southern part of Bath...Several whites were killed at Fort Dinwiddie (in Bath Co.), among whom were James Stuart and John Byrd...James Stuart...was probably a brother of William Stuart. He came to the Cowpasture in 1750 where he received by patent some 300 acres of land. He was killed in 1757...
"John Byrd's wife and six children were captured while fleeing from their home to Fort Dinwiddie. The only one of the family that ever returned was John Byrd, Jr., who was 8 years old when captured. He was 16 when he came back...When he returned he was wearing a gold chain fastened to punctures in his nose and ears. It is said that the Indians became very fond of the boy on account of his manly bearing and his bravery and intended to make him a chief. He twice tried to return to the Indians but was prevented from doing so. John Byrd, Jr., became the progenitor of the Bath, Highland and Harrison Byrds, or Birds. He died in 1840 on his farm in Bath County at the age of 90, while he was plowing a field near his home...
"William Stuart married Margaret Usher, daughter of Edward and Anne Usher...he was given land by the English government for his services in (the French and Indian War)...he was the first school teacher in the Highland and Bath areasÖ (and) he was for some years clerk of the county court of Augusta...The children born to William and Margaret Stuart were James, Edward, John, Usher, William, Mary and Jean. All married except Usher. James, Edward and John were soldiers in the Revolution. Two of them, Edward and John, were at Yorktown at the surrender of Cornwallis..." --Walter Stuart, pp. 7-33.
NOTES AND SOURCES OF INFORMATION: Text --as indicated from Oren F. Morton, History of Highland County, Virginia, 1911, 1985, pp. 71-2, 150, 173-4, 177, & 402 and Walter Stuart, History of Stuart Family, pp. 7-30, 33 Family data from Walter Stuart, History of Stuart Family, published after 1950, pp. 9-30 [Br¯derbund WFT Vol. 7, Ed. 1, Tree #2296, Date of Import: Nov 23, 1997]: William Stewart was living on Bull Pasture Mountain, 7 March 1745/6.13