| Notes |
- Alexander was the only recorded son of General Patrick Stewart, 3rd of Ledcreich.
Alexander is estimated to have been born about 1676, presumably in Ledcreich, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland. Alexander was born prior to the commencement of the Balquhidder parish register, so no record of his baptism exists. No record of his death has been found either, but his son, Patrick inherited Ledcreich on 8 Jan 1731, thus Alexander would presumably have died shortly before that date.
The Birth of the Jacobites
We don't know a lot about Alexander's life, but we can surmise much from his context. Alexander was alive during the 1688 so-called "Glorious Revolution" in which the Scottish King James VII (and II of England) was deposed and replaced by his Protestant daughter Mary II and her Dutch husband William III, ruling as joint monarchs. Alexander's father likely fought in the Glorious Revolution and witnessed his king flee into exile. It would have been crushing to one who had committed so much to what felt like a losing cause. Alexander, though too young to have been involved, would have been raised on the stories of his father's gallant loyalty to their royal kin.
Alexander would have been entering adulthood during the years of King James' exile and would have felt the sting of James' death in France. Alexander was surrounded by Jacobite loyalists. While we have no record of Alexander having served in the military, he was almost certainly aware of the plans swirling around him to try to install the late king's son, Prince James Francis Edward Stuart, as King James VIII/III of Scotland and England. Given the rest of the clan's loyalty and involvement, it's very likely that Alexander was involved in some way in the 1715 Jacobite Rising and he would have felt the sting of the Rising's failure.
Was Alexander himself a Jacobite? We don't know for sure, but given the loyalties of those around him, almost certainly yes.
Stewart Clan Magazine, says:
[Alexander's] property had been diminished by reason of his father's support of Kings Charles I, Charles II and James II, and perhaps his own activities in 1715 on behalf of the Chevalier St. George (Prince James Francis Edward Stuart). (Edson, George, Stewart Clan Magazine, Tome C p.115-116, April 1935, vol. xii, no. 10)
Alexander's Family History
In 1763, Alexander's eldest son, Patrick dictated a detailed family history in which Patrick says the following about Alexander:
“2nd. Alexander Stewart, of Ledcreich, was only son to Patrick* Stewart, of Ledcreich, who suffered much in the reign of the two Kings Charles and King James the Seventh, and to Margaret his wife, daughter to Robert B., of Drumlain, cousin-german to the Laird of Lenny.”
The April 1935 issue of Stewart Clan Magazine says,
"Alexander Stewart, born about 1665, was laird of Ledcreich, in Balquhidder, Perthshire. He married Catherine Stewart, daughter of Alexander Stewart, 'brother to Robert Stewart of Glenagle (sic, Glenogle), predecessor to John Stewart of Hindfield and Stronsor (sic, Stronvar).' His property had been diminished by reason of his father's support of Kings Charles I, Charles II and James II, and perhaps his own activities in 1715 in behalf of the Chevalier St.George (James Stuart). Sons: Patrick, c.1687: m. Elizabeth Menzies, settled in North Carolina in 1739; Robert; William." (Edson, George, Stewart Clan Magazine, Tome C, April 1935, vol. xii, no. 10, p.115-116.)
Twenty years later, Stewart Clan Magazine in the Dec. 1956 issue, updated its article on Alexander Stewart as follows:
"Alexander Stewart, born about 1676 in Balquhidder parish, in western Perthshire, Scotland, was the only son of Gen. Patrick Stewart of Ledcreich, an officer in the armies of Kings Charles I, Charles II and James II. This Patrick, according to James Caraway in an interpolation in the manuscript genealogy of this family, written in 1763, "fought in 25 battles, besides skirmishes, and suffered much [financially] on account of his loyalty to the family." Alexander married Catherine Stewart, daughter of Alexander, "brother of Robert Stewart of Glenagle (sic, Glenogle), predecessor to John Stewart of Hyndfield, or Stronvar."" (Edson, George, Stewart Clan Magazine, Tome G, December 1956, vol. 34, no. 6, pp.177-179)
Alexander is not mentioned in Duncan Stewart (1739).
Gordon MacGregor, in The Red Book of Scotland, says:
"Alexander Stewart, 4th of Lecreich, is stated to have been the only son of his father and whom he succeeded in the lands of Ledcreich. He married Catherine, daughter of Alexander Stewart, brother of Robert Stewart of Glenogle. He had issue." He goes on to provide an approximate date for Alexander's death, saying, "Patrick Stewart, 5th of Ledcreich, succeeded his father and purchased the feu of the lands of Ledcreich from James, Duke of Atholl, on 8 January 1731."
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Abt 1676 - Abt 1731 (~ 55 years)
