| Notes |
- Duncan and his brother Charles were twins. They were 17 years old when their father died.
In 1763, Duncan's uncle, Patrick Stewart, dictated a detailed family tree, which was subsequently added to by by Dr. James Caraway in 1789, in which Duncan is described as:
"Duncan married Penelope Jones, daughter of Tignal Jones, of North Carolina, near Raleigh, by whom she had William, who died a child; Jones, now living near Woodville, State of Mississippi; Elizabeth married to Col. Hambleton, late of the United States army; Catherine married to Henry Cage, living near Woodville, Miss., and James now at Cumberland College at Nashville."
Duncan Stewart was the proprietor of Holly Grove Plantation, Centreville, Wilkinson County, Mississippi, USA.
From Wikipedia:
"Duncan Stewart (January 16, 1761 - November 26, 1820) was a veteran of the American Revolutionary War, slave owner, frontiersman, and politician. He holds the very rare distinction of having served three separate states state legislatures over his life, in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Mississippi.
"Duncan Stewart was born January 16, 1761. He was the son of William Stewart, a Scottish immigrant. His mother was Janet Stewart, nee McDougal. He was a twin to his brother, James Stewart.
"During the American Revolution, Duncan Stewart entered the Continental Army as a private, eventually being promoted to the rank of colonel of North Carolina troops.
"Duncan was married to Penelope Jones. Their children were, William, who died in infancy; Tignal J. (1800-1855), a member of the Mississippi Legislature who married Sarah, a daughter of Judge Peter Randolph; James A. (1811-1883), who married Juliana, another daughter of Judge Randolph; Charles Duncan (1812/3-1886), a planter who married a daughter of U. S. Senator John Black; Catherine (1804-1829), who married Judge Harry Cage; and Eliza (died 1870), who married Colonel W. S. Hamilton and was the mother of State Senator Jones S. Hamilton.
"In the early 1790s he represented Bladen County, North Carolina in the North Carolina General Assembly. From 1790 to 1792, he represented Bladen County in the House of Commons (then the name of the state House of Representatives), and in the State Senate from 1793 to 1794.
"After he moved to Tennessee, he served as Tennessee state senator for the fourth, fifth, and sixth General Assemblies. He represented Montgomery and Robertson Counties fourth and fifth General Assemblies, and he represented Montgomery, Robertson, Dickson, and Stewart Counties in the sixth General Assembly. Stewart County was carved out from the western part of Montgomery County, and is named after him. It was formed on November 3, 1803.
"In 1811, he moved to Woodville, Mississippi where he began cotton farming. After Mississippi achieved statehood, he was elected both as a Mississippi state senator and as the inaugural Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi. He was elected President Pro Tempore of the Mississippi Senate. Alongside Governor David Holmes, Stewart served as Lieutenant Governor from October 7, 1817 to January 5, 1820.
"In 1812, he had Holly Grove built.
"Duncan Stewart died on November 26, 1820, at his plantation home, and was buried next to his twin brother James. The two are buried at the Stewart Two cemetery with four other people out in the woods in southern Mississippi." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duncan_Stewart_(Mississippi_politician)
In 1820, Duncan was residing in Woodville, Wilkinson, Mississippi, USA, where he owned 80 slaves.
In a 1936 article, Stewart Clan Magazine says:
"Col. Duncan Stewart was a son of William Stewart by his first marriage. He refused to spell his name Stuart as his brother Patrick did. He entered the Revolutionary army as a private and was promoted to the rank of colonel. [He was probably the Duncan Stewart+ who was granted land at Beaver Dam, Bladen County, N.C., in 1791.] In 1797 or thereabout Duncan and his brother James went to Tennessee and settled at Clarksville, Montgomery county. Duncan married Penelope Jones, daughter of Col. Tegrial Jones of that state. He was very wealthy, and was a member of the Tennessee legislature. In 1803 part of Montgomery county was set off and named Stewart county in his honor.++ Col. Stewart removed about 1808 to Mississippi and established the Stewart plantation in Wilkinson county. He became surveyor general and later lieutenant-governor of Mississippi. Children: William: died in infancy; Catherine: m. Judge Harry Cage : d.1829; Tegrial Jones, 1800: m. Sarah A. Randolph : d.1855; Eliza: m. Col. W. S. Hamilton : d.1870; James A.,1811: m. Julianna Randolph, sister of Sarah : d.1883; Charles Duncan: m. Julia Black : father of John Black Stewart, author."
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+ Duncan Stewart, esq., 3-0-6 [shown in 1790 census with 3 males over 16, 0 males under 16 and 6 females], with 30 slaves, was enumerated in New Hanover County, N.C., in 1790.
++ Note by Mrs. Harold Weaver of Edmondson, Ark., descendant of William Stewart of Virginia, --B:286. (Edson, George, Stewart Clan Magazine, Tome C, August 1936, vol. xiv, no. 2, p.189.)
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In a later 1957 article, Stewart Clan Magazine says:
"Duncan Stewart, born about 1752 probably in Sampson [then Duplin] County, North Carolina, was named, with his mother Janette and David Bailey, executor of his father's will, dated Aug. 22, 1778, and, with his brothers James and Charles, was given tracts of land in New Hanover, Sampson and Bladen counties.
"He was sympathetic to the colonial cause during the Revolution," a descendant told a writer for MEMOIR OF MISSISSIPPI, 1891. He was of Bladen County when he bought Mar. 28, 1787, of Griffith Jones White, for 600 pounds, 350 acres of land on the northeast side of the northwest branch of Cape Fear river in Bladen county. In the census of 1790 Duncan Stewart, esq., 3-0-6 (3m>16, 0m<16, 6f), was enumerated in New Hanover county, owning thirty Negroes. This might mean that his brothers James and Charles, both over 16 years of age, and his mother and five sisters were members of his household.
"In 1791 he was granted land on Beaverdam Swamp in Bladen [Columbus] County, and also on South river. He deeded Oct. 7, 1795, to Ever Currie of New Hanover County, for 20 pounds, 150 acres of land on Little Coharie Creek in Sampson County, which he had bought Mar. 25, 1795, of Lewis Williamson, witnesses to the deed being James Stewart and Alexander Currie.
"Duncan Stewart married in Wake County -- probably at Raleigh -- Penelope Jones, the marriage bond being signed Oct. 19, 1797, with John Haywood as fellow bondsman. Penelope was a daughter of Tingnall Jones, a wealthy land-owner.
"Duncan and his brother James emigrated to Tennessee about 1797 and settled at Clarksville, Montgomery county," a descendant related. He became a historic figure, and further account of him and his descendants would be superfluous. He was colonel of militia, a member of the Tennessee state legislature and a very wealthy planter. Stewart county, formed from the western part of Montgomery County in 1804, was named in honor of Col. Duncan Stewart. After his removal to Wilkinson (taken in 1802 from Adams) County, Mississippi, about 1810 he became a leading figure in the territory, surveyor general and lieutenant governor. For data of his family see Stewart Clan Magazine, C:189. (above)
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* TERRITORIAL PAPERS OF THE UNITED STATES -- MISSISSIPPI, Mississippi included Alabama.
+ Olds' NORTH CAROLINA WILLS, 1760-1800, gave this will as having been probated in Jones County, but that is a mistake. Like other blunders, it will worry searchers for years and years.
++ The fact that James Stewart, son of Charles and Hannah (Kirk) Stewart of Wake (in the part formerly Cumberland) county, married Elizabeth Matthews opens a field of conjecture.
(Edson, George, Stewart Clan Magazine, Tome G, March 1957, vol. 34, no. 9, pp.189-192):\\
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The Stewart County Standard says:
"Duncan Stewart, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War, traveled across the Smokey Mountains into middle Tennessee in 1794 - two years before TN actually became a state. Many former Revolutionary soldiers were paid for their service to the country by being awarded 640 acres of land by state governments. North Carolina, at the time owned all land to the Mississippi River, including our county. They paid many of their soldiers' with tracts of land in the new frontier for their service. Stewart and brother Charles, eager to come West, bought land from soldiers who wished to remain in the Tar-Heel state. At one time, Duncan owned over 30,000 acres in middle TN. He lived in Montgomery and Stewart Counties while he surveyed and helped settle the frontier. Duncan built a fort, called Stewart Station, close to Wells Creek in the southern part of Stewart Co., in what is now Houston Co. The following is a letter from his brother Charles Stewart about life on the frontier:
"Duncan and myself left that country (North Carolina) and located ourselves in then a territory, now the state of Tennessee. There, we soon got an appointment as surveyors...We have encountered all the hardships that could be conceived from the Indians who were at open war with us...In 1796, we got a peace with the Indians...In 1797, we returned to North Carolina and took wives...we then moved back to Tennessee, a distance of 700 miles away...We subsidized our families out of the woods with our guns and feasted our delicately raised wives with the flesh of bear, buffalo, deer and wild turkey...They never complained."
"While some people might be discouraged to stay on the edge of the wilderness, Duncan continued to buy and sell land throughout middle Tennessee. Some of the land sales have been found in the Stewart County Archives. Through the use of the Archives, Stewart County Library and the Stewart County Historical Society and their museum, many Stewart County residents are researching their past. At the recent Literacy Night at Stewart County High School, many Stewart County students learned how Stewart County got its name. In 1801, Duncan was a state senator, serving Robertson and Montgomery counties. In 1803, with a lot of people moving into the western part of Montgomery County, the state decided these residents had too far to travel to conduct business in Clarksville. They decided to split off the western part of Montgomery County and form a new county - and they named it Stewart County, after Duncan. So our county was formed on November 3, 1803. The town seat was named Monroe after (future president) James Monroe. But two years later, the citizens voted to rename the town Dover, because the high bluffs reminded many of the townspeople of similar bluffs in Dover, England. As more and more people moved into Middle TN., Duncan began to feel over crowded...he was hearing of a new frontier open for settlement in southern Mississippi. In 1811, he moved to Woodville, Mississippi, and started cotton farming. Most of his family (wife, kids, siblings) all moved south, except his twin brother James. As James' health started to fail, he decided to move from Clarksville to Mississippi in 1818. Duncan and James had always promised to be buried in the same cemetery. So James, knowing the time was near, had quite the elaborative sendoff in front of his Clarksville friends. He invited them all to the pier for his goodbye, complete with music and food. He placed his belongings on a boat, and to the surprise of many, workers loaded a substantial coffin on the boat also. A local preacher, possibly the Elder Reuben Ross, then preached brother James' funeral - while James sat on his coffin listening. It took years before the citizens of Clarksville ceased talking about this strange transaction...When James arrived in southern Mississippi, he found Duncan to be a rich man, living on a large plantation and also Lieutenant-Governor in the state. James didn't live long after he made the trip and was buried in a spot he picked out on a hill a mile from Duncan's house. Duncan was very successful and well liked in all three states...a Revolutionary War veteran in North Carolina, a frontiersman and trailblazer in middle Tennessee and a business man and politician in Mississippi. Duncan had six kids with his wife Penelope and his plantation home in southern Mississippi, (Holly Grove) is still standing today and is on the National Register of Historical Places. One side note, many people remember the movie Braveheart, with William Wallace (Mel Gibson). At the end of the movie, the Scottish king, Robert the Bruce, led the Scottish troops against the King of England. The Scots were victorious and Robert the Bruce became king of Scotland. Robert the Bruce was Duncan Stewart's ancestor. (Say the word great 14 times, then grandfather and you get the idea.) In closing, Duncan Stewart passed away on November 27, 1820, at his plantation home. He chose to honor his 50-year-old agreement to be buried next to his twin brother James. The two are buried at the Stewart Two cemetery with four other people out in the woods in southern Mississippi. (https://www.stewartcountystandard.com/from-the-archives-founder-of-our-county-cms-318)
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The following article pertains to brothers Duncan, Charles and James Stewart. It incorrectly names Duncan and James as twin brothers when, in fact, Duncan and Charles were twins.
From the Archives: Founder of Our County
Bryan Saunders for the Stewart Co. Archives, October 27, 2016
Duncan Stewart, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War, traveled across the Smokey Mountains into middle Tennessee in 1794 - two years before TN actually became a state. Many former Revolutionary soldiers were paid for their service to the country by being awarded 640 acres of land by state governments. North Carolina, at the time owned all land to the Mississippi River, including our county. They paid many of their soldiers' with tracts of land in the new frontier for their service. Stewart and brother Charles, eager to come West, bought land from soldiers who wished to remain in the Tar-Heel state. At one time, Duncan owned over 30,000 acres in middle TN. He lived in Montgomery and Stewart Counties while he surveyed and helped settle the frontier. Duncan built a fort, called Stewart Station, close to Wells Creek in the southern part of Stewart Co., in what is now Houston Co. The following is a letter from his brother Charles Stewart about life on the frontier:
"Duncan and myself left that country (North Carolina) and located ourselves in then a territory, now the state of Tennessee. There, we soon got an appointment as surveyors...We have encountered all the hardships that could be conceived from the Indians who were at open war with us...In 1796, we got a peace with the Indians...In 1797, we returned to North Carolina and took wives...we then moved back to Tennessee, a distance of 700 miles away...We subsidized our families out of the woods with our guns and feasted our delicately raised wives with the flesh of bear, buffalo, deer and wild turkey...They never complained."
While some people might be discouraged to stay on the edge of the wilderness, Duncan continued to buy and sell land throughout middle Tennessee. Some of the land sales have been found in the Stewart County Archives. Through the use of the Archives, Stewart County Library and the Stewart County Historical Society and their museum, many Stewart County residents are researching their past. At the recent Literacy Night at Stewart County High School, many Stewart County students learned how Stewart County got its name. In 1801, Duncan was a state senator, serving Robertson and Montgomery counties. In 1803, with a lot of people moving into the western part of Montgomery County, the state decided these residents had too far to travel to conduct business in Clarksville. They decided to split off the western part of Montgomery County and form a new county - and they named it Stewart County, after Duncan. So our county was formed on November 3, 1803. The town seat was named Monroe after (future president) James Monroe. But two years later, the citizens voted to rename the town Dover, because the high bluffs reminded many of the townspeople of similar bluffs in Dover, England. As more and more people moved into Middle TN., Duncan began to feel over crowded...he was hearing of a new frontier open for settlement in southern Mississippi. In 1811, he moved to Woodville, Mississippi, and started cotton farming. Most of his family (wife, kids, siblings) all moved south,
except his twin brother James. As James' health started to fail, he decided to move from Clarksville to Mississippi in 1818. Duncan and James had always promised to be buried in the same cemetery. So James, knowing the time was near, had quite the elaborative sendoff in front of his Clarksville friends. He invited them all to the pier for his goodbye, complete with music and food. He placed his belongings on a boat, and to the surprise of many, workers loaded a substantial coffin on the boat also. A local preacher, possibly the Elder Reuben Ross, then preached brother James' funeral - while James sat on his coffin listening. It took years before the citizens of Clarksville ceased talking about this strange transaction...When James arrived in southern Mississippi, he found Duncan to be a rich man, living on a large plantation and also Lieutenant-Governor in the state. James didn't live long after he made the trip and was buried in a spot he picked out on a hill a mile from Duncan's house. Duncan was very successful and well liked in all three states...a Revolutionary War veteran in North Carolina, a frontiersman and trailblazer in middle Tennessee and a business man and politician in Mississippi. Duncan had six kids with his wife Penelope and his plantation home in southern Mississippi, (Holly Grove) is still standing today and is on the National Register of Historical Places. One side note, many people remember the movie Braveheart, with William Wallace (Mel Gibson). At the end of the movie, the Scottish king, Robert the Bruce, led the Scottish troops against the King of England. The Scots were victorious and Robert the Bruce became king of Scotland. Robert the Bruce was Duncan Stewart's ancestor. (Say the word great 14 times, then grandfather and you get the idea.) In closing, Duncan Stewart passed away on November 27, 1820, at his plantation home. He chose to honor his 50 year-old agreement to be buried next to his twin brother James. The two are buried at the Stewart Two cemetery with four other people out in the woods in southern Mississippi.
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1761 - 1820 (59 years)
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