| Notes |
- Duncan was a farmer on the estate of Monachyle which belonged to his uncle John MacDonald of Monachyle.
Duncan is found in 1841 residing in Glen Ogle with his parents. He is the "Duncan Stewart in Monachyle" mentioned in the following reference from The Ardvorlich History: "Robert, a farmer at Drunkie, who married Monachyle's sister, and had one daughter who married Duncan, now in Monachyle, another married John Stewart of the Milton." Mrs Stewart of Milton refers to Duncan's wife as her sister.
Duncan is found in 1851 residing in Monachyle and shown as the nephew of Donald McDonald of Monachyle and employed as "farm steward". Donald McDonald is shown as the "landed proprietor." The estate is shown as 5500 acres with 40 employees -- an enormous estate by Scottish standards. In 1861 Duncan and his wife are shown as the sole occupants of Monachyle. He is still shown as a farm steward. Interestingly, there is an identical Duncan Stewart shown as a farm steward at Craigrui. It's possible they could be the same person and that Duncan was proprietor of both properties. This would explain the "Glen Ogle" connection mentioned by Mrs Stewart of Milton.
It appears that Duncan inherited Monachyle after Donald McDonald died. According to Mrs Stewart of Milton, Duncan was sued by his distant cousin Duncan Stewart in Shenachyle over the inheritance of the estate of Monachyle (which appear to have also included Craigrui.) Donald McDonald of Monachyle had no children of his own and his brothers all pre-deceased him with no male heirs of their own. The details of the lawsuit are not known to us, but by traditional rules of inheritance the next in line to inherit Monachyle would be Donald's sisters from oldest to youngest. Donald McDonald's oldest sister was Elizabeth McDonald who married Walter Stewart of Edraleachdach and Lorachan whose daughter Magdalene Stewart married Duncan Stewart in Monachyle who raised the lawsuit. Whereas this Duncan Stewart was the son of Ann McDonald, a younger sister of Donald McDonald.
Duncan Stewart in Shenachyle's only known claim would have been through his wife's mother, who, being the oldest sister of Donald McDonald probably would have had a better claim than this Duncan Stewart being the son of Donald's younger sister. It appears Duncan Stewart in Shenachyle felt he had some right to his mother-in-law's claim. (Perhaps this may have been influence by the fact that both of his brothers were lawyers.) However, even if he could have established the validity of his mother-in-law's claim, then her oldest son, James Stewart, 5th of Edraleachdach and Lorachan, would have had the superior claim over Magdalene Stewart. Duncan Stewart in Shenachyle was not successful in his claim and the estate of Monachyle passed to this Duncan Stewart.
This Duncan Stewart had been working for many years as the estate manager for Donald McDonald and was probably closest to him. We also know that Duncan Stewart's ancestors had been the previous owners of Monachyle and Craigrui prior to the estate being acquired by the McDonalds. As such, the estate ended up reverting to the heir of its previous owner. I'm sure Duncan felt like he was fighting to get his own family's estate back.
The lawsuit must have been settled by 1871 as in the census that year Duncan is shown residing at Monachyle with his occupation given as "farmer of 7000 acres" indicating that he was the proprietor of the property, and an enormous property at that! They were obviously extremely prosperous as they are shown with a large estate staff including a private tutor, a house maid, a dairy maid, a ploughman, 4 shepherds, and 2 cowherds.
However, curiously, Duncan's brother, Donald, is shown residing in 1871 at Glenogle Farm. He is shown as "brother" to the head of household who is shown as Duncan Stewart, b 1808 in Balquhidder. These two Duncans must be the same person, just as Duncan was shown in Monachyle and Craigrui in 1861. Thus it would appear that Duncan's vast estates included Monachyle, Craigrui and Glenogle. As 7000 acres seems too large to describe just Monachyle, it may be that Monachyle was his primary residence and he was including the acrages of Craigrui and Glenogle in the description of his holdings.
In 1881 Duncan was residing at Monachyle and shown as a farmer of 6000 acres. There are no Stewarts residing at Glenogle and Glenogle appears to have been sold off and subdivided into six smaller holdings. This may account for the decrease in Duncan's holdings from 7000 to 6000 acres. His wife and children were absent. His cousin Archibald Stewart, retired farmer, b 1808 in Callander residing with him who is probably the son of Walter Stewart in Edraleachdach.
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Abt 1809 - UNKNOWN
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