John Dubh Mhor Stewart, of Dalveich
Abt 1630 - Abt 1732 (~ 102 years)
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Name John Dubh Mhor Stewart Suffix of Dalveich Born Abt 1630 Ardvorlich, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland 
Gender Male Name Iain Dhu Mhor Stewart Died Abt 1732 Dalveich, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland Buried Abt 1732 Ardvorlich family plot, Dundurn Chapel, St. Fillans, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland Person ID I17190 Brown Genealogy Last Modified 19 Sep 2024
Father Major James Beag Stewart, 2nd of Ardvorlich, b. Abt Oct 1589, Lady's Loch on Ben Vorlich, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland , d. 1658, Ardvorlich, Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland (Age ~ 68 years) Relationship natural Mother Unknown Mistress, b. UNKNOWN, d. UNKNOWN Relationship natural Married Aft 1623 Family ID F4396 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Children 1. James mac Iain Dubh Mhor Stewart, in Dalveich, b. Abt 1660, Dalveich, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland , d. UNKNOWN [natural]2. Unknown Daughters Stewart, b. Between 1660 and 1690, Dalveich, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland , d. UNKNOWN [natural]3. Donald? mac Iain Dubh Mhor Stewart, b. Abt 1670, Dalveich, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland , d. UNKNOWN [natural]4. John? mac Iain Dubh Mhor Stewart, b. Abt 1673, Dalveich, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland , d. Aft 1697 (Age ~ 25 years) [natural]5. Son mac Iain Dubh Mhor Stewart, b. Abt 1675, Dalveich, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland , d. UNKNOWN [natural]6. Robert? mac Iain Dubh Mhor Stewart, in Glenbeich, b. Abt 1678, Dalveich, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland , d. UNKNOWN [natural]7. Alexander mac Iain Dubh Mhor Stewart, in Dalveich, b. Abt 1680, Dalveich, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland , d. UNKNOWN, Carnlia, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland [natural]8. Son ("Walter"?) mac Iain Dubh Mhor Stewart, b. Abt 1682, Dalveich, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland , d. UNKNOWN [natural]9. Charles mac Iain Dubh Mhor Stewart, b. Abt 1685, Dalveich, Balquhidder, Perthshire, Scotland , d. UNKNOWN [natural]Last Modified 19 Sep 2024 Family ID F6585 Group Sheet | Family Chart
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Notes - John Stewart was a "natural" son of James Beag Stewart. This is a polite way of referring to him as illegitimate. It is not known who his mother was. His exact birthdate is also unknown. Any dates given here represent the author's current best guess.
John was described as a "rude and boisterous man" according to the Factor of Atholl. He allegedly witnessed the murder of Lord Kilpont by his father and transmitted the "true" version of the events through his descendants by a great-grandson who was reputed to have lived over 100 years. John is also reported to have lived long enough to see this great-grandson reach adulthood. This great-grandson carried the "true" version of the story to the house of Ardvorlich around 1800. John Dubh Mhor's version of the events is retold in the preface to Sir Walter Scott's "A Legend Of Montrose".
Ardvorlich family records record the following about John Dubh Mhor Stewart:
"The Major had a natural son, John Dubh Mhor, who, though his father and friends left Montrose, remained behind and joined himself to the Athol Regiment. He was a very fine looking Highlander and a good soldier. He afterwards became a great favourite of the Marquess of Athol and got from him a beneficial tack of the Mill and Lands of Carnlia on the north side of Loch Earn. When the Marquess brought his lade to Scotland (afterwards Countess of Derby in her own right) she wished to see a handsome Highlander in his full equipment, and John Stewart was accordingly introduced to her and became so much a favourite as to be frequently at Blair. He lived till after the Revolution (1715) and left eight sons, every one of whom had descendants and they now form one of the most numerous branches of the family, many of them being settled in different parts of South West Perthshire. His descendants enjoyed the tack of Carnlia for several generations and had actually at one time got a feu right but were afterewards prevailed upon to resign it for a wadset which was, of course, redeemed." (M.S. Book of Ardvorlich)
John held the property of Dalveich, Lochearnside, Balquhidder Parish, Perthshire, Scotland. He is the patriarch of Branch 7 of the Stewarts of Ardvorlich. He had eight sons whose names are not known for sure, but eight lines of his descendants are reported in Stewarts of the South. Five of these eight lines resided in Ardveich, Dalveich and Walbeich ca. 1815, all located in Glen Beich. His other descendants resided in Doune and nearby Callander, with one branch having already immigrated to Ontario, Canada. The early descendants shown here are just a best guess of trying to reconcile the Stewarts of the South account with various other snipets of information found on this family.
As tradition accords that John Dubh Mhor was a witness to the murder of Kilpont in 1645 then he not only must have been born before this time, but he must also have been old enough to recall the events and to have been present on the battlefield at Tippermuir. This suggests a date of birth not much later than 1630. A possible OPR birth record has been found as JHON STEWART: 13 FEB 1631 Kilmadock, Perth, Scotland, Father: James Stewart, Mother: not given. However, the OPR gives no further information on this Jhon. So all we can conclude is that some John who was the son of some James was baptized on that date.
Gordon MacGregor, (The Red Book of Scotland) reports that John Dubh Mhor had a descendant named Robert Stewart (now identified as his grandson) who entered into a Contract of Wadset for the lands of Ardveich with James Drummond, Earl of Perth, on 4 January, 1733, and had issue.
On 2 APR 1719, John Murray, Duke of Atholl, gave to Colonel Alexander Campbell of Fonnab the lands of Glenbeich, Carnlea, Dalveich, Croftnaleiken, Easter and Wester Achra, and the Mill of Carnlea in return for 36,000 merks. It is presumed that this transaction took place upon the death of John Dubh Mhor Stewart who is known to have lived until "after the Revolution". Thus it is suggested that John Dubh Mhor's death date should be 1715-1719. With the feu right for these lands having passed to a Campbell, then John Dubh Mhor's grandson, Robert, was only able to secure a wadset.
Dalveich in Gaelic is Dal-Bheathaich, which means "field of the birch woods".
- John Stewart was a "natural" son of James Beag Stewart. This is a polite way of referring to him as illegitimate. It is not known who his mother was. His exact birthdate is also unknown. Any dates given here represent the author's current best guess.