William Stewart & Sarah Thompson Genealogy Search: October 2012

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Last year we hired Debrett Ancestry Research Ltd, in England to look into our William Stewart family history problem. They admitted that it proved to be a very challenging problem. I will quote here the summary in their report..dated 8/29/2012

In conslusion, despite extensive searches in Scottish and Irish records, we cannot claim to have made a breakthrough in this challenging case. Scottish records have clarified exactly when the family moved from Ireland to the Clyde area of Scotland, but nowhere do Scottish records show the family's place of origin in Ireland before the move in 1845. Irish records have confirmed that the parishes of Billy and Dunluce, on the north-west coast of County Antrim are the most promising places to seek the Stewart/St(e)uart and McInaul/McKin(n)al(l) famliies. More work could be carried out in more specialized Irish sources, such as the Registry of Deeds, probate records and the Tithe Applotment Books for County Antrim, but there can be no guarantee that this will produce clear-cut evidence of the origins of Hugh Stewart and Mary McInaul.

Sadly, we are back to searching on our own. If anyone other there has an interest, the following records need to be searched for our Antrim area Stewarts: (Let me know as I have already done some research in these areas and can give you what I have. Registry of Deeds, Probate Records, Graveyard Records, Search for William's brothers and sisters lineage, Newspapers for the areas, Immigration records, Local Histories

Calling all Decendents!

We need your help. Do you have any documentation or information or pictures which might help in our search for the parentage of our last known ancestors William Stewart and Sarah Thompson? Most of you will recognize these names as your great+ grandparents who came from Scotland to Utah in 1865. Or atleast William and most of his children did. Sarah died in 1857 in Bonhill, Dunbarton, Scotland. Most of us had the wonderful genealogy and stories prepared in part by the Andrew Heggie family, which stated that William's parents were William Stewart and Mary McLarty from Campbeltown, Argyll, Scotland. Sadly that is not correct. Please take a minute to look at the documentation included in this website and share any information or comments you have. Thanks!

William's Parents were NOT William Stewart & Mary McLarty

This is a copy of the death certificate of William Stewart, son of William Stewart and Mary McLarty, born 24 April 1820, Campbeltown, Argyll, Scotland. He died 20 June 1864, journeyman joiner, widow of Sarah Whittum. He died in Babonlie, Tyree, Argyll, Scotland, usual residence 2 Market Street, Greenock, Renfrew, Scotland, parents deceased. He died of consumption. Uncle John McLarty was the informant and occupier of the unit William was staying in at time of his death. This could NOT be our William as he was living in Utah and died in 1895.

This Certificate can be found at the SLC Family History Library, Film #323676,1864, pg 12.

Obituary William Stewart

The Weekly Journal, Logan, Utah Nov 28, 1895

Wm. Stewart, son of Hugh and Mary McKinall Stewart, was born at Campbelton in the west of Scotland on the 15 day of May 1894*. (*Obviously a typo, he died in 1895..could have been a typo thinking it was 1814. However, it should have been 1815) At an early age his parents moved to Ireland in the county of Antrim and Parish of Billie. At about the age of 23 he married Sarah Thompson, issue of the union being four sons and four daughters, some of whom were born in Ireland and some in Scotland. His wife Sarah died in the year 1857. In the year 1864 he and his family immigrated to Utah except his oldest son and family, who remained in Scotland, and his second son who immigrated to Utah in 1862. After arriving in Utah in the fall of 1864 he lived in Sugar House ward until November of the same year at which time he moved to and settled in Clarkston, Cache Co., where he remained until his death, Thursday morning, November 21st, 1895. He was the father of 8 children 62 grandchildren and so far as known 40 great grand children.

Comments on Stewart Home in Clarkston, Utah

Kipp Stewart visited Clarkston, Utah July 2010 and these are his words. "We went to the location where the Stewart home was on Main Street. We were told that when the exisiting home on that property was built many years ago, rather than tearing down the previous home (William's home), they decided to just drag it across the street into a vacant field. From the street looking into that field, the only thing you can see is over growth of weeds and a large patch of trees. We asked the lady that owns the propety if we could go onto the property to see if there were any remnants of William's cabin. To our surprise back behind all of that brush and trees sat the cabin. The four walls still stand, the roof has collaspsed, the floor has rotted away, but it's there.