32. ALEXANDER STUART (1775-1848)
In 1848 at the age of 73, Alexander Stewart, a linen merchant of Belfast and later of nearby
Legoniel, County Antrim in Ireland, died (17 June) and was buried (21 June) in the New Burying Ground
on Clifton Street in Belfast. Burial records note both that he was born in Belfast. Alexander was the only
known child of John Stuart of Belfast and Anne Agnew, the daughter of John Agnew of Larne. His mother
died when he was very young and after his father died he apparently was raised by a paternal aunt, living
first in Newtonards, County Down and then in Belfast with her at the home of the parents of William
Simms, one of the executors of his estate. [Alexander's father is also referred to as John Stewart of Belfast
in the will of Andrew Thomas Lord CastleStewart who died in 1809.]
According to one family tradition, Alexander changed the spelling of his name to Stewart upon
going into business in Belfast; another has it occurring after loosing his chance to inherit the title Lord
Castlestuart of Ireland when a cousin in 1781 married late in life and subsequently had a male son. This
title was created in the early 1600's, seven generations earlier. A history of this family, written in 1854,
details the descent of the family from Alan, father of Walter, High Steward of Scotland, 1152, (29
generations from myself) - I retain a copy of this book. Research done through the Medieval Studies
Department of the Church of the Later Day Saints, the Mormons, identifies further ancestry linking back
through to the early A.D. and late B.C. era.
On 21 April 1798 in Larne, Co. Antrim, Alexander Stewart of Belfast, aged 23 married his first
wife, Ellen McCleland. Her family was from the Isle Magee. Efforts by his grandson John Cunningham
Stewart in 1865 to locate the marriage certificate from the church in Larne were not successful, though an
extract of the marriage made in 1862 exists. The marriage took place in the Larne First Presbyterian
Congregation with witnesses Jane Boyle; Ann Moore; Elisa Mc__ ; Andrew Thompson; Patrick Smyth.
There are a few Boyle families recorded in the Island Magee cemeteries, but no links have been made to
this name. The name of the minister performing the ceremony is not completely clear - Rev'd James
_orwall.
Throughout his life, Alexander had ties with the McClelland family in his businesses, through the
marriages of one son and three daughters and his estate. With his first wife Ellen, Alexander had six
children, including two sons who barely predeceased him. John Boyle Stewart, noted earlier, was also
associated with the linen trade, died in Canada in 1847. A daughter, Martha Anne married Francis Hincks,
who was to lead a very public life in banking and politics in Canada.
Presumably with the death of his wife Ellen, and before 1825, Alexander married for the second
time. Her name was Anna Gage Agnew. There is an indenture of 1825 between Anne Agnew, who was the
widow of William, and Alexander Stewart and Anna Gage Stewart his wife, whereby Anne Agnew agreed
to pay Stewart the sum of £1000 for which Anna Gage was entitled. It may be that this Anna Gage Agnew
of Larne was his first cousin. She died in 1852. Together they had a further five sons and four daughters:
William; Campbell; Andrew Thomas; Cunningham; Robert; Anna Gage; Mary; Elizabeth and Ellen. A
number of these children married McClellands – William, Mary, Anna and Elizabeth children of Andrew
McClelland of Banbridge. A number of his children immigrated, some to Australia, some to Canada.
Robert was eventually to live in Ottawa - his burial and impact on his nephew John Cunningham Stewart
already is recorded.
Alexander's career as a linen merchant is first recorded in a Belfast directory dated 1809. It shows
“Alex. Stewart, linen merchant, Arthur Street”. An 1818 directory has him located on Chichester St.
Belfast. By the mid 1830's the firm was known as "Alexander Stewart & Co.", which had its head office in
the White Linen Hall and had added flax spinning to its activities in Legoniel where he resided. During
this time at Legoniel, on the headwaters of the Blackstaff River, there appeared to be flourishing activity in
the linen manufacturing trade. William Arthur's bleachgreen bleached 13000 units a year and employed 21
men and 4 boys, while Stewart and Cunningham's green bleached 12000 units. Here Alexander and Robert
McClelland of Banbridge (Southeast of Belfast and in County Down) carried on a flax spinner and flax
merchant business, in 1835 leasing lands and buildings from Alexander himself and John Cunningham
Junior. By 1840, Alexander was running the business for a £300 annual salary and the partnership was to
be renewed for a ten-year period.
Alexander's will, written in 1844, noted a certain amount of optimism in his financial affairs. He
wrote that he had well cared for his older children and thus in justice for his five youngest, could not leave
them any part of his property. He wanted to provide a trust of 900 Irish pounds for his wife plus an annual
annuity of £40; £700 to his daughter Anna wife of Robert McClelland; £500 to his two young sons Robert
and Cunningham and £700 to his two young daughters Elizabeth and Ellen; £100 to Dora, the widow of his
son Alexander from his first marriage; and "if my property turn out better than I have disposed of," he
wished his property to be equally divided amongst the five youngest. He noted a debt of £833 pounds to
William Clarke and Robert McDonnel. Six months after his death, two of the three executors named in his
will, namely John Cunningham of Macedon and Belfast and Robert McClelland of Banbridge, his business
partner and son-in-law, together renounced their executorship and rescinded all real and personal estates,
powers, trusts and powers established by the will.
It is apparent that the estate was in a financial mess. The debts of the firms "Alexander Stewart"
and "Stewart & McClelland" were still unresolved one year after his death. It is of interest that when
Alexander's grandson, John Cunningham Stewart, traveled back to Ireland in 1865, he tried to establish
contact with Mr. Cunningham at his office in the White Linen Hall, as well at his home, Macedon.
Cunningham noted when he finally met Mr. Cunningham who was born in 1793, that this gentleman,
younger looking than his 72 years of age, told him of losing £13000 in his dealings with Alexander
Stewart.
The name Cunningham appears to have entered the family with the naming of Alexander's son
Cunningham, the fourth son of his second wife. Could this be in honour of the business association with
John Cunningham Jr. at Legoniel in the mid 1830's? It appears that this is the same person as John
Cunningham of Macedon, executor to Alexander's will. John Cunningham was a noted linen merchant who
bought Macedon in 1813. He had at least two sons, namely Robert (1781-1823) and John Jr. who was one
of the six original founders of the Belfast Commercial Bank in 1809.
The interest in this name Cunningham continued with the naming of:
- Cunningham Stewart, son of Alexander Stewart and his second wife Anna Agnew,
- John Cunningham Stewart, (1839-1888) known as Cunningham, grandson of Alexander, whose spinster
daughter proudly referred to herself as Miss Cunningham Stewart, as if the name were hyphenated;
- James Cunningham Hogg, (-) grandson of John Cunningham Stewart
- Colin Edward Cunningham Stewart, (1911-1994) grandson of John Cunningham Stewart; and myself,
- Colin Michael Cunningham Stewart, (1946- ) son of Colin Edward Cunningham Stewart.
Alexander Stewart was buried beside his second wife in the New Burial Ground on Clifton Street
in Belfast, the gravesite being marked by a polished granite headstone in a low railed, low stone enclosure
against the north wall. "And so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1. Thess. IV. 17". He had purchased Lot
Number 60, Wall Old Part, in 1806. Cemetery records indicate he died of “Affection of the heart”.
33. ELLEN MCCLELAND (ABT 1780-
)
As noted in the previous section, Alexander (Stuart) Stewart married Ellen McCleland daughter of
__ McClelland of the Gobbins, Isle Magee. The extract of the marriage record spells her maiden name
with one "l", not two. As we do not as yet have proof of her parents, the material presented here provides
geographical and historical background plus some possible related family history. According to
Cunningham Stewart, her grandson, Ellen’s nickname was "The Gobbin Hawk". The name is very likely
based on the Gobbins, an area of 250 feet high basaltic cliffs on the east side of Island Magee, well known
for it's scenery. It is also unreliably reported to be the location where incensed Protestants of the Garrison
of Carrickfergus, dumped the bodies of the massacred Roman Catholic residents of the Island Magee
peninsula, circa 1641. It certainly would be interesting to know more about the reasoning for this name was it description of her personality or her body?
Ellen's marriage took place on 21 March 1798 at Larne, the nearby market town - a one-mile ferry
trip across the entrance to the Larne Lough from Island Magee. As most women were married between the
ages of 17 and 20, it is reasonable to suggest she was born about 1780. If so, she may well be the cousin
or younger sister of Willie McClelland (1776-1859) of Portmuck, Island Magee, a man with an intriguing
background. A brief listing includes - volunteer 1788; Rebel 1798; outlaw and smuggler; farmer and
yeoman. Would the Stewart family not wish to have her family background identified? Ellen died (?)
before 1825 when a document refers to her husband's second wife.
Ellen had six children between the years 1798 and 1810. As two of the children noted in the
family bible (extracted in 1855) are not mentioned in the published history of the Castlestuarts, I am
presuming they (Eliza and Elinor) died young. The children were: Eliza [1798- ]; Grace [1800-1861]; John
Boyle [1802-1847]; Martha Ann [1804-1874]; Alexander [1805-bef 1844]; Elinor [1807- ]. Interestingly,
of the four known children, one son (John Boyle) and one daughter (Martha Ann Hincks) died in Canada.
No reference to Ellen's death or burial has been located in references to the Belfast New Burial
Ground where he husband was buried or the cemeteries of Island Magee.
It is probable that the McClellands settled at Porkmuck on Island Magee by the end of the
seventeenth century. This is supported by the lack of the family name being located on the 1680 Hearth
Rolls and the family initials on a stone with the year 1684 - probably the year that the original building was
built. In 1770, William McClelland's farm and land leases were up for renewal. Of the 89 leases on Island
Magee, only one is under the McClelland name. In 1772 William McClelland Sr., William McClelland Jr,
and David McLelland each signed a loyalty address in the face of rebellious actions of a group known
locally as the "Hearts of Steel". Presumably William Jr. or David is the father of Willie the rebel, etc.
Island Magee itself is a small peninsula off the north west coast of Ireland of about 7 and 1/2 miles
in length and 1 and 1/4 to 2 miles in breadth, attached to the mainland north of Belfast. It was described as
follows in 1835:
With the exception of a few craggy eminences along the eastern side of the parish, its entire
surface is under pasture or arable pasture. Two small and shallow lakes supply water for
associated mills. There "is not . . . the slightest vestige of a tree half a century old, while
there is evidence that the peninsula was covered from end to end by a forest of oaks. The
climate is healthy, its air is cold pure and bracing, comparatively free from frosts. Oats,
wheat, beans and potatoes are grown. There is neither town, village nor gentlemans' seat in
the parish. It is alleged that the parish has not derived its name from that family alluded to,
but that its original name was Mac'iagh, signifying a seagull, a name which if authentic
would have been very reasonable from the vast number of gulls that frequent the coasts.
Tradition states that from its exposed situation, Island Magee was subject to incursions from
the Danes and the Scots, that it was frequently plundered by the latter and that the castle of
Portmuck, now in ruins, was erected in connection with the defenses on the little Island of
Muck on its eastern coast for the protection of its inhabitants. The colonization of the Parish
by the Scots, which had commenced at the beginning of the 17th century had been preceded
by partial settlements of the English followers of the Earl of Essex who landed at nearby
Carrickfergus in 1578. About the year 1610 several of the Scots settled here and there
numbers rapidly increased. In 1641 and '42 the Parish seems to have been finally colonized
by the Scots, many of whom, as the tombstones in the burial grounds justify, were the
ancestors of the present occupiers.
In 1819 there were only 1931 people in this parish. A not very complementary review of the
population in the 1830's noted that hospitality was not a great feature in the character of its inhabitants:
They are chiefly Scottish and are more clannish than any other parish perhaps in north of
Ireland. They are with very few exceptions, nearly related. Very few settle among them as
landholders. They are not an intelligent people nor have they a desire to improve their faculty
by either reading or conversation. In no part of Ireland are the people more generally
superstitious than here. Most of the better educated class implicitly believe in witchcraft,
fairies, brownies and enchantments and there are few who are not perfectly convinced of the
guilt of the unfortunate individuals convicted of witchcraft committed here in 1711. They
believe that if a magpie scrapes the thatch of the house or lights on the chimney, a death is to
follow soon after. A woman after childbirth is not counted lucky to enter a house before she
is churched or before thanksgiving. When any respectable person dies, a man is sent around
with a white rod in his hands to notice the neighbours or to announce the death. It is not
counted as lucky for the person to sit down in any house or make any stay until he returns.
The utmost of attention is paid to dreams and to omens. Many have seen the devil in the
shape of a pig or a black dog. The house in which the witchcraft alluded to was enacted (in
Kilaoanmore) is still considered haunted, and though inhabited, many will not pass it alone at
night. In several parts of the Parish the fairies have been seen and their music has been
heard. Many old women practice card-cutting and cup-tossing, telling fortunes and
interpreting dreams. Another remarkable trait, and very unusual amongst the Presbyterians,
is their disregard for the admonitions of their ministers and the little respect which they pay
either to his person or his counsels. They care not to be seen intoxicated, by him, and even
on Sundays, while in a state of inebriety, address him on the road. Sunday is the chief day
for amusement and indulgence, principally in drinking. The arms crests and mottoes of each
of the families are sculptured on their tombstones. It is a strange fact that not 6 of the natives
can swim - many have lost their lives by drowning.
Various family names of interest are found in the local graveyards including at the Ballyprior
burial ground: McClelland, Boyle, & Cunningham and Boyle again at the Ballykeel Burial Ground.
However, actual records of the burials have not been located.