Andrew Stewart (c1695 – c1754)

First — and only — record in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania

The only record we have of Andrew Stewart is his will, written on 25 April 1747 in the part of Lancaster County that shortly became Cumberland County, and proved exactly seven years later on 25 April 1754.1  It reads as follows:

“In the name of God Amen, April the 25th 1747, I Andrew Stuart of the Township of Hopewell and County of Lancaster and Province of Pennsylvania being Weak and Sickly of body by (sic) of Perfect mind and Memory do Resign my Body to the dust and my soul to God who Gave it. Item: Likewise I leave to my well beloved Wife the third of all my Moveables out and in (on?) Plantation now belonging to me, likewise of all my Just and Lawful Debts due to me for her use to do with as she thinks fitte. Item: Likewise Leave to son Moses Stuart the Plantation now belonging to me as also the Remaining two parts of all my Goods and Chattels Debts dues and Demands, as also the Price of the Coat Due by his Brother. Item: Likewise I Leave to my son Hugh Stuart five shillings. Likewise Leave to my son Samuel Stuart five shillings. Item: Likewise, I leave to my Daughter Ross [Rose?] Stuart five shillings. Item: Likewise, I leave to my Daughter Elizth Stuart five shillings. This I leave as my last Will and Testament and do therefore disannull all other Wills and Testaments made by me. In witness my hand and seal the day year above written.”

The will was witnessed by Patrick Hanna, Moses Stewart’s father-in-law) and a William Anderson, and signed by Andrew “Stuard” and his wife Mary by their marks. (The clerk who transcribed the will into the will book wrote “originally Margaret” under Mary’s name.)  Moses Stewart and Mary Stewart qualified as executors the same day the will was proved.  There are no further surviving records of the estate.

The first tax record for Hopewell township, by then a part of Cumberland County, is for the year 1751.  Both witnesses to the will, along with Moses Stewart and Samuel Stewart, were listed as taxables, but Andrew Stewart was not.  By the next surviving tax list for Hopewell township in 1758 the entire family had left the area.

Oddly, there is no record of any grant or deed to Andrew Stewart, or even a warrant or survey, in Lancaster, Cumberland, or York Counties.  Nor is there a record of a sale of property by either Andrew Stewart or Moses Stewart in any of those counties. Thus, it isn’t clear where the plantation referred to in the will was located — Hopewell being a very large township that covered two present-day counties in 1747.  Nor do know when Andrew Stewart settled the area.  The area that became Hopewell township began to be settled about 1730 and many early settlers were essentially squatters on Indian lands, which may explain the absence of land records.

A birth year around 1695 is a guess based on the 1722 birth year of his son Moses Stewart.

A note on the spelling of the surname

Andrew and his wife signed by mark, so the spelling of the name in the will —  Stuart — merely indicates a preference on the part of the scribing clerk.  Whether he would have spelled his name Stewart or Stuart (or Steward or Stuard) cannot be known. For what it’s worth the son Moses and his son Andrew seemed to favor “Stewart”, which is why I’ve chosen that version of the name.

Stewart Clan Magazine

What follows is the genealogy as published in various issues of the Stewart Clan Magazine, a  journal of Stewart-related genealogical records edited by George T. Edson and published monthly between 1922 and 1970.  .

The first mention of this family appeared in the Stewart Clan Magazine in 1929 as part of an issue devoted to “Stewarts of Cumberland County, Pa.” that was evidently based on “various records dug up by Dickerman [the associate editor at the time] and Edson”:2

Andrew Stuard of Hopewell

Andrew2 Stuard was born about 1695 or earlier. He married Mary ——–.  He dated his will Apr. 25, 1747, in Hopewell, Cumberland county, and it was probated just seven years afterwards, Apr. 25, 1754 [wills, A:17, docket 4].  The executors were his wife Mary3 and his son Moses, and the witnesses were Patrick Hanna and William Anderson. He referred to his wife’s one-third of the property; also Margaret [sic] Stuard (signed by her X mark). He mentioned the following children, calling Hugh Huey:
Moses c. 1724; [m. Apr. 26, 1769, Isabella Levers, at York]: executor of father’s will
Hugh
Samuel c. 1720; m. Mercy ——-
Rose
Elizabeth

Samuel3 Stewart (Andrew2) was born about 1720. He married Mercy —— His name was on the list of taxables in Hopewell, Cumberland county, in 1762. His will was dated Apr. 15, 1789. in Hopewell, but the date of probate was not copied [wills, E:148 and 215]. His wife was living but her name was not stated. Samuel mentioned his son-in-law John McKnight of Hopewell, and John McCarle, who had married his granddaughter Mary McKnight.  The will of Mercy Stewart of Hopewell was dated Jan. 16, 1790, and probated Mar. 23, 1791; the witnesses were Josias Brown, Robert Coffee, and John Coffee. She gave her possessions to her daughter Elizabeth, wife of John McNeight [wills, K]. Child:
Elizabeth m. John McKnight: had a daughter married by 1789

 

Almost eight  years later the Stewart Clan Magazine published a more detailed item in 1937 as part of “A Notebook of Pennsylvania Stewarts”:4 [I have broken the text into paragraphs to improve readability.]

Andrew Stewart of Hopewell

Andrew3 Stewart , born about 1695 or earlier, was, we suspect, a brother of Robert Stewart of West Pennsboro, page 214.5   Both may have been sons of Andrew and KatherineStewart of Londonderry, Ireland, who had Robert, baptized Jan. 26., 1691, and Elizabeth, baptized Nov. 2, 1693.  It may have been this family, rather than of Andrew of Paxtang, to which Archibald Stewart of Augusta County, Va., belonged.  Andrew was an early settler in Hopewell township, in the part of Lancaster county which was set off in 1750 as Cumberland county.

His will was dated Apr. 25, 1747.  In it the name was spelled Stuard, but as Andrew and Margaret signed by their marks the spelling may not have been theirs. The witnesses were Patrick Hanna and William Anderson.  The executors were Andrew’s son Moses and wife Mary. To his wife [not named but evidently Margaret] Andrew allowed one-third of the income from his plantation.  To his son Moses he gave the plantation and two-thirds of the income, and all his goods and chattels.  To his sons Hugh and Samuel and his daughters Rose and Elizabeth Stuard he gave five shillings each.  He died, it is thought, in 1754, and may have been the Andrew Stewart who was killed in an Indian raid; that Andrew was traditionally a son of Samuel Stewart of Hanover, –B:456

His will was proved Apr. 25, 1754, at Carlisle.  Children:
Moses c1724; m. Mary Hanna
Hugh
Samuel ; m. Mary _____; d. 1789
Rose
Elizabeth

Moses4 Stewart (Andrew3), born about 1724, inherited his father’s farm in Hopewell and was executor of his father’s will in 1754.  He married a daughter of Patrick Hanna of Monaghan, York county, whose undated will was probated Nov. 27, 1758, at Carlisle and referred to “my son Moses Stuart”; one of the witnesses to this will was John Starr.7  Moses, Samuel, and Robert Stuart were in a list of taxable in Hopewell township for 1751. [In 1768 Moses and James Stuart were each assessed on 50 aces of land in Peters township (now in Franklin county).]

Hugh4 Stewart (Andrew3), was given five shillings in his father’s will Apr. 25, 1747, at which time he was probably living in Hopewell township.  We hope later to find out about his family. [Twelve years later the magazine published a brief article about Hugh Stewart, identifying him as the resident of Murderkill Hundred in Kent county whose will was dated Feb. 17, 1770 and proved Apr. 9, 1770 in Kent County by the witnesses William Hughley and Elizabeth Lemon.   The executor was William Gray.  He mentioned his sisters Rose Scott and Elizabeth Lemon and his sons Andrew and Moses.8 ]

Samuel4 Stewart (Andrew3), born about 1728, perhaps earlier, was on a list of taxables in Hopewell township in 1751. He married Mary ____.  He made his will Apr. 15, 1789 in Hopewell, naming his son-in-law John McKnight executor and asking that McKnight, who was a tailor, “take my wife home to his dwelling house after my decease.” He gave to McKnight notes to the value of £400 owed by another son-in-law, John McKee. Mr. McKee didn’t like this arrangement, and after the old gentleman’s death soon after the will was made he contested it. McKee presented a paper to teh probate court from the widow Mary, saying she was dissatisfied with teh will. But an understanding was reached, and the will was probated Apr. 30, 1789. Samuel in his will had also mentioned John McCarle, who had married his granddaughter Mary McKnight; Daniel Duncan, merchant of Shippensburgh; Alexander Laughlin, esq., of Jopewell; and Robert Donovan, late of Shippensburgh, now of Franklin county. Mary Stewart of Hopewell, widow of Samuel, made her will Jan. 16, 1700, which was probated Mar. 23, 1791. She appointed as executor John McKnight, giving to her daughter Elizabeth McKnight one-half of all the bonds, notes, etc., left behind by her husband’s will, and giving the other half to her son-in-law John McKnight. Only children identified:
Elizabeth c1752; m. John McKnight: dau. Mary married John McCarle
Margaret ; m. John McKee

Killed by Indians?

The comment above refers to a much younger Andrew Stewart briefly mentioned in an 1886 article by William Henry Egle.9  Among the ten children of Samuel Stewart (1698-1770) of Lancaster County is listed “Andrew, b. in Lancaster county, Pa.;,settled in Hanover township; killed in an Indian raid”. The article gives no further information.


 

  1. Cumberland County, PA, Will Book A, pages 27-28 []
  2. Stewart Clan Magazine, Vol. VII, No. 11 (May 1929), pages 126-127. []
  3. Note that in the later article, Mary was identified as the wife of Moses rather than Andrew. []
  4. Stewart Clan Magazine, Vol. XIV, No. 8 (February 1937), page 219. []
  5. This refers to Vol. XIV, No. 7, page214. []
  6. This refers to Vol.VI, No. 12, page 45. []
  7. This will was undated.  It divided the land and chattels among four sons named John, Joshua, Samuel and Archibald Hanna, and two presumed daughters named Martha Hanna and Rosanna Hanna.  No wife was mentioned.  The will also gave one crone each to “my son William Eger” and “my son Moses Stuart”.  Whether Egers and Stuart were stepsons or sons-in-law is perhaps debatable.  If they were sons-in-law the names of their wives were not mentioned.  “Crone” was probably a misspelling of “crown”, a coin worth five shillings.  Executors were named as John Hanna and Joshua Hanna, and the witnesses were John Starr and William Smith. []
  8. Stewart Clan Magazine, Vol. XVIII, No. 3 (September 1949), page 179-180. []
  9. William Henry Egle, Pennsylvania Genealogies (Harrisburg, Lane S. Hart Printers, 1886), page 581. []