ROBERT STEWART

Resident of Norwalk in Connecticut

Robert Stewart, here treated, is not the son of Francis Stewart, Lord Stewart and Bothwell and, consequently, he is not the same as Robert Stewart

Biographical Summary

On March 8, 1660, Robert, who had been living for a short time in Milford, Ct, purchased a 4 acre lot in Norwalk, Ct from Samuel Hales. 15 months later, on June 12, 1661, he married Bethia Rumble, the daughter of Thomas and Rose (Sherwood) Rumble of Stratford, Ct. He and Bethia remained in Norwalk their entire lives, and had three sons and six daughters. He bought other property in Norwalk, lending his name to places such as Stewart's Meadow and Stewart's Landing. His name appears as Stuart, Stewart, or Steward in various documents. Robert died some time in 1688, as his estate was inventoried in December of that year. Robert Stuart of Norwalk, Connecticut, 1625-88

Family

The 9 children of Bethia Rumble and Robert Stewart were:

1. James b. 19 Mar 1662/3 in Norwalk[13]
2. Abigail b. middle of Aug 1664 in Norwalk m. Richard Cosier[13]
3. John b. 18 Mar 1666/7 Norwalk d. Wilton 17 June 1749 ae 83 m. Abiah[13]
4. Deborah b. May 1669, Norwalk; m. Nov 1708 Joseph Beardsley Jr. [13]
5. Elizabeth b. latter end of Sep 1671 Norwalk[13]
6. Phebe b. middle of Feb 1673/4 Norwalk[13]
7. Sarah b. about 1676[13]
8. Samuel b. May 1678[13]
9. Rachel b. abt 1685 m. Daniel Raymond[13]

Robert Stuart of Norwalk: DNA Analysis

Three men known to descend from Robert Stuart of Norwalk have had their Y-DNA tested at FamilyTreeDNA.com. Their results have been compared with each other, and with other Stuart/Stewart men whose DNA differs little from them. This provides us with some useful information concerning Robert's family history.

First, Robert's descendants have the SNP R-L746, an indication that Robert descends from Walter Stewart, the Third High Steward of Scotland, who died in the year 1246. Walter was the great-grandfather of Robert Stewart II, first Stewart king of Scotland, who reigned from 1371-1390.

Second, we also have the SNP R-S781, indicating that Robert Stuart of Norwalk descends from Sir John Stewart of Bonkyll/ Garlies. Sir John Stewart commanded the archers in the Scottish wars for independence, and was killed at the Battle of Falkirk in the year 1298.

As more testing of Stuart/Stewart men continues, we can narrow down the possible ancestors of Robert of Norwalk. Desideriu Ramelet Stuart has created a website, S781.org, to explore the DNA connections between men who descend from Sir John Stewart of Bonkyll/Garlies. The closest connections to our Robert belong to men who descend from Alexander Stewart of Ballymena, Ireland (1675-1742), and from Matthew Stewart of Ireland, died in Bealsville, Ohio, 1774-1858.
​ Desideriu has made a speculative DNA tree which indicates the Robert of Norwalk probably descends from Alexander Stewart of Darnley, 1342-1404, However, this is still 300 years before Robert of Norwalk, so much work remains to narrow the gap and find Robert's parents.

On top of this conflict, we have DNA evidence from descendants of Robert Stuart of Norwalk and they line up with the Darnley Branch

Only males have the Y chromosome, so Y-DNA analysis only looks at the direct male-line ancestry of the tester. Additionally, the Y-DNA does not change very rapidly. A Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) only occurs once every few generations, allowing us to look several generations into the past to find family relationships.

Genealogy

1. Wikitree
2. WorldConnect
3. FamilySearch

History

A Brief History of Coldingham Priory

Critical Commentary

In researching the parentage of Robert and looking at the dates, Francis Stewart was still in Scotland, signing his Father's lands away due to inability to pay.

Robert Stewart the POW arrived in 1651/1652 - Francis Stewart's Son Robert was in Scotland in 1658.

"In Cromwell's time the Homes of Renton seem to have taken the barony of Coldingham from the Stewarts in lieu of debt, as Harry Home, natural son of John Home of Renton apprised the barony and its lands on 26 November 1656 from Robert Stewart, lawful son of the now deceased Francis Stewart. Harry Home subsequently assigned his right to Alexander Home, eldest lawful son of said John Home of Renton, the Precept by Oliver Cromwell being dated at Edinburgh, 10 August 1658."

Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Sessional Papers, Volume 53 (HMSO 1902), page 204

The Scottish POW Society is quite certain that the Robert Stewart who arrived in Boston from the Battle of Worcester was a different Robert Stewart from ours who ended up in Norwalk. Their records indicate he went to Maine and stayed there. This, then, opens the possibility that Robert was, indeed, in Scotland in 1658 and then, after losing the land in Scotland came to America where he was able to acquire the land in Connecticut and meet/marry Bethia Rumble in 1661.

[https://spows.org/battle-of-worcester/battle-of-worcester-prisoners...]

[https://spows.org/battle-of-worcester/battle-of-worcester-prisoners...]

SmartCopy Reference

• Reference: WikiTree Genealogy - SmartCopy: May 13 2016, 19:26:57 UTC

--------------------------------

Immigration May 13 1652 Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts

------------------------------------

GEDCOM Source

U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700 Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations Inc 1,3824::0

GEDCOM Source

Genealogical Publishing Co.; Baltimore, MD, USA; Volume Title: New England Marriages Prior to 1700 1,3824::68819

GEDCOM Source

Connecticut, Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999 Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 1,9049::0

GEDCOM Source

Author: Connecticut State Library (Hartford, Connecticut); Probate Place: Hartford, Connecticut 1,9049::1065525