The Origins of the Stewarts of Bute. by Ken Stewart. Sep 2025

Robert the Bruce (1274-1329) became King of Scotland in 1306 AD as King Robert I after he defeated the English and gained Scottish Independence. His right-hand man was James Stewart, the 5^th High Steward of Scotland from a long family line of hereditary stewards who served the Kings of Scotland.

The first to use the surname Stewart was Walter Stewart (1190) the 3^rd High Steward who took on the surname of Stewart. He was the son of Alan fitz Walter, the 2^nd High Steward and Alan fitz Walter was a Commander under Richard the Lionheart of England on the Third Crusade in 1191. Walter Stewart (1190) was the grandfather of James, the 5^th High Steward, and James Stewart is the earliest DNA ancestor in the FamilyTreeDNA of the Royal Families. His younger brother John has a separate DNA lineage (Bonkyl)

Robert the Bruce’s eldest daughter was Marjorie born about 1296 and she married Walter Stewart 6^th High Steward, born about 1293, son of James Stewart, the 5^th High Steward.

Robert the Bruce’s only son David (1324) was just 5 years old when his father died, and he became King David II the Bruce. David was exiled in France for 8 years and then spent 11 years in English captivity. While he was imprisoned, Scotland was ruled by a series of regents, principally his older nephew, Robert Stewart (1316), the son of Marjorie (Bruce) and James Stewart.

David the Bruce died without an heir in 1371, and Robert Stewart (1316) as the grandson of Robert the Bruce, became King Robert II Stewart (1371-1390). This royal lineage continues today down from Robert II.

Another line of Stewart Nobility also continues today through John (1360-1445), an illegitimate son of Robert II Stewart who had sons with mistress Moira Leitch in Bute. The eldest son was Sir John Stewart, the Black Stewart, the First Sherriff of Bute, when his dedicated support of the Scottish crown earned him the hereditary title of Sherriff in the Island of Bute. The current head is John Bryson Crichton-Stuart (1989-) Eighth Marquess of Bute (2021 -), earlier known as Lord Mount Stuart (1989-1993) and 13^th Earl of Dumfries (1993-2021). His father, the 12^th Earl, was a formula one racing car driver, and most of the earlier generations served in the House of Lords, the Fourteenth Sherriff of Bute being the Seventh Prime Minister of Britain.

Tracing down the Bute lineage, we get to the Sixth Sherriff, Ninian Stewart (1468-1539). His third son was Archibald Stewart of Largizean in Southern Bute (c1508-1600). When King James V Stewart of Scotland died in 1542 without a son, two Earls, both descendants of King James II Stewart, contested the throne, but James Hamilton, 2^nd Earl of Arran, became the regent for the six-day old baby Mary Queen of Scots.

The other claimant, Matthew Stewart, the 4^th Earl of Lennox, was supported by Archibald Stewart to oppose the Earl of Arran. Following the failed violent rebellion in 1544 Archibald Stewart forfeited most of his lands in Southern Bute. Afterwards, the son of Matthew Stewart, as Lord Darnley married Mary Queen of Scots and the royal line continued through their son James IV Stewart of Scotland who became James I of England, uniting the two countries and thrones.

In 1559, after the remnants of his lands were sold, Archibald Stewart of Largizean appeared with his sons James (c1542) and David (c1545) on the northern coast of Ireland at Dunseverick, then on to Ballinstraid in the parish of Ballintoy. The family of James (1542) and his five children constructed Ballintoy Castle, and these descendant families became the Stewarts of Ballintoy. This is the last of the documented paperwork for our Bute families.

The yDNA Testings.

R-FTT46 – Ten Bute members have only this Haplogroup, with origins in Scotland. These are a group of testers who have established that they match a known descendant of John Stewart the First Sherriff of Bute, through his younger sons, Robert (c1412) of Kilwhinleck, John of Kerrycroy and Andrew (c1415) of Rosland.

R-Y14197 – Two more testers in Scotland have yDNA that show they more recently likely descend through John Stewart, the First Sherriff, to his second son William Stewart of Fennock (1408-1464) the third Sherriff of Bute (after his brother James the Second Sherriff died without an heir)

R-Y14198 – Seven more testers have yDNA that show they likely descend through William Stewart of Fennock to his son James Stewart of Kilcattan (1450-1477) the Fourth Sherriff of Bute

R-FT74278 – Then comes the big group of 22 members with origins in the Antrim Region of Ireland where the parish records were destroyed in the Four Courts Battle in 1922 in the Irish Civil War between the Provisional Government and the Irish Republican Army. They all have Irish origins but cannot find their families within Donegal or Antrim. The current research (George Freeman’s Hypothesis) seems to indicate the common origins are from William Stewart (c1660 - ) and Margaret Lowrey of Lifford in Donegal, Ireland. Willliam was son of John Stewart (c1630-1691) of Ballintoy, master of Lifford School and a grandson of Archibald Stewart of Largizean, who was the son of Ninian, the Sixth Sherriff.

Over half of this group have families who stayed in Ireland for several generations and then made their way to the New World in the USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. But a group of six tested members descend from Lazarus Stewart (c1683) with families in the USA.

Lazarus Stewart (c1683-1744) was likely born in Lifford parish, Donegal to William Stewart (c1660), and, as a member for the Jacobite Cause, Lazarus Stewart was a protector of Charles Leslie, the controversial “Shadow Leader” in the Jacobite Movement.

Charles Leslie was a renowned author supporting the James Edward Stuart, the Catholic “Old Pretender” exiled in France. Leslie was in France during the unsuccessful 1715 Jacobite Rising in Scotland that attempted to put the Old Pretender on the Scottish Throne. Charles Leslie was an outlaw charged with high treason hiding in Ireland after this time, probably with Lazarus and his family. When Leslie died in 1722, Lazarus Stewart, with his family of seven children, migrated to Pennsylvania in about 1729. There his large expanding families had quite an impact during the frontier times and the Revolutionary War in 1775.

What we are hoping among us testers is that there is a new testor of Y-700 who matches our specific yDNA (R-FT74278) and he has a known long lineage in Donegal with an old family Bible or some such family documentation dating back to William in 1660. We live in hope.

My own family John Stewart and Rebecca arrived from Donegal into Bangor, County Down around the 1800 period. They had seven children there including Alexander Stewart in 1822. He married in 1850 in Bangor Abbey to Annabella McRoberts. Of their eight children, Andrew Stewart (1861) migrated to the shipyards of Clydebank in Glasgow to have 5 children before travelling onwards to Western Australia. Andrew Stewart was my great grandfather.