Alexander Stewart (1699–1781)

Alexander Stewart of Ballylawn, 1720s portrait

Alexander Stewart (1699 – 22 April 1781) was an Irish landowner who grew rich by the Cowan inheritance. He is the father of Robert Stewart, the 1st Marquess of Londonderry.

Birth and origins

Alexander was born in 1699 or 1700 in the family home at Ballylawn, near the town of Moville, county Donegal, as the second son of William Stewart and his wife. His father had raised a Williamite troop of horse in the run-up to the siege of Londonderry and was therefore known as Colonel William Stewart. Alexander's mother, whose first name is unknown, was a daughter of William Stewart of Fort Stewart.

Family tree

Alexander Stewart with wife and other selected relatives. Alexander Macaulay William Stewart Colonel John Cowan Alderman of Derry Thomas d. 1740 Captain Alexander 1699–1781 Mary Cowan d. 1788 Robert Cowan d. 1737 Bombay Governor Sarah Frances Seymour- Conway 1747–1770 Robert 1st Marquess 1739–1821 Frances Pratt Alexander of Ards 1746–1831 Robert 2nd Marquess 1769–1822 Castlereagh Charles 3rd Marquess 1778–1854 Legend XXX Alexander Stewart XXX Robert Cowan XXX Marquesses of Londonderry First wife on the left, second on the right. Also see the lists of siblings and children in the text.

He appears below as the younger of two brothers:

1. Thomas (died 1740), who inherited Ballylawn and pursued a military career but died childless in 1740; and
2. Alexander (1699–1781), the subject of this article.

The Stewart family background was Scots-Irish and Presbyterian. They were planters in northern Ireland in the 16th century under the name MacGregor, changed to Stewart under James VI and I. Two generations earlier, his paternal grandfather went by Alexander Macaulay, and bought land in the Moville area at Ballylawn, a townland near Manorcunningham, in County Donegal.

Alexander, as a younger son, went into commerce with an apprenticeship at Belfast and became a successful merchant in the Baltic trade. He also became an elder in the First Presbyterian Church in Rosemary Street, Belfast.

Marriage

Alexander Stewart married on 30 June 1737 a cousin, Mary Cowan, daughter of John Cowan, alderman of Londonderry and his wife Anne Stewart, daughter of Alexander Stewart of Ballylawn, and sister of the former Governor of Bombay, Robert Cowan, who had died on 21 February 1737 in London.

Brother's death and succession

In 1740 his elder brother Thomas died and Alexander inherited the Ballylawn estate. However, there are two townlands called Ballylawn in county Donegal: one near Manorcunningham, and another near Moville. According to Bew Ballylawn near Moville was the place.

Cowan inheritage

He then acquired the rights to Robert Cowan's substantial estate. Being now rich, Alexander Stewart retired from business in 1743, and used the money from the Cowan inheritance to become a substantial landowner in County Down by buying estates at Comber and Newtownards in 1744.

Mount Stewart

Around 1750 Alexander Stewart rebuilt a house called Mount Pleasant on his estate near Newtownards and renamed it Mount Stewart. In 1780 Stewart commissioned the Temple of the Winds at Mount Stewart from James "Athenian" Stuart. This is an octagonal neo-classical building that was completed by his son Robert after his death.

The Temple of the Winds at Mount Stewart, commissioned by Alexander Stewart

In 1755 he was left the property of William Bruce (1702–1755), the Dublin bookseller from Killyleagh, which he divided between Bruce's relations.

In politics

In 1759 the Member of the Parliament of Ireland for the city of Londonderry, William Scott, was raised to the bench. Initially William Hamilton was elected to succeed him, but the election was declared void. Alexander Stewart was returned in his place in April 1760, but he was also declared not duly elected. Eventually Hamilton represented the constituency from May 1760 until his death later that year. Stewart was not elected again to Parliament, but many of his sons and grandsons were.

Children

Alexander and Mary Stewart (née Cowan) had seven children:

1. Anne (1738–1781);
2. Robert (1739–1821), who became the 1st Marquess of Londonderry;
3. William (1741–1742);
4. Francis (born 1742);
5. John (1744–1762);
6. Alexander (1746–1831), who married Mary Moore, the 3rd daughter of the 1st Marquess of Drogheda; and
7. Mary (born 1747), who died young.

Death

He died on 22 April 1781 and was succeeded by his eldest son Robert.

The Stewart family papers are preserved in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.

Notes and references

• Benson, C. J. (2004), "Bruce, William (1702–1755)", in Matthew, Henry Colin Gray.; Harrison, Brian (eds.), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, vol. 8, New York: Oxford University Press, p. 336, ISBN 0-19-861411-X
• Bew, John (2012), Castlereagh: A Life, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-993159-0
• Burke, Bernard (1869), A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire (31st ed.), London: Harrison - The 31st Edition gives Stewarts as ancestors whereas the 99th Edition gives Tempests and Vanes.
• Debrett, John (1828), Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, vol. 2 (17th ed.), London: F. C. and J. Rivington - Scotland and Ireland
• Johnston, G. Harvey (1906), The Heraldry of the Stewarts (PDF), Edinburgh: Johnston

External links

• Genealogy of Alexander Stewart on The Peerage website