James Stewart, of Ballintoy

James Stewart settled in Ireland about 1560. The family settled at a place called Dunseverick, and later moved to Ballinstraid, in the parish of Ballintoy.

There is uncertainty that his given name was James; what we know is that "sons of Archibald" moved to Antrim from Isle of Butte.

"James Stewart was married to Isabella Edmondstone (1542–1580)"

There is no supporting evidence that his wife was called Isabella Edmonstone.

From Stewart Clan Magazine, Volumes 1-10 (1922) page 34 < GoogleBooks >

James Stewart12 (Archibald11, Ninian10) was settled in Antrim, Ireland, about 1560. This was long before the plantation of Ulster by the Scotch, which began about 1610, at the same period as the English colonization of America. This Stewart family from Bute settled first at a place called Dunseverick but later moved to Ballinstraid [now Straidh], in the parish of Ballintoy. James died before 1600, having four children:

1. Ninian, born about 1555
2. David, had three sons
3. Jean
4. Christian, married Brien Dunlop

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Background

http://www.kenfstewart.com.au/BUTE%20BALLINTOY%20CONNECTIONS.htm

BALLINTOY CASTLE

Ballintoy Castle must have been a very important local focal point from 1630 to the mid-18th century. It was home to the Stewarts of Ballintoy, a family descended from Sir John Stewart, of Bute, and with blood connections to the Dalriadic Kings of Scotland.

The Bute Stewart family appears to first move from Bute in Scotland into Northern Ireland by 1560.

Archibald Stewart (c1522) of Largyan, with Matthew Stewart (Earl of Lennox), at the instigation of Henry VIII, organised opposition to Mary Queen of Scots. When the 1544 rebellion failed Archibald forfeited his lands in 1546. The last of their estates was sold in 1559 and soon after his sons appeared at Dunseverick on the Northern Coast of County Antrim. The family later moved to Ballynastraid in Ballintoy Parish and later built Ballintoy Castle.

It was probably a great grandson of Archibald of Largizean, another Archibald Stewart (born around 1595), who acted as agent to the Earl of Antrim in 1630 and was involved in the Rebellion of 1641 on Black Friday.

About 1760 Ballintoy Castle and estate were sold by Alexander T Stewart to Mr Cupples of Belfast who then sold it to Dr. Alexander Fullerton for the same price of £20,000.

1. James STUART was born ABT 1530 in Scotland.

He was the son of 2. Archibald STEWART and 3. Anne

He married Isabella EDMONDSTONE. She was born ABT 1565 in Scotland. < evidence needed >

Children

1. David STUART b: ABT 1575 in Scotland. Married Maria Meldrum.

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"North Antrim Coastal Parish". ballycastlehistory.com. Retrieved 20 November 2024.

https://www.ballycastlehistory.com/north-antrim-coastal-parish.html

No doubt the greatness and import­ance of the castle loomed over every­thing else in the locality. The Crom­wellian Inquisitions of 1657 distinctly refer to what is now this parish church, as “the chapel of Ballintoy” in the parish of Billy. It was situ­ated in a position which, taking the parish as a whole, could not be described as central for the purposes of a parish church. But for this, the immediate proximity of the Castle was largely, if not entirely, respon­sible.

Since Ballintoy Castle, for a great number of years must have been the largest building in what was then, as now, an entirely rural locality, a word must be said concerning it. From 1630 to the middle of the eighteenth century, it was inhabited by the Stewart family—a family usually referred to as "the Stewarts of Ballintoy.” There is every reason to suppose that it was this family that erected this church. The Stewarts were a branch of that ancient and noble line that had given Kings to the Scottish and English thrones; indeed, the motto of one branch of the family was “Not descended from kings; kings descended from us.” The family was de­scended from Sir John Stewart of Bute, son of Robert II, a descendant of the Dalriadic monarchs of Scot­land and, therefore, of the old Irish royal line from winch the Dalriadic Kings of Scotland sprang and from whom Her present Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II is descended. The word Carrick-a-Rede may be the local and corrupt form of Carrig Riada, mean­ing, perhaps, the most noteworthy rock on the coast of Dalriada.

Source: "Ballintoy’s Hidden History" October 24, 2014 by Glens Of Antrim Historical Society. < link >

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References

1. http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=rohlspur&... (dead link)
2. https://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=andrewsmith&id=I0... (dead link)
3. Stewart Clan Magazine, Volumes 1-10. Page 34. < GoogleBooks >
4. The Stewarts of Ballintoy: with notices of other families of the district in the seventeenth century by Hill, George, 1810-1900, page 3-5. Archibald Stewart, of Larygyan, 2nd son of Ninian Stewart and Janet Dunlop ... estates forfeited, " In 1559 the last remnant of his property was sold, and soon afterwards his sons made their appearance on the Antrim shore. ... In the absence of positive evidence as to the precise time of their arrival, we would be disposed to fix the year 1560, as this date corresponds with the period when the family lost their estates in Bute, and also with the circumstances of their subsequent history in this country. The first settler (his Christian name is doubtful, but is supposed to have been James) left two sons, Ninian and David, and two daughters, Jane and Christain. Ninian the elder was the father of a large family, but only three of his children, namely, Archibald, Ninian, and Cathrine, lived to mature age. These successions, however, occurred previously to the year 1600, so that the family must have been settled on this coast at least as early as 1560. .."
5. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Stewart-21017 shows as born about 1542 in Glasgow, son of Archibald Stewart, wife Isabella Edmonstrone (unsourced).
6. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Stewart-4338 shows as born 1532 in Isle of Bute, son of Ninian (Stewart) Stewart of Nether Kilmory [uncertain] and Elizabeth Lindsay.
7. Hili, George. “The Stewarts of Ballintoy: With Notices of Other Families of the District in the Seventeenth Century. The Stewarts of Ballintoy (Continued).” Ulster Journal of Archaeology 6, no. 3 (1900): 142–61. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20563889.
8. "Stewarts of Ballintoy and some related families" RootsChat. https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=876051.0
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunseverick Dunseverick (from Irish Dún Sobhairce 'Sobhairce's fort')[3] is a hamlet near the Giant's Causeway in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The name is also the alias for the townland of Feigh.[4] It is most notable for Dunseverick Castle.
10. "Ballintoy’s Hidden History" October 24, 2014 by Glens Of Antrim Historical Society. < link >
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballintoy The village was used for the fictional town of Lordsport in the Isle of Pyke during the second season of HBO's medieval fantasy television series Game of Thrones.[4] Filming took place during August 2011.[5]