Person:James Stewart (121)

James Elliot Stewart, third son of Capt. Ralph Stewart and his first wife Mary Elliot, was born in Virginia, about 1769. W. H. Stewart reports James’ birth date as 1775, but the date on the headstone on his grave says he was born in 1769. He was married in Montgomery County, Virginia, to Nancy Ann Burgess, daughter of Edward Burgess, by publication, June 7, 1798. The ceremony was reported in the August 28 return of Rev. Alexander Ross, who also officiated at the marriage of James’ sister, Mary. Edward Burgess and Ralph Stewart were long-time acquaintances, having served together in the French and Indian Wars and living as neighbors on Wolf Creek of New River in Giles County in the 1790’s.

According to Florence Dickerson, the children of James and Nancy (Burgess) Stewart were: (1) Ralph Jr., b. 1799; (2) Mary Ann, b. 1802; (3) David, b. 1803; (4) Absolum, b. 1804; (5) William, b. 1807; (6) Charles, b. 1808; (7) Robert, b. 1809; (8) Elizabeth, b. 1811; (9) Eliza, b. 1812; (10) Lucy, b. 1800; (11) Burgess, b. 1817; (12) James, b. 1818; (13) Henry, b. 1819; and (14) John, b. 1823.

James was a fifer in the company of Capt. Hugh Caperton of Greenbriar County during the Revolution. Later he served in the Kentucky Militia, Company C. (?)

In 1789, James Stewart’s land joined Thomas Lewis, John McClenahan and Col. Fleming’s land in Botetourt County, Virginia. In 1793, he had 200 acres of land on Whippoorwill Creek. James was in Cabell County as early as 1812 and lived on a farm at Buffalo Shoals on Buffalo Creek. He moved to Greenup County, Kentucky, before 1820, and settled on Bear Creek, a tributary of the Big Sandy River, in what is now Lawrence County. His farm adjoined those of his brothers Mitchell and Charles.

On April 26, 1823, James Stewart filed against Moor and Wight for a debt of $400.00 owed for liquor barrells. (Lawrence County Kentucky Annotated Abstracts of Circuit Court Records, 1821-1873.)

James E. Stewart died in 1835 and his wife Nancy died in 1852. They are buried at Buchannan Chapel Cemetary eight miles north of Louisa, Kentucky, on US 23 at Zelda. (Lawrence County Cemetaries, Compiled by Mary Ellen Ried, Beulah Greene, Isabelle Johns and Stephanie Adkins, 1996.)

James (Elliott) Stewart was the father of Col. Ralph Stewart, (a real Kentucky Col.) who was the father of James Elliott Stewart, popular attorney at law in Louisa, Kentucky. Col. Ralph came to Lawrence County when he was about twenty years old. (Kentucky Biographies).