Alexander Stuart

• Updated from MyHeritage Family Trees via wife Elizabeth Stuart (born Pike) by SmartCopy: Jun 23 2015, 5:04:59 UTC

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GEDCOM Note

tartan = Clan Tartans-7.png

Category:Chester County, Pennsylvania

Category:Orange County, North Carolina

Category: Chester County, Pennsylvania, Stewarts

Biography

Alexander Stuart was born in 1737 in Chester County, Pennsylvania, British American Colonies. He was the son of Robert Stuart (1710–1783) and his wife Martha Richardson (1717–1793). He passed away in 1767 in Alamance County, North Carolina, British American Colonies and was buried at the Cane Creek Monthly Meeting Cemetery, Snow Camp, Alamance County, North Carolina, British American Colonies. He is probably not buried here but there is a memorial for him.<4>

Marriage

Alexander Stuart was married to Elizabeth Pike about 1758. Elizabeth remarried in 1768 to John Doan.

Children

Children of Alexander Stuart and his wife Elizabeth Pike;

• 1. Robert Stewart. b. 1760 in Orange County, North Carolina, British American Colonies.
• 2. Abigail Stuart. b. 1762 in Orange County, North Carolina, British American Colonies.
• 3. John Stuart. b. 30 Jan 1764 in Orange County, North Carolina, British American Colonies.
• 4. Henry Stuart. b. 1766 in Orange County, North Carolina, British American Colonies.

CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF ALAMANCE COUNTY In the year 1927, the Cane Creek Friends erected a monument to commemorate these pioneering days, and to honor one Alexander Stuart, one of the first immigrants to arrive here. The monument was placed in the Cane Creek church cemetery. "In selecting one of the early settlers of the community to honor with a monument," wrote a local newspaperman, "the Cane Creek Memorial Association picked out a man whose chief claim to immortality lies in the fact that he was an honest hard working farmer . . . the first timein the entire South that a monument has been erected to a farmer simply because he was a farmer." Leaving his family behind with friends, the early pioneer set out from Pennsylvania on horseback to seek a new home. He crossed the beautiful Cumberland and Shenandoah Valleys in early spring. Here he found afew Irish families settled, but they informed him that the Shawnee Indians were on the warpath and advised that he go farther southward. Beyond Virginia the signs of civilization decreased. Often the horse andits rider must swim a river or a creek which offered no fording place, and the trail became almost invisible. With good weather, the Pennsylvanian reached North Carolina in less than one month. There were only a few secluded cabins in this country;yet there seemed an almost boundless natural wealth 3/4 virgin forest, good land, abundant water. Indeed, this was the place he sought! After selecting the tract he liked best, the pioneer sent for the land agent who held a patent or title to the property. The tract was surveyedand arrangements were made for a deed to be ready when the new owner returned with his family in autumn. By this time word had spread through the countryside, and a group of"neighbors" left their homes miles away and came to help the new settler clear his fields, plant his crops, build his fences and raise his log home. The frontiersman was usually glad that a new family had cometo make their home in the wilderness, bringing news of the outside world and offering a helping hand for the tasks which one family could not do alone. When the cabin was completed, the new settler left its care to these "neighbors" and climbed into his saddle for the journey northward. In Pennsylvania many things had to be done in preparation for the trek to Carolina. The family sold everything they could not carry with them, and purchased three or four strong horses, or perhaps two yoke ofoxen, and a heavy but commodious wagon. Into the wagon went every available article for the farm and home, leaving Just enough space for the women and small children and the family bedding. Behind the wagon a milk cow or two was tethered to the axle. The elder children would drive a small flock of sheep and a few hogs. All of these things were necessities, for there was no room for the luxuries which the family had possessed. When all preparations were completed, the departing family gathered for a last time in the village meeting house to receive the best wishes and the prayers of those whom they were leaving some perhaps forever. Avoiding the hazardous stretches of the Blue Ridge mountains, the little caravan wound its way along the "Lower Trail" or Trading Path. Deep ruts in the road slowed the wagon and when it rained the road became impassable for several days. At night after the family had made camp, the children gathered around the glowing camp fires with excitement and adventure in their eyes, and their father told them stories of thewonderful place to which they were going. When the fire had burned low, the family would lie beneath the stars and dream of the promised land. Some food they had brought with them, ham and tongue, chocolate, teaand coffee, and salt. Johnny-cake was baked over the evening campfire. For breakfast there was thick mush made from corn meal. Occasionallya little meat could be bought from a farmer who lived beside the road; and when there was no good pasture, the Journey halted while oats were threshed at some farm so they might buy some for the horses. These were hard-working, simple, thrifty people. On weekdays they averaged ten miles a day, but on the Sabbath they stopped the wagon and spent the day in rest and thanksgiving. Only with strong faith could they endure the hardships which lay before them. Late in August the wagon rolled across the ford on Haw River and soon arrived at the sturdy little cabin which was its destination. Much work now faced them. The cabin was soon swept and scrubbed and filled with the few items of furniture which had been brought on the long trip. Every member of the family busied himself or herself with the task of turning the wilderness into a home. the pioneer home The cabin of the small farmer was not sufficiently large to contain much furniture, nor were there servants to care for it, so the family possessed only a few useful pieces. A chest, a table, a few beds and astool or two completed the furnishings. Working with his nearest neighbor who owned an adz or crosscut saw, the pioneer felled a fine walnut or poplar tree and laboriously sawed it into planks. Put together with wooden pegs or notched to fit at the corners, in the place of scarce iron nails, these planks made a crude but serviceable piece of furniture. As soon as the region became more settled, some industrious person usually built a dam and set up a saw mill driven by water power.<4>

Sources

• Burial. "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVVW-8C2R : 13 December 2015), Alexander Stuart, ; Burial, Snow Camp, Alamance, North Carolina, United States ofAmerica, Cane Creek Monthly Meeting Cemetery; citing record ID 6063336, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.

<references />

• <1><West, Edmund, comp. Family Data Collection - Births [databaseonline]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2001./>
• <2><West, Edmund, comp. Family Data Collection - Individual Records [database online]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2001./>
• <3><Yates Publishing. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2004./>
• <4><Shaw, Pat, "Alexander Stuart Find A Grave Memorial # 6063336", Record added: Jun 10, 2011, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6063336/>
• <1>< Source: S-2052917492 Repository: #R-2139398877 Title: Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. Note: This information comes from 1 or more individual Ancestry Family Tree files. This source citation points you to a current version of those files. Note: The ownersof these tree files may have removed or changed information since this source citation was created./> http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=21058954&pid...
• Repository: R-2139398877 Name: Ancestry.com Address: http://www.Ancestry.com/>
• <2><Source: S-2052921884 Repository: #R-2139398877 Title: Family Data Collection - Individual Records Author: Edmund West, comp. Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000. Note: APID: 1,4725::0/>
• <3><Source: S-2052921896 Repository: #R-2139398877 Title: U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 Author: Yates Publishing Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.Original data - This unique collection of records was extracted from a variety of sources including family group sheets and electronic databases. Originally, the information was derived Note: APID: 1,7836::0/>

Acknowledgements

WikiTree profile Stuart-752 created through the import of Rankin-Ridgdill Family Tree.ged on Oct 4, 2011 by Elizabeth Rankin. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Elizabeth and others.

• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Sep 29 2021, 23:21:09 UTC

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Alexander is the son of Robert (Stuart) Stewart and Martha Richardson. He is the husband of Elizabeth Pike and father to Robert Stewart b. 1760; Abigail b. 1762; John b. 1764; and Henry b. 1766.

Elizabeth remarried in 1768 to John Doan. My understanding he is probably not buried here but the memorial for him was.

CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF ALAMANCE COUNTY

In the year 1927, the Cane Creek Friends erected a monument to commemorate these pioneering days, and to honor one Alexander Stuart, one of the first immigrants to arrive here. The monument was placed in the Cane Creek church cemetery.

"In selecting one of the early settlers of the community to honor with a monument," wrote a local newspaperman, "the Cane Creek Memorial Association picked out a man whose chief claim to immortality lies in the fact that he was an honest hard working farmer . . . the first time in the entire South that a monument has been erected to a farmer simply because he was a farmer."

Leaving his family behind with friends, the early pioneer set out from Pennsylvania on horseback to seek a new home. He crossed the beautiful Cumberland and Shenandoah Valleys in early spring. Here he found a few Irish families settled, but they informed him that the Shawnee Indians were on the warpath and advised that he go farther southward. Beyond Virginia the signs of civilization decreased. Often the horse and its rider must swim a river or a creek which offered no fording place, and the trail became almost invisible.

With good weather, the Pennsylvanian reached North Carolina in less than one month. There were only a few secluded cabins in this country; yet there seemed an almost boundless natural wealth 3/4 virgin forest, good land, abundant water. Indeed, this was the place he sought! After selecting the tract he liked best, the pioneer sent for the land agent who held a patent or title to the property. The tract was surveyed and arrangements were made for a deed to be ready when the new owner returned with his family in autumn.

By this time word had spread through the countryside, and a group of "neighbors" left their homes miles away and came to help the new settler clear his fields, plant his crops, build his fences and raise his log home. The frontiersman was usually glad that a new family had come to make their home in the wilderness, bringing news of the outside world and offering a helping hand for the tasks which one family could not do alone. When the cabin was completed, the new settler left its care to these "neighbors" and climbed into his saddle for the journey northward.

In Pennsylvania many things had to be done in preparation for the trek to Carolina. The family sold everything they could not carry with them, and purchased three or four strong horses, or perhaps two yoke of oxen, and a heavy but commodious wagon. Into the wagon went every available article for the farm and home, leaving Just enough space for the women and small children and the family bedding. Behind the wagon a milch cow or two was tethered to the axle. The elder children would drive a small flock of sheep and a few hogs. All of these things were necessities, for there was no room for the luxuries which the family had possessed. When all preparations were completed, the departing family gathered for a last time in the village meeting house to receive the best wishes and the prayers of those whom they were leaving some perhaps forever.

Avoiding the hazardous stretches of the Blue Ridge mountains, the little caravan wound its way along the "Lower Trail" or Trading Path. Deep ruts in the road slowed the wagon and when it rained the road became impassable for several days. At night after the family had made camp, the children gathered around the glowing camp fires with excitement and adventure in their eyes, and their father told them stories of the wonderful place to which they were going. When the fire had burned low, the family would lie beneath the stars and dream of the promised land.

Some food they had brought with them, ham and tongue, chocolate, tea and coffee, and salt. Johnny-cake was baked over the evening campfire. For breakfast there was thick mush made from corn meal. Occasionally a little meat could be bought from a farmer who lived beside the road; and when there was no good pasture, the Journey halted while oats were threshed at some farm so they might buy some for the horses.

These were hard-working, simple, thrifty people. On weekdays they averaged ten miles a day, but on the Sabbath they stopped the wagon and spent the day in rest and thanksgiving. Only with strong faith could they endure the hardships which lay before them.

Late in August the wagon rolled across the ford on Haw River and soon arrived at the sturdy little cabin which was its destination. Much work now faced them. The cabin was soon swept and scrubbed and filled with the few items of furniture which had been brought on the long trip. Every member of the family busied himself or herself with the task of turning the wilderness into a home. the pioneer home

The cabin of the small farmer was not sufficiently large to contain much furniture, nor were there servants to care for it, so the family possessed only a few useful pieces. A chest, a table, a few beds and a stool or two completed the furnishings. Working with his nearest neighbor who owned an adz or crosscut saw, the pioneer felled a fine walnut or poplar tree and laboriously sawed it into planks. Put together with wooden pegs or notched to fit at the corners, in the place of scarce iron nails, these planks made a crude but serviceable piece of furniture. As soon as the region became more settled, some industrious person usually built a dam and set up a saw mill driven by water power.* Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: May 18 2022, 18:15:06 UTC