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Alexander Stewart (Londonderry MP, born 1746)

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Alexander Stewart
Born26 March 1746
Died1831
Spouse(s)Mary Moore
Issue
Detail
Alexander Robert Stewart, & others
FatherAlexander Stewart
MotherMary Cowan
OccupationHigh sheriff, MP, and landowner

Alexander Stewart (1746–1831), known as Alexander Stewart of Ards, was an Irish landowner and member of parliament.

Birth and origins

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Alexander was born on 26 March 1746 in Ireland.[1] He was the fifth son of Alexander Stewart and his wife Mary Cowan. His father's family was Ulster Scots and came from County Donegal. His father had bought the Newtownards and Comber estates in County Down in 1743[2] and lived at Mount Stewart, near Newtownards. His father also still was an alderman of Derry in 1760. His grandfather, Colonel William Stewart, had commanded one of the two companies of Protestant soldiers that Derry admitted into town when Mountjoy was sent to Derry by Tyrconnell before the start of the siege.[3] Alexander's mother was a daughter of John Cowan, alderman of Derry and sister of Robert Cowan, Governor of Bombay. Her family also was Ulster Scots. His parents had married on 30 June 1737 in Dublin.[4] He had six siblings, who are listed in his father's article.

Family tree
Alexander Stewart with wife, parents, and other selected relatives.[a]
William
Stewart

Colonel
John
Cowan

Alderman
of Derry
Alexander
1699–1781
Mary
Cowan

d. 1788
Robert
Cowan

d. 1737
Governor
of Bombay
Sarah
Frances
Seymour-
Conway

1747–1770
Robert
1st
Marquess

1739–1821
Frances
Pratt

c. 1751 –
1833
Alexander
of Ards

1746–1831
Mary
Moore

1772–1842
Robert
2nd
Marquess

1769–1822
Castlereagh
Charles
3rd
Marquess

1778–1854
Alexander
Robert

1795–1850
Caroline
Pratt

d. 1827
Frederick
4th
Marquess

1805–1872
George
5th
Marquess

1821–1884
Alexander
John
Robert

1827–1904
Legend
XXXSubject of
the article
XXXMarquesses of
Londonderry

Ards House

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In 1782, after his father's death in the preceding year, Alexander Stewart, probably using some money from the inheritance, bought the Ards House and some surrounding lands near it on the shores of Sheephaven Bay near Dunfanaghy, County Donegal, for £13,250 from William Wray and started to live there.[5][6] He and his heirs were therefore known as the Stewarts of Ards.[7] The Ards House was demolished in the early 1960s, but the wooded park in which it stood still exists and is known as the Ards Forest Park.[8]

Marriage

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On 2 October 1791 Alexander Stewart of Ards, as he was now, married Mary Moore, daughter of Charles Moore, 1st Marquess of Drogheda and granddaughter of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford.[1] Mary was the niece of Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway, the first wife of Alexander's eldest brother Robert, Lord Londonderry.[9]

Alexander and Mary had among other children three sons who reached adulthood:

  1. Alexander Robert Stewart (1795–1850), succeeded him[10]
  2. Charles Moore (1799–1831),[11] became a minister of a church, probably Presbyterian[12]
  3. John Vandeleur (1802–1872) of Rock Hill (near Letterkenny)[13]

Politics and later life

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Stewart was appointed High Sheriff of Donegal for 1791–92.[14]

Stewart sat as member of parliament (MP) in the Irish Parliament in 1800–1801. He was elected for the County Londonderry constituency of the Irish Parliament in 1800, sat for County Londonderry for one month and then exchanged it for the borough of Thomastown for which he sat until Irish Parliament was abolished due to the Acts of Union in 1801.[15]

Stewart also sat for the UK Parliament from 1814 to 1818. On 19 July 1814 he was elected for the Londonderry constituency of the UK Parliament to replace his nephew Sir Charles Stewart who had on 1 July 1814 been raised to the peerage as Baron Stewart.[16] He thus served as "a family stopgap" who "supported [the Earl of Liverpool's Tory] government silently". He sat for the constituency for four years until the 1818 general election, when his son Alexander-Robert was elected, having come of age.[17]

Alexander Stewart of Ards died in 1831.[18]

Notes and references

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Notes

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  1. ^ Also see the lists of siblings and children in the text.

Citation

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  1. ^ a b Debrett 1828, p. 634, line 42. "Alexander, b. 26 March 1746, m. [married] Mary Moore, 3d da. of Charles, marquess of Drogheda (by Anne, eldest da. of Francis Seymour, 1st marquess of Hertford,) and has issue ..."
  2. ^ Bew 2012, p. 7, line 16. "Alexander retired from business and bought into the landed gentry in 1743, with the acquisition of sixty townlands and a large estate in County Down ..."
  3. ^ Bew 2012, p. 6. "His son, Colonel William Stewart, had raised a troop of horse during the siege of Londonderry by James II in 1689, making them the archetypal Ulster Scots settlers."
  4. ^ Watson 2004, p. 752, right column. "Mary Cowan married (Dublin, 30 June 1737) her cousin Alexander Stewart (1700–1781)."
  5. ^ Trench 1945, p. 139. "... the transaction executed between William Wray and Alexander Stewart, brother to the 1st Marquis of Londonderry by which the entire estates passed to the said Alexander Stewart ... sum of £13,250 to be paid by Alexander Stewart ..."
  6. ^ Burke 1879, p. 1525, right column, line 2. "... purchased the estate of Ards from the Wray family and settled there 1782."
  7. ^ Johnston 1906, p. 80. "Alexander Stewart of Ballylawn and Mount Stewart, great-great-grandson of John Stewart of Ballylawn castle said to be a cadet of Garlies, was born 1699, and died 1781, leaving two sons:- (a) Robert (number 242) (b) Alexander, ancestor of the Stewart of Ards, Lourencetown and Rockhill. Arms of Stewarts of Ards: 1 and 4. Gold, a bend counter compony silver and blue between two red lions rampant. 2 and 3. Red, a silver saltire. Crest: a golden dragon standing. Motto: 'metuenda corolla draconis' (Burke)."
  8. ^ Trench 1945, p. 145. "In the centre of all this bewitching beauty Ards House gleamed white from amongst the dark woods ..."
  9. ^ Debrett 1828, p. 635, line 3. "The marquess m. [married] 1st 3 June 1766, Sarah-Frances Seymour, 2nd daughter of Francis, 1st marquess of Hertford ..."
  10. ^ Debrett 1828, p. 634, line 44. "Alexander-Robert, M.P. County Londonderry, b. [born] 12 Feb. 1795 ..."
  11. ^ Debrett 1828, p. 634, line 46. "Charles-Moore, b. [born] 5  March 1799 ..."
  12. ^ Burke 1879, p. 1525, right column, line 9. "Charles Moore (Rev.) b. [born] 5 March 1799 ..."
  13. ^ Burke 1879, p. 1525, right column, line 12. "John Vandeleur, of Rock Hill, County Donegal, J.P. and D.L., b. [born] 4 Oct. 1802, m. [married] 18 Dec. 1837, Lady Helen Toler, 3rd daughter of Hector John, 2nd Earl of Norbury, and d. [died] 24 June 1872 ..."
  14. ^ Jupp, "Stewart, Alexander", under "Offices Held". "Sheriff, County Donegal 1791–2."
  15. ^ Jupp, "Stewart, Alexander", under Biography, 1st paragraph, beginning. "Stewart was the younger brother of Robert, 1st Marquess of Londonderry, Castlereagh's father, on whose interest he sat for a month in the Irish parliament for county Derry in 1800, before transferring to lord Clifden's borough of Thomastown."
  16. ^ House of Commons 1878, p. 271. "Alexander Stewart of Kilres, county Londonderry, vice Sir Charles William Stewart, knt. of the bath, called to the Upper House as Baron Stewart / 19 July 1814 / ditto [Londonderry County]"
  17. ^ Jupp, "Stewart, Alexander", under Biography, 2nd paragraph, middle. "... when Stewart was returned for county Derry in 1814 it was as a family stopgap, a replacement for his nephew Charles William Stewart. He retained the seat only until the dissolution, when he was replaced by his son Alexander Robert who had meanwhile come of age.
  18. ^ Burke 1879, p. 1525, right column, line 29. "Mr. Stewart d. [died] 1831 and was s. [succeeded] by his eldest son ..."

Sources

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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Londonderry
1814 – 1818
With: Hon. William Ponsonby to 1815
George Robert Dawson from 1815
Succeeded by