Marty and Karla Grant
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James Stewart (1780/1784-aft 1830) of North Carolina (Buncombe)
[Stewart Home] - [Table of Contents] - James Stewart (1780/84-aft 1830)
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I am not related to James Stewart as far as I can prove. However, he lived in Buncombe Co., NC, his time there overlapping with my own ancestor John Stewart (1730/40-1830).
James Stewart (also Stuart) was born 1780/1784 per his ages on the various census records:
∙ 1800 age 26-4 1755/1774
∙ 1810 age 26-44 1765/1784
∙ 1820 age 26-44 1775/1794
∙ 1830 age 40-49 1780/1790
All of the above combine to ca 1780/1784 if we ignore 1800. If his parents are who I think they are, then he was probably born in Surry Co., NC.
I have no direct proof of his parents, but I suspect he is a son of Nathaniel Stewart Sr who died in 1824 in Buncombe. I can’t prove that Nathaniel is his father, but James did live in the same general area awhile, and Nathaniel did have an unknown son who is an age-match to James.
James would have been about 6 to 10 for the 1790 census. That means he should be in the under 16 age group (ca 1774/90). There were six Stewart households in Surry Co., NC that year, five of whom had at least one son aged under 16 (born ca 1774/1790). Assuming that James is from Surry, then one of these is likely him:
1790 Census, Surry Co., NC
p. 511 Hambleton Stewart 1-2-3-0-0
p. 511 William Stewart 2-4-1-0-0
p. 511 Nathaniel Stewart 1-5-3-0-0
p. 515 David Stewart 1-2-3-0-0
p. 523 John Stewart 1-1-2-0-0 Probably not.
Of those, John Stewart’s children are proven, and no James was among them. Hampton went off to Tennessee right after 1790, so he isn’t likely James’s father either since James didn’t go to Tennessee. I should note that there is a James Stewart listed in Surry on the 1790 census, but it can’t be this James who was just a child at the time.
Nathaniel and some of the other Surry Stewarts moved to Greenville Dist., SC in the 1790s, including the older James Stewart.
There are two James Stewarts listed on the 1800 census in Greenville Dist., SC, a James Sr and a James Jr, with a William Stewart listed between them. I do believe this is the same James (Sr) and William who had been in Surry Co., NC in 1790. That this James is closer to them than to Nathaniel (a few pages away), might suggest that William Stewart could be his father instead of Nathaniel. Then again, William could be an uncle. I just don’t know. I am reasonably sure that James Sr isn’t James Jr’s father, for he had no sons at home back in 1790.
1800 Census, Greenville Dist., SC
Pg |
# * |
Name |
M0-9
|
M10-15
|
M16-25
|
M26-44
|
M45+
|
F0-9
|
F10-15
|
F16-25
|
F26-44
|
F45+
|
FPC
|
Slaves
|
97 |
151 |
James Stewart Junr |
1 |
~ |
~ |
1 |
~ |
1 |
~ |
1 |
~ |
~ |
~ |
~ |
97 |
152 |
William Stewart |
1 |
1 |
~ |
1 |
~ |
2 |
~ |
1 |
~ |
~ |
~ |
~ |
97 |
153 |
James Stewart Senr |
2 |
~ |
~ |
~ |
1 |
~ |
~ |
1 |
~ |
1 |
~ |
~ |
* This census taker numbered each household.
My analysis (who each person *might* be):
1m 26-44 (1755/1774) James Stewart (c1780/84) (age slightly off here)
1m 0-9 (1790/1800) Son? (1794/1800)
1f 16-25 (1774/1784) Wife?
1f 0-9 (1790/1800) Daughter? (1794/1800)
James Stewart (Jr) apparently married someone in the 1790-1800 time period, whether in Surry Co., NC or Greenville Dist., SC, I can’t say. I have found no records (so far) of his wife’s name.
Nathaniel and some of the others left Greenville Dist., SC for Buncombe Co., NC in the 1800-1810 time frame. James did as well. There is a James Stuard still in Greenville for the 1810 census, but it is a younger man than the one we’re studying here.
James is listed on the 1810 census in Buncombe Co., NC. He was just a page away from his possible brother Joshua Stewart. James was listed between Elisha Davis and Walter Clayton. Other neighbors were names I recognize as residents of that part of Buncombe that later became Henderson County. I don't know what part of present Henderson County this was, though it might be on or near McDowell Creek, where some of Nathaniel’s other children lived. Some of the neighbors look like those that lived in the part of Henderson that later became Transylvania County, including my Aunt Phebe Patterson Dunn, just two houses away.
1810 Census, Buncombe Co., NC
Page |
Name |
M0-9
|
M10-15
|
M16-25
|
M26-44
|
M45+
|
F0-9
|
F10-15
|
F16-25
|
F26-44
|
F45+
|
FPC
|
Slaves
|
270 |
James Stewart |
1 |
1 |
~ |
1 |
~ |
~ |
1 |
~ |
1 |
~ |
~ |
~ |
My analysis (who each person *might* be):
1m 26-44 (1765/1784) James Stewart (c1780/84)
1m 10-15 (1794/1800) Son? (1794/1800)
1m 0-9 (1800/1810) Son? (1804/10)
1f 26-44 (1765/1784) Wife?
1f 10-15 (1794/1800) Daughter? (1794/1800)
James Stewart apparently moved to a different part of Buncombe between 1810 and 1820. Judging by his neighbors on the 1820 census, it appears that he was then in the part of Buncombe County that later became Yancey County, and eventually became Madison County. James was actually listed twice as were many others on this particular census. While it’s possible this could represent two different men named James Stewart, I don’t think that’s the case. The enumerations are nearly identical. In one instance (page 98) James's neighbors on either side were John Holcomb and Cyrus H. Freeman. In the other instance (page 110), his neighbors were Mary Ray and David M. McClane. This entry appears to be more in the Henderson Co., NC area (formed in 1838 from southern Buncombe).
1820 Census, Buncombe Co., NC
Page |
Name |
M 0 - 9 |
M 10 - 15 |
M 16 - 17 |
M 16 - 25 |
M 26 - 44 |
M 45 + |
F 0 - 9 |
F 10 - 15 |
F 16 - 25 |
F 26 - 44 |
F 45 + |
F P C |
S l a v e s |
98 |
Jas Stuard |
1 |
1 |
~ |
~ |
1 |
~ |
2 |
~ |
~ |
1 |
~ |
~ |
~ |
110 |
Jas Stuart |
2 |
2 |
~ |
~ |
1 |
~ |
2 |
1 |
~ |
1 |
~ |
~ |
~ |
My analysis (who each person *might* be) (using the page 110 entry):
1m 26-44 (1775/1794) James Stewart (c1780/84)
2m 10-15 (1804/1810) 1. Son? (1804/10)
2. Son? (No one this age with James in 1810)
1m 0-9 (1810/1820) Son? (1815/20)
1f 26-44 (1775/1794) Wife?
1f 10-15 (1804/1810) Daughter? (1804/10) (No one this age with James in 1810)
2f 0-9 (1810/1820) 1. Daughter? (1815/20)
2. Daughter? (1815/20)
James was still in Buncombe for the 1830 census. Judging by his neighbors, he was clearly in or near the Ivy community of present Madison County (this is a Buncombe County border region as well). He was not near any other Stewarts. His next door neighbors were James Cody and James Hurst.
1830 Census, Buncombe Co., NC
Page |
Name (Males first row, females on second) |
0-4
|
5-9
|
10-14
|
15-19
|
20-29
|
30-39
|
40-49
|
50-59
|
60-69
|
70-79
|
80-89
|
90-99
|
100+
|
299 |
Ja. Stuart |
2 |
1 |
1 |
~ |
1 |
~ |
1 |
~ |
~ |
~ |
~ |
~ |
~ |
|
|
1 |
1 |
2 |
~ |
~ |
~ |
1 |
~ |
~ |
~ |
~ |
~ |
~ |
My analysis (who each person *might* be):
1m 40-49 (1780/1790) James Stewart (c1780/84)
1m 10-14 (1815/1820) Son? (1815/20)
1m 5-9 (1820/1825) Son? (1820/25)
2m 0-4 (1825/1830) 1. Son? (1825/30)
2. Son? (1825/30)
1f 40-49 (1780/1790) Wife?
2f 10-14 (1815/1820) 1. Daughter? (1815/20)
2. Daughter? (1815/20)
1f 5-9 (1820/1825) Daughter? (1820/25)
1f 0-4 (1825/1830) Daughter? (1825/30)
Yancey County was formed in 1833 from that section of Buncombe, though the new line apparently cut right between James Cody and James Hurst (James Stewart’s neighbors from 1830) for in 1840 I find James Cody in Yancey, but James Hurst still in Buncombe, though of course it’s possible one of them moved during the 1830s.
Unfortunately, I didn’t find James Stewart in either county, nor in any neighboring counties. Nor did I find an apparent widow in the region. I don’t know that he died in the 1830s. It’s just as likely he moved out of state, taking all of his many children with him (or vice versa).
There are many James Stewart and James Stuart listings on the 1840 census in the United States. Unfortunately you can’t search them by age group, so it would be very difficult to analyze all of them to see which might be the same James from Buncombe, assuming any of them were. The list is much smaller if we eliminate unlikely migration points, like the northeast for example, but there are still too many.
Moving to 1850 the task becomes easier. I searched for any James Stewart/Stuart born in the 1780s in either North Carolina, South Carolina or Virginia. I found a few, but none that appear to be our guy from Buncombe. I performed a similar search of the 1860 census with even fewer potential matches.
James Stewart and wife had a large number of children per the 1800 through 1830 censuses. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to identify any of them thus far.
1. Unknown Son 1794/1800. He was home with his parents in 1800, aged under 10 (c1790/1800) and home in 1810 aged 10-15 (c1794/1800). He was gone from home by 1820. I don’t know who this might have been. He was likely born in either Surry Co., NC or Greenville Dist., SC.
2. Unknown Daughter 1794/1800. She was home with parents in 1800, aged under 10 (c1790/1800) and home in 1810 aged 10-15 (c1794/1800). She was gone from home by 1820. I don’t know who this might have been. She was likely born in either Surry Co., NC or Greenville Dist., SC.
3. Unknown Son 1804/1810. He was home with his parents in 1810 aged under 10 (1800/1810) and home in 1820 aged 10-15 (c1804/1810) but gone by 1830. I don’t know who this might have been. He was likely born in either Greenville Dist., SC or Buncombe Co., NC.
4. Unknown Son 1804/1810. He was not home with his parents in 1810 but was listed with them in 1820 aged 10-15 (c1804/1810). He was gone by 1830. I don’t know who this might have been. He was likely born in either Greenville Dist., SC or Buncombe Co., NC. He might not have existed. As noted earlier, James Stewart was listed twice on the 1820 census with slightly different enumerations. In one entry he only had one son this age group which matches his 1810 entry. In the other entry he had two sons this age, so one might be an error.
5. Unknown Daughter 1804/1810. She was not home with her parents in 1810 but was listed with them in 1820 aged 10-15 (c1804/1810). She was gone by 1830. I don’t know who this might have been. She was likely born in either Greenville Dist., SC or Buncombe Co., NC. She might not have existed. As noted earlier, James Stewart was listed twice on the 1820 census with slightly different enumerations. In one entry he had one daughter this age group but with no corresponding daughter from his 1810 entry. In the other 1820 entry he had no daughters in this age group.
6. Unknown Son 1815/1820. He was home with his parents in 1820 aged under 10 (c1810/20) and with them in 1830, aged 10-14 (c1815/1820). I don’t know who this was. He would have been born in Buncombe Co., NC most likely.
7. Unknown Daughter 1815/1820. She was home with her parents in 1820 aged under 10 (c1810/20) and with them in 1830, aged 10-14 (c1815/1820). I don’t know who this was. She would have been born in Buncombe Co., NC most likely.
8. Unknown Daughter 1815/1820. She was home with her parents in 1820 aged under 10 (c1810/20) and with them in 1830, aged 10-14 (c1815/1820). I don’t know who this was. She would have been born in Buncombe Co., NC most likely.
9. Unknown Son 1820/1825. Home with parents in 1830 aged 5-9 (c1820/1825). No other data. Would have been born in Buncombe Co., NC most likely. There is a James Stewart (c1824) in Henderson Co., NC in 1850 with the William Bryson family as a laborer. I don’t know who he is yet. He could be a son of James (1780/84), though I tend to think he isn’t. But he could be!
10. Unknown Daughter 1820/1825. Home with parents in 1830 aged 5-9 (c1820/1825). No other data. Would have been born in Buncombe Co., NC most likely.
11. Unknown Son 1825/1830. Home with parents in 1830 aged under 5 (c1825/30). No other data. Would have been born in Buncombe Co., NC most likely.
12. Unknown Son 1825/1830. Home with parents in 1830 aged under 5 (c1825/30). No other data. Would have been born in Buncombe Co., NC most likely.
13. Unknown Daughter 1825/1830. Home with parents in 1830 aged under 5 (c1825/30). No other data. Would have been born in Buncombe Co., NC most likely.
For Family Group Sheet and other notes see my database pages for James Stewart (* I don’t have one currently since I have yet to identify his wife and children.)
Revised: July 1, 2024
Copyright © 1996-2024 Marvin A. Grant, Jr. All Rights Reserved.
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