Ian's Family Tree index - Turnbull & Stewart

Ian's Family Tree page - Middleton & Stewart & Turnbull families
Assorted files of significance uploaded here- click to download & save or open.
Many are zipped or compressed into one file, and optimised for fast downloading.

I took this photo of Craigiehall in 1983

0. "Lorna's Book" on the Stewart & Turnbull history, as written for Lorna Tomkinson's 60th birthday- recent edits ARE needed to bring it up to date 2015. The text is intact as originally written. The book was about 75 pages long.

1.Collection of BDM certificates, letters & photos, from Ian S-K, Dec 2009, secondary to a file made for 60th Lorna's birthday 4.8 meg pdf

2. My Dear Sons - letter from Charles Edward Middleton-Stewart (Charlo) to his sons Ivor, Don & Colin 1.6 meg pdf file

3. 1859 Cotton Press Patent registered by David Turnbull Stewart 3 meg pdf
More patents re above 1859 October, (1) and (2) and March 1862 (1), and (2)

4.Biographical Souvenir of Georgia, part 2, pages 766-768, plus cover, re Stewarts in USA 1600s 4 pages in a zip file

5. C.E. M-S to J.K. Stewart, secretary of the Stewart Society letter of 4th April 1933, 8 pages 2.6 meg pdf

6. Letter from Alice Florence Nichols (Stewart), to Charlo, approx early 1934, with margin notes by Ian S-K, and page 3 & 4 footnotes to Effie Whinfield 2 meg zipped file of 5 pages

7. Text file & 2 photos of the Cesford branch of our family - descended from Janet Stewart, younger sister of Isabella Stewart born 1801 small zipped file of 1/2 meg

8. Nine lengthy and interesting letters between Charles Edward Middleton-Stewart (Charlo) in India and Effie Whinfield in Northumberland: Each is a separate PDF in high resolution, continuing until just before Charlo's death
1.Charlo to Effie Whinfield 15 Aug 1934 ,
and reply 2. Effie to Charlo 24 Sept 1934,
reply 3. Charlo to Effie 14 Oct 1934,
4. Charlo to Effie 27 Oct 1934,
reply 5. Effie to Charlo 23 Nov 1934,
reply 6.Charlo to Effie 9 Jan 1935,
7.Charlo to Effie 26 June 1935,
8. Charlo to Effie 26 Oct 1935,
9.Charlo to Effie 28 Oct 1935,
Finally 10. Thomas Cook Dec 1935

9. Craigiehall & Newhalls descent files:
1. Stewarts of Bonkyl - descent, by C.E.M-S
2. Craigiehall Descent- written for the Stewart Society, by William Burton-Stewart
3. Notes on Craigiehall tradition by C.E.M-S.
4. Letter from David Stewart who was disinherited-found by Ian S-K in SRO
5. Neighbours Letter showing what a jerk David's father was, 1600s
6. Summary of things I found in the Scottish Record Office in 1983
7. Stewart crest & Coat of Arms
8. Agnes Stewart to John Stewart of Newhalls- letter
9. Photos of Craigiehall, and notes on C'hall house built in USA
10. Rosyth & Craigiehall line-from purchased CD on history - 6 meg pdf
11. Vicissitudes of Families by Burke, mentioning the Craigiehall Stewarts- 10.8 meg pdf.
12. Photos of Hawes Inn by Alan - showing the stone engraved ISBB-1638 pic#1 and pic#2 we're assuming John Stewart and Bessie Bathgate had something to do with it. John Stewart (1589-1670) bought 10 acres of Leuchold land and built Newhalls in 1629, and sold Craigiehall. It is feasible he could have built Hawes Inn 9 years later.
13. See also item 24 way below - more historical items on Stewarts, and Bonkyl, written and published 1798-99.

10. David Turnbull Stewart (1826 Dundee-1871 India)
0. Photo of David Turnbull, later David Turnbull Stewart and Photo of Frances, nee Middleton, his wife
1.His sea chest - a gallery of photos
2. Extended family tree of his father David Turnbull, (a ship's carpenter), and 3 generations of descendants -
(a 16 page pdf in low resolution-you'll need to cut & tape the pages together, it's very wide)
3. London Gazette article on DTS's insolvency
4.DTS writing box
5 (i). Report on death of DTS, (drowning) off the coast of India January 1871
5. (ii) Birmingham Post report on the same accident/drowning
6. Random notes by Ian S-K "The Mysteries", from and including assorted emails,
7. (i) OPR (Old Parish Records) scans - William Stewart & Jean Anderson marriage, parents of Isabella Stewart 1801-1860
7. (ii) OPR death of Janet Turnbull in 1835, Isabella (Stewart) & David Turnbull (ship's carpenter)'s daughter
7. (iii) OPR marriage of William Cesford & Janet Stewart, May 1841. Janet was Isabella's younger sister
7. (iv) OPR death of Jean Stewart, nee Anderson, mother of Isabella, mother-in-law of David Turnbull ship's carpenter
7. (v) List of all Jamaican Governors & dates in office, pre 1880.
8. Joey Jones, DTS's racehorse - news clippings 1.web page 2. download clippings
9. Mary Middleton - 1881 census(mother of Frances Middleton) with Hogg family
10. Photo of Frances Ann Turnbull, later Turnbull-Stewart , (daughter of David T & Frances nee Middleton)
11. Family burial place of DTS family-gravestone in Old Jesond cemetery-in 2009 Photo 1, and Photo 2
12. David Turnbull & Frances Middleton marriage notice in the Newcastle Courant paper 1848

13. A better tree of descendants of David Turnbull (1804-1864), the ship's carpenter-monor updates are needed for more recent events, but as a 4 meg PDF, it will print out on 24 of A4 pages, as two rows of 12 vertical/portrait pages which can be taped together. Altogether is becomes 8 ft wide by 2 ft high.

14. Birth certificates of David Turnbull & Frances nee Middleton's children - 3 of the oldest 4, before they changed their surname to Stewart
(i) David Henry Turnbull born Wallsend Aug.1849
(ii) Mary Isabella Turnbull, born June 1851, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne
(iii) Frances Ann Turnbull - no cert exists that we have found, but she was born in Manzanillo, Cuba.
(iv) John William Stuart Turnbull (his birth was registered with those three names, and Stuart spelled with the 'u', May 1855, Jesmond, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

15. Charlo (Charles Edward Middleton-Stewart)'s baptism certificate, from Dhonde, India.
16. Marriage of William Stewart, weaver, and Jean Anderson, in 1794, parents of Isabella Turnbull, nee Stewart
17. Death cert of Jean Stewart, nee Anderson 1825 - mother of Isabella Turnbull, nee Stewart
18. Death of Janet Turnbull in 1835, David Turnbull Stewart's younger sister
19. Death notice-Scot. David Turnbull, son of a David Turnbull, died in Jamaica- no proof it is ours, but food for thought...3 meg PNG file

11. Frank Ben Stewart (1861-1919?) 's family
1. Arthur Baldwin death cert
2. Zena's letter to Charlo Smaller version
3. Alice Florence Nicholls' letter to Charlo. (Alice was Frank Ben Stewart's wife.)
4. Photos of Zena in early 1930s
5.Letter-Cousin Charles to Zena
6.Photos-FrankBen, Alice, Zena, Cynthia

12. Whinfield-Miller family
1. Assorted pictures compressed in a zip file
2. Birthday book, belonging to Evangeline (?) or Frances Whinfield, transcribed

13 Winnie (nee O'Grady) & John William Middleton-Stewart's family.
1. 'Wing Commander Jack's' letter to Charlo (handwritten) re 'Buckles of Bonkyl'
2. Typed version of above
3. Winnie's wishes to her three sons-card

14. Introduction to Lorna's book-as writen by Ian S-K. The book was an attempt at the family's history, prepared for her 60th birthday. Much more information has come to light since then however, so an edit will be needed. See file numbers 0 & 1 at the top of this list.

15. Big Family tree-oversize - Stewarts & Whinfields. You'll need a big digital printer, or a bed sheet to fit it all. One pdf file of 6 meg. It was accurate as at 2007, so will be missing important ancestors uncovered in the past 6-7 years.

16. Henry Middleton's grave headstone in 2009 picture 1 Picture 2

17. A couple of other books I have collected
(i) Rise & Fall of the Stewarts and (ii) Stewarts history, written 1920s -(only the covers.)
(iii) not uploaded yet-proper scans of the court transcripts of David Turnbull Stewart when in court in India in 1869

18.Letters from Elizabeth M-S nee O'Grady, later Lela Sheehan, to her son Charlo Original Handwritten by her and Typed transcripts of the same two letters.

19. Ivor M-S's family
(i). They arrive from India into Plymouth, UK- shipping record 1938 (a jpg photo)
(ii)."The Penalties of Greatness" - paper by Charles M-S, son of Ivor M-S - a pdf file

20. I have well over 100 relevant birth, death or marriage certificates & census lists to upload also, all in due course...
(some are above in 10/14-(i) to (iv)

21. Here are assorted trees-not necessarily as up to date as possible, but OK in their time, and with varying degrees of data included on them,
and differing degrees of spouse ancestry as well. (Some are also listed in links above, some are not)
(i) Ext. Chart of D Turnbull - 1 meg
(ii) Ext. Chart of D Turnbull - 3.6 meg
(iii) Ext. Chart of D Turnbull - 4 meg
(iv) Ext. chart made to go with Lorna's book- oversize 6 meg. Some minor dates to be edited

22. Murdoch & Cesford families
1. Janet Cesford, born Janet Stewart, Alyth, younger sister to Isabella Turnbull nee Stewart
2. Cesford family
3. zipped file of above plus notes
4.Marriage of William Cesford to Janet Stewart 1841

23. Charles Edward Middleton-Stewart
1. Baptism certificate
2. District Superintendent of Police in India
3. Record of Service, as at 1933

24. Stewart Family general history
Being PDF files of extracts of two historical books from 1798-99 by Andrew Stewart Esq. M.P.of London
1.Genealogical History of the Stewarts,1798, a very big introduction plus pages 1-8
2. Genealogical History of the Stewarts, chapter 2 only - Sir John Stewart of Bonkyl
3. Supplement to above, published in 1799. approximately 106 pages

25. Mysteries of our Stewart of Craigiehall & Newhalls family - questions still to be answered:

I could attach a file, or simply abbreviate it here, so I'll do that for now. It is a terrible shame that the family papers were in a box that was stolen circa 1922, while Charlo was abroad - and a shame neither he nor his counsins caretaking it read the contents before that happened.

There are 'mysteries', and 'data needed' - two separate subjects to not get confused, but I'll cover both..

Data needed:

1. WHERE and when did Frances Turnbull/Stewart/Middlleton-Stewart, nee Middleton, die and where was she buried - in UK, in India or somewhere else?
My searches have drawn a blank, as if she vanished without a trace some time after 1871 after her husband David T Stewart drowned off the coast of India n January that year..

2. Where was that David's father really born? Records say 'Dundee in 1804' but I've found no record of that, nor of their family there before about 1823 when David Turnbull, who was a ship's carpenter, married Isabella Stewart, also of Dundee, but formerly from Alyth.

3. David Turnbull, the son, the engineer/inventor etc, who married Frances Middleton, returned from 'The West Indies' to marry Frances in 1848.
Newspaper 'evidence' says Porto Rico, but I find that unlikely. It was a Spanish colony till about 1900. Jamaica was a far more likely possibility, and a favourite place for Scots then. He DID spend time in Cuba though as his daughter Frances Ann was born in Manzanillo, Cuba in about 1852 - though I 'assume' they were enroute to somewhere else, rather than living there.

4. He DID own some plantations somewhere in the West Indies. How did he come to inherit them? Not from his father the ship's carpenter.
It's interesting he had the same name as David Turnbull the British envoy/ambassador to Cuba and anti-slave campaigner from the 1830s. It is also interesting that the same newspaper article mentioning his wedding to Frances, said he was the son of a ROBERT Turnbull, banker. There has never been evidence I could find to support this.

5.WHY the name changes? He was born David Turnbull in 1826 in Dundee, Angus. In 1848 his marriage certificate calls him David White Ridley Turnbull, and the birth certificate of his frst two children in UK also list him with that name. After 1852 the White Ridley part is dropped and never reappears. There is no link with the Ridley families that I have been able to find, and I have looked hard. Could this have related to however he happened to inherit the West Indies plantations?
His next name change is circa 1859. The family left Northumberland sometime after 1855, since their 2nd son was born there, named John William Stuart Turnbull in 1855.
They return to Northumberland from India circa 1860, and are listed as David T (Turnbull) Stewart & Frances Stewart and family in the 1861 census and thereafter.
John William, and his older brother David Henry Turnbull are enrolled at Ushaw College, Durham as DH & JW Stewart circa 1862.

The next name change is that those two boys take Middleton-Stewart as their surname, but the date this happens is not clear.
Is this a stance against their father, and in favour of their mother? Their youngest brother Ben just stays Frank Ben Stewart all his life - and he was born that way.
David Turnbull Stewart was bankrupted in India in 1868. he was also imprisoned, but 'made good' and was working successfully prior to his drowning in January 1871.
Could the bankruptcy (which was illegal in those days) have had something to do with the imprisonment? I have bought a reprint of the Bombay Court Proceedings, but the court case then in which I found him mentioned, was an academic argument over whether he escaped, or whether he went home legally. It does not discuss why he was arrested in the first place. Could this have had something to do with whatever caused the alleged 'curse' to be put upon 'Bessie's ring' ? Could spome of his machinery have maybe killed an indian, and maybe he was let off ? I have no idea. Anyhow, he drowned in January 1871 after returning up the coast, from having installed some heavy machinery in a mill; when the steamer capsized within sight of the shore. David had only one arm, having lost the other in some accident with his own machinery for which he held patents in the dame of David Stewart, or DT Stewart. I do not know where he was buried - certainly not in his memorial grave in Jesmond, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
And Frances, his wife, seems to vanish some time after 1881 - she was apparently present at her son DH's wedding in 1881 in India. Howevere I have not fiund any record of that either, just DH's wife's letters saying so.

6. After that, and up to the year 2000, the family history I have documented pretty thoroughly for my own satisfcation for the moment.

7. Going back a little, Angus Stewart has a DNA test done which helps map the % likelihood of relatives in the male lineage. The figures the DNA database returned give high correlations with more relatives with the Turnbull surname than any other surname. The number of expected generations back before a common ancestor appears, however, does not correlate with any family tree data I have. I have contacted some 18-20 of the 'potential Turnbull cousins' from this DNA databank, and their ancestors, and out Turnbull ancestors had no comon geographical grounds, nor naming, nor dates that are remotely similar within 3 generations. It puts connections at level with 1840 in one case, 1800 in a couple, and 1700ish in a few. Stewart connections are scarily remote. What conclusions can be drawn from this? I have no idea - I'm still scratching my head!

8. Then there is the 'disinheritance' from the Craigiehall & Newhalls line of the Stewarts. I have found no actual evidence to link us with that family except legend in old letters which have survived. The legend is too specific in too many varied parts, to not have some truth-in my opinion. I have tried to follow that line forwards, but it is very hard, hence trying to go backward with fact we do know, instead.
I have reached another stumbling block here - the entire 1700s. The only Stewart connection of certainty is William Stewart, the linen weaver from Alyth, Perthshire, who married Jean Andersen, and were the
parents of Isabella Stewart born 1804. Isabella then married David Turnbull the ship's carpenter in Dundee in about 1823.

9. Then there is the mystery of 'uncle Jack (John) the ship's captain, who in a fit of rage threw a man overboard. Fearing the authorities, he fled for his life'. Which generation? Could it be the younger brother of David Turnbull the one-armed engineer who married Frances Middelton? Or an uncle?
There was a John Turnbull who did captain a packet ship (coastal mail & passenger boat) up and down the coast between Dundee & Newcastle-upon-Tyne in about that era-1850s- but could it have bene a generation earlier? Did he flee to USA or to the West Indies plantation area?

10. There was a Craigiehall house in Massachussets, not too unlike 'our' Craigiehall. Interesting food for thought, or perhaps a red herring to us.

11. There is a story about a Stewart family in Georgia, USA, plantation owners, whose family ancestry somewhat mirrors our family legend about religious differences and a son leaving Scotland, via ireland, to USA 1600s-1700s. This kind of legend might have been more common than we realise, or it might have been our lot ...? (see the linked pages in the item #1 way back at the top of the page - I bought the two books called 'Biographical Souvenir of Families in Georgia and Florida 1879' to find the story) And this still brings up the question that 1. Our David did return from the West Indies to UK to marry, and they later went back to the West Indies to sell up the estates/plantation/s- losing a lot of money.
He was 22 when he was married, and there is nothing to suggest his father or mother ever went any where near the Carribbean in those decades, even though his father was a ship's carpenter. (They were having many children, born between Dundee, Edinburgh and Newcastle all this time.) So the question is HOW did he get to learn to be a planter, and from whom did he inherit the plantations, and on which island? Georgia and Florida are really just a hop and a step from Cuba, Jamaica & Porto Rico whose names have cropped up at times. It can not have been cheap to travel from Northumberland to the Carribbean and back then - and David wasn't a cabin boy or sailor as such working his fare off..

12. then his father, David Turnbull, the Dundee ship's carpenter drank himself to death in 1864 in South Shields. What secrets was he harbouring? Why was he not buried next to his wife Isabella Stewart Turnbull, in his son's family memorial tomb at Jesmond cemetery?
( Her maiden name was Isabella Stewart. Scots women then seemed to keep their maiden name as a sedone name, after they married - hence Isabella Stewart Turnbull, as is on her grave in Jesmond.

13. Returning to David T & Frances, by whichever surname you'd like to use, in the 1861 census in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, they also had in their household, a woman of the same age as David, called Carmax Stewart, listed as a servant, born in Cuba. Often slaves when freed, did take their former master's surnames, apparently. Servant, yes she was listed as that. There is no further record in UK of her death or burial. Could she have actually been a half-aunt or something like that?

14. David & Frances had 3 more children in UK after they took Stewart as a surname: Frank Ben Stewart in born Newcastle in 1860, died in Poona/Puna, India in 1919, Margaret Jessie Stewart, born 1862 (N'castle), died of infected tooth in 1863 aged just one year (buried in Jesmond Cemetery), and Louisa Bigger Stewart born in N'castle in 1864. There are three very interesting aspects here, relating to the two girls. Firstly their names - usually the children were named after relatives - but I cannot place those names at all (yet).
Secondly when Margaret Jessie died, the informant as recorded on the death certificate, who is usually a relative or a parent, in this case was a male 'family friend' whose name I've suddenly forgotten. (I should upload her death cert).
This family friend died a year or so later, and his wife/widow actually adopted David and Frances' youngest daughter Louisa.
This widow was born in Scotland. I'm trying to trace her, but have got nowhere so far - in case she may have been perhaps a maternal cousin or some relative.
Why was Louisa adopted out, and why was this adoptive family the informant at Margaret's death, instead of one parent? Were they perhaps 'babysitting' the two girls while David & Frances were away overseas? I have no idea, I can only make educated guesses - and having oblique or lateral hunches like this has got me a long way so far in unravelling this multicoloured thread of mystery linen! I should look up my notes, but I've just remembered: Annie Willmer was her married name, born in 1826 in Alyth, Scotland (the same town David's mother was born in 1801). However I have had no luck tracing the widow Annie nor Louisa past the 1871 census in Newcastle, nor in finding Annie's marriage details to her husband before he died. He was Edward Willmer - but without a marriage cert, we cannot guess Annie's maiden name-hahaha unless it was Stewart, a possible daughter of the older brother of Isabella - anything is possible! Annie was the same age as David (T or TS), the father of Louisa..

15. As far as name changing goes, David Turnbull (Inventor/planter etc born 1826), if we ignore his brief foray as David White Ridley Turnbull, became David Turnbull Stewart.
He did not drop the Turnbull totally, but moved it back to a second name, and added Stewart as a surname. He was the oldest of his living siblings.
At about the same time - 1858 - give or take 18 months - his youngest living and unmarried siblings George and Isabella also added Stewart or Stuart to their names, but as a second name; and David's second daughter Frances Ann - who was born in Cuba in about 1853- also retained Turnbull as a second (or third) name, to become Frances Ann Turnbull Stewart.
David's parents (David & Isabella) had another child in 1845, a boy renamed William after their first son William (who was born and died later in 1824). This 1845 William Turnbull died aged 1, in Newcastle in 1846. (I have his certificates)
So, what really prompted this mass addition of 'Stewart' to or in place of the family's formerly Turnbull surname name circa 1858? Were we Stewarts who changed to Turnbulls 100 or so years earlier to escape jacobite persecition as legends may suggest?
If so, then why the apparent Turnbull DNA connection with Turnbulls who're not obviously connected?

16. Another angle to follow up is the John Stewart & Bessie Bathgate as builders/owners of Hawes Inn at South Queensferry. There is that engraved stone in the wall - but what is the rest of the story? That John himself was a bit of an idiot, if you ask me - at least a cranky sod and not a nice person. The engraving says ISBB, but an I for a J was common in those days, as was a woman retaining her maiden name, which is why we're thinking ISBB means 'our' John Stewart & Bessie Bathgate, formerly of Carigiehalls & Newhalls lineage, before he lost/wasted the family fortunes somehow. Or is ISBB something entirely different that just fitted our legends?

17. Lots of questions - and some may not seem to be too closely related to our mysteries of importance, but knowing more helps to colour in the background, and often helps open more hidden doors. I need to upload more scanned certificates etc - we have perhaps 100 or more we've bought over the years to help verify things.
I'd appreciate any thoughts on the matters! It makes for a fascinating real life detective story! It's takem me 35 or so years to unlock much new material that should not have ever been locked or unknown to us.
You can email me on ian(at)traditionalsigns.com or ianandjoansk(at)skymesh.com.au with ideas if interested. be aware some articles I've written and linked above were done up to 10 years ago, and have been superceded by newer information since then.
in hindsight I should have put all this in a downloadable page...!

18. For a final politically unfriendly thought - could David Turnbull, circa 1858, have learned maybe that his father wasn't his father, or something like that - and perhaps have learned that somebody Stewart really was his father - hence the change in name-or perhaps this happened a generation back-perhaps his father wasn't his grandfather's son, but was the son of a Mr Stewart-hence the widespread adoption of Stewart after 1858ish
In other words, perhaps David Turnbull the ship's carpenter born 1804 wasn't relly the son of his alleged father, but was the son of a Mr Stewart from Jamaica or somewhere in the West Indies- a fact that may not have been known until he died and left the plantations to his 'family'
Maybe not, maybe they came from an uncle line- but it might be worth thinking about that angle?
It's simply food for thought- and considering other oblique possibilities sometimes helps leads to either prove or disprove things... ?