Bob (Robert) McNaughton, Chief of the Year
Nairn Recreation Park, Nairn, ON
Saturday, July 12th, 2014
Welcome to our 87th Reunion of the Stewarts from Glen Lyon, Perthshire, Scotland! This is a special day for us as Stewart cousins. We get to celebrate, together, the rich heritage that unites us all.
For me, it’s an honour and a privilege to be your Chief of the Year for 2014! I’m following in the footsteps of my grandfather, Alex M Stewart, my Father, Gordon McNaughton, and my Mother, Evelyn, who all took their turn as Presidents and my Mother also as Chief.
My goals today are to keep the formal meeting short, the history educational, and the celebrations memorable. I’ll lead you on a journey from Scotland to East Williams Township and talk about the importance of life choices. By the way, you don’t have to take notes. I’ll ask our webmaster David Bennet-Alder to post this presentation on this website (stewartreunion.ca) for future reference.
This morning we viewed the gravesites of the six ancestors that emigrated to Canada between 1831 and 1846. They are the reason that we as individuals are here, literally, and why we are celebrating here in Nairn, the centre of East Williams Township.
Our original ancestors came from an apple farm. Their names were Adam and Eve … Stewart. Where did the Stewart surname come from? It came from the office of Seneschal or S-t-e-w-a-r-d. In 1157, the office of Great Stewart to the King of Scotland was made hereditary by King Malcolm IV. Surnames were just coming into use at that time.
Our specific lineage started in a little glen or valley in Scotland 304 years ago. Ian Stewart was born about 1710 in Glen Lyon, Perthshire, Scotland. He is the first generation in our 2000 genealogy white book by Margaret Bennet–Alder.
Why are we in Nairn? Two Stewart family lines emigrated to Williams Township (later East Williams Township, now North Middlesex) in Middlesex County. As a child attending East Williams public school across from the Nairn cemetery, little did I know of the significance of Nairn and East Williams for the Stewart family!
In 1831, John “The Chief” Stewart, then 47, emigrated to Williams Township with his wife, daughter and five sons. He was 3rd generation, son of Donald and grandson of Ian. Picture this in your mind. They spent the first winter with the Indians on the Sauble River just south of Nairn where we are. Imagine their living conditions and difficult communications! In 1832 he purchased land from the Canada Company.
Also in 1831, Red Angus Stewart emigrated as a young boy of 23 with his wife. He was 4th generation, son of Archibald, grandson of Duncan and great grandson of Ian. They spent the first winter with their good friends, the McNaughtons, in London township before purchasing land in East Williams.
In 1841, Jack of the Hill Stewart, Red Angus’s brother, came to Williams Township with his wife and baby child after living 10 years in upper New York state. They entered Canada at Port Burwell in Elgin County, where we now live, and bought land across the road from his brother Red Angus. Donald Stewart and Margaret Bennet-Alder grew up there and now Bill and Liz McHugh, 8th generation Stewart, live there.
Jack of the Hill was a busy man! He had 11 boys and 3 girls. Jack and Jill went up the hill … several times! I’m not sure how he and Maria had time to have all those children when they were clearing land and doing pioneer chores? Most of us here today are descended from Jack of the Hill, who was my great, great grandfather. I’m 8th generation, preceded by my mother Evelyn, grandfather Alex M Stewart and great grandfather Black Jack Stewart.
In 1846 most of the remaining ‘Chief” Stewart family arrived as a group of 24. Ian’s son, Donald Stewart, second generation, married Margaret McNaughton. As a widow at 90 years of age, Margaret joined her son Archibald Stewart, the Half Chief, (9 children) and her two widowed daughters, Ann Stewart (9 children) and Catherine McNaughton (8 children) and their families, sailed to Canada and settled in Williams Township. Her daughter Catherine also married a McNaughton, Donald, so perhaps 9 of the 24 emigrants were McNaughtons!
I’ve noticed that we come from hardy stock! Margaret McNaughton lived to 97 to ensure her family was settled in their new home. Many of our Stewart ancestors lived to 90 years and beyond when the average age was less than four score years and ten. Be proud of our strong and healthy heritage!
In 1858, my great, great grandfather, Donald McNaughton, emigrated from Scotland and purchased a farm west of Ailsa Craig, where I grew up, directly from the Canada Company. As you may guess, I’m very interested to find out if, and how, my 1846 Stewart/McNaughtons, my 1858 McNaughtons and the pre 1831 London township McNaughtons are related! My Mother, Evelyn Stewart, and Father, Gordon McNaughton, carried on the Stewart-McNaughton tradition!
In 1870, the population of East Williams township peaked, I’m sure with much help from the strong and prolific Stewarts, and the Stewart surname outnumbered all other surnames in the township that year.
I’m proud to say that I now own all five Stewart genealogy books! This morning I purchased a copy of the first 1940 “red book” by my great Aunt Della Stewart from Don and Irla Stewart.
I have the 1959 “red book” signed by Della Stewart, the 1979 “red book” signed by my Mother, Evelyn, who was co-author with Margaret Bennet-Alder and Elizabeth Black, the 1991 “green book” Heather to Hill and the 2000 “white book”, both signed by Margaret Bennet-Alder. I’ve spent many hours trying to understand our heritage and who is linked to whom!
It’s interesting how our priorities and interests change throughout life. As a young boy, I remember being dragged to the Stewart reunion with our family. I was given the red Stewart genealogy book in 1959 by my great Aunt Della and barely looked at it. In 1962, as a bribe, I was encouraged to take a friend to the reunion. Now I’m glad I did as we are both in the group photo holding the Stewart flag. Then I missed many years and came back in 1991 to get the green book “From Heather to Hill” and enjoy the many stories.
In 1992, I was the first Chief, instead of President. That same day my best friend was married in Toronto and we got married a month later … a busy summer! Catharine Harrison, our current secretary, sent me the highlights of our 1992 Stewart reunion minutes. It was the 65th. We had a piper and David Anderson did Scottish dancing. Our secretary, Heather Andronik, was on holidays in BC so my wife, Gail, acted as secretary. Margaret Bennet-Alder spoke about her book ‘Heather to Hill’, launched the previous year. Donald and Irla Stewart spoke about ‘the Scotland Roots Tour’ to take place the following year in 1993. I took a group photo.
In 1997, Gail and I moved back into this area from Toronto to St. Thomas. I made it a priority to take my Mother, Evelyn, each year to the Stewart reunions. She was a dedicated Stewart as she was secretary/treasurer for 15 years and only missed three or four reunions in her whole life, including her last two when she wasn’t able to travel.
In 2014 I really cherish the stories of our ancestors and choose to spend time reading and researching. I’m the first born child and my Mother was first born in her family. I noticed that many of our Stewart cousins that are active with our reunion are first born. Is there a statistical significance to this? How many of you are first born? (the majority) Youngest in the family? (some) Middle children? (few) Perhaps first born children feel a responsibility to carry on the family heritage?
Life is about choices. At the age of 90, Mrs. Donald Stewart, nee McNaughton, chose to bring her family to Canada to settle in our township. Some cousins moved on to different locations in the US and Western Canada. Several cousins stayed in Scotland. We all chose to attend this reunion. Some of us chose to be active as committee members. We have several former Presidents and Chiefs here today that chose to lead us for our annual gathering. They will be acknowledged in a few minutes.
Stewart Reunion 2014 Committee Appreciation
Now I would like to thank our 2014 Stewart reunion committee that I was fortunate to work with. We are all volunteers who chose to step forward. Thank goodness my 2014 team chose to welcome and work with me!
The woman behind the scenes for 15 years who makes the Presidents and now Chiefs look good is our Secretary-Treasurer, Catharine Harrison. Thanks for your dedication and commitment. You are to be commended for your computer skills at your young age. I now know what your email, little lulu means because I looked it up in the white book. I also discovered that both you and your late husband are Stewart descendents.
Our Social Convenor is Liz McHugh. Thank you for your ongoing dedication and support of our reunion so we all get fed! Liz was also our cemetery tour leader today and we thank you for your hours of research and enlightening tour.
Also on our social committee is Janice Alderdice. You stepped up to help Liz as she was leading our cousins through the cemetery. Thank you Janice for your dedication and support of our reunion. And thanks for being here after just arriving home yesterday from Alaska!
This was our core committee and they were great at choosing to accept my frequent requests for feedback and support. We shared many remember whens, history and family stories. This committee was also instrumental in developing a record succession plan for our Chiefs and Secretary-Treasurer. I’ll fill you in shortly.
An addition to our committee is Margaret Bennet-Alder. Thank you Margaret for your amazing dedication, perseverance and ongoing support of our Stewart clan. Thank you also for helping me with some special projects which our cousins here will find out about in a few minutes.
A recent addition is Catherine Montgomery. Our committee found out less than a month ago that our sports convenors, the McCormick family from Ohio, were not able to attend this year. Catherine chose to accept our invitation for help. Thank you Catherine for stepping in on short notice to entertain our cousins with contests.
A very recent addition is our videographer and photographer Jon Stewart. I knew that as Chief, I had enough on my plate so Jon chose to accept my invitation for help with video and photography. You also managed the registration for your sister Gay, who couldn’t attend this year. Thanks for your creative and technical support Jon.
Another recent addition to our committee, although not to me, is my wife Gail. You chose to lead our children and children at heart with some arts and crafts to make mobiles. You also helped with registration and our ancestor colour stickers. Thanks for your time and creative leadership! You also chose to help me with my acknowledgement of our 2014 Stewart reunion committee by producing a doodle art specifically for our committee members. Thanks again for your creativity and ongoing commitment and enthusiasm! I know you love the Stewart tartan and it seems to be a theme when shopping.
Committee members for 2014 please step forward to receive your own Stewart reunion 2014 doodle art to acknowledge your support of the 87th Stewart reunion.