Lost Stewart Family Found in Mississippi

 
Through the modern marvel of DNA research a long lost branch of the Stewart family of old
Augusta County, Virginia, has been located in Neshoba County, Mississippi.

George William Stuart, great-great-grandson of William Davis Stuart, recently participated in
the Stewart/Stuart Family DNA Project. He had an exact match (25/25) with known descendants
of James and Mary Lafferty Stewart of old Augusta County, Virginia. This was also the only
family in the project even remotely matched.

Evidently we are one of a kind!   It seems we are of direct descent from early Viking colonies
in Scotland, Ireland, and to a limited extent England and France.   Prior to this discovery, the Mississippi branch had not been able to determine just where their patriarch, William Davis
Stuart had come from.

From his tombstone, located at Old Pearl Valley Baptist Church, Neshoba County, Mississippi,
we obtained his date of birth (February 22, 1823) and his date of death (June 20, 1907).  However,
we don’t know who supplied this birth information to the monument people or the accuracy of it.

From the 1850 Winston County, Mississippi census and the 1860 through 1900 Neshoba County censuses we obtained the place of birth stated as AL.   When census information started including parents place of birth we started getting varied answers.  His mother’s place of birth stayed
consistent as South Carolina; but his father’s place of birth was given as Kentucky on one,
Alabama on another, and Virginia on yet another.  

Because this Stewart family of early Virginia and West Virginia is the only match, I now must
try to find the link between it and the Mississippi Stuarts.  I’m asking for help from the Stewarts reading this message.

In my first few weeks of learning about the Stewarts, it seems likely that Capt. Ralph Stewart
will be my link. Capt. Ralph had sons that migrated to Greenup County, Kentucky. It seems that several Stewarts migrated into Kentucky in the early 1800’s and one of them may be the father
or grandfather of my William Davis Stuart.

Family photos posted on MyFamily.com websites by Stewart descendants of these Virginia,
West Virginia, and North Carolina families look remarkably like the Mississippi Stuarts!

I welcome any discussion, helpful directions, etc.,  from all.

George William Stuart
26319 Highway 35 North
Raleigh, MS  39153
gwstuart@c-gate.net   or  gwstuart@netscape.net