The title of

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

of Blair and Balcaskie in the

county of Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

, was created on 2 June 1683 in the

Baronetage of Nova Scotia Baronets are a rank in the British aristocracy. The current Baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier but existing Baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland, and Great Britain. Baronetage of England (1611–1705) King James I ...

for Thomas Stewart of

Balcaskie Balcaskie is a 17th-century country house in Fife, Scotland. It lies around 2 km north of St Monans, and is notable chiefly as the home and early work of architect Sir William Bruce. Robert Lorimer, an admirer of Bruce, called the house ...

, a

Lord of Session The senators of the College of Justice are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court of Session) ...

. He was son of Henry Stewart and grandson of Sir William Stewart, 11th of Grantully and

Murthly Murthly (Scottish Gaelic ''Mòrthlaich'') is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It lies on the south bank of the River Tay, southeast of Dunkeld, and north of Perth. Perth District Asylum, later known as Murthly Hospital, was opened in t ...

, both in

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

. 1st of Grantully was Sir John Stewart,

Lord of Lorne ''For the Child ballad, see The Lord of Lorn and the False Steward.'' Lord of Lorne is a title in the Peerage of Scotland that has been created twice. ;First Creation The title was first created for Robert Stewart of Durisdeer (died 1403), son o ...

, great-great-grandson of

Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland Alexander Stewart (about 1220-1282), known as Alexander of Dundonald, was a Scottish magnate who in 1241 succeeded his father as hereditary High Steward of Scotland. Origins He was the son of Walter Stewart, 3rd High Steward of Scotland. Caree ...

. Murthly had been acquired by the family in 1615.

Baronets, of Blair and Balcaskie (1683)

* Sir Thomas Stewart, 1st Baronet (died by 1717) **He married in 1682 Lady Jean Mackenzie, daughter of

George Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Cromartie George Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Cromartie FRS (1630–1714), known as Sir George Mackenzie, 2nd Baronet from 1654 to 1685 and as The Viscount of Tarbat from 1685 to 1703, was a Scottish statesman. Life He was born at Innerteil, near Kinghorn, Fi ...

, and was the father of the second and third baronets. * Sir George Stewart, 2nd Baronet (1686–1759) **He inherited Grantully following the death of his cousin John Stewart, 13th of Grantully, but died unmarried. * Sir John Stewart, 3rd Baronet (1687–1764) **While still a penniless younger son, the third Baronet had married secretly

Lady Jane Douglas Lady Jane Douglas (17 March 1698 – 21 November 1753) was a Scottish noblewoman. She married secretly and had twins abroad at the age of fifty who would inherit the family's riches. This birth was thought incredible and the ensuing long and ex ...

, sister of

Archibald Douglas, 1st Duke of Douglas Archibald is a masculine given name, composed of the Germanic elements '' erchan'' (with an original meaning of "genuine" or "precious") and ''bald'' meaning "bold". Medieval forms include Old High German and Anglo-Saxon . Erkanbald, bishop o ...

, and was later imprisoned for debt. By his first wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir James Mackenzie, 1st Baronet of Royston, he was father of the 4th Baronet; by Lady Jane he was father of

Archibald Archibald is a masculine given name, composed of the Germanic elements '' erchan'' (with an original meaning of "genuine" or "precious") and ''bald'' meaning "bold". Medieval forms include Old High German and Anglo-Saxon . Erkanbald, bishop of ...

, who adopted the name of Douglas and after extensive litigation (known as the

Douglas Cause The Douglas Cause was a cause célèbre and legal struggle contested in Great Britain during the 1760s. The main parties were Archibald Douglas (1748–1827) and James Douglas-Hamilton, 7th Duke of Hamilton (1755–1769). The affair gripped the ...

) succeeded to the Duke's estates and was created

Baron Douglas of Douglas The title of Baron Douglas, of Douglas in the county of Lanark, has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation was on 8 July 1790 for Archibald James Edward Douglas ...

. * Sir John Stewart, 4th Baronet (c. 1726 - 1797) ** He was married in 1749 to Clementina Stewart, daughter of Charles Stewart of

Ballechin Ballechin distillery was a Scotch whisky distillery operated between 1810 and 1927 and was one of seven original farm distilleries operating in Perthshire. Out of these seven, Edradour is the only one remaining. Later in life the distillery was ...

, and was father of the 5th Baronet. * Sir George Stewart, 5th Baronet (1750–1827) **He was married in 1792 to Catherine Drummond, daughter of John Drummond of Logiealmond and sister of Sir

William Drummond of Logiealmond Sir William James Charles Maria Drummond of Logiealmond FRS FRSE DCL (bapt. 26 September 1769''Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950'' – 29 March 1828) was a Scottish diplomat and Member of Parliament, poet and philosopher. His book ...

, by whom he was the father of the sixth, seventh and eighth baronets, two other sons, and two daughters. They all were given the middle name Drummond after their mother's family. *

Sir John Archibald Drummond Stewart, 6th Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

(1794–1838) **He married Lady Jane Stuart, daughter of

Francis Stuart, 10th Earl of Moray Francis Stuart, 10th Earl of Moray KT (2 February 1771 – 12 January 1848) was the son of Francis Stuart, 9th Earl of Moray. Life Moray was the eldest son of Francis Stuart, 9th Earl of Murray, and his wife, Jean Gray, daughter of John Gra ...

, but died without issue. His widow remarried and was the mother of the 19th Lady Gray. * Sir William Drummond Stewart, 7th Baronet (1795–1871) ** He served with the

6th Dragoon Guards The Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1685 as the Lord Lumley's Regiment of Horse. It was renamed as His Majesty's 1st Regiment of Carabiniers in 1740, the 3rd Regiment of Horse (Carabi ...

in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

and the

Waterloo Campaign The Waterloo campaign (15 June – 8 July 1815) was fought between the French Army of the North (France), Army of the North and two Seventh Coalition armies, an Anglo-allied army and a Prussian army. Initially the French army was commanded by ...

, and was awarded the Portuguese Order of Christ. In 1830 he married Christina Mary Stewart. He transferred to the

15th Hussars The 15th The King's Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army. First raised in 1759, it saw service over two centuries, including the First World War, before being amalgamated with the 19th Royal Hussars into the 15th/19th The King's Roya ...

, and later travelled in America with the

mountain men A mountain man is an explorer who lives in the wilderness. Mountain men were most common in the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through to the 1880s (with a peak population in the early 1840s). They were instrumental in opening up ...

. On succeeding to the baronetcy he introduced buffalo to Murthly and restored the Roman Catholic chapel there. His son

William George Drummond Stewart William George Drummond Stewart, VC (February 1831 – 19 October 1868) was a British Army officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth f ...

served with the

93rd Highlanders The 93rd (Sutherland Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a Line Infantry Regiment of the British Army, raised in 1799. Under the Childers Reforms, it amalgamated with the 91st (Argyllshire Highlanders) Regiment of Foot to form the Argyll and Suthe ...

in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

and the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

, where he was awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, but predeceased his father. * Sir Archibald Douglas Drummond Stewart, 8th Baronet (1807–1890) **He married Hester Mary Fraser in 1875, but had no children, and on his death the baronetcy became extinct. Grantully was inherited by the Fothringham family, descended from Marjory, daughter of Thomas Stewart, 12th of Grantully.

References

* {{reflist Extinct baronetcies in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia

Baronets, of Blair and Balcaskie (1683)

See also

References