Stewart by any other name?

[McMurdo]

From Toronto, Ontario, my Mother is a Stewart as well, compounding my confusion with all of this is
the fact that until 2 generations ago the family spelled it Stuart. My solution was to go for the Black Stewart, as I liked it. It sounds though from your Mother's reaction you might want to take Matt's advise in the article above, at the very least show her a swatch of the Old Stewart tartan and see if that meets with her approval.

[Galb]

Stewart is one of those clans that has a lot of different tartans associated with the name. My opinion is that you are a Stewart, the tartans are Stewarts, so therefore get a kilt in each of the different Stewart tartans. This is a great excuse to buy a lot of kilts.

[Riverkilt]

Welcome,

The answer is to find all your oldest kin and pester pester pester...any info, even just family lore is helpful. Ask about old letters they may have. Genealogy has been a family hobby for a couple hundred years...if you're lucky there may be a letter from an ancestor in a shoe box somewhere that has the family history of a branch or two. Genealogists before us reached out to us with letters documenting their work. Or somewhere there may be an old Bible with family names listed. Ya gotta pester them...for the oldest ones long term memory survives longest. Ask about the old days.

And, share what you find with your siblings, cousins, nieces, and nephews so the information flows on in your family. We all crave our roots and a lovely tartan kilt in your clan colors is a great reward for your efforts.

Ron

[PneumoniaHawk]

Thanks for all the input everyone, I will probably show her a couple different tartans that you guys suggested. Also I am flying to Alberta with my brother and Mum to see my grandmother who is suffering from some serious cancer( She can fight it tho She's a fiery one) so hopefully I will be able to ask a couple questions regarding my great grandfather. Thanks again!


P.S. I adjusted my bio accordingly lol,And would I be a bad person if I perhaps used a small part of my student loan on a Kilt/Kilts ??( dont worry, I wont)

[Nick the DSM]

their are many stewart tartans. but it looks like your covered with the links that have been given.

welcome from NC.

[McMurdo]

Here is Lochcarron's Strome weight page they show 12 different Stewart/Stuart tartans, perhaps you can have her look through them

http://www.lochcarron.com/stromesw.htm

[Morris at Heathfield]

I've been looking at a number of clan websites lately and, having Stewarts on both my parents' sides (albeit way back), I've been checking out the Stewart sites:

The Stewart Society (of Scotland)

Clan Stewart Society in America, Inc.

The Stewart-Stuart Association of Nova Scotia

Take a look at the photo galleries on the first two sites, as well as the picture of the president of the Nova Scotian association. The most popular tartans for kilts seem to be Hunting Stewart, Old Stewart, Black Stewart, and Royal Stewart. I don't know if this affects your decision. It wouldn't affect mine, as the Stewarts on my dad's side lived in Angus, the Stewarts on my mom's side haven't been traced across the water, and I've always been fond of the Stewart of Atholl tartan anyway, even if it is associated with the infamous Sobieski Stuart brothers.

The Stewart Society has a page on Stewart clan tartans.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Matt,

Is the old Stewart #319? The reason I ask is that the STA says this tartan dates to 1819.

And is the Stewart Hunting #1916? The reason I ask is that STA suggests that an alternate name for the Old Stewart #319 is "Stewart of Appin" and then they list a Stewart of Appin htg--#430.

My ITI software that I have loaded on the computer here gives a "pre-1745" date for the Old Stewart tartan, though I don't think that can be substantiated. 1819 is likely the earliest date we have hard evidence of for the tartan -- dated from its inclusion in Wilsons of Bannockburn's pattern book of that year. However, we know that the tartan is much older than that. The question is, how much older?

D C Stewart, in his landmark book The Setts of the Scottish Tartans, in 1950, commented that his father, D W Stewart (author of Old & Rare Scottish Tartans) stated in 1893 that, "The use of this design as Stewart tartan for a period extending back to 1745 at least, is vouched by the records of manufacturers and collectors alike." D W further claimed to have seen a plaid in the possession of Mrs. Stuart of Dalness dating back 200 years in a tartan that differed from the Old Stewart only in a few minor details.

Being a very old clan tartan for the Stewarts, it is not surprising that it has, at times, been associated with particular Stewarts and so you will sometimes find it referenced in the past as Stuart of Bute, Stewart of Appin, Stewart of Grandtully, etc. Today, however, and for quite some time, it has been considered the general tartan for the clan.

Stewart of Appin hunting is a tartan quite distinct from Hunting Stewart, and unrelated. Hunting Stewart has always been considered a general tartan (as opposed to a clan tartan). Hunting Stewart was also included in Wilsons' 1819 Key Pattern Book, so is another old tartan. No one seems to know for certain why it should be regarded as a general tartan, but there you go.

The Stewart of Appin Hunting tartan also dates back at least to the early nineteenth century and is quite an attractive tartan, as well.

[Daibhidh O'Baoighill]

from WV! You definately have choices with the Stewart tartans. I like the hunting Stewart.

[Casper]

I've a similar issue... me ma's a Stewart, but I can't trace my family any farther back than Co. Antrim in Northern Ireland. Given the country's history, though, its not a long line to draw to their roots.

I, personally, have each a Black and a Hunting Stewart (as well as my provincial tartan). My younger brother prefers the Royal (I don't do red... clashes with my strawberry blonde locks!). At the end of the day, its all on your preference...