Agnes Stewart (abt. 1530 - abt. 1569)

Ancestors

Descendants

Biography

Agnes Stewart of Orkney.

The popular theory is that she was the illegitimate daughter of earl Robert Stewart. This is not documented. We know that her husband sheriff John Dishington was a close associate of Robert Stewart. But the only found indication that the theory may possibly be correct is the will of Robert, which appointed as executors his two sons-in-law, the commendator of Lindores and James Sinclair of Murkle, his illegitimate son James Stewart of Graemsay, and John Dishington. It is a reasonable hypothesis that with one son and two sons-in-law as executors, the fourth person John Dishington may also be a son-in-law. The problem is that this is just an undocumented hypothesis. He may have been appointed due to his close association and his role as sheriff. We do not know. Further documentation is needed before any conclusion is drawn.

The suggested father earl Robert Stewart is said to be born approx. 1533, with an uncertainty up to approx. 1542. This suggest that Agnes is of the same age as Robert, and possibly older than him. Unless someone can document that their ages are wrong, the hypothesis that earl Robert Stewart was the father of Agnes Stewart must be wrong. The only possibility could be that Agnes was much younger than suggested, and born to an extremely young Robert. Without further information about their ages this would be just speculation and should be rejected.

Sources

• Peter D. Anderson: "Black Patie. The life and times of Patrick Stewart Earl of Orkney lord of Shetland." Edinburgh 1992. p. 47-48.

• Peter D. Anderson: "Robert Stewart. Earl of Orkney Lord of Shetland 1533-1593." Edinburgh 1982.