Jane (Richardson) Stewart (bef. 1629 - abt. 1662)

Born before 1629 in Castle Hill, County Tyrone, Ireland

Wife of Robert Stewart — married before 1645 in Castle Hill, County Tyrone, Ireland

Descendants

Died about 29 Mar 1662 after about age 33 in Ivry, County Tyrone, Ireland.

Biography

Jane Richardson was born before 1629 in Carrick, Armagh, Ireland. She was the daughter of James Richardson (of Smeaton?) and his wife.

She died on 29 March 1662 in Ivry, County Tyrone, Ireland.

Marriage

Jane Richardson was married to Robert Stewart about 1630 in Castle Hill, County Tyrone, Ireland.

Children

Children of Jane Richardson and Robert Stewart "of Ivry":

• 1. Robert Stewart. b. 1632 - d. Mar 1685/86.

• 2. Unknown Stewart. b. 1636 - d.  ?

• 2. George Roe Stewart. b. 1640 - d. 1746.

Research notes

Question: Who was the father of Jane Richardson? Her father is traditionally recorded as "James Richardson of Castle Hill, Co. Tyrone" in Burke (1890, 1958, and other editions), O'Hart (1881, and other editions). For example Burke (1890, p. 254) records that "Robert, of Irry, a col. in the army, m. Jane, dau. of James Richardson, Esq. of Castle Hill, co. Tyrone."

This James Richardson of Castle Hill had two daughters.

The elder daughter, Margaret, m. 1632 Capt. Robert Lindesay of Loughry. Robert Lindesay's arms are shown impaled with her (father's) arms in stone at Loughry, with their initials RL and MR and the date 1632. It is likely she was about 18 when she married. A record of the baptism of a Margaret Richardson, dau. of James Richardson, is recorded on 24 Aug 1612 at Inveresk, Scotland. Margaret's date of death is uncertain. However, before he died in 1674, Capt. Robert Lindesay drew up a Deed of Settlement regarding members of his family, dated 1667 (PRONI, D425/1). This Deed does not mention Margaret, so it is probably safe to assume that she had died by this date. The Deed of Settlement names four Trustees, including Robert Stewart and brother William Stewart, both sons of Col. The Hon. Robert Stewart of Irry. (The other two Trustees are named as James Stewart of Ballymenagh - who m. Robert Lindesay’s sister Barbara, and Sir George Acheson - his mother’s nephew).

The younger daughter, Jane, m. Col. The Hon. Robert Stewart of Irry. There appears to be no surviving record (in Scotland or Ireland) of her birth/baptism. As she was younger than Margaret, it's likely that her birth was after 1612: my estimation would be, say, 1614. It's thus likely she married Robert Stewart in about 1634 (just an estimation as no record of their marriage appears to be available). Some sources give her death as 1657, in Co Tyrone.

If these estimated dates are reasonable, it's likely that the sons of Robert & Jane Stewart of Irry were born as follows: Robert in about 1635, and William in about 1637. Given the Irish revolt from 1641 which lasted several years, I'd suggest that George was born much later than the 1640 estimate (which makes him 106 years old at death - very unlikely). It's much more likely that George was born in about 1650, after the 'troubles’, in which his father took an active part.

Back to my original question, expanded this time to include both sisters: Who was the father of Margaret and Jane, both daughters of James Richardson? Could he have been "of Castle Hill"?

To help answer this question, a brief exploration of two settlers who were part of the Plantation of Ulster, is required.

Bernard Lindesay, of Leith, son of Thomas Lindesay the Herald, was granted on 26 June 1610 a part of Creig, Mountjoy Precinct, in the barony of Dungannon, Co Tyrone. On that day he was granted Irish denization and took up his grant and is recorded in a muster in 1618. That year he sold that estate to Alexander Richardson who appears in the muster of 28 March 1619. By the time of Pynnar's survey, the estate has been renamed Creighballe (Hill, 1877, p. 550). Alexander Richardson was granted Irish denization on 16 Dec 1630.

From Alexander Richardson descend the Richardsons of Creighballe (later named Oaklands and later Drum Manor, until line became extinct in 1908), the Richardsons of Castlehill and Augher (from whom descend the Richardson-Bunbury baronets), and the Richardsons of Farlough.

Castlehill and Augher came into the Richardson family in 1662, after the eldest son of Alexander, named Sir William Richardson, m. Mary Erksine, dau. and coheir of the Rev. Archibald Erskine. That's about 30 years after the marriages of Margaret (to Robert Lindesay) and Jane (to Robert Stewart). So the father of these sisters could not have been "of Castle Hill".

The *only* James Richardson that I can identify a generation earlier than Robert Lindesay of Loughry and Robert Stewart of Irry (i.e. in the same generation as Alexander Richardson or Bernard Lindesay), appears to be James Richardson of Smeaton (ca.1575-bef. 12 Jun 1632), son of James Richardson of Smeaton (d. 25 Dec 1625), who in turn was a son of Robert Richardson, the Commendator of St Mary's Isle.

Could it be possible that the sisters Margaret and Jane were daughters of James Richardson of SMEATON? The baptism of Margaret at Inveresk Parish Church, just 2.5 km north of Smeaton seems compelling. The impaled Richardson arms at Loughry are clearly based on those of Richardson of Smeaton, showing a bull’s head in chief, a galley in base, between a saltire in the middle.

Help resolving the ancestry of Margaret and Jane Richardson would be welcome!

Notes Made by Chris Lindesay, 2023.

Sources

• THE PEERAGE 207175