My earliest confirmed Steward/Stewart ancestor was a Charles Steward (d. 1725; md. Grace ____) of King George County, VA. Research seems to indicate that he was very likely identical with a Charles Steward who was transported as an indentured servant to Lancaster County, VA in 1669. The Bristol Registers of Indentured Servants indicate that a Charles Steward was transported from Bristol to Virginia at around the same time frame. The individual to whom Steward was indentured in Bristol did later reside in Lancaster County, VA.

My Virginia ancestor's family shared many similar names (e.g. Thomas, Joseph, Charles, James, etc.) with a Thomas Steward of Westbury on Severn, who lived there from the 1650s to 1670s. Thomas Steward's wife was Joane, and they appear to have had children Joseph baptized in 1652 (buried in 1669), Charles baptized in 1656/57 (whom we think might possibly be our Virginia ancestor), Elizabeth baptized in 1658, Thomas buried in 1662, and Thomas baptized in 1664. Joane Stuard was buried in 1669, and it appears Thomas Steward married an Elizabetha Bennett in Gloucester Cathedral later that year. They had a daughter Jane both baptized and buried in 1670. Elizabeth Stuard, wife of Thomas, was buried in Westbury in 1671, though the Westbury on Severn registers contains baptisms for two other children of Thomas Stuard and a wife Elizabeth. They were James Stuard baptized in 1672 and Mary Stuard baptized in 1675. Thus, it is possible that Thomas may have married a third wife also named Elizabeth, or this might be another individual.

There was also a Thomas Steward of Dymock who married Elicia/Alicia Winniant in Gloucester Cathedral in 1673. They appear to have had one son named Thomas baptized in 1674, and apparently a daughter named Alice. Thomas Steward of Dymock, his wife Alice, and their two children Thomas and Alice were all buried in 1684. I am uncertain whether Thomas of Dymock was identical with Thomas of Westbury on Severn or not. They may have been entirely different men, though the Stewards do not appear in Westbury registers after 1675 (except for an illegitimate child born to an Elizabeth Stuart in 1684), suggesting they went elsewhere or died out. There are quite a few Stewards/Stewarts in Dymock living into the 19th century, however.

A number of male descendants of my Steward family in Virginia have been Y-DNA tested. They are Haplogroup I2b1c. We would very much like to locate any direct male descendants of Stewards/Stewarts/Stuards/Stuarts in the Forest of Dean area who think they might be descended from Stewards in these localities for possible genetic testing. If there are any male Stewarts from that region who believe they have origins in either Westbury or Dymock (or surrounding areas) and would be willing to consider a y-chromosome test with FamilyTreeDNA, we would like to hear from you.

Mark
Raleigh, NC