Histories

Joseph and Laviniah Stewart were both born in Pennsylvania, but where isn't known, although there is some speculation, and died in Brown County, Ohio. Their three oldest children - Mary Stewart Gray, Susannah, and Joseph were born in Pennsylvania before the family migrated to Kentucky/Ohio. So far I know that Laviniah and John were born in Kentucky. Susanna, Mary Stewart Gray, and Laviniah Louise Stewart West and I think James, all died in Brown County, Ohio. John may have died in Kansas, according to a descendant in his family.

The Stewarts are believed to have come to the Mason County, Ky./ Ohio area about 1790, traveling by boat down the Ohio River with other pioneer families heading for what was then the Northwest Territory. Virginia still claimed large amounts of the area and gave bounty land warrants there for Rev. War service. The Stewarts lived around Maysville, Mason Co., Ky., before crossing the river (literally) to what was originally Adams County & then became Brown Co. (1817), Ohio.

I don't know if Joseph fought in the Rev. War; it's possible. Many of the families that intermarried with the Stewarts and came to Ky/Ohio at the same time came because they had land warrants for the Virginia Military District (Ky/Ohio). Five of my family lines that are connected to the Stewarts did & originally lived in Virginia. If Joseph Stewart was from Pennsylvania, and did not serve or receive bounty land warrants, he may have come as a result of the efforts of some Kentucky frontiersmen who were orginally from Pennsylvania who explored The Northwest Territory (in what became Kentucky & Ohio) when it was wilderness & staked out "tomahawk claims." Notable was a man named Simon Kenton (do an Internet search) who was from Pennsylvania and associated with Daniel Boone. Kenton staked out thousands of acres and then went back to Pennsylvania to get people to come and settle, giving out parcels of acres to those who did. Another who did this was a Nathanial Massie. Some of those who came also bought land from those who had received bounty warrants but never settled there.

I have seen some speculation that Laviniah Stewart's maiden name was McVay. Mostly I have seen this on the Internet with no attribution. I don't include it in my database for that reason. I actually have McVays who married into Stewart descendants in my lines; these McVays were originally from New Jersey, but had settled in Pennsylvania. But I have not to date been able to place Laviniah Stewart in these families.

Regarding the family of Joseph Stewart, nothing is sure at this time. Speculation is that his family came from Scotland at least one, possibly two generations before he was born. If you subscribe to Ancestry.com, you can go to an online version of "Pennsylvania Genealogies" by W. Egle which includes a chapter on the Scotch-Irish in Pennsylvania and has an extensive Stewart family listed. This family traces back many generations, involving two brothers Hugh and Samuel. In the family of Samuel there are two children - Joseph and Robert about which no information is known. Although the time line and place may fit, it is only speculation to link these lines at this point.