Anne Stewart (of Garth?)

This story relates to another branch of the Stewart’s, this time from Garth, Perthshire. John Stewart was a plantation owner and had land and Slaves, firstly in Grenada and later in Trinidad. On his last visit to Scotland he brought with him a daughter from a relationship with a ‘free’ Black woman, Charlotte Tobin. This child, born in 1810 was baptised according to the Church of England as Anne Stewart. I have an image of the baptism certificate but have to check on copyright before posting it. John left her with his sister Janet’s family in Little Dunkeld aged 12 when he returned to his estate in Trinidad. She stayed with her aunt, moving with her to Craigatin,Pitlochry after her uncle’s death, until she died. She is buried in Moulin Kirkyard, Pitlochry in a plot next to her aunt and her cousins, Anne has her own grave marker. Her father never returned to Scotland again and died in Trinidad where the Garth name still exists today.

The story of the Stewart’s of Garth is probably quite a common one from those times. I’ve read in a few books that In a family with multiple sons the eldest would inherit the estate(s), the second eldest would take up military service and the third in line would join the clergy. I assume that daughters were encouraged to marry the most suitable (richest?) man they could find. John Stewart was the youngest of 3 sons but rather than join the clergy he would become a plantation owner with the encouragement of his brother David. David Stewart would join the Black Watch & have a distinguished military career and authored a book that some see as the basis of the Victorian image of the Scottish Highlands and Highlanders. I’ve also read that David had a connection to William Wilberforce, the leader of the movement to abolish Slavery in the UK. Their sister Janet (Jessie) is recorded to have eloped and married the Rev Andrew Irvine, Minister at Little Dunkeld.

I am fascinated by the story of Anne, here is a mixed race girl brought to Scotland and left with literally, relative strangers. How must she have felt? Her mother was apparently dead and she was then abandoned by her father who she would never see again.

The video below is a ‘photogrammetry’ animation of Anne’s grave stone. It’s not too clear on the animation but the stone is in poor condition, there are some large splits in it and it’s probably getting worse every winter as ingress of water and freezing temperatures take their toll. Moulin Kirk is now a local heritage centre.

IN MEMORY OF

ANNE STEWART

WHO DIED AT CRAIGATIN

ON THE 17TH SEPT 1859

AGED 49 YEARS

Photogrammetry is a method of producing 3D models from photographs. The grave stone is the result of stitching together 38 photos taken on an iPhone 6. I then used a free software program called 3D Zephyr to create the model in the animation. It is also possible to use the model to create a 3D print of the grave stone and this may be an option in order to produce a bronze of the stone.