This book is one of the most important finds of my life. Katherine Steuart, the
author, has given us a fascinating story of her ancestors with particular emphasis on the
century between about 1670 and 1780. It turns out the ancestors and relatives whose
lives she describes so artfully are also my ancestors and relatives. The story revolves
around an old house owned by James, the changekeeper, near Stirling, Scotland. James is
number 11 on my ancestry chart.
Stirling is in a beautiful location with the Highlands in view and the Ochil hills
nearby. The entire story takes place in a region about the size of Utah Valley. David
Masson, Emeritus Professor at Edinburgh University, has succinctly summarized the
contents of the book and presented the skill of the author. Through the book I have come
to admire the author. I would like to have known her. A century separates us, but I feel a
kinship with her in many ways as I am sure you will as well as you read the story she
presents.
I admire her ability to weave together genealogy, culture, history, politics,
religion and family relationships with the central focus being an old house. I have a few
thoughts that may help you better understand why the book is so interesting to me. First,
a word about the genealogy. Our Izatt ancestors lived in Tulliallan and Culross at least as
long ago as the mid 1600s when records for common people were first kept in parishes.
In my ancestral chart the mother of a William Izatt in the mid-1700s is Isobel Colt. She
is the granddaughter of Walter Steuart and Isobel Hendry. This is as far as we could trace
our Steuart ancestors because there were no records beyond that. The book identifies
Walter and Isobel and gives the ancestors of Walter to James II, King of Scotland. This
is exciting to me. I have read much about early Scotland and to know that I have a
known relationship with many of those I read about makes the history much more alive.
The first half of the book covers a period of British history that fascinates me.
There were so many important events that took place during the 1600s and 1700s. A
dominant theme in the book was the difference in religious beliefs between James the
changekeeper and most of his family. These differences between Royalists and
Covenanters in the 1600s often resulted in violence. In the case of the Steuart family, a
great schism resulted. Here we see the effect on a single family (our family). In the
broader sense, the moving of the Pilgrims to Massachusetts, the rise of Oliver Cromwell
and the English civil war, the attempt by the Stuarts to regain the British throne were all
related to these religious differences. A chart is included here to show the monarchy
changes through this period. Note that all of the Kings and Queens are descendants of
King James VI of Scotland and I of England.
Scotland was a poor country, but Scots were an independent bunch. This
independence and the contrast between the well-to-do James the Changekeeper and his
poverty stricken children is clearly shown. The everyday activities in this distant time are
of interest. We can only imagine what it would have been like to have lived in their
world. The ill years at the end of the 17th century are well documented in history. The
author spends some time describing the plight of the Steuarts during this difficult period.
Near the end of his life, the nearly 100 years old James made his will and gave
money to each of his children. Some reconciliation took place when they accepted the
gift. The intense hatred of the family factions for each other is shown by the fact that not
one of the ‘poor’ Steuart children named their first born sons after James, the
changekeeper, a Scottish custom of those days.
Reed M. Izatt
Provo, UT
26 May 2005
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Preface
THIS story of an old house is a part of a longer narrative;
and is, as it professes to be, an account of the lives of real
persons. The aid of fancy has certainly been called in ; as
when, in order to avoid the continual use of the words no
doubt, or in nllprobnbility, it is said, for example, that on the
day after the battle, Archibald Ogilvy visited the field of
Sheriffmuir, I at the present day possessing no special
knowledge of Arcllibald's doings on that eventful Monday.
The Intelligent Reader will, I am sure, understand that I
only judge that this particular man would d o what every
person in the neighbourhood must have done, after an event
so stirring had taken place.
A s the story was written without any thought of publication, I greatly regret that although all quotations are given
in inverted commas, I cannot in every case, remember the
name of the authority to whom I am indebted.
Thanks are due, in particular, to the Minister of Tulliallan,
who most kindly allowed me to read the old Records of the
parish. In Logie, I met with equal kindness and courtesy
from the late Mr Troupe, who besides giving himself much
trouble in order to help me, lent me one, or perhaps two,
1
"ooks
on the local history of Dunblane and Logie, from which
I clrcw the stories of the Travelling Tailor (of whorn, however,
I had also heard in Brigend), as well as a number of details con-
I
ix