History of Ottawa County, Michigan with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers.

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HIISTORY OF OTTAWA COUNTY.

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her, and whose pride is, in her age, to cherish the guide of his
youth.
ROBERT STUART.
We are indebted for the following sketch to an extract from the
Detroit lribune of February 15th, 1877:
"At a recent festival of the -Caledonian Society of Grand Haven,
Col. Wm. M. Ferry paid the following glowing tribute to the memory of a former citizen of Detroit, whom the majority of the present
generation only know by repute, but know to have been a rare and
noble man. This sketch will be read with great interest by all our
old citizens, as well as by those who have only heard of its subject:
"Upon the first plat of the village of Grand Haven appears the
name of Robert Stuart, as one of its proprietors, and of this man I
have the honor to speak in response to the sentiment, Grand Haven.' Robert Stuart was born in Callender, Perthshire, Scotland,
February 19th, 1785. His father was John Stuart, his mother
Mary Buchanan. John Stuart was the son of James Stuart, who
was known as James MacEamish MacAlester; that is, as you
Scotsmen would interpret it, James, son of James, son of Alexander. Those of you who are familiar with the life of Rob Roy will
remember the relation of a personal contest with the Laird Alexander, growing out of a dispute upon the establishment of a boundary
question. Rob Roy, in the latter part of his life, had located in the
neighborhood of the Stuarts, and owned an estate adjoining that of
the Laird Alexander. Stuart was of a stern, fiery temper, that
would not brook control, dictation or interference from any source,
and a combat with swords ensued in decision of the question at
issue. Rob Roy, celebrated as he was as a swordsman, was disarmed. Such contests were in those days the court of last resort,
and the rendered judgment was final and a matter of history, if not
of record. Their difficulties were thus settled to their mutual satisfaction, and they became ever after good friends and neighbors.
"John Stuart and his son Robert were known in the Highlands
by the designation, 'Big John of the Woods' and 'Little Robert of
the Hills.' John's immediate ancestors were doubtless Catholics,
as one of the family took up arms in the cause of the Pretender in
1715, and another in 1745. Robert's boyhood and youth were
spent in the neighborhood of Callender, Balquhidder, the Trosachs
and Loch Katrine, and he was familiar with every foot of that beautiful region, since made immortal by Sir Walter Scott's I Lady of the
Lake'-possessing a vigorous brain and a wonderfully retentive
memory, his mind was stored with facts and incidents of Scotland's
history, and his nature became imbued with the chivalric characteristics of her noblest sons. Throughout life his memory served to
enchant his hearers as he related the tales and legends of his native
hills. He was thoroughly educated in the doctrinal belief of the
Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and though not until later in life
did he make profession of religion, yet he always maintained three
habits of action, originating under the parental roof, which threw
an influence around him, which followed him into the trackless wilderness of America, and forsook him not through all the scenes of
an eventful life. These were a religious regard for the Sabbath, a
reverence for the sacred Scriptures as the word of God, and a respect
for the ministry of that word as a Divine ordinance.

"However, until middle life he disdained experimental religion,
regarding it as a weakness of character, or as the merest enthusiasm.
He honored and valued the ordinances and rites of Christian worship, as preserved and practiced in their simplicity by his ancestors
and countrymen. As a lofty man of the world his religion was
wholly ritual. Its elements were external morality, doctrinal ortho-i
doxy, prevalent convictions of the truth of Christianity as a system
of valuable ethics, historical faith, demonstrations of respect for its

institutions and consistent professors, and conformity to a general
ritual.
" You have before you a proud, handsome, cultured Highland
Scotchman; dignity, sternness, decision and energy his prominent
characteristics; personally of commanding form and presence, and
a thorough gentleman in dress and demeanor.
"When about attaining his majority his friend and relative,
Gen. Robert Stuart, after whom he was named, and who was a
prominent officer in the East India Company's Army, proposed to
take him out to India, and look to his advancement in life. This
was in some respects a flattering proposal, as Gen. Stuart was a
bachelor and wealthy. The offer was accepted, and the preparations were all made for the journey, when, at the last moment, the
heart of his mother failed her at the thought of the separation from
her idolized child in so distant and unhealthy a region. The project was abandoned. I name this circumstance and incident of his
life as a needed ingredient in obtaining a true opinion of his character; this was a tenderness of love for mother and home, and afterward to wife and children, that seldom forms a part in such a man
as I have hitherto described.
"At the age of 22 he came to America at the solicitation of his
uncle, David Stuart, who was then agent of the Northwest Company '
in Lower Canada, and Robert Stuart landed at Montreal in 1807.
But on his arrival his uncle had gone to Labrador. He associated
himself in business with the same company, and under the tutorage
of a Roman Catholic priest, made himself master of the French
language, the better to qualify himself for the commercial life to
which he had devoted himself. His elegance of diction in the use
of both'the French and English languages was a remarkable accomplishment favorable to his plans, and a specially noticeable grace in
him throughout his life. Subsequently he entered the office of the
attorney-general of the Province, and continued a rigid course of
business discipline in Canada, until he engaged with John Jacob
Astor, of New York, who organized in 1810 the Pacific Fur Company, for the purpose of establishing trading posts on the Columbia
River and along the Pacific coast. As one of the partners of the
firm he set sail from New York in 1810in the ship Tonquin, doubled
Cape Horn, touched at the Sandwich Islands, reached his destination, and aided in laying the foundation of the city of Astoria.
"This perilous voyage, its disasters and expeditions of a like
nature following the planting this settlement in the Northwest, has
been given to the world through the gifted pen of Washington Irving, and from material principally furnished the author of "Astoria"
in the daily journal kept by Robert Stuart. Nothing equalling this
thrilling narrative has ever been given to the public, so valuable in
its details of the trials and vicissitudes attendant upon the early
explorations of the vast region west of the Mississippi Valley, the
Columbia River and of the Pacific coast.
As an incident that determined important experiences in the
life of Robert Stuart, I will here give you the sequel to the voyage
of the Tonquin:
" This vessel was ordered to coast northward for trade with the
natives, and to return home in the Autumn.. Mr. Stuart designed
to form one of the company on board, but the rash, irascible temper
of the captain and Stuart's indomitable will were not congenial elements for such companionship, and he refused to accompany the
expedition. At Vancouver's Island the savages boarded the ship,

ostensibly for traffic. The petulance and obstinacy of the captain
enraged the savages. He had neglected the instructions given him
as to his dealings with them, and insultingly pointed to his gun as
his defense when remonstrated with by the interpreter. The result.was, the Indians in large numbers came on board, deceitfully purchasing and arming themselves with knives, and at a

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