Keith Stewart

Stewart was the second surviving son of Alexander Stewart, 6th Earl of Galloway and, his second wife, Lady Catherine Cochrane (the youngest daughter of John Cochrane, 4th Earl of Dundonald).[1] Among his siblings were John Stewart, 7th Earl of Galloway,[2] Hon. George Stewart (a Lieutenant who died at Fort Ticonderoga during the French and Indian War),[3] Lady Catherine Stewart (wife of their cousin James Murray of Broughton),[1] Lady Susanna Stewart (wife of Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford),[4] Lady Margaret Stewart (wife of Charles Gordon, 4th Earl of Aboyne),[5] Lady Harriet Stewart (wife of Archibald Hamilton, 9th Duke of Hamilton),[6] and Lady Charlotte Stewart (wife of John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore).[7]

Stewart joined the Royal Navy in about 1753. He attained the rank of Captain in 1762, the promotion being one of the terms of his surrendering his seat in Parliament. He commanded HMS Berwick in 1777. He served under Admiral Keppel in the action off Ushant on 27 July 1778.[8]

In June 1781, Stewart was given a North Sea command with the rank of Commodore. He served under Vice Admiral Hyde Parker in the Battle of Dogger Bank in August 1778. In September 1778, he was given command of the squadron blockading Dutch ports. Although he resigned this appointment after a ship escaped, Stewart was a highly regarded Naval officer and his career continued. He served under Admiral Richard Howe in his expedition to Gibraltar.

Stewart became a Rear Admiral in 1790,[9] and Vice Admiral in 1794.[10][11] He was awarded the Order of the Bath.[12]

On 13 May 1782, Stewart was married to Georgina Isabella d'Aguilar, daughter of Ephraim Lópes Pereira d'Aguilar, 2nd Baron d'Aguilar.[14] Together, they were the parents of:

• James Alexander Stewart-Mackenzie (1784–1843), who married Mary Elizabeth Frederica Mackenzie in 1817. She was former wife of Vice Admiral Sir Samuel Hood and daughter of Francis Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth. After their marriage, he assumed the additional surname of Mackenzie. Mary's younger sister, Helen Anne Mackenzie, was the wife of Joshua Henry Mackenzie, Lord Mackenzie.[15][16]
• Leveson Douglas Stewart (1786–1819), a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy who married Elizabeth Dalrymple-Hay, daughter of Sir John Dalrymple-Hay, 1st Baronet and Susan Hay (daughter of Sir Thomas Hay of Park, 3rd Baronet), in 1808. They were the parents of several children, including John Stewart of Nateby Hall.[17]

Stewart died on 3 March 1795.[1] Following Stewart's death, his widow married secondly, in 1797, to Lt.-Colonel Richard Fitzgerald, who was killed in action at the Battle of Waterloo.[18]

• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages
• Stewart family tree
• Portrait