STUART, JOHN [SSNE 1645]

Surname: STUART, STEWART till HEDENLUNDA
First name: JOHN, HANS
Title/rank: COLONEL, STUART OF OCHILTREE
Nationality: SCOT
Region: OCHILTREE, EAST AYRSHIRE
Social status: NOBILITY

Text source

John Stuart (c.1550-1618), known as Hans in Sweden, was a quartermaster-general in the Swedish army. He was born in Scotland before 1550. He was the eldest son of John Stuart of Ochiltree and his wife Agneta Forbes, the daughter of Robert Forbes and Anna Sinclair. His brother, Andrew (or Anders) [SSNE 1646], also entered Swedish service and became a colonel. They were the first Stuarts known to have emigrated to Sweden in the sixteenth century. There is often confusion about which Stuart held which rank. Stuart's father is believed to have accompanied Mary Queen of Scots to France in the 1550s, serving there as a colonel for Francis II of France until his return to Scotland in 1560. Stuart is believed to have gained his education in France, visiting Germany and other European countries on his travels. Before 1564 he had returned to Scotland as that year he sailed from Edinburgh toward Danzig. However the ship he was on was captured by Danes, who were embroiled in the Nordic Seven Years' Wars against Sweden, and Stuart was imprisoned in Varberg on suspicion of wanting to enter Swedish military service. Varberg was seized by Swedish forces by September 1565, and all the Scottish troops in the Danish army were forcibly placed under Swedish command. Stuart was then stripped of his moneys by Swedish troops and moved to a prison in Uppsala, presumably as the Swedes were not certain about his status. It was through the efforts of other Scottish officers already in Swedish service that Stuart was finally released. It is not certain exactly when he decided to stay in Sweden although he is noted as master of horse in the service of King Erik XIV who reigned from 1560-1568. He then entered the Duke of Södermanland's service. This was Duke Karl who ruled Sweden first as regent then king 1599-1611 (crowned Karl IX in 1604). Similarly it is unknown exactly when Stuart married Brita Eriksdotter, both of whose parents were from noble Swedish stock. Stuart provided evidence of his noble origins in a letter to king Johan III and his brother Duke Karl dated 12 October 1579 and signed Earl Collins of Ergadie, the Scottish Chancellor, Earl Robert Stuart of Levenox and Andrew Stuart of Ochiltree, (his brother?). Stuart obtained yet another letter dated 14 June 1585 from king James VI which allowed him to use the family coat of arms at the request of the Earl of Arran, James Stuart. Duke Karl had already endowed Stuart with land in Södermanland in 1579, which Stuart exchanged for land in Hedenlunda in 1582, and again in 1610 for rights of inheritance for himself, his wife and his male descendants. Hedenlunda remained the Stuart family seat in Sweden for the next two centuries. In 1604 Stuart was a gentleman of the chamber for Karl IX, and he soon became the colonel of a regiment he had raised himself in Scotland. By 1609 Stuart was not only the quartermaster-general and the war commissioner-general, but also the muster-general of all the foreign soldiers in Sweden. Stuart was sent to Russia as a Swedish envoy during the Swedish campaign there, but after that little is known of him until his death in October 1618 and that he was ennobled in Sweden. He had five children, four of which survived him including two very interesting daughters, Marta [SSNE 6433] and Anna [SSNE 6432]. Both of his sons, Anders the younger [SSNE 1647] and David [SSNE 7696] became gentlemen of the chamber for king Gustav II Adolf. Stuart's widow, Brita Ericsdotter, died in March 1622 and they were both buried in Vadsbro church.

Sources: Riksarkivets ämnessamlingar. Personhistoria https://sok.riksarkivet.se/bildvisning/A0073910_00265#?c=&m=&s=&cv=264&xywh=2686%2C427%2C3410%2C1870

https://sok.riksarkivet.se/bildvisning/A0073910_00276#?c=&m=&s=&cv=275&xywh=3019%2C789%2C3410%2C1870

Svenska Adelns Attartavlor, vol. 8, pp.782-783; J. Berg and B. Lagercrantz, Scots in Sweden, (Stockholm, 1962), pp.20-21; T. Fischer, The Scots in Sweden, (Edinburgh, 1907), p.51; G.E. Cokayne, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland and Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, vol. x, (1945); J. Balfour-Paul and R. Douglas, The Scots Peerage, vol. vi, (1909); H. Marryat, One Year in Sweden, including a visit to the isle of Gotland (London, 1862), pp.480-1.

Service record

SWEDEN, SWEDISH ARMY: Arrived 1565-09-30, as OFFICER?; Departed 1603-12-31, as CAVALRY MASTER; Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
SWEDEN, SWEDISH COURT: Arrived 1604-01-01; Departed 1608-12-31; Capacity COURT GENTLEMAN, purpose CIVIL SERVICE
SWEDEN, SWEDISH ARMY: Arrived 1609-01-01, as COLONEL; Departed 1618-02-28, as COLONEL; Capacity INSPECTOR GENERAL, purpose MILITARY
SWEDEN, RUSSIA: Arrived 1611-01-01; Departed 1611-12-31; Capacity ENVOY, purpose DIPLOMACY