He was born in 1697 the son of
Sir Robert Steuart, 1st Baronet of Allanbank near
North Berwick (at that time simply called Berwick). His mother was Steuart's second wife, Jean Cockburn, daughter of
Sir Archibald Cockburn baronet of
Langton. Around 1715 he began trading as a wine merchant on the
Royal Mile in
Edinburgh. In 1718 he was admitted as a
burgess on the Edinburgh town council. In 1741 he was elected (as an opposition Whig) as MP for
Edinburgh. He was one of the "Duke of Argyll's gang" voting against the Hanoverians in 1744. Spending more time in London due to his parliamentary duties, in 1743 he opened a wine shop at 11 Buckingham Street on
The Strand. In 1744 he succeeded
John Coutts as
Lord Provost of Edinburgh. His most infamous reputation during his period as Lord Provost was the "surrender" (or welcoming depending on one's politics) of the city of Edinburgh to the Jacobite Army of
Bonnie Prince Charlie on 17 September 1745. Stewart had received a royal warrant requiring him to raise a resistance force on 26 June and had raised a militia of around 300 men. However, this force was not put into operation, and the Jacobite force received little resistance. Supplementing the volunteers two brigades of Dragoons were dispatched to
Coltbridge on the west of the city (known as the Coltbridge Canter, and often erroneously connected to the later
Battle of Prestonpans). This force did not fight with the rebels, but were instead ordered to retreat, first to
Leith, then right out of the city to
Prestonpans (which is where the confusion of events arises). Despite Edinburgh's "official allegiance" to England at the time, it may be safely assumed that the majority of the politicians (and perhaps the general population) sympathised with the Jacobite cause. The Jacobite army were safely accommodated within Edinburgh. For this treasonous act Stewart was arrested and had to appear before the
Privy Council in
London on 7 December 1745 charged with "neglect of duty". Ironically the larger blame (if any were due) lay on the shoulders of the elderly General
Joshua Guest, who had control of
Edinburgh Castle and direct command of the dragoons. On 10 December he was ordered to be detained by the
House of Commons and was accordingly detained in the
Tower of London from 13 December. He was released from the Tower on 23 January 1747 following payment of £15,000 bail (a truly huge sum in the 18th century). Returning to Edinburgh he was re-trialed under
Andrew Fletcher, Lord Milton and found not guilty on 2 November 1747. This seemed to centre on the warrant requiring him to raise a militia but did not require him to use it in any stipulated manner. He afterwards returned to London to continue business on the Strand, living in the
Mitcham district. Grant states that Stewart lived in the house at the foot of the West Bow, facing onto the
Grassmarket during his period as Lord Provost and describes it as full of "secret stairs and trapdoors". He was succeeded as Lord Provost by
George Drummond in 1746. It was Stewart not Drummond who remained Provost at the time of the
Battle of Prestonpans, but (as stated above) the "capture" of Edinburgh is often muddled around the date of that battle. In 1773 he (or possibly his son) is listed as a merchant living and working at Parliament Close on the
Royal Mile. He died in
Bath on 24 January 1780 aged 82. ==Family==