"New" Line from James II and James IV
Paul Gifford
descended from Alexander Falconar, who settled in Maryland in the
early 18th century. Any comments or vetting are very welcome. It
includes a daughter of two illegitimate Stewart descendants!
1. James II, King of Scotland
2. Alexander Stewart, created Duke of Albany; b. c.1454, d. 1485; m.
(1) Catherine Sinclair (dissolved 2 Mar. 1477/8)
3. Alexander Stewart, commendator of Inchaffray, Bishop of Moray, b.
c.1473, d. 1537 by Margaret Stewart, Lady Gordon, widow of George
Gordon, Master of Huntly (d. 1517), natural daughter of James IV by
Margaret Drummond, b. 1497, d. after 1562.
4. Margaret Stewart m. between 5 Jan. and 5 Mar. 1535/6 David, 2nd
Lord Drummond, b. c.1515?, d. May 1571
5. Sibilla Drummond m. (by contract dated 25 Aug. 1557) Gilbert
Ogilvy of that Ilk (of Powrie)
6. Mr. John Ogilvy of Powrie, b. c.1560, m. Elizabeth Scrymgeour
7. Sibilla Ogilvy, d. 4 Dec. 1634 at Montrose, m. (1) John Butter,
fiar of Gormack (d. Jan. 1623); (2) John (later Sir John) Falconer
8. David Falconar, merchant m. Margaret Molleson
9. John Falconar, tobacco merchant, b. 11 Mar. 1677 Edinburgh, d. 2
Jan. 1729/30 London; in New Jersey and Maryland, 1699-1705; m. 6 Sept.
1705, in London, Anna Quare. No male-line descendants; uncertain
whether there are any female-line descendants living today.
9. Gilbert Falconar, b. 30 June 1686 Edinburgh, d. 1736 Kent Co.,
Md.; emigrated to Maryland in 1704; m. 12 Jan. 1709/10, in
Philadelphia, Hannah Hardiman. Descendants in both male and female
lines living today.
9. Jane Falconar, b. c.1690; came to Pennsylvania and Maryland, 1711;
m. after 1730 Simon Wilmer, of Kent Co., Md. No issue.
9. Alexander Falconar, b. c.1693, d. after 1758, in Prince Georges
Co., Md.; m 9 Feb. 1718/9, in Prince Georges Co., Md., Susannah
Duvall. Descendants in both male and female lines living today.
Sources and notes
1.-2. Sir James Balfour Paul, The Scots Peerage (Edinburgh: David
Douglas, 1904), 1: 151-153.
3. Paul, Scots Peerage, 1: 153. He had six illegitimate children by
unknown mistresses; see Scotland, Register of the Privy Seal, 2
(1529-1542): 191, no. 1419, Scotland, Register of the Great Seal.
4. Paul, Scots Peerage, 7: 45-46. The article in the SP says that
Margaret Stewart’s “parentage has never been satisfactorily
ascertained.” A footnote that mentions that Alexander Stewart had
another daughter named Margaret seems to be the cause of the writer’s
dissatisfaction. Actually, Alexander had TWO daughters, besides this
one, named Margaret, as well as two sons named Alexander. In the
Papers of Drummond, Earl of Perth, at the National Archives of
Scotland, there is an obligation (GD160/4/6) dated 5 Jan. 1535/6,
where James V promises to infeft David, Lord Drummond, lands which had
been forfeited by John, Lord Drummond, his great-grandfather; for
this, David was to marry Margaret Stewart, daughter of Margaret
Stewart, Lady Gordon, the King’s sister. The marriage took place by 5
Mar. 1535/6, when a sasine was granted to them (GD160/14/17). William
Drummond, 1st Viscount of Strathallan, in his The Genealogy of the
Most Noble House of Drummond (written in 1681; Glasgow, 1889), pp.
169, 171, cites writs dated 1525 and 1538 then at Drummond Castle
which named Alexander Stewart as her father, as well as the one dated
5 Jan. 1535/6. William Drummond of Hawthornden wrote about 1630 that
David, Lord Drummond, married the daughter of Alexander Steuart,
Bishop of Moray, “which Margaret Lady Gordon bore to him whilst she
was affianced to him” (see Appendix 1, Genealogy of the Most Noble
House of Drummond, p. 248).
5. For the relationships to her parents, see the previous
paragraph.
6. Drummond, Genealogy of the Most Noble House of Drummond, p. 171,
which says that Sibilla and Gilbert were the parents of “a sone,
Thomas, who succeeded, and a daughter, Sibilla Ogilvie, who was
married to [blank].” Jack Blair, Ogilvy of That Ilk (Dundee: Tay
Valley Family History Society, 2006), p. 23, writes that John, heir of
Gilbert Ogilvy, was “probably by” Isabel Beaton, Gilbert’s first wife,
who died young in the period 1555-1556. However, in an email to Chuck
Owens, Blair now feels that Sibilla was his mother, partly because
John Ogilvy had acquired a master’s degree between 1575 and 1581 and
was probably the John Ogilvy at St. Leonard’s College, St. Andrew’s
University who was nominated for baccalaureate in 1574/5 and graduated
in 1576, placing his year of birth at about 1560. But the fact that
William Drummond, who was closely related on both father’s and
mother’s side to this couple and was only two generations removed,
wrote that Sibilla was the mother of Thomas [sic], “who succeeded,” is
significant. John succeeded, but he was succeeded by his son Thomas.
Thomas Ogilvy of Powrie was the last of the line, dying about 1660,
and William Drummond may have known him personally. John Ogilvy of
Powrie was a Catholic spy; his biography can be found in the DNB and
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
7. Blair, Ogilvy of That Ilk, p. 33, which cites a marriage contract
dated at Dundee on 26 June 1615, where she is described as sister
german to Thomas Ogilvy of Powrie. Sir John Scrymgeour of Dudhope was
cautioner. John Butter died in January 1623 (testament, CC20/4/8 St.
Andrews Commissary Court). Blair believes she married John Falconer,
son of Sir Alexander Falconer of Halkerton. Sibilla Ogilvy’s
testament dative (CC3/3/5), proved in the Brechin Commissary Court,
includes two substantial debts (of 116 pounds and 333 pounds; these
were her only credits) from Archibald Butter in Gormack, undoubtedly
the brother of John who by his testament appointed him tutor-
testamentar of his three children. I am looking for further support of
this identity, but her rare name, the fact that a document places John
Falconer in Dundee in 1628, and these points make the identity pretty
strong. There are no known competing possibilities.
8. Paul M. Gifford, Falconer of Halkerton (Bowie, Md.: Heritage
Books, 1997), 83-87. In Moses Bundle 254/7731, Edinburgh District
Archives, there is a memorial in the case David Falconar and Sir John
Falconar, in which it is related that after the Restoration, David’s
younger brother Sir John went to London to plead for David’s inclusion
as substitute Master of the Mint, and met with the Earl of Airlie and
Sir James Ogilvy, “the only Mother’s friends that David had at
London.”
9. Gifford, Falconer of Halkerton.
Paul Gifford
Leo
I found your message utterly fascinating and I hope you can find enough proof to make this line stand.
Having said that, I can only wonder.
Your generation 3. Alexander Stewart, bishop of Moray, born circa 1473, you present he had a possible illegitimate daughter by Lady Margaret Stewart (daughter of James IV) she was born about 1497.
It is, of course, possible but.........
That illegitimate daughter (Margaret Stewart) is a granddaughter of Margaret Drummond, who in turn is a great-aunt of David, 2nd Lord Drummond, the husband of that Margaret Stewart. This makes them second cousins, surely that knowledge should have been known?
Burke's Peerage 1999 page 2224 tells that David 2nd Lord Drummond's first wife Margaret Stewart was "conceivably a daughter of Alexander Stewart, bishop of Moray". No mention of the mother of this Margaret Stewart.
The Complete Peerage Volume IV page 471 tells that David 2nd Lord Drummond married in 1535 Margaret "said to have been daughter (possibly illegitimate daughter) of Alexander Stewart, bishop of Moray."
In 1535 could bishop's have legitimate daughters? I have not found a wife for this Alexander. A footnote on the CP page gives Alexander bishop of Moray another illegitimate daughter Margaret who married twice. This gives him two daughters Margaret.
Returning to Lady Margaret Stewart, daughter of James IV. Born in 1497, married in 1512 John Lord Gordon who died 5 December 1517. It took her until 1531 to marry her first cousin Sir John Drummond of Innerpeffry. This gives a period of 14 years in which she could have had an affaire with Alexander bishop of Moray (a first cousin of her father).
Could such a relationship have been covered up so thoroughly for so long? "Their daughter" was conceivably a daughter of Alexander but so far no mention of the mother.
Now, generation 7 Sibilla Ogilvie, married (1) John Butter (2) Sir John Falconer.
Gary Boyd Roberts, in his 600 Immigrants page 117, mentions Sibilla only as a spouse, it is Sir John Falconer whose lineage is displayed. I am sure if there was a chance Sibilla was so closely descended from either (or both) James II and James IV, he would have known.
I look forward to see what others think.
With best wishes
Leo van de Pas,
Canberra, Australia
Paul's message :
Sources and notes
Paul Gifford
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Paul Gifford
> That illegitimate daughter (Margaret Stewart) is a granddaughter of Margaret Drummond, who in turn is a great-aunt of David, 2nd Lord Drummond, the husband of that Margaret Stewart. This makes them second cousins, surely that knowledge should have been known?
I think it has been.
> Burke's Peerage 1999 page 2224 tells that David 2nd Lord Drummond's first wife Margaret Stewart was "conceivably a daughter of Alexander Stewart, bishop of Moray". No mention of the mother of this Margaret Stewart.
I cited the writ (GD160/4/6) from 1536 in which Margaret is explicitly
described as the daughter of Margaret Stewart, Lady Gordon, natural
daughter of James IV. This is mentioned in the 17th-century Drummond
genealogies by William Drummond of Hawthornden (c.1630-50) and this
and other writs in William Drummond, Viscount of Strathallan (1681).
>
> In 1535 could bishop's have legitimate daughters? I have not found a wife for this Alexander. A footnote on the CP page gives Alexander bishop of Moray another illegitimate daughter Margaret who married twice. This gives him two daughters Margaret.
Gavin Dunbar, Archbishop of Glasgow (see State Papers), in 1520,
describes Alexander Stewart as a man "able to marry."
Four sons (Patrick, Alexander, Alexander the younger, and John) were
legitimated under the Privy Seal in 1532; one daughter Margaret
(relict of John Aytoun in Kynnaldy, later the spouse of John Winram, a
churchman), was legitimated under the Great Seal in 1547, and
Alexander again under the Great Seal in 1550 and Mr. John in 1563.
One son (Alexander the younger) got a charter of the lands of Pitcarne
in 1545 under the Great Seal. Then another daughter Margaret married
Patrick Graham of Inchbraikie (d. 1536) and then Colin Campbell of
Glenurchy. I haven't found the names of any mothers. Patrick
Hepburn, a contemporary bishop, had lots of illegitimate children.
> Returning to Lady Margaret Stewart, daughter of James IV. Born in 1497, married in 1512 John Lord Gordon who died 5 December 1517. It took her until 1531 to marry her first cousin Sir John Drummond of Innerpeffry. This gives a period of 14 years in which she could have had an affaire with Alexander bishop of Moray (a first cousin of her father).
It had to be soon after the Master of Gordon died. There are papers
from 1562 concerning Lord Eglintoun's divorce in which his mother-in-
law Margaret Stewart, Lady Gordon, testified, and her fourth daughter
Janet testified, giving her age, indicating she was born in 1527 or
1528 (at the moment I can't find the transcription of the Latin
testimonies, which are available online).
> Could such a relationship have been covered up so thoroughly for so long? "Their daughter" was conceivably a daughter of Alexander but so far no mention of the mother.
I don't know if it was covered up. But probably Alexander's younger
half-brother, John Stewart, Duke of Albany, Governor of Scotland, and
the 2nd in succession, must have had a had in this. Parliament in
1516 had confirmed Alexander's illegitimacy. He must have separated
them and then connected her with Sir John Drummond of Innerpeffray.
She had four or five children by Drummond before her 1531 marriage.
>
> Now, generation 7 Sibilla Ogilvie, married (1) John Butter (2) Sir John Falconer.
> Gary Boyd Roberts, in his 600 Immigrants page 117, mentions Sibilla only as a spouse, it is Sir John Falconer whose lineage is displayed. I am sure if there was a chance Sibilla was so closely descended from either (or both) James II and James IV, he would have known.
>
No, he got that information from my book, and at the time I wrote it,
I hadn't identified her family. I did look at all available Ogilvy
couples of Powry was the senior Ogilvy family, but not much has been
written about it. Jack Blair's recent book identified Sibilla. It is
very difficult to go through the Register of Deeds for this period
(they are unindexed), but there is a "Falconer qr. Buttar" deed from
1635 I will order photocopies of. Sibilla's testament, as I
mentioned, has two large debts from Archibald Buttar in Gormock, who
was the brother of Sibilla's first husband and guardian of his
children. This, plus the fact that Sibilla's testament was proved in
Brechin (the same jurisdiction as Powrie), I think is reasonable
indications of identity. Also, John Falconer was in Dundee in 1628,
some distance from the Falconer land near Montrose.
Thanks for your comments, Leo.
Paul Gifford
Nathaniel Taylor
<1eb38651-70eb-4050...@k14g2000pre.googlegroups.com>,
Paul Gifford <pgif...@umflint.edu> wrote:
> 7. Blair, Ogilvy of That Ilk, p. 33, which cites a marriage contract
> dated at Dundee on 26 June 1615, where she is described as sister
> german to Thomas Ogilvy of Powrie. Sir John Scrymgeour of Dudhope was
> cautioner. John Butter died in January 1623 (testament, CC20/4/8 St.
> Andrews Commissary Court). Blair believes she married John Falconer,
> son of Sir Alexander Falconer of Halkerton. Sibilla Ogilvyąs
> testament dative (CC3/3/5), proved in the Brechin Commissary Court,
> includes two substantial debts (of 116 pounds and 333 pounds; these
> were her only credits) from Archibald Butter in Gormack, undoubtedly
> the brother of John who by his testament appointed him tutor-
> testamentar of his three children. I am looking for further support of
> this identity, but her rare name, the fact that a document places John
> Falconer in Dundee in 1628, and these points make the identity pretty
> strong. There are no known competing possibilities.
>
> 8. Paul M. Gifford, Falconer of Halkerton (Bowie, Md.: Heritage
> Books, 1997), 83-87. In Moses Bundle 254/7731, Edinburgh District
> Archives, there is a memorial in the case David Falconar and Sir John
> Falconar, in which it is related that after the Restoration, Davidąs
> younger brother Sir John went to London to plead for Davidąs inclusion
> as substitute Master of the Mint, and met with the Earl of Airlie and
> Sir James Ogilvy, łthe only Motherąs friends that David had at
> London.˛
>
> 9. Gifford, Falconer of Halkerton.
Paul,
Like Leo I find this line interesting. Presumably this is covered in
more detail in your published work on Falconer of Halkerton? The SP
article on Falconer of Halkerton (at SP 5:248) fails us by not listing
any children of Sir John Falconer, master of the mint (gen. 7) by his
first wife Sibyl Ogilvy. The SP entry only lists children (10 of them,
no David) by Sir John's second wife, Esther Briot, all born between 1636
and 1654. It does say he was 'probably' the Sir John buried in
Greyfriars 21 June 1670, and also cites, apparently, a testament of his
at Edinborough dated (or proved?) 19 July 1673. Does this will name any
children by his first wife Sibyl Ogilvy? The SP entry does cites the
Brechin will of Sibyl Ogilvy, but does not list any children by her --
does that will not name any Falconer children explicitly? If her will
names a son David Falconer, that plus the 'Moses Bundle' action you list
at no. 8, above, would be ironclad. Presumably the younger Sir John,
brother of David, is the man baptised in 1636 as the eldest son of Sir
John (gen. 7) by his second wife Esther Briot?
Did any of this merchant branch use the Falconer of Halkerton arms,
either in Scotland or in North America? It is not clear from the Lyon
Register index or from SP how old the Falconer of Halkerton arms were,
and therefore whether the branch descended from Sir John of the mint
would have used them. Burke's General Armory shows various different
arms for this same family including one in use "since the beginning of
the seventeenth century" which isn't specific enough to say which
generations or which branches used which arms.
Nat Taylor
a genealogist's sketchbook:
http://www.nltaylor.net/sketchbook/
Alex Maxwell Findlater
1452, "fulkconare", Gules, three hawks' lures Or, DL453. This is
copied by Slains of ca 1565, which is generally reliable, and by
Workman's MS of the same date, which adds a chevron, and is itself
copied by a number of other MSS. By ca 1601, the Crawford Armorial is
showing Or betwixt three stars Azure a heart Gules ensigned with a
hawk's head Vert beaked and eyed Gules. As the Crawford appears to
have been compiled with the knowledge of the relevant individuals, ir
seems likely that the new arms were adopted by this time. However by
the time of the Register, 1672, all the Falconers were using this
coat, with variations, except for Lord Falconer of Halkerston, who
recorded Azure a falcon displayed betwixt three stars Argent on his
breast a man's heart Gules. This last coat is still borne today by
the Earl of Kintore.
Alex Maxwell Findlater
Paul Gifford
> Like Leo I find this line interesting. Presumably this is covered in
> more detail in your published work on Falconer of Halkerton?
Not this line---I hadn't identified Sibilla then.
> It does say he was 'probably' the Sir John buried in
> Greyfriars 21 June 1670, and also cites, apparently, a testament of his
> at Edinborough dated (or proved?) 19 July 1673. Does this will name any
> children by his first wife Sibyl Ogilvy?
No. It's a testament dative; he was in debt; and his debts were
assigned to his son John. No other heirs mentioned. The 1904 Scots
Peerage was the earliest to mention David, but the author didn't
understand how he fit into the picture. The earlier editions ignored
him and made Sir John, father and son, the same person.
The SP entry does cites the
> Brechin will of Sibyl Ogilvy, but does not list any children by her --
> does that will not name any Falconer children explicitly? If her will
> names a son David Falconer, that plus the 'Moses Bundle' action you list
> at no. 8, above, would be ironclad.
Sibilla's testament dative specifically mentions that David was the
"onlie heir procreat be thame." There is a rich store of
documentation on David's later life. David was joined to his father
as Master of the Mint in 1646; he became a Quaker in 1660, angering
his father, who had spent much on his education in Europe. David
became closely identified with Robert Barclay of Urie, Quaker
theologian, and married his wife's sister. He remained on good terms
with his half-brother John (later Sir John) and seems to have bought a
lot of bullion for the mint. When Sir John was brought down in 1682
(sort of becoming the fall guy for the Earl of Lauderdale, brother of
the Chancellor of Scotland), David went with him. The Duke of York
made Robert Barclay titular governor of East New Jersey in that year,
and David clearly was involved, as some of the proprietors were in his
circle (at least one was closely related), but he himself didn't have
the money to invest, so his property there was given to him by
Barclay. His eldest son John served his apprenticeship to his uncle
in London, in the Company of Drapers, then went to New Jersey and sold
the property, then went to Maryland and began a life as a tobacco
merchant. He was successful, but in the 1730s there was a crisis in
tobacco prices, and his heir John was financially ruined, along with
John's brother Alexander in Maryland. Gentility survived with
Gilbert's descendants until the Civil War; in Alexander's family it
disappeared by the Revolution. By my grandmother's time (say around
1910), there still were stories about claims on a Scottish castle, but
nobody took them seriously, and until I made the connection, so did I.
Presumably the younger Sir John,
> brother of David, is the man baptised in 1636 as the eldest son of Sir
> John (gen. 7) by his second wife Esther Briot?
Yes.
> Did any of this merchant branch use the Falconer of Halkerton arms,
> either in Scotland or in North America?
Gilbert's daughter Margaret's will (1738) uses a seal with
undifferenced Falconer of Halkerton arms. I talked to a descendant
who said an alcoholic cousin had sold off some old silver with
engraved arms (maybe 1930s).
It is not clear from the Lyon
> Register index or from SP how old the Falconer of Halkerton arms were,
> and therefore whether the branch descended from Sir John of the mint
> would have used them.
David's son John received a grant in 1720----this follows the usual
rules for differencing. There is another issue here --- the title Lord
Falconer of Halkerton, originally granted in 1646, went dormant in
1966. It has to go through the senior male line. For a long time,
this title was carried by the Earl of Kintore. That title can go
through female lines. Well, I traced the probable senior male line to
a guy in California, who has little interest in this sort of stuff.
If he had the money and interest, he could get a grant of arms from
the Lord Lyon as the senior heir of Gilbert Falconar, born in Scotland
in 1686. The documentation (including, I think, the evidence for
extinction of senior male lines) is there. But the problem would come
in documentation extinction of other senior male lines----the younger
son of the 4th Lord went to Jamaica in 1746 and there are descendants
of an illegitimate son, but he had six or seven sons who disappear.
Paul Gifford
Paul Gifford
<maxwellfindla...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> The earliest recording of the Falconer arms is in David Lyndsay of ca
> 1452, "fulkconare", Gules, three hawks' lures Or, DL453. This is
> copied by Slains of ca 1565, which is generally reliable, and by
> Workman's MS of the same date, which adds a chevron, and is itself
> copied by a number of other MSS.
Thanks----I hadn't known about these armorials. The marriage of the
laird to Elizabeth Douglas in 1543 resulted in the addition of the
heart, if I recall. The earliest is a seal from 1296, showing a
falcon killing a small bird, according to the Scots Peerage. However,
when I looked at it, I didn't see anything clearly.
Paul Gifford
Alex Maxwell Findlater
undifferenced Falconer of Halkerton arms. I talked to a descendant
who said an alcoholic cousin had sold off some old silver with
engraved arms (maybe 1930s).
Which of the three coats used by the family was this?
Paul Gifford
<maxwellfindla...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Gilbert's daughter Margaret's will (1738) uses a seal with
> undifferenced Falconer of Halkerton arms.
>
I never examined the original 1738 will, only a photocopy, which
doesn't show anything clearly. It's described in a book by Harry
Wright Newman, Heraldic Marylandiana (1968). I suspect the devices
are three mullets, a heart, and a falcon or falcon's head. The other
18th-century arms I've seen (used on signet rings and silver in
Scotland and England) use the same devices.
Paul GIfford
Nathaniel Taylor
<11b0bc5e-1f81-4e2e...@37g2000prx.googlegroups.com>,
Paul Gifford <pgif...@umflint.edu> wrote:
> > Did any of this merchant branch use the Falconer of Halkerton arms,
> > either in Scotland or in North America?
>
> Gilbert's daughter Margaret's will (1738) uses a seal with
> undifferenced Falconer of Halkerton arms. I talked to a descendant
> who said an alcoholic cousin had sold off some old silver with
> engraved arms (maybe 1930s).
> David's son John received a grant in 1720----this follows the usual
> rules for differencing. There is another issue here --- the title Lord
> Falconer of Halkerton, originally granted in 1646, went dormant in
> 1966. It has to go through the senior male line. For a long time,
> this title was carried by the Earl of Kintore. That title can go
> through female lines. Well, I traced the probable senior male line to
> a guy in California, who has little interest in this sort of stuff.
> If he had the money and interest, he could get a grant of arms from
> the Lord Lyon as the senior heir of Gilbert Falconar, born in Scotland
> in 1686. The documentation (including, I think, the evidence for
> extinction of senior male lines) is there. But the problem would come
> in documentation extinction of other senior male lines----the younger
> son of the 4th Lord went to Jamaica in 1746 and there are descendants
> of an illegitimate son, but he had six or seven sons who disappear.
Fascinating -- CP indeed shows this title as a creation with remainder
"to heirs male whatsoever" [i.e. not just of the body], and a grandson
of another brother of the first grantee succeeded as 4th Lord in 1724 --
so the title is still (theoretically) in play. I'd be interested to know
more about the senior male line from Gilbert which you've traced. Is
this all covered in your published Falconer work? The reason I ask
about the arms etc. is that this family should certainly be included in
the Roll of Arms of the NEHGS Committee on Heraldry.
Nathaniel Taylor
Nathaniel Taylor <nlta...@nltaylor.net> wrote:
This (possible) California heir to the dormant title Lord Falconer of
Halkerton would be one of a rather small group of Americans with
nontrivial claims to UK titles (peerages or baronetcies) based on
collateral descent via a branch which immigrated some time ago. Can we
concoct a list? One could start with these three:
1. Falconer of Halkerton (barony) dormant sinc 1966 and *possibly*
vested in descendants of Gilbert Falconer who came to Maryland about
1704.
2. Stirling of Glorat (baronetcy), dormant since 1949; apparently vested
in descendants of Robert Stirling, 8th son of the 5th baronet, who was
in Eastport, Maine, in 1820, and later settled in Ohio.
3. Essex (earldom), dormant since 2005. Current apparent heir is a
childless Englishman who has not formally proved his succession though
described as the 'new earl' by the press in 2005; his apparent next heir
has been reported to be a descendant, in California, of Horace Capel,
immigrant to Nebraska in 1888.
How many others do people know of, leaving out any modern immigrants
(say post WWI) who might hold titles or have inherited them, and leaving
out fantasists & frauds?
Douglas Richardson
< I've been working on the following line with Chuck Owens. We're
both
< descended from Alexander Falconar, who settled in Maryland in the
< early 18th century. Any comments or vetting are very welcome. It
< includes a daughter of two illegitimate Stewart descendants!
<
< 1. James II, King of Scotland
< 2. Alexander Stewart, created Duke of Albany; b. c.1454, d. 1485;
m.
< (1) Catherine Sinclair (dissolved 2 Mar. 1477/8)
< 3. Alexander Stewart, commendator of Inchaffray, Bishop of Moray,
b.
< c.1473, d. 1537 by Margaret Stewart, Lady Gordon, widow of George
< Gordon, Master of Huntly (d. 1517), natural daughter of James IV by
< Margaret Drummond, b. 1497, d. after 1562.
A couple of quick comments:
Margaret Stewart married (1st) John Gordon, Lord Gordon (died 1517),
not George Gordon, Master of Huntly [see Scots Peerage, 4 (1907): 532–
533 (sub Huntly)].
Scots Peerage, 1 (1904): 21–23 (sub Kings of Scotland) says that
Margaret Stewart, Lady Gordon, was born in 1497. But elsewhere in
Scots Peerage 7 (1910): 44 (sub Drummond, Earl of Perth), it states
that Margaret was born "about 1497."
I recommend you employ the "about 1497" version, as I don't think
there is a record which proves the exact year of Margaret Stewart's
birth.
The evidence you have quoted seems good that Margaret Stewart, Lady
Gordon, had a daughter, Margaret, by Alexander Stewart. However, you
haven't quoted the specific contemporary documents that identify which
Alexander Stewart was involved here. Can you address that issue?
Please quote the actual documents. If the documents merely refer to
Lady Gordon's paramour as Alexander Stewart, then I think you will
need additional evidence that he was Alexander Stewart, Bishop of
Moray. If a late date family historian claimed he was the Bishop,
that is fine and dandy, but it doesn't prove it.
Lastly, you have mentioned Janet, the "4th daughter" of Margaret
Stewart, Lady Gordon. I assume you mean Lady Gordon's daughter, Jean
(or Jane) Drummond, wife of James Chisholm, Knt., of Cromlix. I have
not seen her called Janet anywhere. Can you provide a reference to
her being called Janet?
Best always, Douglas Richardson, Salt Lake City, Utah
Paul Gifford
> How many others do people know of, leaving out any modern immigrants
> (say post WWI) who might hold titles or have inherited them, and leaving
> out fantasists & frauds?
>
I think (without looking it up) the Houston baronetcy is one, although
the heir may be known. I think a Scottish baronet, Patrick Houston of
that Ilk, went to Georgia in the 18th century. Falconer of Halkerton
may be the only truly longstanding dormant Scottish title. Once in
Illinois I saw an obscure grave of a German immigrant, [something]
Herzog von [something], but who knows who he was.
The Falconer of Halkerton descent is complicated. Basically the sons
of the brother of the 6th Lord who went to Jamaica need to be proven
extinct---an impossible task.
As for Gilbert, he had two sons, Abraham and John. Abraham's male
line died out with the death of Jeffrey Magruder Falconar (1881-1947),
of New York, NY; John's senior line goes through a pioneer settler of
Fort Smith, Ark., and his "Okie" descendants, most with Choctaw (and
Colonial Jewish) blood.
Paul GIfford
Paul Gifford
>
> The evidence you have quoted seems good that Margaret Stewart, Lady
> Gordon, had a daughter, Margaret, by Alexander Stewart. However, you
> haven't quoted the specific contemporary documents that identify which
> Alexander Stewart was involved here. Can you address that issue?
> Please quote the actual documents.
William Drummond, later 1st Viscount Strathallan, _The Genealogy of
the Most Noble and Ancient House of Drummond...1681_ (Glasgow, 1889),
p. 169ff., cites an obligation, dated 1525, where John, Duke of
Albany, with David, Lord Drummond's tutor Sir Robert Barton, promises
to restore David to all the lands forfeited by John, 1st Lord
Drummond, with some reservations, on the condition that when David
"came to maturitie of yeares, marrie Lady Margaret Stuart, the
daughter of Alexander Duke of Albany, begotten with the Lady Gordon,
after she was first a widdow." On p. 171 he cites a charter from the
King, to David, Lord Drummond, of confirmation of his estate, where it
was observed that he had fulfilled his promises and that it was "Lady
Margaret Stuart, sister to King James the Fifth, and widdow of hte
Lord Gordon, who, by a second marriage to Alexander Duke of Albany,
was mother to David Lord Drummond's lady."
The problem is that none of the catalog records of the Drummond Papers
in the National Archives of Scotland catalog are detailed enough to
describe these. The 1525 writ could be, for example,
Reference GD160/4/4
Title Precept of James V for infefting David Lord Drummond in the
lordship of Drummond.
Dates 22/9/1525
Maybe I should spring for it and see if I can get a photocopy or scan
or photo. I suppose it might actually say Alexander Stuart, "fil.
ducis Albaniae," since his half-brother John was the duke. It
wouldn't make any sense to call Alexander the Duke of Albany.
As to the other issues you raised, I admit I was writing off the top
of my head, looking up references when I could. I've seen Janet for
the wife of Chisholm, but, as you noticed, Jean (or Joanna) is the
usual form.
Paul GIfford