 Abt 1514 -
-
| Name |
Agnes Abernethy |
| Born |
Abt 1514 |
Scotland  |
| Gender |
Female |
| Person ID |
I103 |
King of Scots |
| Last Modified |
12 Aug 2014 |
| Father |
Alexander Abernethy (4th Lord Saltoun), b. Abt 1485, East Lothian, Scotland , d. Jun 1527, Aberdeenshire, Scotland (Age ~ 42 years) |
| Mother |
Unknown Stewart, b. Abt 1482, Aberdeenshire, Scotland , d. Abt 1530, Aberdeenshire, Scotland (Age ~ 48 years) |
| Family ID |
F41 |
Group Sheet |
-
-
| Notes |
- ABERNETHY, LORD SALTOUN
{Sir James Balfour Paul, The Scots peerage : founded on Wood's edition of Sir Robert Douglas's peerage of Scotland..., vol VII pp 396-416}
The origin of the family of Abernethy is obscure. Lord Saltoun gives it as his opinion that in the twelfth century its representatives occupied the position of lay abbots of the Culdee monastery of Abernethy,in Strathearn, and that it may therefore be concluded that they were not among the Saxon or Norman immigrants who, at various periods, entered Scotland from the south, but were descended from some ancient Pictish or Scottish source, or from some adventurous Scandinavian settler from the north. The first of the family, however, found in historical record is
HUGH, who lived during the reigns of Alexander I., David I., and perhaps Malcolm the Maiden. He appears to have died about the middle of the twelfth century. He had a son,
ORM DE ABERNETHY. He is styled son of Hugh, and probably succeeded his father its Lay Abbot of the monastery. He must have been born during the first half of the twelfth century, for he occurs as witness to a charter by Ernaldus or Arnold, Bishop of St. Andrews, who held the see between November 1160 and September 1162. He also witnessed a charter of William the Lion. He exchanged the lands of Balbirnie with Duncan, Earl of Fife, for the lands of Glendukie and Balmeadow in Fife, a transaction confirmed by King William the Lion between 1165 and 1171. Between 1166 and 1171 King William also bestowed on Orm, son of Hugh, the lands of Invaryhten (Inverarity), reserving to the King the service due for these lands, likewise commanding that any natives and fugitives pertaining to them, be not unjustly detained [by other owners]. He is the first of the family who is found bearing the territorial appellation 'de Abernethy,' as it was to him that King William, by a charter dated between 1172 and 1178, granted the abbacy of Abernethy, with all pertinents and rights as they stood the year and day when King David the King's grandfather was living and dead, except the £10 lands which the King gave to Henry Revel with the daughter of said Orm; to be held to him and his heirs free of all services and customs except common aid, common hosting, and common carriage, with soc, sac, tol and theme, and infangthef; paying yearly £20 of silver, £10 at the feast of St. John the Baptist, and £10 at the feast of St. Bride. He was to have neither pit nor gallows but at two places, Abernethy and Inerarichtin (Inverarity), and the King willed that Orm's men of Fife and Gowry should come to the 'mote' or 'pit' (fossa) of Abernethy, and those of his other lands to the 'mote' or 'pit' (fossa) of Inverarity. It is conjectured that he may have given the name to the lands of Ormiston, an estate contiguous to that of Salton, in the county of Haddington, though Orm was not an uncommon name in early days. He died probably between 1180 and 1190, leaving issue:
1. LAURENCE, who succeeded.
2. Michael, described as son of Orm in a charter by Reginald de Waren, cited below, dated between 1204 and 1228. He had a son Orm, upon whom his uncle Laurence bestowed the lands of Pitgrunzie and Aberargie, co. Perth. Orm had a son Hugh, whose daughter Margaret married John of Lundors, who, with her, had two charters from Alexander de Abernethy, son of Sir Hugh, of the lands of Pitgrunzie. There is ground for believing that their heirs assumed the name of Pitgrunzie, and later, from 1539, took the name of Orme, and about 1550 the then owner, George Orme, sold the estate.
3. Margaret, married to Henry Revel.
LAURENCE DE ABERNETHY, styled 'filius Orm de Abernethy,' was the last to hold the office of Lay Abbot. Towards the end of the twelfth century the King denuded him of all his revenues as Abbot, and handed them over to the monks of the recently founded Abbey of Arbroath. He does not seem to have been deprived of the 'dominium' or lordship which he held as Abbot, and retained his position as 'dominus' or Lord of Abernethy. His name and that of his wife Devorguile are recorded as visitors to the shrine of St. Cuthbert at Durham early in the thirteenth century, but it is not known who she was. He granted, with consent of his son and heir Patrick, an annual payment of ten shillings out of his lands of Balnebreich to the Canons regular of St. Andrews. He had a charter between 1204 and 1228 from Reginald de Waren of the lands of Coventre in exchange for those of Wester Dron, and another from Gregory, Bishop of Brechin, of the land formerly disputed between Dunlappie and Stracathro. On 5 April 1223, King Alexander II. confirmed to him the lands of Glendukie and Balmeadow, which his father had. He appears in charters frequently as a witness. On 24 June 1233 King Alexander II. confirmed to him that land in the royal castle of Roxburgh quitclaimed by the King's nephew William, son of the Earl [of Dunbar]. Some time after 1233 he sold the lands of Cultran, Balmerino, and others to the monastery of Balmerino for 200 merks paid him by the executors of William the Lion's widow, Queen Ermengarde, who had founded it. So late as 1244 he accompanied King Alexander II. to the meeting with Henry III. of England, and was one of the Barons who swore to the ratification of the treaty of Newcastle. Laurence lived as a secular Baron at Kerpal (Carpow), the old mansion of the lords of Abernethy. He must have been an old man at the time of his death, which occurred shortly after the last-mentioned date. He left issue:
1. Patrick, styled 'son and heir' in the charter to the Canons of St. Andrews above mentioned. Very little is known about him, and he perhaps died vitâ patris; at all events he was dead before 1254.
2. HUGH, of whom presently.
3. WILLIAM, who acquired the lands of Saltoun in East Lothian.
4. Perhaps Henry, who witnessed a charter in 1260.
5. Marjory, married to Hugh, eldest son of Sir William of Douglas, 'Longleg.' The marriage-contract, dated Palm Sunday 1259, is still in existence in the form of an indenture between Sir Hugh de Abernethy, the brother of the bride, and Sir William de Douglas. Sir William Fraser, who gives a facsimile of the deed, says it is the oldest marriage-contract which has appeared in the history of any Scottish family. Marjory Abernethy is believed to have been buried in St. Bride's Church, Douglas, where a sculptured effigy in the extreme south-west angle of the church is still pointed out as hers.
HUGH DE ABERNETHY is first named on record on 18 March 1232-33, when King Alexander II. confirmed to him a grant by Alan, son of Roland, Constable of Scotland, his 'cousin,' of the lands of Oxton and Lyleston, Lauderdale. He occupies a distinct place in Scottish history and was one of the party composed of the Earls of Menteith, Buchan, and Mar, together with others, who surprised the young King Alexander III. at Kinross during the night of 29 October 1257, and carried him off to Stirling. He was one of the 'magnates Scotim' appointed in 1260, who in the event of the absence or death of Alexander III. were to receive the child of his Queen, Margaret, whose accouchement, when it should occur, was arranged to take place at her father's court. On 31 March 1265 he had from Alexander III. a grant of £50 sterling from the rents of Tannadice. On the death of Alexander in 1285 six guardians were appointed to carry on the affairs of the Kingdom. Three years later one of these guardians, Duncan, Earl of Fife, was waylaid and murdered by Sir Patrick de Abernethy (probably the eldest son of Sir Hugh) and Sir Walter de Percy, instigated, as Fordun and Wyntoun both state, by Sir William de Abernethy, who guarded another route by which the Earl might have travelled. The consequences to the perpetrators of this outrage were serious. Sir Patrick fled to France and died in exile; Percy was captured and summarily executed, and Sir William is stated by the historians above mentioned to have been imprisoned in Douglas Castle for life. This, however, is a mistake: it was more probably Sir Hugh, as head of the family and chief instigator in the whole affair, who was imprisoned, as is shown by two documents; first, a letter from him to the King of England in 1288, requesting his intercession with the Pope respecting certain affairs to be laid before him by the bearer of the letter, the Bishop of Brechin; and, second, an order from Edward I., dated 28 June 1291, for the transference of Hugh de Abernethy to the King's prison from that of William de Douglas, where he was confined for the murder of the Earl of Fife. Sir Hugh would appear to have died in prison, as nothing more is recorded of him.
Sir Hugh's wife has now been identified as having been Mary of Argyll, Queen of Man, widow of Magnus, King of Man, and of Malise, Earl of Strathearn, who died in 1271. Sir Hugh got a dispensation for his marriage with her in April 1281. The date at which he actually married her cannot have been later than 1275, as it is stated in the dispensation that he had 'several' sons by her. Mary of Argyll (de Ergadia), Countess of Strathearn, was the wife, in 1299, of William Fitzwaren, and she died in 1304. (See title Strathearn.)
By his wife Sir Hugh had a son,
ALEXANDER de Abernethy. In 1292 his mother, Mary, was summoned to declare whether she knew anything to prevent Alexander, son of Hugh de Abernethy from obtaining possession of the lands of Ballintray and others. In the same Parliament his lands were given in ward to Alexander de Menteith, so that as he was not of age in 1292 he must have been born subsequently to 1272. At the same time he was not a mere child, as he swore fealty to Edward I., 19 July 1291, at St. Andrews. He opposed Bruce in the War of Independence, deserting the national party, perhaps, as Lord Saltoun suggests on account of the enmity of many of the Scottish nobles which his father's crime had provoked. He became liegeman to Edward I., by whom he was favoured and trusted, and to whose interests, and those of his son, Edward II., he steadfastly adhered during his life. When Robert the Bruce succeeded in establishing his authority as Scottish King, the possessions of Sir Alexander Abernethy were declared to be forfeited, and he became to all intents an Englishman. He was afterwards largely employed by the English King in his diplomatic service; he was on several occasions sent as ambassador to France, and in 1313 visited the Papal Court in the same capacity. His death probably took place shortly after 1315, in which year he witnessed a charter granted by the Countess of Atholl, and before 1317.
His wife's name is unknown, but he had two daughters, both of whom married, and were the means of bringing into many Scottish families the quartering so frequently met with, and so distinctive of Abernethy descent-or, a lion rampant gules, debruised by a ribbon sable.
1. Margaret. On 11 July 1311 King Edward requested the Pope to grant a dispensation for her marriage with Roger de Moubray, they being within the for bidden degrees of consanguinity. It is not certain that this marriage ever took place. On 30 January 1324-25 she had leave to visit Scotland to treat with her friends there as to the recovery of her hereditary lands; and on 24 October 1328 a papal dispensation was granted for her marriage to John Stewart, Earl of Angus. This marriage took place, and the Countess lived till about 1370, surviving both her husband and her son. (See title Angus.)
2. Mary, married, first, before 1317, Sir Andrew de Leslie, son of Sir Norman de Leslie; secondly, in 1324, Sir David de Lindsay, Lord of Crawford; on 28 November of that year a dispensation for the marriage was issued, the parties being related in the fourth degree. Lord Saltoun thinks that these ladies were different persons, but though the recurrence of the same Christian name amongst brothers and sisters is by no means uncommon, it is unlikely that two out of three daughters should have had the same name.
The eldest male line of the Lords of Abernethy having thus become extinct, the succession opened to the descendants of the third son of Sir Laurence Abernethy,
WILLIAM de Abernethy of Saltoun. He granted two merks out of the profits of his mill at Ulkestone (Oxton), in Lauderdale, to the Abbey of Dryburgh in 1273. He was, as stated, involved in the murder of the Earl of Fife, and may have been imprisoned in Douglas Castle, but if this was the case, was probably dead before 1291, otherwise he would in all likelihood have been included in the order previoysly referred to transferring Sir Hugh to the royal prison. He was certainly dead in 1296, as his widow Margaret, whose surname is unknown, then received a pension from the family estates by order of Edward I. He had a son,
WILLIAM de Abernethy, who swore fealty to Edward in 1296, and served on an inquest at Berwick in the same year. He joined the standard of Robert the Bruce, and was one of the Scottish barons who signed the celebrated letter to Pope John XXII., asserting the independence of Scotland. It may be inferred that he exchanged the donation of two merks from the mill of Ulkestone, made by his father to Dryburgh Abbey, into a grant of the whole mill, for though the charter is not extant it was confirmed by his son and successor. His wife's name is not known, but he left two sons:
1. WILLIAM.
2. Laurence. He witnessed various charters, along with his brother, to the Abbey of Newbotle. He had a grant from King Robert Bruce of the lands of Lamberton; and he is probably the Sir Laurence de Abernethy who is mentioned in an order to the Sheriff of Northumberland, of date 14 November 1338, to send certain stores which belonged to him to victual the castle of Hawthornden. He was forfelted for his attachment to the English interest, but King David II., about 1358, restored his lands to his son Hugh, except Lamberton. His lands were Hawthornden, Halmyre, Dunsyre, Borthwickshiels, and Lamberton.
SIR WILLIAM de Abernethy, third of Saltoun, was at the battle of Halidon Hill in 1333, from which he succeeded in escaping. Owing to his adherence to the Scottish party his lands were forfeited, and reference is made to exactions by the Sheriff of Roxburgh in 1335 from certain buildings in Swyneshede, which he held in virtue of his wife's dowry. He got a grant of the manor of Rothiemay from David II. in 1345. His confirmation of his father's grant to the Abbey of Dryburgh, above-mentioned, must have been made not later than 1346, and his death probably took place not long after.He left two sons :
1. William, mentioned as his nephew by Sir Laurence in a charter by him of the lands of Mackyspoflie granted to the Abbey of Melrose in about 1320. It has been thought that this points to Sir Laurence having been a son of the first Sir William of Saltoun, but a comparison of dates makes it more likely that he was a son of the second Sir William, in which position he is placed by Douglas. William, the son of Sir William, appears to have died vitâ patris.
2. GEORGE, who succeeded.
SIR GEORGE de Abernethy, fourth of Saltoun, is said by Douglas to be mentioned in a charter to the monastery of Dryburgh granted by Walter the Steward in 1326, but no such deed occurs in the chartulary of that house. He accompanied King David in his invasion of England in 1346, and was taken prisoner at the battle of Neville's Cross. He was committed to the Tower of London. How long his imprisonment lasted is not known, but he must have been released previous to 1368, about which time he granted a charter to John de Kench; the charter is not dated, but it, can be proved by internal evidence to have been executed before January 1367-68. At his capture his lands, such at least as were accessible, were forfeited, and in 1357 it is stated that 'the barony of Prendrelath (Plenderleith) fell into the king's hands by forfeiture of George de Abernethy and his wife Alice, late the King's enemies, and has been for eloven years, and still is. . . . The barony is so utterly destroyed by the Scots that no profits can be levied at present for the King. It, is held by the services of a knight's fee.' A memorandum attached states the barony used to be worth £49, 19s. 4d. From this entry about Plenderleith it may be presumed that the surname of George Abernethy's wife Alicia was Wishart, and that she was the heiress of the lands mentioned, probably the dhanghter of that William Wishart who received them from King Robert I.
They are supposed to have had two sons:
1. GEORGE.
2. John, styled in a safe-conduct of 1363 'valettus' to David II. He also appears as Sir John Abernethy of Balgounie, and had grants from the King of the lands of Balgeveny and others in Kinghorn on 15 February and 15 March 1368-69. In 1381 he had a safe-conduct to pass through England on his way to the Holy Land. He may have married the widow of William Barclay of Kerkou, as in 1384 Alexander Barclay his son is styled brother and heir of a John de Abernethy.
GEORGE de Abernethy was probably the person of that name who attended the coronation of Robert II. on 27 March 1371. George de Abernethy, miles, dominus de Sauylton, was a witness to a charter of the lands of Longformacus 22 June 1384, and on 8 November 1391 King Robert II. confirmed to Sir William Stewart of Jedworth certain lands in the territory of Minto, resigned in his favour by Sir George de Abernethy. These dates rather point to his having been a different person from the George Abernethy who married Alicia Wishart, and who must have been born early in the fourteenth century, though the point is not altogether free from doubt. It is not known where he died, but it has been suggested that he may have been the knight mentioned by Froissart under the designation of the Seigneur de Faucon (Sauton) as having been killed at the battle of Otterburn in 1388. He had at least one son.
WILLIAM de Abernethy, sixth of Saltoun, must have succeeded his father about the end of the fourteenth century. He was probably born not later than 1365, if he is the person who witnessed a charter granted by Sir James de Douglas, Lord of Dalkeith, in 1388. He also witnessed, in 1397, a grant by George, Earl of Angus, to James Sandilands of the wardship of his son and heir. He died of 'le Quhew,' probably influenza, in 1420, having married a daughter of Robert, Duke of Albany. If he had only one wife, her name was Maria, as in 1404 he got a charter from King Robert III. to himself as 'dilectus confederatus noster,' and Mary his wife, of certain lands in the barony of Rethy and Kingaltuy on his own resignation. But as the lady is not designed niece of the King, this seems rather to indicate that she was a second wife. They had issue:
1. Sir William, killed at the battle of Harlaw, 24 July 1411. He married Margaret, daughter of Sir William Borthwick, and had issue:
(1) WILLIAM, who succeeded his grandfather.
(2) LAURENCE, who succeeded his brother; and perhaps
(3) Oswald, one of the witnesses to a truce made by the Wardens of the Marches with the English in 1449. In 1446, he had the lands of Teindside and Harwood, co. Roxburgh, which he declared he held from the Baron of Hawick. His son John is a substitute in the undermentioned charters to William, second Lord Saltoun.
2. James. There is a charter, 26 July 1393, by Archibald, Earl of Douglas, to James de Abernethy, of the lands of Theynside and Harwood, in the barony of Hawick, which belonged to Sir William of Abernethy, younger, brother of the said James, and were resigned by him. James appears to have been succeeded in these lands by his nephew Oswald, as above.
3. Patrick, witness to a charter by the Regent Albany on 24 November 1413, in which he is styled 'noster nepos dilectus.'
4. John. There is some ground for believing that the John Abernethy who received from Sir William Abernethy, dominus de Saltoun, a grant of the lands of Kinnaltie, in the barony of Rethie, co. Forfar, was another son.
WILLIAM Abernethy, seventh of Saltoun, succeeded his grandfather in 1420. He was one of the 'magnates Scotim' who went to meet King James I. at Durham in 1423, and in the following year he was one of the hostages for the ransom of the Scottish King, his estates being valued at an annual rental of 500 merks. He died s.p. before 1428.
I. LAURENCE Abernethy, eighth of Saltoun, was probably born about 1400. He was in possession of the lands by 1428, and must have been a man of considerable power and influence, as on 28 June 1445 he was created a Lord of Parliament by the title of LORD SALTOUN OF ABERNETHY. For some reason he does not appear to have used the title at first, as he granted a charter on 13 March 1447-48, under the designation of 'Laurentius Abernethy ex eodem de Rothiemay, miles.' The title itself does not appear in any settled form for two or three generations, the styles of Lord Saltoun, Lord Abernethy, and Lord Abernethy of Rothiemay being used indifferently. He must have died before 13 March 1460-61, when his son obtained sasine of the barony of Saltoun. His wife's Christian name was Margaret, as in 1448 Margaret, Lady Saltoun, obtained a notarial transumpt of a charter granted in 1443 by John de Halyburton de Sawlyne in Fife, to his son and his wife of certain lands there, but to what family she belonged is not known. They had issue :
1. WILLIAM, second Lord Saltoun.
2. JAMES, third Lord Saltoun.
3. George.
4. Archibald, mentioned along with his brother George in an entail by his brother William, second Lord Saltoun.
5. Elizabeth, said to have been married to John Gordon, eldest son of John Gordon of Scardargue.
6. A daughter of Lord Saltoun is said to have been married to Alexander Irvine, younger of Drum, and to have had a son Alexander, served heir to his grandfather 3 November 1457.
II. WILLIAM, second Lord Saltoun, was, during his father's lifetime, in February 1458-59, appointed Sheriff of Banffshire. As son and heir of the late Sir Laurence, Lord Abernethy in Rothemay, he had sasine of the barony of Saltoun 13 March 1460-61, and on 28 January 1463-64 he had a charter of Rothemay in Banffshire, Redy in Forfar, Dalgety in Fife, Glencorse in Midlothian, Saltoun in Haddington, Lillestoun and Ugistoune in Lauderdale, and Prenderleith in Roxburgh, on his own resignation, with remainder to a series of heirs. This charter was superseded by a new one in similar terms, but with the reservation of there to his wife, who is not named. Still another charter in similar terms, in which the lands mentioned were erected into the barony of Abernethy, was granted him 10 January 1482-83. Lord Saltoun died in June 1488, the period at which the eventful battle of Sauchieburn was fought, but whether he met his death on that field is not known. He married twice; his first wife's name is unknown, the second was Isabella Borthwick. Issue two daughters:
1. N.N., married to Walter Ogston of that Ilk.
2. Christian, married in 1468 to Sir John Wemyss of that Ilk.
Dying without male issue, he was succeeded by his brother,
III. JAMES, third Lord Saltoun. He was served heir to his predecessor 10 October 1488. For some years previous to 1498 he was engaged in a lawsuit against the heirs of line, Adam Hepburn of the Craigs and his wife Elizabeth Ogstoun (who was the child of the elder daughter of the second Lord Saltoun), and Sir John Wemyss of Strathardle and his wife Christian, the younger sister of Elizabeth. It was ultimately referred to arbitration, and certain sums were paid to the ladies. Lord Saltoun died in 1504 or 1505. The name of his wife is not known, but they had issue:
1. ALEXANDER, fourth Lord Saltoun.
2. Margaret, married to John Stirling of Craigbernard, Comptroller of the King's Household.
3. Janet, married, as his first wife, to Alexander Ogilvy of Deskfurd.
4. Elizabeth, married to Alexander Hay of Ardendracht.
5. Helen, married to Thomas Urquhart of Fischerie, Sheriff of Cromarty. There were two effigies in the old castle of Cromarty, probably put there by Sir Thomas Urquhart, the translator of Rabelais and the writer of a wonderful genealogy of the family. At all events, on 25 August 1646 he caused an inscription to be carved below the figures stating that they represented Thomas Urquhart, Baron and Hereditary Sheriff of Cromarty, and 'the most faithful Lady Helen Abernethy, Lord Salton's beloved daughter, who, after she had borne to her foresaid most beloved husband thirty-six most comely children, lived with him till twenty-five sons respectively came to man's estate . . . and her eleven daughters were splendidly matched to their principal neighbours and those of best estates.' Nisbet relates how this prosperous life was not unalloyed with sorrow, for no less than seven of the twenty-five sons met their death on the field of Pinkie.
IV. ALEXANDER, fourth Lord Saltoun, was infeft by his father, in 1491, in the baronies of Saltoun and Glencorse and all his other possessions, reserving his own liferent. He was still fiar of the lordship 17 March 1503-4, but had succeeded before 3 May 1505. He was at the battle of Flodden, but succeeded in escaping the fate of most of the Scottish nobility on that fatal day. Between 1514 and 1517 he made large purchases of land in Banffshire. He died in June 1527. The Dowager Lady Saltoun, daughter of James Stewart, Earl of Buchan, uterine brother of King James II., who must have been his widow, is said to have built the house of Park, in Banffshire, in 1530. He left issue:
1. WILLIAM, fifth Lord Saltoun.
2. Laurence, mentioned in the proceedings of a lawsuit between the Laird of Innes and Alexander, sixth Lord Saltoun ; he is called uncle to the sixth Lord, which proves that he must have been a brother of the fifth Lord.
3. John, witness to a charter to his brother William 21 March 1542-43. He married Elizabeth Lyon, daughter of John, Lord Glamis, who had been already thrice married, and died 14 November 1581, leaving a son and a daughter. He is sometimes styled of Balcors, from the lands which formed his wife's dower from her first husband.
4. Thomas. He had a son James, mentioned in his brother John's testament.
5. William, whose two sons are also named in John's testament. He may have been a natural son.
6. Beatrix, married to Alexander Forbes of Pitsligo.
7. Agnes Abernethy, for whose marriage to William Innes of that Ilk a papal dispensation was obtained in 1528, may have been another daughter.
V. WILLIAM, fifth Lord Saltoun. He obtained sasine of the estates in 1528, and attended Parliament the same year. In 1533 and 1538 he had charters from Alexander Innes, younger of that Ilk, of certain lands in Banffshire. On 27 November 1536 he had, along with his wife, a charter of the lands of Park of Corncarny, co. Banff, and on 21 March 1542-43 he had a charter from George Claphane of Carslogy of the lands of Quhelplaw in Lauderdale. He became involved in a quarrel with the Crichtons of Frendraught, and on 15 March 1542-43 was, with forty-five others, called to account for being concerned in the slaughter of George Crichton of Conzie and of James and Robert Crichton 'cum uno magonale lie gwnne.' He died in December 1543. He married, in or before 1512, Elizabeth Hay, daughter of William, fourth Earl of Erroll. On 25 July of that year there is a confirmation of a charter of date two days previous, by 'Alexander, Lord Abernethy,' to his son William and his wife Elizabeth Hay, of the lands of Dalders in Stirlingshire, but it is probable that they were both very young at that time, as their eldest son was not born till 1537. Elizabeth Hay, Lady Saltoun, died in October 1574. They had issue:
1. ALEXANDER, sixth Lord Saltoun.
2. William, ancestor of the now extinct branch of Abernethy of Birnes.
3. Agnes, married to William Crichton of Frendraught, was probably a daughter of William, Lord Saltoun. Crichton was a 'daft and natural idiot,' and it was his curator of whose slaughter Lord Saltoun was accused.
4. Elizabeth, married, first, to William Meldrum of Fyvie; secondly, before 25 July 1562, to John, Lord Glamis. She died before May 1581.
VI. ALEXANDER, sixth Lord Saltoun, came of age in October 1558, took a somewhat more active part in public affairs than many of his redecessors. He frequently attended Parliament, and in 1562 he entertained Queen Mary at his house at Rothiemay when she was on her way to Inverness. In the contests which followed, however, he ranged himself on the side of the Regent. On 2 September 1567 he had a charter from George Barclay of that Ilk of the superiority of the barony of Lessindrum, and on 14 May 1573 another from Patrick Menzies of Ferriehill of the sunny half of Dumblait, co. Aberdeen. In 1581 he sold to Robert Scott, clerk to the Privy Council; the sunny half of Saltoun. He died in the spring of 1587, having married, first, while still a minor, after 28 August 1550, when he granted a charter of lands to her 'in ejus pura virginitate,' Alison Keith, daughter of William, Earl Marisehal. She died in August 1567. He married, secondly, Jean Johnston, daughter of James Johnston, younger of that Ilk, relict of William, Master of Carlyle, who survived him, and married, thirdly, in or before 1589, William Kerr, brother of first Earl of Lothian. Issue:
1. GEORGE, seventh Lord Saltoun.
2. Alexander, second son, styled of Lessindrum, and afterwards of Wester Saltoun. He witnessed a charter of his nephew John, Lord Saltoun, 29 August 1598. He died 10 April 1603, having married (contract 7 November 1589) Elizabeth, second daughter of Sir James Crichton of Frendraught. He had been contracted, while very young, to Christian, daughter of George Barclay of that Ilk, 31 October 1586.
3. John, in his mother's testament called James, said to have received the lands of Barrie, in Strathisla, from his father in 1557. He was the ancestor of the Abernethies of Barrie and Mayen, which became extinct in the male line in 1785.
4. Elizabeth or Elspeth, contracted, when very young, 27 February 1572-73, to Thomas Urquhart, younger of Cromarty. Whether this marriage took place does not appear. She afterwards married John Innes of that Ilk; there is a contract between Lord Saltoun and John Innes for his daughter's liferent.
5. Margaret, married (contract 31 August 1582) to George Meldrum of Drumbreck. The order of the younger daughters is given from their mother's confirmed testament.
6. Jean, married, first, as his second wife (contract 12 August 1579), to Alexander Seton of Meldrum; secondly, again as a second wife, to John, second son of Alexander Urquhart of Cromarty and Beatrix Innes his wife. It is a curious fact that this John married, as his third wife, in 1610, his second wife's first husband's grandchild by a former marriage, viz. Elizabeth Seton, only daughter of Alexander Seton, eldest son of Alexander Seton of Meldrum above mentioned.
7. Isobel, married (contract 10 December 1593) to John Cumming, younger of Earnside.
VII. GEORGE, seventh Lord Saltoun, was served heir to his father 10 May 1587, and died 27 April 1590. He married, before 1578, Margaret Stewart, daughter of John, Earl of Atholl, Chancellor of Scotland. She got a charter of the lands of Kellie in Aberdeenshire, 24 August of that year. She survived him, dying between 20 April and 2 July 1618. They had issue:
1. JOHN, eighth Lord Saltoun.
2. Margaret, married (contract 19 December 1595 and 4 January 1595-96) to Alexander Fraser, younger of Philorth.
3. Jean, married in 1608 to Sir John Lindsay of Finfauns, eldest son of Sir Henry Lindsay of Caraldston. Sir John died vitâ patris, and his widow married, secondly, in or before 1617, George Gordon of Gight
4. Probably another and elder daughter Joneta, married to Patrick Livingston, along with whom she got a charter of the lands of Dolders from John, Lord Saltoun, with consent of his mother, Margaret Stewart, 29 August 1598.
Natural son William, legitimated 7 September 1583.
VIII. JOHN, eighth Lord Saltoun, signed his sister's marriage-contract in 1595, but did not make up his title to the estates till 1601, when he was served heir to his father, and in 1603 and 1606 he was served heir to his grandfather in many of his possessions. On 21 February 1602 he had a charter of novodamus of the barony of Saltoun, and on 26 April 1610 a grant of the lands of Balvenie. It has been suggested that he went with the King to England, and there, like so many other Scottish noblemen, spent more money than he could afford. Whatever may have been the reason, it is certain that he fell into embarrassed circumstances, and in 1612 disposed of a large portion of his estates, which were parted among various creditors. He died between 5 June and 21 September 1612, having married, first, Magdalen, daughter of Henry Urquhart, younger of Cromarty ; she had a charter as his future wife 30 September 1601, and died 4 April 1603; secondly (contract dated 20 April and 5 August 1605), Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of the 'bonny Earl of Moray,' but had no children by her. She died before the end of 1608, and he married, thirdly (contract 30 December 1608), Anne Stewart, elder daughter of Walter, first Lord Blantyre. She survived him many years and subsequently had, by James, Marquess of Hamilton, a natural daughter Margaret, who was married to James Hamilton, first Lord Belhaven.
By his first wife Lord Saltoun had issue:
1. Margaret, mentioned in her mother's testament.
By his third wife he had
2. ALEXANDER, ninth Lord Saltoun.
3. Anne, born 19 November 1609, died in infancy.
4. Margaret, born 2 February 1613, died, unmarried, about 1669.
IX. ALEXANDER, ninth Lord Saltoun, and last of the name of Abernethy who held that title, was born 26 March 1611, and was therefore only an infant when he succeeded his father. He fell on evil days, and not only had to sell a large portion of the estates which remained to him, but became involved in endless litigation. In connection with this an extraordinary fraud was perpetrated by James Abernethy, an Advocate and Clerk of Session, brother of Alexander Abernethy of Auchencloich and Mayen, and son of Thomas Abernethy of Barrie, whose father was third son of the sixth lord Saltoun. HIe went to London, and, gaining access to the Register of the Decreots of the Court of Session (which had, with other Public Records of Scotland, been sent to London by order of Cromwell), abstracted three leaves which contained a judgment of the Court reversing a prohibition against burdening the family estate with debt, under which the eighth Lord Saltoun had placed himself before 1605. The effect of this removal of all authentic record of the decreet of 1605 was to leave the interdict still in force, and to render invalid all the sales and alienations made by John, eighth Lord Saltoun, as being contrary to that prohibition. The actual result, however, was only to increase the amount of litigation already going on. James Abernethy did not destroy the leaves, but evidently intended to use them for blackmailing purposes, though he found this a game too dangerous to himself to pursue. It is impossible to give the details of the story, which are fully narrated by Lord Saltoun in his family history. It is sufficient to say that long after the death of the ninth Lord Saltoun (who was in all probability aware of what had been done) Alexander Abernethy of Auchencloich, before his death in 1683, left the secret of the stolen leaves to his kinsman James Ogilvie, informing him that they were built into the wall of the house of Mayen. Ultimately an action was brought against Alexander Abernethy's son to compel the production of the leaves, and it ended by their being replaced by order of the Court of Session on 22 July 1692.
Alexander, Lord Saltoun, died unmarried, before the end of November, or during the first few days of the next month, in 1668. There is a curious doubt as to where he was buried. In the Register of Burials of the Canongate it is stated that 'Lord Salton was buried in the church of Holyroodhous upon the 17 December 1668 in the buriall place of Sir Lues Bannatyne, Baron of Brochtoun, and heir of the Earl of Roxburgh,' but in the Greyfriars Register there is an entry under 18 December 1668, 'Me Lord Sailtin.'
Lord Saltoun's sister survived him, but never assumed the title. After her decease it was claimed by Alexander Fraser, tenth of Philorth, whose father Alexander, ninth of Philorth, had married Margaret Abernethy, daughter of George, seventh Lord Saltoun. His right to the title was confirmed, not exactly by a new creation, but by a patent ratifying and approving his service as heir of line and his taking upon himself the title and dignity.'
CREATION.-Lord Saltoun of Abernethy, 28 June 1445.
ARMS.-Sir David Lindsay gives these as-Quarterly: 1st and 4th, or, a lion rampant gules, debruised by a ribbon sable, for Abernethy ; 2nd and 3rd, argent, three piles gules, ,for Wishart. These are the arms depicted on the seal of Alexander, fourth Lord Saltoun, ante 1512.
CREST.-Sir Robert Forman (Lyon Office ms.) gives a bird or raven sable, beaked and membered gules. Pont (c. 1630) gives a parrot feeding on a bush with cherries proper.
SUPPORTERS.-Two falcons proper, belted or.
MOTTO.-Salus per Christum. [J. B. P.]
|
|
|
= Link to Google Maps 
: Address
: Location
: City/Town
: County/Shire
: State/Province
: Country
: Not Set