Cavan, Caven, Cavin
A sept of the Douglas family
Listed in the 2009
Clan Douglas Society of North
America (CDSNA) bylaws. Cavan was accepted by CDSNA as a sept in December 1988 based on its being noted as a sept in the 1954
publication Badges of the Scottish Clans. This sept name has a
strong connection with Agnew above.
The research for this
sept name was taken from a single source: Kevans DNA project (hosted
by worldfamilies.net) @
http://www.worldfamilies.net/surnames/kevan/mtdna
) .
The editor of this article did such a wonderful job of documenting
that no effort is given to re-invent his/her wheel. Some of this
will be seen to be a repeat of the text for Agnew.
"The
surname Kevan is native to Galloway and thought to be derived “from
the land of Cavens in the parish of Kirkbean, Kirkcudbrightshire.
(George F. Black, The Surnames of Scotland: their Origin, Meaning &
History, p. 143; John E. Wilson, Gazeteer of Scotland, p. 84] Cavens,
which, lies a few hundred yards south of the village of Kirkbean,
with land running South and Eastward down to the banks of the Nith
estuary, and was once part of the Earldom of Morton, was associated
with the Maxwell family as early as the 15th century. (See the
Maxwell Society website)
JAMES MAXWELL, the third son of John
Maxwell, Master of Maxwell, who was killed at the battle of
Lochmaben, 1484 (see title Nithsdale), is said to have been the
ancestor of the Maxwells of Cavens.1 Who his immediate successors
were has not been ascertained, but the next possessor of the estate
on record is
Herbert Maxwell, of Cavens, who died 24 March
1572-73, leaving two sons:
1. William.
2. John, who, with his
son Joke, is named in Herbert's will as his “oyes”
(James Balfour
Paul, The Scots Peerage, p. 126; P. H. M’Kerlie, History of the
lands & their owners in Galloway p. 162)
Cavens came into
Maxwell possession when John Maxwell, 7th Lord Maxwell and grandson
of the third Earl, briefly claimed the Earldom after the 4th Earl
was executed for involvement in the murder of Lord Darnley, and [b]y
1589, Cavens [wa]s in the hands of Herbert Maxwell of Cavens who was
tried for the murder of Sir Robert Maxwell of Dinwiddie in 1605.
John Maxwell, Bishop of Ross was a scion of Cavens Maxwells as were
the Maxwells of Kirkhouse. The Cavens Maxwells died out in 1640 and
the cadet line of Maxwell of Kirkhouse inherited. James Maxwell,
Earl of Dirleton was the last of that line and the property then
appears to have been inherited by members of the Murrey family,
Earls of Annandale. An eighteenth century house possibly a house
built for William Maxwell of Preston is the main caput, is now the
Cavens Country House Hotel. (from the Maxwell Society)
M.
Kerlie’s History mentions a William Maxwell, son of William Maxwell
of Cavens, parish of Kirkbean, who had retour of the farm of Gate
side on the 15th April 1617 [ p. 18]
The earliest example
found thus far of Cavens used as a surname dates to the late 14th or
early 15th century. Gilbert de Cavens, who died in 1420 and for a
brief time was Bishop Elect of Galloway, held a Bachelors degree in
Canon Law by 1406 and was a long-time servant and cleric for the
Douglas family, acting as “chaplain and familiar” of Margaret
Stewart, Countess of Douglas in 1406 and tutor for her eldest son
Archibald Douglas.
The name Kevans or Kavands is also found
as a place name in Wigtownshire from at least the 15th century:
The first lands obtained in the parish of Sorby by the Agnews of
Lochnaw were the farms which had been given for the support of the
church at Cruggleton, and called the church lands; viz., Baltier,
Cults, and Kevands. The grant was subsequent to the Reformation, and
by charter in January 1581 by King James VI. Kevands is stated to
have been bestowed in 1421 by Archibald, Earl of Douglas, to a John
de Cavens, [PH M'Kerlie, History of the lands & their owners in
Galloway p. 350]
A later addendum by M’Kerlie, however,
argues that Balter, Cults, and Kevands could not have been accepted
by William Douglas of Leswalt as an equivalent for Lochnaw when he
gave up the castle, etc.[because] “they had [already] been
appropriated or set apart for the support of the Church of
Cruggleton.” [Furthermore] search has recently been made in vain for
any charter under the Great Seal in confirmation of such a grant to
William Douglas. There were two charters granted by Margaret,
Countess of Douglas, and confirmed by King James I., but they did
not refer to any portion of the Cruggleton property. [M’Kerlie, p.
338]
Sir Andrew Agnew, however, in The Agnews of Lochnaw: a
history of the hereditary sheriffs of Galloway, p. 242, says that
“the Sheriff simultaneously increased his Galloway estates and
acquired the lands of Cults, including Baltier and Kevands”. The
deed conveying these lands to the Sheriff from his son-in-law, James
Kennedy, was signed at Lochnaw "in presence of Quentin Agnew, lawful
son of the said Sir Andrew Agnew;" and among the charters which then
came into his possession, as evidents, is a curious one by the Earl
of Douglas to John de Cavens, dated 1421 showing the origin of the
word Kevands, which, though much altered by modern orthography, is
always pronounced Cavens.
According to Sir Andrew, the “first
rentalls of the lands of Cruggleton Cavens” brought in “300 marks.”
[Ibid., p. 329]"
Source:
The Kevans of Galloway.
Article on the World Families server @
http://www.worldfamilies.net/surnames/kevan/mtdna
Any contributions to this item will be
gratefully accepted
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