Notes |
- HISTORY OF THE FAMILY:
The Great Historic Families of Scotland
The Grahams
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The monkish writers allege that the Grahams can trace their descentfrom a fabulous personage called Grame, who is said to have commandedthe army of Fergus II. in 404, to have been governor of the kingdom inthe monarchy of Eugene, and in 420 to have made a breach in the wallerected by the Emperor Severus between the Firth of Forth and theClyde, and which was supposed to have derived from the Scottishwarrior the name of Gr?me?s Dyke. The ?gallant Grahams,? as they aretermed in Scottish ballad and song, do not require the aid of fable toincrease their fame, for few of our great old houses have such anillustrious history.
Like most of the ancient Scottish families, the Grahams are ofAnglo-Norman origin, and they settled in Scotland during the twelfthcentury. The first of the race whose name occurs in the records ofScotland was a Sir William de Gn?me, who received from David I. thelands of Abercorn and Dalkeith, which descended to Peter, the elder ofhis two sons. Peter?s grandson, Henry, by his marriage to the heiressof the family of Avenel, acquired their extensive estates in Eskdale.He was one of the magnates Scotia who, in the Parliament of 5thFebruary, 1283-4, bound themselves by their oaths and seals toacknowledge as their sovereign the Princess Margaret of Norway, thegrand-daughter of Alexander III., in the event of that monarch?s deathwithout male issue. His son, Sir Nicholas, was one of the nominees ofRobert Bruce when, in 1292, he became a competitor for the crown. Hisgrandson, Sir John de Graham of Dalkeith, who died without issue, wasthe last of the original stock of the family. His estates were dividedbetween his two sisters: the elder, who married William More,inherited the lands of Abercorn; the younger became the wife ofWilliam Douglas of Lugton, ancestor of the Earls of Morton, andconveyed to him Dalkeith, and the estates of the Avenels in Eskdale.
The male line of the family was carried on by John, the younger son ofSir William de Graham. Among the muniments in the possession of theDuke of Montrose there is a charter by William the Lion, probably ofthe date of 1175, granting to David de Graham, second son of John, thelands of Kynnabre, Charlton, and Barrow-field, in the county ofForfar, and of the fishing of the Water of Northesk.
A few years later the same monarch bestowed upon Radulph of Graham thelands of Cousland, Pentland, and Gogger, in Midlothian. Alexander II.in 1227 confirmed a grant made by Patrick, Earl of Dunbar, to David deGraham (who must have been the son of the first mentioned David), ofthe whole waste lands of Dundaff and Strathcarron, which was theKing?s forest, in exchange for the lands of Gretquerquer, in Galloway.
Other extensive grants of estates were made from time to time to theGrahams by Alexander III., and by several great nobles their feudalsuperiors. The most noteworthy of these gifts was a grant by RobertBruce, in 1325, of the lands of Old Munros, in the shire of Forfar, toDavid Graham, elder, and an exchange with that monarch, in 1326 or1327, of the lands of Old Montrose for the lands of Cardross, in thecounty of Dumbarton, where the restorer of Scottish independence spentthe last years of his life. [Report by William Fraser: Second Reportof Commission on Historical MSS. pp. 166-7.]
The second Sir David de Graham, who held the office of sheriff of thecounty of Berwick, was one of the national, or Comyn, party during theminority of Alexander II., and resolutely opposed the intrigues of theEnglish faction. He obtained from Malise, the powerful Earl ofStrathern, the lands of Kincardine, in Perthshire, where the chiefresidence of the family was henceforth fixed. His second son, thepatriotic Sir John de Graham of Dundaff, may be regarded as the firsteminent member of the family. He is still fondly remembered as thebosom friend of the illustrious Scottish patriot Wallace. He waskilled at the battle of Falkirk, July 22, 1298, fighting gallantlyagainst the English invaders under Edward I., and was buried in thechurchyard of that town. His tombstone, which has been thrice renewed,bears in the centre his coat-of-arms; at the upper part, round anarchitectural device, is the motto, ?Vivit post funere virtus,? and atthe lower part the following inscription:-
?Mente manuque potens, et ValI? fidus Achates;
Conditus hic Gramus, bello interfectus ab Anglis.
22nd July, 1298.
HER LYS
Sir John the Gr?me, baith wight and wise,
Ane of the chiefs reskewit Scotland thrise;
Ane better knight not to the world was lent,
Nor was gude Gr?me, of truth and hardiment.?
Dundaff Castle, now in ruins, stands on high ground a few miles fromthe battlefield, and commands four passes leading down in as manydirections to the low country. It belongs to the Duke of Montrose, thechief of the Grahams, in whose possession there is an antique sword, ashort, broad weapon, on which the following lines are inscribed:-
?Sir John ye Gr?me verry wicht and wyse,
Ane o? ye chiefes relievet Scotland thryse,
Fought with ys sword, and ner thout schame
Commandit nane to beir it bot his name.?
Sir Patrick and Sir David, the elder and the younger brothers of thiscelebrated patriot, embraced the cause of Baliol in the contest forthe crown, and swore fidelity to Edward I. in 1292. It is probable,however, that this act of homage was rendered under compulsion, andwas disavowed on the first opportunity, for in 1296 Sir David and hisnephew were taken prisoners by the English monarch. They were releasedin the following year, on condition of serving under the Englishbanner in the French wars. Sir Patrick fell at the mismanaged anddisastrous battle of Dunbar, in 1296. Hemingford, the Englishchronicler, says he was ?a stout knight, wisest among the wise incouncil, and among the noblest the most noble.?
From this time downwards the Grahams have taken a prominent part inpublic, and especially in warlike, affairs. The son of Sir David, whobore his name, which seems to have been a favourite one among theearly Grahams, was a zealous adherent of Robert Bruce, and defendedthe independence of his native country so stoutly, that he wasexcepted from the pacification which King Edward made with the Scotsin 1303-4. Along with two of his kinsmen, he signed the famous letterto the Pope vindicating in noble terms the independence of Scotland.He died in 1327. It was he who exchanged with King Robert Bruce theestate of Cardross for Old Montrose. His son, also named Sir David,was taken prisoner with his sovereign, David II., at the battle ofDurham. Sir David?s son, Sir Patrick of Graham, was the ancestor bothof the Montrose and Menteith Grahams. His son and successor, by hisfirst wife, Sir William, carried on the main line of the family. Hiseldest son, Patrick, by his second wife, Egidia, niece of Robert II.,married? probably about the year 1406?Eufemea Stewart, CountessPalatine of Strathern, and either through courtesy of his wife, or bycreation, became Earl Palatine of Strathern. (See EARLS OF MENTEITH.)
The elder son of Sir William Graham by his first wife predeceased him,leaving two sons. By his second wife, the Princess Mary Stewart,daughter of Robert II., Sir William had five sons, from the eldest ofwhom descended the Grahams of Fintry, of Claverhouse, and of Duntrune,and the third was the ancestor of the gallant Sir Thomas Graham, LordLynedoch. Patrick Graham, Sir William?s second son, by the PrincessMary, was consecrated Bishop of Brechin in 1463, and was translated toSt. Andrews in 1466. He was a learned and virtuous prelate, worthy tosucceed the illustrious Bishop Kennedy, his near relative?a modelbishop. Anxious to vindicate the independence of the Scottish Church,over which the Archbishop of York claimed jurisdiction, he visitedRome, and procured from the Pope a bull erecting his see into anarchbishopric, and appointing him metropolitan, papal nuncio, andlegate a lalere, in Scotland for three years. On his return home theArchbishop was assailed with vindictive malignity by hisecclesiastical rivals. The inferior clergy rejoiced in hisadvancement; but the dignitaries of the Church, through envy and dreadof the reforms which he was prepared to inaugurate, became hisinveterate enemies. By bribing the King, James III., they succeeded inobtaining the degradation and imprisonment of the unfortunate prelate,on the plea that he had infringed the royal prerogative by applying tothe papal court without the King?s license. It is alleged, in a reportrecently found in the Roman archives, that Graham had proclaimedhimself divinely appointed to reform ecclesiastical abuses, and hadrevoked indulgences granted at Rome, appointed legates, and hadcommitted other similar illegal acts. There is reason to believe thatthe persecution which the Archbishop underwent had affected his mind.Schevez, an able, but unprincipled and profligate ecclesiastic, whosucceeded Graham in the primacy, and was the leader of the hostileparty, had him declared insane, and procured the custody of hisperson. He was confined first in Inchcolm, and afterwards in thecastle of Loch Leven, where he died in 1478.
Sir William Graham was succeeded by his grandson, PATRICK GRAHAM ofKincardine, who was made a peer of Parliament in 1451, under the titleof LORD GRAHAM. His grandson, WILLIAM, third Lord Graham, was createdEARL OF MONTROSE by James IV., 3rd March, 1504-5. His title, however,was not taken from the town of Montrose, but from his hereditaryestate of ?Auld Montrose,? which was then erected into a free baronyand earldom. He fell at the battle of Flodden, 9th September, 1513,where he and the Earl of Crawford commanded one of the divisions ofthe Scottish vanguard. One of the younger sons of the Earl by histhird wife was the ancestor of the Gr?mes of Inchbrakie.
WILLIAM, second Earl of Montrose, held several offices of trust inconnection with the person of the young king, James V., and hisdaughter, Queen Mary. JOHN, third Earl, was one of the most powerfulnoblemen in Scotland in his own day, and was deeply involved in theplots and intrigues of the early part of the reign of James VI. Heassisted the profligate Earl of Arran in bringing the Regent Morton tothe block, which led to a feud between him and the Douglases. He twiceheld the office of High Treasurer of Scotland, and was appointed LordChancellor in 1599. After the accession of James to the throne ofEngland, the Earl was nominated Lord High Commissioner to theParliament which met at Edinburgh, 10th April, 1604. On resigning theoffice of Chancellor, a patent was granted to him by the King, inDecember of that year, appointing him Viceroy of Scotland for life,with a pension of ?2,000 Scots. He presided at the meeting of theEstates at Perth, 9th July, 1606, which passed the ecclesiasticalenactments termed the Five Articles of Perth, so obnoxious to thePresbyterian party. At his death in 1608, the King thought fit toorder that the Earl, in consequence of his high position, should beburied with peculiar pomp and splendour, and promised to give fortythousand merks to cover the expense. But the promises of James inregard to pecuniary matters were not often performed. The money wasnever paid, and the costly funereal ceremonial imposed a heavy burdenon the Earl?s son.
JOHN GRAHAM, fourth Earl of Montrose, showed, by an incident mentionedin Birrel?s Diary, that in his youth the hot blood of the Grahams ranin his veins, though in his mature years he was quiet, peaceful, andprudent in his conduct. ?1595, the 19th January, the young Earle ofMontroes [at this time he was only Lord Graham] fought ane combatewith Sir James Sandilands at the Salt Trone of Edinburgh, thinking tohave revengit the slauchter of his cousine, Mr. Johne Graham.? ThisEarl lived the retired life of a country gentleman, and seems to havebeen very domestic in all his habits. It appears from the familyaccounts that he amused himself with archery and golfing, and indulgeda good deal in the use of tobacco. He was appointed President of theCouncil in July, 1626, and died 14th November of the same year, in theprime of life. But his burial was not ?accompleissit? until the 3rd ofJanuary, ?and the haill friends remainet in Kincardin thereafter,sateling his Lordship?s affairs, till Soinday, the 7th of January.? Anaccount-book which has been preserved shows the enormous expense thatwas incurred in ?accompleissing? the burial, and in entertaining foreight weeks the array of kinsmen who had congregated in the familymansion to do honour to the obsequies of the deceased nobleman. Theyfeasted upon ?Venison, Beif, Muttoune, Lamb, Veill, Geis, Caponis,?and other poultry; and of game and wildfowl ?Capercailzies, BlackCokis, and Ethe henis, Termaganis, Muir foulls, Wodcoks, Peitrecks[partridges], Plewvers, and Birsall foulls,? in great abundance. Ofliquors there were consumed one puncheon of ?claret wyn? and onepuncheon of ?quhyt wyn,? besides nine gallons of ?Ester aill.? Thisprotracted hospitality and costly mode of performing funerals mayaccount for the sumptuary laws frequently enacted by the ScottishEstates, for the purpose of limiting the ruinous expenses incurred onsuch occasions. No less than three years? rental of the estate of thedeceased has sometimes been spent in ?accompleissing? his burial.
The glory of the house of Graham is JAMES, the fifth EARL and firstMARQUIS OF MONTROSE. His mother was Lady Margaret Ruthven, eldestdaughter of William, first Earl of Gowrie. The Ruthvens were noted fortheir fondness for magical pursuits, and the mother of the greatmarquis seems to have partaken of the family superstition. Scot ofScotstarvit asserts that she ?consulted with witches at his birth.?She predeceased the Earl, leaving an only son and five daughters. Herhusband bears affectionate testimony to her worth and beauty, and saysof her she was ?a woman religious, chaste, and beautifull, and mychiefe joy in this world.?
The young Earl was only fourteen years of age at the time of hisfather?s death, in 1626. Two years previously he had been placed undera private tutor in Glasgow, obviously with the view of preparing himto enter a university; and in January, 1627, he was enrolled as analumnus in the University of St. Andrews. The accounts of his tutorshow that, during the residence of the youthful nobleman at thatcelebrated seat of learning, his recreations were riding, hunting,hawking, archery, and golf. He showed a fondness also for poetry andchess, and for heroic and romantic histories. The frequent entries inhis accounts of donations to the poor?to a ?rymer,? a dumb woman, adwarf, ?poor Irishe women,??show that his purse was always open to theneedy. He was no less liberal to minstrels, morrice-dancers, jugglers,town officers and drummers, and to the servants?coachmen, footmen, andnurses?in the country houses which he visited. He seems, even at thisearly period, to have attracted public attention and expectations, forin a poem by William Lithgow, entitled ?Scotland?s Welcome to herNative Son, and Soveraigne Lord, King Charles,? the Genius ofScotland, addressing the King, thus refers to the youthful head of theGrahams:-
?As for that hopefull youth, the young Lord Grahame,
James Earl of Montrose, whose warlyke name
Sprung from redoubted worth, made manhood try
Their matchless deeds in unmatched chivalry?
I do bequeath him to thy gracious love,
Whose noble stocke did ever faithful prove
To their old aged auncestors; and my Bounds
Were often freed from thraldome by their wounds;
Leaving their roote, the stamp of fidele truth,
To be inherent in this noble youth:
Whose Hearts, whose Hands, whose Swords, whose Deeds, whose Fame
Made Mars, for valour, canonize THE GRAHAME.? etc...
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Excerpt from the book of: Clans and Families of Ireland and Scotland
An Ethnography of the Gael A.D. 500 - 1750
? C. Thomas Cairney, Ph.D,
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Copyright ? 1989 C. Thomas Cairney
The Norman Families
The Normans came to Ireland mostly from the Welsh Borders, in the wakeof the Anglo-Norman invasion of 1169. They came to Scotland asguest-settlers and allies to the Kings of Scots (who prized them fortheir chivalry and for their military and administrative skills)beginning with the reign of David I in the first half of the twelfthcentury (see Chapter IV). They included families of
Norman, Flemish, Welsh and Breton descent, the military aristocracy ofEngland at the time. When these invaders met the disarrayed charge ofthe native Gaelic warriors on the open plains of Ireland, they usuallyswept the Irish from the field with their awesome three-prongedattack: First the deadly flight of arrows from the distant andinvulnerable Welsh crossbowmen, then the organized charge of that "newanimal," the charger-mounted armored knights with their long swords,and finally the follow-through onslaught by unrelenting lines ofdisciplined Flemish infantry. Combine these demonstrations of bold,courageous and creative military innovation with the savvy, pragmaticyet treacherous political machinations of the Normans and their RoyalEnglish masters and you have the result: Within 80 years nearlythree-quarters of Ireland was under Norman control.
In 1445 Sir Patrick Graham "of that Ilk" was made Lord Graham (lordswere just beginning to be distinguished from lairds, or landholders,in the new peerage that was developing), and the third Lord Graham wasmade Earl of Montrose by James IV in 1504. James, the fifth Earl ofMontrose, was one of the greatest military commanders in Europeanhistory. Another famous Oraham royalist appeared in the nextgeneration. This was John Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee (acadet of the House of Montrose) known to history as Bonnie Dundee (oras "Bloody Claver?s" by the Covenanters he campaigned against).
In the early fifteenth century the then Graham chief?s half-brotherPatrick Graham married Robert II?s granddaughter, who was the heiressof the new Stewart Earldom of Strathearn, and their son, MaliseGraham, was thus heir of Strathearn. Patrick Graham was killed by theDrummonds in 1413, leaving the infant Malise in the guardianship ofPatrick?s younger brother Sir Robert Graham of Kinpoint. In 1427 JamesI seized the rich Earldom of Strathearn, giving Malise instead thealmost empty title of Earl of Mentieth, and packing him off to Englandas a hostage-prisoner for almost 26 years. Sir Robert Graham, theboy?s uncle and guardian protested in vain, and finally raided theKing at Perth and killed the King himself, for which act he was latertortured to death. This line continued, however, and in 1631 the thenEarl of Mentieth renewed his claim on Strathearn, but was in 1633forced to accept the Earldom of Airth instead. The MacGilvernocks(Mac Giolla Mhearnaigh?"Son of the servant of St. Ernan"), a sept ofthe Graham?s Highland Border regions, Anglicized their name asGraham."
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