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Mother:
Spouse: Margaret Married 1718
Came over in 1718 from Coleraine, Ireland.
CLAN COLQUHOUN
Pronounced - Kul-Hoon A territorial name taken from an estate near
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Caerlaverock Castle
is a 13th-century triangular moated
castle in the
Caerlaverock National
Nature Reserve area at the Solway
Firth, south of Dumfries
in the south west of Scotland.
In the Middle
Ages it was owned by the Maxwell family. Today, the castle is in the care of
Historic
Scotland and is a popular tourist attraction and wedding venue.
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The history of its builders can
be traced to Undwin and his son Maccus in the eleventh century; Maccus gave his
name to the barony of Maccuswell, or Maxwell. His grandson, John de Maccuswell
(d.1241), was first Lord Maxwell of Caerlaverock. The Baronies of Maxwell and
Caerlaverock then passed down through the male line, sometimes collaterally.
Robert de Maxwell of Maxwell, Caerlaverock and Mearns (d.1409) rebuilt
Caerlaverock castle and was succeeded by Herbert Maxwell of Caerlaverock
(d.1420) who married Katherine Stewart.
Being very close to the border
with England,
it had to be defended several times against English forces. One such occasion
was the Siege of Caerlaverock of 1300
by Edward
I of England who had eighty seven of the most illustrious Barons of England
in his host, including knights of Bretagne
and Lorraine.
In recent years, Historic
Scotland has organised re-enactments
of the Siege.
Interior of
the courtyard
The Maxwells, under their
gallant chief, made a vigorous defence, showering upon their assailants such
heavy missiles that they retired time end again; but in the end the garrison
were compelled to surrender, when it was found that there were only sixty men
all told, and that they had defied the whole English army for a considerable
period.
Possession of the castle was
subsequently restored to Sir Eustace Maxwell, Sir Herbert's son, who at first
embraced the cause of John Baliol, and in 1312 received from Edward I an
allowance of £20 for the more secure keeping of the castle. He afterwards gave
in his adherence to Robert
Bruce, and his castle, in consequence, underwent a second siege by the
English, in which they were unsuccessful.
But fearing that this important
stronghold might ultimately fall into the hands of the enemy, and enable them to
make good their hold on the district, Sir Eustace dismantled the fortress, a
service and sacrifice for which he was liberally rewarded by Robert Bruce.
After a siege in 1640
that pitted the steadfast Catholic Maxwells against angry Protestant factions,
the castle was permanently abandoned. During the battle the south wall and tower
were demolished and remain so to this day.
About 2 miles to the east is the
Wildfowl
and Wetlands Trust Reserve WWT
Caerlaverock.
Both the Castle and the WWT
reserve are within the Caerlaverock
NNR, a National
Nature Reserve in the care of Scottish
Natural Heritage.
Roger Kirkpatrick of
Closeburn, who was known to have been involved in the slaying of John "red
" Comyn, was after this deed known as Mak siccar. He was not alone in the
killing, having a willing accomplice in James Lyndsay of Donrod. The story goes,
when Bruce commited the stabbing in the church he din't quiye kill the Comyn ,
where on both Roger and Lyndsay entered the church and "made sure",
thus the name Mak siccar as motto, and the bloodsoaked dagger as emblem in the
Kirkpatrick family crest. For this murder in gods house ,a mortal sin in the
eyes of the church, Bruce was " ex communicated "which meant the
church in
St. Patrick (c.384)
The
parish of Kilpatrick is said to be the birthplace of St. Patrick, born in the
late 4th century. The old pre-reformation church had a shrine and bell dedicated
to him and were in the parish until 1798, but now both are in
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The
immediate ancestor of the family of Luss was Humphry de Kilpatrick, who in
the reign of Alexander II., not later than 1246, obtained from Malcolm,
Earl of Lennox, a grant of the lands and barony of Colquhoun, in the
parish of Old or West Kilpatrick, pro servitio unius militis, &c., and
in consequence assumed the name of Colquhoun, instead of his own. His
grandson, Ingelram, third Colquhoun, lived in the reign of Alexander III. His
son, Humphry de Colquhoun, is witness in a charter of Malcolm, fifth Earl
of Lennox, in favour of Sir John de Luss, between the years 1292-1333. The
following remarkable reference to the construction of a house ad opus
Culquhanorum, by order of King Robert Bruce, is extracted from the
Compotum Constabularii de Cardross, vol i., in the accounts of the Great
Chamberlains of Scotland, under date July 1329, as quoted by Mr Tytler in
the appendix to the second volume of his History of Scotland: "Item,
in construcccione cujusdam domus ad opus Culquhanorum Domini Regis ibidem,
10 solidi." Mr Tytler in a note says that Culquhanorum is "an
obscure word, which occurs nowhere else - conjectured by a learned friend
to be 'keepers of the dogs', from the Gaelic root Gillen-au-con -
abbreviated, Gillecon, Culquhoun." Sir
Robert de Colquhoun, supposed by Mr Fraser, the family historian, to be
fifth in descent from the first Humphry, and son of a Humphry, the fourth
of Colquhoun, in the reign of David Bruce, married in or previous to the
year 1368 the daughter and sole heiress (known in the family tradition as
"The Fair Maid of Luss") of Godfry de Luss, lord of Luss, head
or chief of an ancient family of that name, and the sixth in a direct male
line from Malduin, dean of Lennox, who, in the beginning of the thirteenth
century, received from Alwyn, second Earl of Lennox, a charter of the
lands of Luss. The Luss territories lie in the mountainous but beautiful
and picturesque district on the margin of Loch Lommond, Sir Robert was
designed "dominus de Colquhoun and de Luss," in a charter dated
in 1368; since which time the family have borne the designation of
Colquhoun of Colquhoun and Luss. He
is also witness in a charter of the lands of Auchmar by Walter of Faslane,
Lord of Lennox, to Walter de Buchanan in 1373. He had four sons, namely -
Sir Humphry, his heir; Robert, first of the family of Camstraddan, from
whom several other families of the name of Colquhoun in Dumbartonshire are
descended; Robert mentioned in the Camstradden charter as "frater
junior"; and Patrick who is mentioned in a charter from his brother
Sir Humphry to his other brother Robert. The
eldest son, Sir Humphry, sixth of Colquhoun, and eighth of Luss, is a
witness in three charters by Duncan, Earl of Lennox, in the years 1393,
1394 and 1395. He died in 1406 and left three sons and two daughters.
Partick, his youngest son, was ancestor of the Colquhouns of Glennis, from
whom the Colquhouns of Barrowfield, Piemont, and others were descended.
The second son, John, succeeeded his eldest brother. The eldest son, Sir
Robert, died in 1408, and was succeeded by his brother. Sir John Colquhoun
was appointed governor of the His
eldest son, Sir Humphry Colquhoun, dies in 1493, and was succeeded by his
son, Sir John Colquhoun, who received the honour of knighthood from King
James IV, and obtained a charter under the great seal of sundry lands and
baronies in Dumbartonshire, dated 4th December 1506. On 11th July 1526 he
and Patrick Colquhoun his son received a respite for assisting John, Earl
of Lennon, in treasonably besieging, taking, and holding the His
eldest son, Humphry, acquired the heritable coronership of the In
July 1592, some of the Macgregors and Macfarlanes came down upon the low
country of Dumbartonshire, and committed vast ravages, especially upon the
territory of the Colquhouns. At the head of his vassals, and accompanied
by several of the gentlemen of the neighbourhood, Sir Humphry Colquhoun
attacked the invaders, and after a bloody conflict, which was only put an
end to at nightfall, he was overpowered by his assailants, and forced to
retreat. To quote from Mr Fraser’s Chiefs of the Colquhouns – "He
betook himself to the In
Sir Alexander’s time occurred the raid of Glenfinlas, and the bloody
clan conflict of Glenfruin, between theColquhouns and Macgregors, in
December 1602 and February 1603, regarding which the popular accounts are
much at variance with the historical facts. The Colquhouns had taken part
in the execution of the letters of fire and sword issued by the crown
against the Macgregors some years before, and the feud between them had
been greatly aggravated by various acts of violence and aggression on both
sides. In
1602, the Macgregors made a regular raid on the laird of Luss’s lands in
Glenfinlas, and carried off a number of sheep and cattle, as well as slew
several of the tenants. Alexander Colquhoun, who had before complained to
the privy council against Earl of Argyll for not repressing the clan
Gregor, but who had failed in obtaining any redress, now adopted a tragic
method in order to excite the sympathy of the king. He appeared before his
majesty at "This
commission granted to their enemy appears to have roused the lawless rage
of the Macgregors, who rose in strong force to defy the laird of Luss; and
Glenfruin, with its disasters and sanguinary defeat of the Colquhouns, and
its ultimate terrible consequences to the victorous clan themselves, was
the result". In
the beginning of the year 1603, Allaster Macgregor of Glenstrae, followed
by four hundred men chiefly of his own clan, but including also some of
the clans Cameron and Anverich, armed with "halberschois, powaixes,
twa-handit swordies, bowis and arrowis, andwith hagbutia and pistoletis",
advanced into the territory of Luss. Colquhoun, acting under his royal
commission, had raised a force which has been stated by some writers as
having amounted to 300 horse and 500 foot. This is probably an
exaggeration, but even if it is not, the disasters which befell them may
be explained from the trap into which they fell, and from the nature of
the ground on which they encountered the enemy. This divsted them of all
the advantages which they might have derived from superiority of numbers
and from their horse. On
the 7th February 1603, the Macgregors were in Glenfruin "in two
diviions", writes Mr Fraser – "One of them at the head of the
glen, and the other in ambuscade near the farm of Strone, at a hollow or
ravine called the Crate. The Colquhouns came into Glenfruin from the Luss
side, which is opposite Strone – probably byGlen Luss and Glen Mackurn.
Alexander Colquhoun pushed on his forces in order to get through the glen
before encountering the Macgregors; but, aware of his approach, Allaster
Macgregor also pushed forward one division of his forces and entered at
the head of the glen in time to prevent his enemy from emerging from the
upper end of the glen, whilst his brother, John Macgregor, with the
division of his clan, which lay in ambuscade, by a detour, took the rear
of the Colquhouns, which prevented their retreat down the glen without
fighting their way through that section of the Macgregors who had got in
their rear. The success of the stratagem by which theColquhouns were thus
placed between two fires seems to be the only way of accounting for the
terrible slaughter of the Colquhouns and the much less loss of the
Macgregors. "The
Colquhouns soon became unable to maintain their ground, and, falling into
a moss at the farm of Auchingaich, they were thrown into disorder, and
made a hasty and disorderly retreat, which proved even more disastrous
than the conflict, for they had to force their way through the men led by
John Macgregor, whilst they were pressed behind by Allaster, who,
reuniting the two divisions of his army, continued the pursuit". All
who fell into the hands of the victors were at once put to death, and the
chief of the Colquhouns barely escaped with his life after his horse had
been killed under him. One hundred and forty of the Colquhouns were
salughtered, and many more were wounded, among whom were several women and
children. When the pursuit ended, the work of spoliation and devastation
commenced. Large numbers of horses, cattle, sheep, and goats were carried
off, and many of the houses and steadings of the tenantry were burned to
the ground. Their triumph the Macgregors were not allowed long to enjoy.
The government took instant and severe measures against them. A price was
put upon the heads of seventy or eighty of them by name, and upon a number
of their confederates of other clans:- "Beofre any judicial inquiry
was made", says Mr Fraser, "on 3d April 1603, only two days
before James VI left Scotland for England to take possession of the
English throne, an Act of Privy Council was passed, by which the name of
Gregor or Macgregor was for ever abolished. All of this surname were
commanded, under penalty of death, to change it for another; and the same
penalty was denounced against those who should give food or shelter to any
of the clan. All who had been at the conflict of Glenfruin, and at the
spoliation and burning of the lands of the Laird of Luss, were prohibited,
under the penatly of death, from carrying any weapon except a pointless
knife to eat their meat". Thirty-five of the clan Gregor were
executed after trial between the 20th May 1633 and the 2nd March 1604.
Amongst these was Allaster Macgregor, who surrended himself to the Earl of
Argyll. By
his wife Helen, daughter of Sir George Buchanan of that ilk, Alexander had
one son and five daughters. He died in 1617. The
eldest son, Sir John, in his father’s lifetime, got a charter under the
great seal of the ten pound land of Dunnerbuck, dated 20th February 1602,
was created a baronet of Nova Scotia by patent dated last day of August
1625. He married Lady Lillias Graham, daughter of the fourth Earl of
Montrose, brother of the great Marquis, by whom he had three sons and
three daughters. His two eldest sons succeeded to the baronetcy. From
Alexander, the third son, the Colquhouns of Tillyquhoun were descended. Sir
John, the second baronet of Luss, married Margaret, daughter and sole
heiress of Sir Gideon Baillie of Lochend, in the Having
no male issue, Sir Humphry, with the design that his daughter and her
husband should succeed him in his whole estate and honours, in 1704
resigned his baronetcy into the hands of her majesty Queen Anne, for a new
patent to himself in liferent, and his son-in-law and his heirs therin
named in fee, but with this express limitation that he and his heirs so
succeeding to that estate and title should be obliged to bear the name and
arms of Colquhoun of Luss, &c. It was also specially provided that the
estates of Grant and Luss should not be conjoined. Sir
Humphry died in 1718, and was succeeded in his estate and honours by James
Grant, his son-in-law, under the name and designation of Sir James
Colquhoun of Luss. He enjoyed that estate and title till the death of his
elder brother, Brigadier Alexander Grant, in 1719, when, succeeding to the
estate of Colquhoun of Luss, and resumed his own, retaining the baronetcy,
it being by the last patent vested in his person. He died in 1747. By
the said Anne, his wife, he had a numerous family. His eldest son, Humphry
Colquhoun, subsequently Humphry Grant of Grant, died unmarried in 1732.
The second son, Ludovick, became Sir Ludovick Grant of Grant, baronet,
while the fourth son James succeeded as Sir James Colquhoun of Luss, the
third son having died in infancy. He is the amiable and very polite
gentleman described by Smollett in his novel of Humphry Clinker, under the
name of "Sir George Colquhoun, a colonel in the Dutch service".
He married Lady Helen Sutherland, daughter of William Lord Sutherland, son
of the Earl of Sutherland, and by her he had three sons and five duaghters.
In 1777 he founded the town of His
eldest son, Sir James Colquhoun, second baronet under the new patent,
sheriff-depute of Dumbartonshire, was one of the principle clerks of
session. By his wife, Mary, daughter and co-heir of James Falconer, Esq.
Of Monktown, he had seven sons and four daughters. He died in 1805. His
eldest son, Sir James, third baronet, was for some time M.P. for
Dumbartonshire. He married, on 13th June 1799, his cousin Janet, daughter
of Sir John Sinclair, baronet, and had three sons and two daughters. Of
this lady, who died October 21, 1846, and who was distinguished for her
piety and benevolence, a memoir exists by the late Rev. James Hamilton,
D.D., "Some
time after Sir James’ succession". Says Mr Fraser, to whose book on
the Colquhouns we have been much indebted in this account,
"significant testimony was given that the ancient feud between his
family and thatof the Macgregors, which had frequently led to such
disastrous results to both, had given place to feelings of hearty goodwill
and friendship. On
an invitation from Sir James and Lady Colquhoun, Sir John Murray Macgregor
and Lady Macgregor came on a visit to Rossdhu. The two baronets visited
Glenfruin. They were accompanied by lady Colquhoun and Misses Helen and
Catherine Colquhoun. After the battlefield had been carefully inspected by
the descendents of the combatents, Sir J.M. Macgregor insisted on shaking
hands with Sir James Colquhoun and the whole party on the spot where it
was supposed that the battle had been hottest. On the occasion of the same
visit to Rossdhu, the party ascended Ben Lommond, which dominates so
grandly over Loch Lommond. On the summit of this lofty mountain, Sir John
M. Macgregor danced a His
eldest son, Sir James Colquhoun, the fourth baronet of the new creation,
and the eight baronet of the old patent, succeeded on his father’s
death, 3rd Feb 1836; chief of the Colquhouns of Luss; Lord-lieutenant of
Dumbartonshire, and M.P. for that county from 1837 to 1841. He married in
June 1843, Jane, daughter of Sir Robert Abercromby of Birkenbog. She died
3rs May 1844, leaving one son James, born in 1844. He, as fifth baronet,
succeeded his father, who was drowned in Loch Lommond, December 18, 1873. The
family mansion, Ross-dhu, is situated on a beautiful peninsula. To the
possessions of the family of Colquhoun was added in 1852 the estate of
Ardincaple, purchased from the Duchess Dowager of Argyll. According to Mr
Frasr, the three baronets of Luss, before Sir James, purchased up to no
less than fourteen lairdships. Robert,
a younger son of Sir Robert Colquhoun of that ilk, who married the heiress
of Luss, was the first of the Colquhouns of Camstrodden, which estate,
with the lands of Achirgahen, he obtained by charter, dated 4th July 1395,
from his brother Sir Humphry. Sir James Colquhoun, third baronet,
purchased in 1826 that estate from the hereditary proprietor, and
re-annexed it to the estate of Luss. The
Killermont line, originally of Garscadden, is a scion of the Camstrodden
branch. |