Monday, January 30, 2023
Wednesday, November 9, 2022
My Maternal 20th. Great Scottish Grandmother, Margaret Comyn (Keith)
Children: (5)
My Maternal 20th. Great Scottish Grandfather, Sir John Keith, Marischal of Scotland
Name: Sir John Keith, Marischal (Marshal) of Scotland Birth: 1218 in Humbie, Haddingtonshire, Scotland Married: before 1236 in Humbie, Haddingtonshire, Scotland to Margaret Comyn Children: (5) William Keith, 8th. Marischal of Scotland 1236–1293 • G62J-4KT Robert Keith II 1238–1343 • GXGH-4H8 Edward Keith Richard Keith Philip Keith, Rector of Biggar Death: before 1266 in Humbie, Haddingtonshire, Scotland Burial: before 1266 in Humbie, Haddingtonshire, Scotland Brief Life History of John When Sir John Keith Marichal of Scotland was born in 1218, in Humbie, Haddingtonshire, Scotland, his father, Hervey de Keith, was 31 and his mother, Margaret Douglas, was 33. He married Margaret Comyn before 1236, in Scotland. They were the parents of at least 2 sons. He died before 1266, in his hometown, at the age of 47, and was buried in Humbie, Haddingtonshire, Scotland. Scottish: habitational name from the lands of Keith in East Lothian. The place name is derived from British Celtic cait- ‘wood’. In the 17th century numerous bearers of this name settled in Ulster. Biography John (Keith) de Keith is a member of Clan Keith. Sir John de Keith, who, about the date mentioned was in possession of both the lands and office. Between the years 1198 and 1234, his name appears as a witness to a grant to the Hospital of Soltre. He confirmed to the monks of Kelso the grants of his predecessors, with the addition of some lands within the manor of Keith, and about the year 1250, he confirmed to the Hospital of Soltre some lands in the district of Johnston, near Keith. He died before the year 1266. He is said to have married Margaret Comyn, who may have been the daughter of William, Earl of Buchan. In the period of transition from legend to records there is usually some confusion and inconsistency. Accordingly, the lists of the names of the early Great Marischals of Scotland show some discrepancies. Hervey de Keith was Great Marischal of Scotland in the reign of William the Lion. He witnessed several charters between 1189 and 1195 and died before 1196. He was succeeded by his grandson, Sir Philip Keith, Great Marischal of Scotland. He died before 1219 and was succeeded by his son, Sir Hervey. On the 15th of July 1220, he officiated as Marischal of Scotland at the marriage of Alexander II. to Joan of England, at York. He died before 1250, and was succeeded by his son, Sir John Keith, Great Marischal of Scotland. As Marshal, he witnessed a charter of Alexander II. He married a daughter of Alexander, Earl of Buchan, and had issue. He was succeeded by his son, Sir Robert, Great Marischal of Scotland. Before the end of the thirteenth century, the Keiths had become numerous in Scotland, and a discrepancy in the family succession appears. In 1294, Sir Robert Keith, Great Marischal of Scotland, received a charter from King John. He was a man of great energy and ability and took an active part in the affairs of the nation and the War of Independence. He joined Robert Bruce and fought in the battle of Inverurie, in which he greatly distinguished himself. Shortly after this event, he received a grant of lands in Aberdeen-shire, including the seat called "Hall Forest" in the parish of Kintore. Occupation: Marischal of Scotland Sir John de Keith, Marischal of Scotland (died c.1266), was an Scottish noble. He was a son of Hervey de Keith (died 1249) and Margaret de Douglas.
Between the years 1198 and 1234 his name appears as witness to a grant to the Hospital of Soltre. He confirmed to the monks of Kelso the grants of his predecessors, with the addition of some lands within the manor of Keith, and about the year 1250 he confirmed to the Hospital of Soltre some lands in the district of Johnston, near Keith.
John inherited the position of Marischal of Scotland in 1249, which was charged with the safety of the king's person within Parliament and was also custodian of the royal regalia. Marriage and issue John married Margaret Comyn, daughter of William Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, Justiciar of Scotland and Marjory, Countess of Buchan, they are known to have had the following issue: 1.) William Keith (died c.1290), married Barbara Seton, had issue. 2.) Robert Keith (died 1343), married Joanna Galbraith, had issue. 3.) Edward Keith 4.) Richard Keith 5.) Philip Keith, Rector of Biggar.
Saturday, August 27, 2022
Thursday, July 28, 2022
Saturday, July 23, 2022
Clan KEITH
Although several references claim the Keiths are of Norman ancestry, the Lord Lyon king of Arms, Sir Thomas Innes of Learney, the supreme authority on such matters, and the man with all the national resources to know, stated in his book 'The tartans and families of Scotland', published in 1958, "Amongst the most romantic names in Scottish history, is that of Keith, Marishal of Scotland, and a Celtic ancestry is claimed for this race."
The first authentic ancestor was Hervey Keith, who held the office of Marischal under Malcom IV. His descendant succeeded to the office of Marischal in 1294, was imprisoned by the English until 1304, and in 1305, was one of King Edward's four Deputy Wardens of Scotland, but at Christmas of 1308 he joined the cause of Robert the Bruce, and was rewarded with a grant of the Royal forest of Kintore when Bruce became ruler.
The Keiths were superb horsemen, and they were responsible for supplying and training the war horses for the Scottish army. As the English had huge Clydesdale type horses, the Scots had mere ponies inherited from the Picts. The large English horses were impressive but they required high maintenance, and were unreliable in close combat. The Scottish ponies were tough, reliable and economical.
As Commander of the Scots cavalry at Bannockburn, Keith's attack annihilated the English army. He was rewarded handsomely with many of the forfeited Comyn estates in Buchan. He co-signed the letter to the Pope in 1459 declaring Scottish independence from the English. His great-grandson, Sir William Keith, founded the tower of Dunottar Castle. Sir William's son, Sir Robert, was elevated to the peerage as Lord Keith.
Sir Robert's son, William, 2nd Lord, was created Earl Marischal in 1458. His son, William, 2nd Earl, fought at Flodden. The 3rd Earl, 'William of the Tower' a distinguished statesman, lived in seclusion at Dunottar much of his life. His grandson, George, 4th Earl, was Ambassador Extraordinary to Denmark, in 1593, he founded Marischal College in Aberdeen. William, 5th Earl, was created Admiral of Scotland. He appeared as Marischal at the coronation of Charles I.
William, 6th Earl, was a Covenanter, but in 1651, he rescued the Regalia and carried it to Dunottar. His brother, 7th Earl, was a Royalist whose grandson, George, 9th Earl, and the last Earl Marischal, joined the Earl of Mar in 1715, and with his celebrated brother, Field Marshal James Keith, retired to the continent where his exploits rendered the name of Keith famous throughout the world. The Earl became Frederick the Great's closest friend, and the Field Marshal became his greatest General. Field Marshall Keith fought for both Russia and Prussia, and became Governor of the Ukraine and Finland under Czar Peter II, and fell at Hochkirsch in 1758. He was another brilliant Scottish Jacobite refugee soldier who made his mark on the world stage. For more information on him, check here.
Upon Earl George's death in 1778, the chiefship passed to Keith of Ravelston, who acted as Knight Marischal to King George IV. On the death of William, 4th Earl, the Chiefship passed to the grandson of his sister, Lady Catherine Keith; Antony Adrian, 5th Earl and 8th Lord Falconer of Halkerton. Arthur George Keith, 10th Earl of Kintore, now Chief of the Clan Keith, has his seat at Keith Hall in Aberdeenshire.
The bloodiest of the Scottish inter-clan feuds:
Lachlan Gunn of Braemor had an only daughter, Helen, who was famous for her beauty, and the day of her marriage to her cousin, Alexander, was fixed; but Dugald Keith of Ackergill, whose advances she had spurned, surrounded her father's house with a body of armed Keiths. They slew many of the Gunns, who were unprepared for an attack, and carried off the girl to Ackergill, where she was raped and, eventually threw herself from the tower.
This was the spark that ignited a bloody feud that lasted for many years.
Raid upon raid followed, back and forth between the Keiths and the Gunns, and in 1426, a vicious battle was fought at Harpsdale. That conflict was indecisive. In 1464, the chief of Clan Gunn, George 'Crowner' Gunn, became weary of the feud, and called for a meeting with the Keiths. The chief of the Keiths agreed to meet, and settle it amicably with twelve men each.
The Keiths showed up with twenty-four men - two to a horse, and attacked the Gunns; the Gunns fought desperately but were all cut down. George Gunn was killed, and stripped entirely, and left for his clansmen to find.
Soon after, William MacKames, a kinsman of the Gunns, killed George Keith, his son, and ten more of his men at Drummoy.
And so it went. Clan Keith
Clan Keith - Dunnottar Castle, Stronghold of the Keiths
On Scotland’s east coast, just a short way south of Aberdeen, there is an unusual spit of land, a high, flat-topped, island-like rock, whi...
