SP Correction: Sir William Douglas and his Lindsay wife [II of II]

Thursday, 11 May, 2006

Hello All,

In my previous post, I noted the correction needed concerning
the parentage of the wife of Sir William Douglas of Lochleven
(d. 1421). A further problem in this matter is the identification
of the wife, hitherto best known (per SP anyway) as " apparently "
Elizabeth Lindsay.

The Morton article in SP ignores further evidence on the
matter, but the subsequent Wemyss article provides the following
concerning the wife of David Wemyss of Wemyss (d. bef 14 Sept
1430):

' He married, between 1 and 4 February 1423-24, a lady
named Christian Douglas, who is described as the widow
of the late Sir William Douglas. Sir William Fraser
suggests her first husband was a son of the Laird of
Lochleven, but he had a dispensation to marry an
Elizabeth Lindsay. (see title Morton.) He may,
however, have married twice. Christian Douglas survived
David Wemyss, and married, thirdly, before 1443, Sir
James Auchinleck of Auchinleck. ' [1]

1) Sir William Douglas did have a dispensation to marry
Elizabeth Lindsay, daughter of Alexander (not David),
Earl of Crawford, ca. 1403-1415 (more likely ca. 1410/1415);

2) Elizabeth Lindsay, not being otherwise known to history
subsequently, died before the marriage occurred or was
consummated. Her place was taken by a hitherto unidentified
younger daughter - Christian, or Christiana, (Lindsay).

3) Christiana, known to history as "Christian Douglas", was
the wife successively of Sir William Douglas, David Wemyss
of Wemyss, and Sir James Auchinleck of that Ilk.

The following evidence serves to support this conjecture:

1. Association. There is an "instrument relative to contract
of marriage" between Eufemia Wemyss, daughter of Christian
'Douglas' by her 2nd husband David Wemyss ["Eufemia, filia
quondam Dauid de Wemys, progenita inter eundem Dauid et
Cristianam, nunc sponsam dicti domini Jacobi "] and the son
and heir of Sir Andrew Ogilvy of Inchmartin. Importantly,
the witnesses to this instrument were individuals known to
be related to the parties, and others not so readily
identified to date: lord Alexander Barclay of Garntully,
knight, Thomas Wemyss of Rares, John Wemyss of same [Rares],
James Douglas of Railston, and Henry Forrester of Niddry,
with many others - " domino Alexandro Berclay de Garntwly,
milite, Thoma Wemys de Reras, Johanne Wemys de eodem, Jacobo
Dowglas de Raylstoun, et Henrico Forstare de Nwdere, cum
multis aliis...", dated at Perth, 22 Jul 1443 [2].

Sir James Douglas of Railston ("Jacobo Dowglas de
Raylstoun") was the younger son of Sir William Douglas of
Lochleven by his, apparent, Lindsay wife. His association
as a witness to this charter, apparently being the
half-brother of Eufemia Wemyss, would be logical.

Therefore, it appears that Sir William Fraser was close
in his suggestion re: Douglas of Lochleven, only the
generation involved in the Lindsay marriage was different.

2. Onomastic evidence. The children of Sir William Douglas
bore common, but typical Lindsay names (Alexander,
Elizabeth). Further, as I noted in a prior thread
concerning a different conjecture re: Christian Douglas,
David Wemyss had a daughter named Eufemia, a name brought
into the Stewart and related families by King Robert II's
marriage to Euphemia of Ross - see #1 above, and the
conjectured chart below.

[NOTE: The following chart is conjectural.
additional documentation is being sought.]

Sir ALEXANDER Robert II = 2) EUPHEMIA
Lindsay K of Scots I of Ross
I ________________I
I I
David Lindsay = ELIZABETH
E of Crawford I Stewart
__I_____________________________
I I
ALEXANDER = Marjory ELIZABETH
E of Crawford I = Sir Robert
I Erskine
___________________I____________________
I I I
I Earl David ELIZABETH
I
Christian = 1) Sir William = 2) David = 3) Sir James
Lindsay I Douglas I Wemyss I Auchinleck
I d. ca. 1421 I d. ca. I k. 1449
I I 1430 I_______
_________I__________ ____I__________ _______I_________
I I I I I I I I I
Sir Henry SIR JAMES I John EUFEMIA I Sir James I
Douglas DOUGLAS I Wemyss = I John A. of I
of Lugton of I William I A. Glenbervie I
and Railston I Livingston I of that I
Lochleven I I Ilk ____I
___________________I ________I I
I I I Adam
ALEXANDER ELIZABETH Helen
Douglas Douglas
= Richard
Lovel

3. Documentary. The relationship between Elizabeth Douglas
and Alexander Lindsay, 2nd Earl of Crawford (d. 1439) was
discussed in the previous post [3]. In addition, Sir
John Auchinleck of that Ilk, the eldest son of Sir James
Auchinleck and Christian 'Douglas', was called " lovit
cousin and squire, John of Auchinleck of that Ilk ", in a
charter from his kinsman David Lindsay, (5th) Earl of
Crawford confirming a grant in 1466 [4]. Earl David was
a great-grandson of Alexander Lindsay, (2nd) Earl of
Crawford and his wife Marjory, and would have been the
1st cousin, 1x removed of Sir John Auchinleck by this
reconstruction.

This identification, if substantiated, will revise the ancestry
of a great many people, through the Douglas, Wemyss and Auchinleck
families - the Earls of Morton (5th Earl and later), the Earls of
Wemyss, Cunyngham of Craigends, Auchinleck of Glenbervie - not to
mention Alexander Hamilton, many Royals and a good many besides.

Any and all relevant documentation, comment and criticism is
welcome.

Cheers,

John *

NOTES

[1] SP VIII:483, sub _Wemyss, Earl of Wemyss_, cites Wemyss
Book, II. 47-51.

[2] William Fraser, Memorials of the Family of Wemyss of Wemyss
[Edinburgh, 1888], II:65-66, no. 50.

[3] As previously stated [SP Correction: Sir William Douglas
and his Lindsay wife, part I of II], Elizabeth Douglas,
daughter of Sir William Douglas, is discussed in the SP
account concerning Douglas, Earl of Morton, which states,
in part,

' She afterwards married Richard Lovel of Ballumby, with
whom, on 24 August 1438, she had a charter from Alexander
Lindsay, second Earl of Crawford, of the lands of Muirhouse,
co. Inverness. In this charter she is styled neptis of the
Earl, which shows that the commonly accepted marriage of her
father to a daughter of Sir David Lindsay, first Earl of
Crawford, is correct. '

If the term is understood in its other standard
usage of 'granddaughter', she would have instead been the
grantee of a 1438 charter by her grandfather, Earl
Alexander.

[4] Alexander C. Lindsay, Lives of the Lindsays, p. 117.

* John P. Ravilious