Elizabeth, m. in 1693, to Samuel Pres ton, gent. Anne, bapt. 28th July, 1663. Sarah, aged eleven in 1682. The elder son, SIMON ADAMS, M.D. of Daventry, bapt. 19th July, 1667, m. 23rd June, 1692, Anne, daughter of the Rev. William Gilbert, of Culworth, and had by her, who died in 1736, one son, SIMON, and two daughters, Catherine, m. in 1724, to the Rev. John Gilman, D.D. and Anne, m. in 1716, to Benjamin Warren, esq. of Bugbrook. Dr. Adams died in 1748, aged eighty, and was buried at Daventry. His son, THE REV. SIMON ADAMS, vicar of Welton, in Northamptonshire, bapt. 6th October, 1693, m. at Fawsley, 10th February, 1717-8, Anne, daughter of John Clarke, esq. of Drayton, and had by her, who died January, 1736-7, two sons and a daughter, namely, CLARKE, his heir. Simon, of Towcester, died in 1801, aged Anne, m. to Thomas Freeman, gent. of Mr. Adams died in 1731, and was s. CLARKE ADAMS, esq. of East Haddon, lieut.-col. of the Northamptonshire Militia, bapt. 8th January, 1718-9, who m. first, 15th August, 1744, Elizabeth Dobbins, daughter and heir of the Rev. William Tayler, of Anstey Hall, in the county of Warwick, rector of Malphas, in Cheshire, and perpetual curate of Daventry, and had issue, SIMON, his heir. Elizabeth Dobbins, m. 16th August, 1771, Charles Watkins, esq. of Daventry, and died 19th May, 1782, aged thirty-four. Col. Adams m. secondly, 29th August, 1751, Frances, only daughter and heir of Richard Clarke, esq. of Nortoft and Welton, but by her, who died 20th August, 1781, had no issue. He died 26th June, 1776, and was s. by his son, Thomas-Coker,vicar of Anstey, Shelton, and Foleshill, A.M. b. in 1782, m. 16th September, 1806, Mary, daughter of Johnson Pistor, esq. of Bath, and has issue, Simon Thomas, in holy orders, A.B. James, R.N. b. in June, 1809. 1817. Septimus, b. in July, 1819. Sarah Coker. Frances. John, of the Middle Temple, sergeantat-law, b. 1st September, 1786, m. first, in 1811, Elizabeth, only daughter of William Nation, esq. of Exeter, and by her, who died 12th August, 1814, had issue, John, of Christchurch College, Oxford, b. 24th February, 1813. William, of Merton College, Oxford, b. 2nd August, 1814. He m. secondly, 21st January, 1817, Jane, daughter of Thomas Martin, esq. of Nottingham, and by her, who died 19th June, 1825, had another son, Henry Cadwallader, b. 4th November, 1817. Mr. Serjeant Adams, wedded, thirdly, Coker, b. 19th October, 1827. Sarah Coker, m. 17th May, 1800, to James Beck, esq. of Allesley Park, Mr. Adams died at Bath, 10th March, 1801, and was s. by his son, the present HENRY CADWALLADER ADAMS, esq. Arms-Vert a cross or charged with an estoile sa. Crest-A Talbot passant az. semée of be SIMON ADAMS, esq. of East Haddon, in Northamptonshire, and of Anstey Hall, in the county of Warwick, barrister-at-law, deputy recorder of Northampton, and recorder of Daventry. This gentleman, in 1780, sold the estate of East Haddon to Henry Saw-zants, collared arg. bridge, esq. He m. 3rd January, 1778, Sarah, daughter of Cadwallader Coker, esq. of Bicester, and by her, who died at Bath 17th July, 1833, aged eighty, had issue, HENRY-CADWALLADER, his heir. Motto-Sub cruce veritas. Estates-Anstey and Shelton, in Warwickshire, Eydon, Moreton Pinkney, and Bugbrook, in Northamptonshire. Seat-Anstey Hall, near Coventry. FOWLER, OF PENDEFORD. FOWLER, THOMAS, esq. of Pendeford Hall, in the county of Stafford, suc◄ ceeded his father in 1815. Lineage. bruary, 26 ELIZABETH, seised of the manor of Pendeford, 9 messuages, 2 tofts, a water mill, and 1020 acres of land, &c. held in capite by the service of the 40th part of a knight's fee. His son and successor, WALTER FOWLER, esq. of Pendeford, aged twenty-nine at his father's decease, married Margaret, daughter of Thomas Burton, esq. of Longner, in Shropshire, and had issue, WALTER, his heir. Thomas, D.D. Richard. William. ROGER FOWLER, of Broomhill, in Norfolk, of an ancient Buckinghamshire family, (see vol. ii. p. 377,) married the sister and co-heir of the Right Rev. Rowland Lee, Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, and had five sons, namely, ROWLAND, of Broomhill, who m. Mar- Roger Fowler was in the Scotch wars, and died in the reign of HENRY VIII. His fourth son, JAMES FOWLER, esq. inherited from his uncle, the bishop of Lichfield, the manor of Pendeford, in Staffordshire, which, together with other lands, had been conferred upon the prelate at the dissolution of monasteries. He (James) married Catherine Moreton, of Houghton, in Shropshire, and died 21st Fe | John. Matthew, D.D. Lucy, m.to Richard Rowley, of Wyken. Letitia. Elizabeth. Judith. Frances. The eldest son, WALTER FOWLER, esq. of Pendeford, m. first, Margaret, daughter of Humphrey Salwey, esq. and secondly a daughter of Harewell. By the latter he had a daughter, Margaret, wife of Baldwyn, and by the former, besides two daughters, Hester, m. to Richard Gilman, and Anne to J. Astley, esq. of Wood Eaton, a son and successor, WALTER FOWLER, esq. of Pendeford, living about the middle of the 17th century, who m. Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Hinton,* LL.D. of Lichfield, by Elizabeth, his wife, daughter of Sir Robert Chester, of Royston and Cockenhatch, in Hertfordshire, (see vol. ii. p. 17,) and had issue, CHARLES, his heir. mingham. Barbara, m. to John Wingfield, esq. Elizabeth, m. to Samuel Newton, esq. of Bromley Regis, in Staffordshire, and died 20th October, 1776, aged eighty-two, leaving issue, John, d. s. p. in 1783, Mary,m. to Edward Harpur, esq. and Sarah, m. Sir Lister Holte, of Aston. Mr. Fowler was s. by his eldest son, RICHARD FOWLER, esq. of Pendeford, who m. Dorothy, daughter and heir, of Humphrey Whadcock, esq. of Corley, and had issue, Humphrey, Walter, both d. v. p. unm. Dorothy, died unm. Sarah, m. to John Lane, esq. and by him (who d. in 1792, aged sixty-nine,) had, with a daughter, Maria, m. to the Rev. John Lucy, of Charlecote, four sons, of whom the eldest, John, was grandfather of the present JOHN NEW II. WILLIAM, of Wolverhampton, whose lineal descendant, ROBERT LEVESON, esq. of Wolverhampton, left an only daughter to survive him, m. to CHARLES FOWLER, esq. of Pendeford. III. JOHN, of Willenhall, from whom descend TON LANE, esq. of King's Bromley. (See vol. i. p. 174). Elizabeth, (who d. 14th June, 1784,) m. to the Rev. William Inge, A.M. canon residentiary of Lichfield, grandson of William Inge, esq. of Thorpe, and had William, in holy orders; Charles, rector of Newton, and vicar of Rugeley; Richard, of Shrewsbury, and Elizabeth. Mr. Fowler, survived his two sons, and was s. by his nephew, THOMAS FOWLER, esq. of Pendeford, who m. Miss Leversage, and had by her one son and three daughters, namely, THOMAS, his heir. Barbara, m. to Thomas Lane, esq. of the Grange, in Essex, and had four sons and two daughters, Thomas, John, Charles, and Richard, Sarah, m. to William Cotton, esq. and Jane, d. young. (See vol. i. p. 176.) Mary, m. to her cousin Richard Inge, esq. of Shrewsbury, son of the Rev. William Inge, canon of Lichfield. Diana, m. to the Rev. Mr. Walter. Mr. Fowler died in 1796, and was s. by his son, THOMAS LEVERSAGE FOWLER, esq. of Pendeford, who m. his cousin, Harriet Fowler, and had three sons and three daughters, namely, THOMAS, his heir. Richard, who assumed the surname of BUTLER only on inheriting the estate of Barton, in Staffordshire. He m. Elizabeth, dau. of William Wynne, esq. and niece of Owen Wynne, esq. of Hazelwood, in the county of Sligo, and has issue, Richard Fowler. Eleanor-Harriet. Sarah-Catherine. Mary. William, of Birmingham, m. and has issue. Elizabeth, m. to Samuel Gerrard, esq. of Tallyho, in the county of Westmeath. Sarah. Mary, married. Mr. Fowler died in 1815, and was s. by his eldest son, the present THOMAS FOWLER, esq. of Pendeford. Arms-Az. a chev. arg. charged with ed JOHN LEVESON, of Haling, in Kent, who three crosses formée sa. between three lions left two daughters, his co-heirs, CHRISTIAN, M. to Sir Peter Temple, bart. FRANCES, m. to Sir Thomas Gower, bart. ancestor of the present Duke of Sutherland. passant, guardant, or. Crest-An owl arg. crowned with a ducal BLAIR, OF BLAIR. BLAIR, WILLIAM, esq. of Blair, in the shire of Ayr, succeeded his father in 1782; m. Magdaline, daughter of the late John Fordyce, esq. of Ayton, in the county of Berwick, for many years commissioner of the woods and forests and land revenue; and by that lady, who died in 1817, has had five sons and seven daughters, viz. Georgiana, m. to James Hamilton, esq. of Cornacassa, in the county of Monaghan. Col. Blair was formerly commanding officer of the Ayrshire regiment of fencible cavalry. Lineage. The Blairs of Blair, connected by intermarriages with the first families in the West of Scotland, have maintained for upwards of six centuries a high position in the county of Ayr. They are chief of all the Blairs in the South and West of Scotland, but the Blairs of Balthyock, settled in the counties of Fife, Perth, and Angus, dispute the honour with them. JAMES VI. to whom the point was referred, determined, that "the oldest man, for the time being, of either family, should have the precedency." Both families appear to be equally ancient, but the belief that they spring from the same ancestry is extremely doubtful: their arms bearing no affinity. WILLIAM DE BLAIR, mentioned in a contract between Ralph de Eglinton, and the town of Irvine, in 1205, is stated to have died temp. ALEXANDER II. leaving a son, WILLIAM BLAIR, stiled "Willielmus de Blair, Dominus de eodem," in a charter of ALEXANDER III. dated about the year 1260, to the abbey, of Dunfermline. He had two sons, by the elder of whom, SIR BRYCE BLAIR, of Blair, he was succeeded. This gallant knight, one of the heroic patriots associated with Wallace, who so long and gallantly defended the liberties of Scotland, was at length taken prisoner and executed at Ayr, in 1296: leaving no issue, he was s. by his brother, DAVID BLAIR, of that Ilk, who was compelled to submit to EDWARD I. in 1296. In the critical remarks in the Ragman Roll, he is particularly mentioned as progenitor of the family. His son, ROGER DE BLAIR, of that Ilk, adhered with fidelity to Robert Bruce, from whom he obtained a charter" Rogero de Blair, dilecto et fideli nostro" of four Chalders of victual yearly out of the lands of Bourtrees, in Ayrshire. He d. in the reign of DAVID II. and was s. by HUGH DE BLAIR, of that Ilk, probably his son, to whom followed the next proprietor in succession, JAMES BLAIR, of that Ilk, who got a grant of several tenements of land in the vicinity of Ayr, which had fallen into the king's hands by forfeiture, confirmed by charter, 3rd February, 1368. He had two sons, JAMES, his heir. John (Sir), knt. ancestor of the Blairs, of Adamton, in Ayrshire, who flourished there for a long series of years, until CATHERINE, only daughter and heir of David Blair, of Adamton, m. in 1776, Sir William Maxwell, bart. of Monreith, and had issue. She sold Adamton to Robert Reid, esq. and d. | named Jean, became the wife of Alexander in 1798. The elder son, JAMES BLAIR, of that Ilk, obtained a charter from ROBERT II. dated 8th May, 1375, confirming a charter granted to his father by DAVID II. of the lands of Corshogyll, in Dumfriesshire, and another, of the same year, of the lands of Hartwood. He died in the reign of JAMES I. leaving a son, called David, by Douglas, but his name was more probably, Hugh, as SIR HUGH BLAIR, of that Ilk, appears as witness to several charters of the period in which he lived, the commencement of the 15th century. His son, or possibly his grandson, JOHN BLAIR, of that Ilk, was served heir to his grandfather, and obtained from JAMES III. a charter, "Johanni Blair, de eodem, nepoti et hæredi Jacobi, &c. terrarum baroniæ de Blair," 19th January, 1477. He left, with two daughters, Egedia, m. to James Kennedy, of the family of Cassilis, and Elizabeth, m. to Ninian Stewart, of Bute, a son and successor, JOHN BLAIR, of that Ilk, who had a charter 12th August, 1540, of the five Merkland, of Dalquhone, in Ayrshire, and another, 12th March, 1544, of the nine Merkland, of Bogton, Holmhead, and two third parts of the Mill of Cathcart, in the shire of Renfrew, which lands continued with his descendants until 1679, when a portion was sold to Hamilton, of Aikenhead. John Blair, m. Lady Elizabeth, Montgomery, daughter of Hugh, first Earl of Eglinton, by Lady Helen Campbell, daughter of Colin, first Earl of Argylle, and had issue, JOHN, his heir. Margaret, m. to John Crawfurd, of The Laird of Blair died towards the close of the reign of Queen MARY, deposed in 1567, and was s. by his son, JOHN BLAIR, of that Ilk, who obtained, on the resignation of his father, a charter from him of the lands of Tunnybankhead and Blair Ardoch, in 1546. This seems to have been in consequence of his marriage, about that time, with a lady of the name of Cunninghame, by whom he had a son, JOHN, and it would appear, two daughters, as about this period Uchtred Knox, of Ranfurly, m. a daughter of the Laird of Blair, and another If John Blair were grandson to Sir Hugh Blair, then Sir Hugh must have been succeeded by a son James, and he, by his nephew, John Blair, who had the charter from King JAMES III. in which the expression," Nepoti," must be intended for "nephew." Cunninghame, commendator of Kilwinning, who together had a charter of the lands of Mountgreenan in 1582. He died in the early part of the reign of JAMES VI. and was succeeded by his son, JOHN BLAIR, of that Ilk, who had four charters of lands, dated in 1573, 1575, 1580, and 1597. He espoused Grizel, daughter of Robert, third Lord Sempill, and had issue, JOHN, who predeceased his father, leaving, by Isabel, his wife, daughter of Thomas, fifth Lord Boyd, three daughters, viz. GRIZEL, m. to Sir John Maxwell, ANNA, m. to the young Laird of MARGARET, m. to John Crawford, BRYCE, of whom presently. only daughter and heir of William Cochrane of that Ilk. Crawford, under the title "Dundonald," thus speaks of the marriage. 'Her father wisely considering the proper way of supporting his family, and declining to marry her into a richer family than his own, was to settle his daughter in his own time, he made a prudent and discreet match for her with Alexander Blair, a younger son of an ancient and genteel family, in Ayrshire, whose ancestors had been seated in the county foresaid for many ages before; so that beside a noble alliance and a competent patrimony, he yielded to change his name to Cochrane, which was almost the only condition the old gentleman required. This Alexander, so taking upon him the surname of Cochrane, was a virtuous and a frugal man, and studied as much the good of the family as if he had been born the heir thereof." His grandson, SIR WILLIAM COCHRANE, knt. of WILLIAM, ancestor of the first James, who had a charter in June, 1615, Jacobo Blair, de Malsmuir fratri germano de Bricii Blair de eodem, et Annabellae Stewart, ejus Sponsæ, |