ADAM DE GORDUN, who possessed an estate in England, probably in right of his wife. He is summoned to attend King EDWARD THE FIRST's lieutenant, at Gloucester, 14th June, 1287. He died about 1295. The Gordons had now extended themselves, like other great families, beyond their original territories. Adam de Gordon, who flourished at the end of the thirteenth century, was the common progenitor of the Gordons of the north, and of the Gordons of Galloway. The Gordons seem not to have mingled in the party struggles during the minorities of ALEXANDER II. and ALEXANDER III. Sir Adam de Gordon first appeared like a gallant knight in support of the valourous Wallace, during his efforts for his country, and he afterwards cóntributed his exertions to the final success of Robert Bruce. Adam de Gordun, the son of Alicia, was succeeded by his son, ADAM DE GORDUN, warden of the marches in 1300, and a commissioner of King EDWARD I. for establishing regulations for Scotland and for Lennox, in 1304. In an agreement with the monks of Kelso, 29th June, 1308, he is designed dominus Adam de Gordun Miles. After the battle of Bannockburn, in June, 1314, he abandoned the English party, was received into favour by King ROBERT BRUCE, and obtained from him a grant of the Lordship of Strathbolgie, with its appurtenances, situated in the shires of Aberdeen and Banff, and part of the estates of David de Strathbolgie, the faithless Earl of Athol. He granted the Glenkins, in Galloway, and the lands of Stitchell, in Roxburghshire, to his second son, William, the progenitor of the Viscounts of Kenmure, ennobled in 1633, and of the other Gordons, in Galloway. He was ambassador from King ROBERT I. to the pope in 1320, and eminently concerned in all the public transactions of these times. Sir Adam fell fighting for his country in the battle of Halydon Hill, 1333. His eldest son, ALEXANDER DE GORDUN, succeeded, and was slain at the battle of Durham, in 1346. His son, John de Gordun, was taken prisoner with DAVID, at the battle of Durham, and not released until 1357, when William I. Earl of Douglas, became bound as one of his sure ties. He was succeeded by his son, JOHN DE GORDON, a celebrated warrior. He received, in 1376, from King ROBERT II. a grant of the Barony of Strathbolgie, in Aberdeenshire, in which grant he is designed Joannes de Gordon, (now first altered from Gordun) without any addition or title of honour. The estate is granted to him and his heirs whatsomever, and in the grant it is mentioned that a former grant by King ROBERT I. to his great-grandfather Adam de Gordun, had not taken effect, because the Earl of Athole had returned to his allegiance, and recovered his estates for some time, but was now again forfeited. By Elizabeth, his wife, daughter of Cruickshanks, of Aswanly, he had three sons, viz. I. ADAM, who fell at Homildon, in 1403, The second son, commonly and long designed in Scotland as Jock and Tam. JOHN GORDON, of Scurdargue or Essie, 12th in lineal male descent from Adam de Gordun, the founder of the family, married Margaret, daughter of Sir Patrick Maitland, of Gight, and dying about the year 1420, was succeeded by his eldest son,* JOHN GORDON, who acquired the lands of Auchlenchries, in Aberdeenshire. He m. first, Elizabeth, daughter of Abernethy, Lord Salton, and secondly, Henault, daughter of Macleod, of Harris. His eldest son, by his first marriage, JOHN GORDON, of Auchleuchries, succeeded him, who acquired the estates of Kinmundy, in Aberdeenshire, and the lands of Lungar and Hilton, in the neighbouring county of Kincardine. He married Margaret, daughter of Sir Alexander Forbes, ancestor of Lord Pitsligo, and was slain in 1513, at the battle of Flodden, fighting under the standard of Alexander, third Earl of Huntly, who commanded the victorious right wing of the Scottish army. He was succeeded by his only son, * Sir Patrick Maitland left two daughters, coheiresses of his opulent estates. Alexander, first Earl of Huntly, obtained a gift of the wardship of these ladies, in favour of his son George, Lord Gordon, who in 1467, purchased from his wards their father's estates. The estate of Gight was one of those purchased, and in this manner the Bog of Gight (now Gordon Castle) became the property of the ducal branch of the family of Gordon. JOHN GORDON, who sold the estate of Lungar, purchased the lands of Pitlurg, and exchanged Hilton for Cravethin, or Coravechin, in Aberdeenshire. He married first, Lady Jane Stuart, daughter of John, Earl of Athol, brother uterine of King JAMES II. of Scotland, and son, by her second marriage, of Jane, widow of JAMES I. Queen Dowager of Scotland, and granddaughter of King EDWARD III. of England, being the daughter of his son John, Duke of Lancaster. He married secondly, Margaret Drummond, of the family of Perth, and d. in 1544. His eldest son, JOHN GORDON, of Pitlurg, married Janet, daughter of James Ogilvie, of Cullen, (ancestor of the Earls of Findlater and Seafield) by whom he acquired the estate of Broadlands, in Aberdeenshire. He fell at Pinkie, in 1547, leaving one son, only five months old, persons of distinction to Sir John and his son, distinctly show the high character and influence which they maintained with the jarring factions of the period, and which enabled them so powerfully to aid their friends. Those letters to Sir John are of great value in an historical point of view, as they throw much light on some of the most obscure parts of the transactions of those times. Sir John m. Isabel, daughter of William, seventh Lord Forbes, and d. 16th September, 1600, leaving two sons and a daughter. The elder son, The Marquis of Argyle, by various means, obtained possession of the whole estates of Huntly, and the Marquis of Huntly's children thus becoming dependent on the favour of their uncle Argyle, constantly applied to Mr. Gordon, whose utmost influence and address were employed in procuring for them a temporary subsistence, and in settling the family differences, which had almost produced an open rupture with Argyle. There are many letters to Mr. Gordon from Argyle's nephews, (the sons of the Marquis of Huntly,) full of complaints against him; and there are some from Argyle, which appear to justify his conduct in those affairs. In the same uniform line of conduct Mr. Gordon continued to exert himself in favour of the family of Huntly, till the restoration of CHARLES II. when the estates and honours were restored to George, fourth Marquis of Huntly, created Duke of Gordon, 1st November, 1684. DuSIR JOHN GORDON, knight, of Pitlurg, ring the troubled times of the two CHARLes's, who frequently represented the county of Sir John Gordon and his son Robert, were Aberdeen, in the Scottish Parliament, and of the greatest service to the family of Huntly, bore an eminent part in the affairs of that and the numerous letters from these moperiod. He enjoyed the esteem and confi-narchs and from the principal nobility and dence of JAMES VI. and many letters from that Prince to him are in the possession of his descendants. He was specially invited by the King to attend the baptism of Prince HENRY, at Holyrood, on which occasion he received the honour of knighthood. In October, 1594, his Majesty, by a royal letter and mandate, committed to his custody "the house, place and fortalice of Strathbolgie," and empowered him to receive the rents and revenues of the estate for the behoof of Henrietta, Countess of Huntly, the eldest daughter of Esau, Lord Aubigny, (the King's first, and for a long time his most intimate favourite) who was created Duke of Lennox, in 1581. The Earl of Huntly at that time headed the catholic faction, was persecuted by the Reformers, but protected by the King, and Sir John, who professed the protestant religion, and enjoyed the full confidence of JAMES VI. was frequently employed as a negociator in the affairs of the Earls of Huntly, Angus and Errol, (then distinguished by the appellation of "the three Popish Lords.") In these negociations, it is evident from the documents in the possession of his descendants, that Sir John had warmly espoused the cause of Huntly; and the influence of his family, and the high character which he maintained with both parties, enabled him to interfere successfully in behalf of the Earl, and to protect him from the full fury of the Reformers, while his son, Robert Gordon, possessing the same high character, and a similar, or even greater degree of influence and power, was, on the execution and forfeiture of the Marquis of Huntly, in 1649, of the greatest service to the large family which that nobleman left behind him. JOHN GORDON, of Pitlurg, inherited the esteem of JAMES VI. He m. Nicolas, daughter of Kinnaird, of Kinnaird, but dying s. p. in 1619, was succeeded by his brother, ROBERT GORDON, of Pitlurg, commonly designed of Straloch. This gentleman, a poet, a mathematician, an antiquary, and a geographer, was born 14th September, 1580, and acquired the rudiments of his education in Marischal College and University, of which he was the first graduate. He afterwards studied at Paris, where he made the acquaintance of several remarkable men. A few years after his return to Scotland, he married Catherine, daughter of Alexander Irvine, of Lenturk, and not long subsequently purchased the estate of Straloch, in Aberdeenshire, where he continued to reside. In 1641, he was honoured by a letter from CHARLES I. “ earnestly entreating" him to complete the publication of an atlas of Scotland, which had been projected by Timothy Pont. To this work Mr. Gordon zealously devoted himself, and in such high estimation were his labours held, that by two acts of the Scottish Parliament, he was exempted from all military burdens, while the general | there is a memoir of Mr. Gordon.* He assembly of the church published a request had issue, to the clergy, to afford him every assistance in their power. Thus encouraged, the undertaking was completed in the year 1648, and soon afterwards published by the Blaeus, of Amsterdam, under the title of "Theatrum Scotia." A second edition was published in 1655, and a third in 1662. Of this performance it is sufficient praise to state that it was the first delineation of Scotland made from actual survey and measurement, and that its accuracy is remarkable even in the present day. While he contributed many maps, entirely of his own construction, he revised and materially improved all the others, adding geographical descriptions of much value, and prefixing an introduction, in which a comprehensive view is given of the constitution and antiquities of the country. These dissertations are remarkable as the first attempts to settle the ancient history of Scotland on the basis on which it is now universally acknowledged to rest. On these topics Mr. Gordon farther explained his views in several essays, hitherto inedited, which are mentioned with much approbation by Bishop Nicolson, in his Scottish Historical Library. Besides the "Theatrum Scotiæ," Mr. Gordon wrote several works, which still remain in MS. The chief of these is a History of the Family of Gordon from the earliest period to the year 1595, bearing this title, "Origo et Progressus Familiæ illustrissimæ Gordoniorum in Scotiâ," and like all his productions, written in Latin, with ease, elegance and accuracy. He wrote also a preface to Archbishop Spottiswoode's History of the Church of Scotland, and translated into Latin the controversy between John Knox and Wolfram, sub-prior of St. Andrew's. An able critical letter on the Scottish historians, which he addressed to the antiquary David Buchanan, is inserted in Leland's Collectanea; some of his poems have been printed in Bishop Forbes' Funerales (Aberdeen, 1635) and elsewhere; and part of his correspondence with Lord Crimond (father of the celebrated Burnet, Bishop of Salisbury,) appears in a memoir prefixed to "Johannis Forbesii, a Corse, opera," published at Amsterdam, in 1703. By his contemporaries of all parties, he was held in the highest respect, and was frequently called on to fill the honourable office of mediating between them. He d. 18th August, 1661, and was interred in the family burial place at New Machar, on the 6th of September following. A portrait of him, by Jameson, the Scottish Vandyke, is preserved in the public hall of Marischal College; an engraving from this painting was published in Smith's Iconographia Scotica, and another print lately appeared in Chambers' Lives of Illustrious Scotsmen, where 1. ROBERT, his heir. 11. John, of Fechill. III. William, who died at Paris, in 1648, without issue. He distinguished himself by his zeal in the royal cause, and wrote "Animadversions on the Proclamation of the Long Parliament, and the Declaration against the King. IV. Alexander, d. s. p. in 1615. v. James, minister of the parish of Rothiemay, who m. the heiress of Frazer, of Techmiury, and founded a respectable family. He assisted his father in his geographical labours, and himself acquired eminence in that department of science. He published a highly curious map of the city of Edinburgh, with views of some of the chief buildings. He constructed also a plan of the cities of Old and New Aberdeen, which was engraved in Holland, at the expense of the corporation, who presented Mr. Gordon with a silk hat, and with a silver cup, weighing twenty ounces, besides a donation to his lady. He wrote a "History of the Transactions in Scotland from 1637 to 1640," and "A Description of bothe towns of Aberdeene," to accompany his plan. Both these treatises still exist in manuscript, together with a Common Place Book of Practical Divinity, which he composed in 1646. VI. George, who d. in 1636. VII, Alexander, who was educated for the profession of the law, became a member of the Scottish bar in 1684, and in 1688 was appointed a judge in the Court of Session, with the title of Lord Auchintoul. VIII. Hugh, d. s. s. p. " IX. Arthur, an eminent barrister, who m. Catharine, daughter of Alexander Menzies, of Kinmundy, and died in 1680. His son founded and endowed a magnificent hospital in Aberdeen, called "Robert Gordon's Hospital,' where upwards of one hundred boys are now maintained and educated. x. Patrick, who d. in 1649. XI. Lewis, a physician, d. s. p. in 1704. I. Isabel, m. to Urquhart, of Craighouse. of the Marischal College was painted by Jameson, It is doubtful whether the portrait in the hall or if it was, he must have painted two, for there is no doubt that the portrait in the possession of the present Pitlurg is the work of Jameson; and it is beyond question a superior portrait to the one in the college hall. It was from the painting at Parkhill that the print in Chambers' Lives was taken, 11. Margaret, m. to Sir Richard Mait- v. Ann, m. to Bisset, of Lessendrun, an- The eldest son, ROBERT GORDON, of Pitlurg, b. in 1609, succeeded his father in 1661. He m. in 1638, Catharine, daughter of Sir Thomas Burnett, bart. of Leys, and had, 1. ROBERT, his heir. 11. John, of Collieston, near Arbroath, a physician, who m. first, Katharine, daughter of John Fullerton, of Kinnebar; secondly, Helen, daughter of Allardyce, of Allardyce; and thirdly, Grizel, daughter of Falconer, of Glen Farquhar. His eldest son, John, of Hilton, an eminent physician, married Margaret, daughter of John Dowell, merchant, and had, with other ssue, a son, JAMES, of whom as successor to his kinsman, Gordon, of Pitlurg. 1. Catherine, b. in 1644, m. to Robert, second Viscount Arbuthnot. Pitlurg d. in 1681, and was s. by his son, ROBERT GORDON, of Pitlurg, b. in 1641, who m. Jean, daughter of Sir Richard Maitland, Lord Pitrichie, by whom he had a daughter, m. to Baird, of Auchmedden, and a son, ALEXANDER GORDON, of Pitlurg, who inherited the estates in 1682. He m. Jean, daughter of James Gordon, of Ellen, by whom he had a daughter, who d. unmarried, and a son, Alexander, an ensign in the British army, who, dying in 1748, without issue, the property devolved on the nearest collateral male heir, his uncle's grandson, JAMES GORDON, of Hilton, M. D. who then became of Pitlurg. He m. in 1731, Barbara, daughter of Robert Cuming, of Birnes, and dying in 1755, was succeeded by his son, 1. JOHN-WILLIAM, now of Harperfield, an officer in the royal engineers. 2. Hamilton. 1. Amelia. Mr. Gordon Cuming d. in 1768, and was s. by his son, JOHN GORDON CUMING, of Pitlurg and Birnes, born in 1761, who inheriting in 1815 the estates of his relative, Skene, of Dyce, (eldest collateral branch of Skene, of Skene) assumed the name of Skene, in conformity with a deed of entail. He entered the army in 1779, and joined the 36th regiment, then under orders for America, but their destination was afterwards changed, in consequence of several regiments having objected to embark for Gibraltar, as being contrary to enlisting engagements. The 36th regiment volunteered for that service, and embarked at Cork, but they were dispersed in a storm, and the transports took shelter in various ports in England. Peace very soon after took place, and he received a company in the 16th foot. On the breaking out of the late war he became Major of the Duke of Gordon's fencible regiment, (the North Fencibles, or Gordon Highcoast of Sussex, at the period of General landers,) and served in Scotland and on the Dumorier's threatened invasion. The fenseveral more regiments were raised soon cible force having been found to be efficient, after, and he having obtained the rank of services and commenced recruiting for the lieutenant-colonel in the army, offered his limited to serve in Great Britain and Ireland. Loyal Invernesshire Fencible Regiments, He served with his regiment during the rebellion in Ireland, with much credit, in trying and difficult situations, and induced his regiment to offer their service under him, to join Sir Ralph Abercrombie in Egypt, and to extend it to any part of Europe that his Majesty required. For this spirited offer the regiment received his Majesty's most gracious thanks, and his Royal Highness the commander-in-chief was pleased to order, as a mark of approbation, that the corps should become a royal regiment, and be designated the Duke of York's Royal Highlanders. On the peace of Amiens, in 1802, the fencible regiments were disbanded, and He m. at the termination of that short truce, he was Gal-appointed inspecting field officer of yeomanry and volunteers, and afterwards a brigadier-general in the northern districts of Scotland, under the command of MajorGeneral the Marquis of Huntly (the late Duke of Gordon); thence, in 1810, he was placed as a major-general on the staff of Sicily; then he was removed to a command at Belfast, in Ireland, where he remained two years, and from that he proceeded to Jamaica, where he served as second JOHN GORDON CUMING, of Pitlurg, who succeeded, in right of his mother, to the entailed estates of Birnes and Leask, and added Cuming to his paternal surname. Mary, daughter of John Fullerton, of lery, in Forfarshire, and had issue, I. JOHN, his heir. in command to Lieutenant-general Morrison, | the lieutenant-governor of that colony. He again returned to Britain, and was immediately placed in command of the Severn district, in England. On the 4th June, 1813, he was raised to the rank of lieutenantgeneral, and placed on the Irish staff as a lieutenant-general in command of the southeast district of that kingdom. This command he was obliged to relinquish in 1814, in consequence of declining health, and on that occasion he had the honour and gratification of receiving a very kind and consolatory letter from H. R. H. the Duke of York, acknowledging and thanking him for his long and zealous service. He m. Lucy, third daughter of Sir Hugh Crawford, bart. of Jordanhill, and had issue, 1. WILLIAM, his heir. 11. Thomas, who married Harriet, third daughter of Lieutenant-general Sir William Hutchinson. III. James, who m. Jane-Adelaide, second daughter of Sir Thomas Mackenny, bart. of Dublin. 1. Crawford, m. to William Forlong, esq. of Errins. II. Isabella, m. to Francis Gordon, esq. of Kincardine, brother of James Gordon, of Craig. III. Reubina. Pitlurg died in 1828, and was s. by his eldest son, the present WILLIAM GORDONCUMING-SKENE, esq. of Pitlurg and Dyce. From the first settlement of Adam de Gordun in Scotland, in the year 1057 to the present day, a period of 779 years has elapsed, during which time there have been twenty-six descents in the lineal male line of Pitlurg. The Viscounts of Kenmure, however, also connect a lineal uninterrupted male descent from Adam de Gordun, William de Gordun, the ancestor of this family, being the second son of Adam de Gordun, the eighth in descent from the first settler in Scotland. But the family of Pitlurg came off in the eleventh generation; for on the succession of Elizabeth, the thirteenth lineal descendant of Adam de Gordun, her uncle, John, of Scurdargue, the ancestor of the family of Pitlurg, carried on the male line of the family, and his descendant, the present Pitlurg, is consequently, the descents being clear and uninterrupted, the chief lineal male representative of the family of Gordon. From the family of Pitlurg upwards of sixty families have sprung, who all settled in the north. From various causes arising from the civil wars, &c. it would seem that the family of Pitlurg lost much of their power after the year 1661, and it does not appear that they began to regain their influence before the year 1731. Since that period, however, the estates have been greatly increased, and the influence of the family has progressed with its wealth. The estates of Birnes and Leask, and those left by Mr. Skene, of Dyce, have restored the family to their former rank, and given its present representative an equal political and personal influence with that exercised by his ancestor, Sir John Gordon, in the 16th century. Arms-Az. three boars' heads within a bordure or. Crest-A dove arg. beaked, membered gu. in its beak an olive branch ppr. Supporters-Dexter, a knight in complete Estates-In Aberdeenshire. FLETCHER, OF WATER EYTON AND CANNOCK. FLETCHER, THOMAS-WILLIAM, esq. of Dudley, in the county of Worcester, m. 13th September, 1831, Jane-Maria, daughter of James Russell, esq. of Bescot Hall, in the county of Stafford, by Sarah, his wife, daughter and co-heir of the Rev. John Best Clerk, M.A.* fellow of Worcester College, Oxford, sub-dean and prebendary of Wolverhampton, vicar of Sedgley, and incumbent of Bilston, all in the county of Stafford, and has a daughter, Eliza-Jane. Mr. Fletcher succeeded his father in the year 1827, being then a minor. The representatives of the family of Best have, without the exception of a single generation, been beneficed clergymen in the counties of Worcester and Stafford since the time of the Reformation, and in the former county they possessed the advowsons of Elmley Lovett and Doverdale. |