Colonial families of Philadelphia, Volume II, Part 67

Author: Jordan, John Woolf, 1840-1921, ed
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: New York : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 978

USA > Pennsylvania > Philadelphia County > Philadelphia > Colonial families of Philadelphia, Volume II > Part 67

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

SIR WILLIAM SCOTT, of Balweary, son and heir of Sir Michael, got a charter under the Great Seal, from King James III, upon his own resignation, dated the 16th of October, 1484. He got a confirmation from Adam, Abbott of Dunferm- line, to himself and Mr. William Scott, his son and apparent heir, of the lands and Barony of Balweary, 1498. He got several charters from King James IV of many different lands and baronies, dated 1493-94-98, etc. He married Isabel, daughter of Sir John Moncrief, and had sons and daughters: 1. Sir William, heir. 2. Alex- ander Scott, of Fingask, who in a charter under the Great Seal, dated April 10, 1513, is designated "frater germanus Williami Scot de Balweary militis;" the daughter, Euphame, married Sir John Arnot of that ilk, as appears from a charter dated 1506.

SIR WILLIAM SCOTT, of Balweary, who succeeded his father as Lord of several baronies, got a charter dated 1506, from King James IV, of the lands of Muiburn in Fifeshire, also a charter of the lands and barony of Strameglo, Easter and Wester Pitlow, and several others united to the barony of Strameglo, or Strath- miglo, with the power to erect that town into a barony, etc., dated the penult of February, 1509. By these and other charters it appears he was possessed of a large estate. He accompanied King James IV to the famous battle of Flodden Field, 1513, where he was taken prisoner, which obliged him to sell a portion of his lands of Strameglo to purchase his redemption.

In February, 1524, he was chosen a commissioner to Parliament, when was appointed one of the lords of the articles for the barons, an honor frequently afterwards conferred on him. On November 24 he was styled a Justice in the absence of the Justice-General in a commission appointed to do justice on the "malt maker of Leith for common oppression through the exorbitant dearth raised by them, and of their causing through the whole realm." On the institution of the College of Justice, May 13, 1532, he was nominated the first Justice on the tem- poral side, but died before November 19, of that year. There is an article on him in the "Dictionary of National Biography." By his wife, Janet. daughter of Thomas Lundy, of Lundy, he had two sons :

SIR WILLIAM SCOTT, his successor, of whom presently:

Thomas Scott, who obtained a charter under the Great Seal of the lands and house of Petgorus, Jan. 2, 1526; on Nov. 19, 1532, he was appointed an ordinary Judge in place of his father, with the title of Lord Petgorus: he was a great favorite with King James V., by whom he was appointed Justice Clerk in 1535; d. in 1539; according to the legend related by Knox, in his "History of the Reformation," Scott visited the King at Linlithgow, on the night of his own death, "with a company of devils," an- nouncing that he (Scott) was "adjudged to endless torment": there is an article on him in the "Dictionary of National Biography."

1424

SCOTT

SIR WILLIAM SCOTT, of Balweary, son of Sir William, the Justice, was in his father's lifetime put in possession of the lands and barony of Innertiel, and was long designated by that title. He got a charter under the Great Seal, upon his father's resignation, for the lands and barony of Glendoick, etc., in county Perth, and the lands of Strameglo, or Strathmiglo, county Fife, dated March 5, 1528, and another from King James V, under the Great Seal, dated May 7, 1535, for the lands of "Cairny, alias Wester Strameglp." etc. In the sketch of his father in the "Dictionary of National Biography," he is spoken of as the father of that Sir James Scott, of Balweary, (flourished 1579-1606) who was concerned in the intrigues of the Earls of Angus, Erroll and Huntley, of that time, and of the cele- brated Francis, Earl of Bothwell, but was really his great-grandfather, as here- after shown. Sir William married Isabel, daughter of Patrick, Fifth Lord Lind- say of the Byres, and had two sons and a daughter: Sir William, his heir, of whom presently ; Andrew, ancestor of the Scotts of Ancrum, of whom presently ; Catharine, wife of Lawrence Mercer, of Aldie. Sir William was succeeded by his eldest son :

SIR WILLIAM SCOTT, of Balweary, who in his father's lifetime was also desig- nated by the title of Innertiel, having got a charter under the Great Seal, for the lands and barony thereof, dated April 3, 1548. Upon his father's resignation, he got a charter under the Great Seal to him and Helen, his spouse, for the lands of Kilgour, barony of Strameglo, etc., confirmed December 4, 1553. He married Helen, daughter of Sir William Lauder, of Hatton, by whom he had two sons: Michael, eldest, designated in a charter, under the Great Seal, dated 1540, as heir apparent to the Lord William Scott, of Balweary, but died before his father, un- married; Sir William, who succeeded his father.

SIR WILLIAM SCOTT, of Balweary, was wounded at the battle of Langside, 1568. He adhered to the cause of Queen Mary. In the records of the Privy Seal there is a precept for a charter confirming an alienation by him, 1572. He married Janet, daughter of Lindsay of Dowhill, by whom he had two sons; Sir James, heir, and Robert, of whom there is no succession.

SIR JAMES SCOTT, of Balweary, was served heir to his father in 1579, and had the honor of Knighthood conferred upon him by King James VI, at the coronation of the latter's Queen, Anne of Denmark, 1590. In an article on him in the "Dic- tionary of National Biography," he is called grandson of Sir William Scott, (died 1532) and eldest son of Sir William Scott, of Balwearie and Strathmiglo, by his wife Janet, daughter of Lindsay of Dowhill; the last statement is correct, but he was really great-great-grandson of Sir William Scott, (died 1532). He was engaged with the Earls of Angus, Erroll and Huntley, and others of the nobility and gentry, who opposed the new religion and was with them at the battle of Glenliver, 1594; but he soon afterwards obtained a remission under the Great Seal from King James VI, for himself, his brother Robert, and John Kinniard, the younger, of that ilk, dated February 24, 1595. The article mentioned above, (Dict. Nat. Biog.) says: "In December, 1583, his name appears at a band of caution for the self-banishment of William Douglass of Lochlevan. On March 4. 1587-8, he was called to answer before the Privy Council, along with the turbulent Francis, Earl of Bothwell, and others, for permitting certain Border pledges to whom they had become bound, to escape. # *

* A Catholic by conviction, and fond of fighting and adventure, he gave active and unconcealed

I425

SCOTT

assistance both to the Earl of Bothwell, and to the Catholic Earls of Angus, Erroll and Huntley. He seconded Bothwell in his attempt to seize the King at Falkland Palace on 28 June, 1592, and having, for failing to answer concerning the late treasonable fact, been, on 6 June, denounced a rebel, on 10 November, obtained caution to answer when required, and not to repair within ten miles of the King's residence without license. At the convention of estates, held at Linlithgow on 31 October, 1593, he was appointed one of the sham commission for the trial of the Catholic Earls, and as was to be expected, favored the Act of Abolition, passed in their favor. It was probably through him that Bothwell arranged his interview with the Catholic Earls at the kirk of Mennuir in Angus in 1594, when a band was subscribed between them which was given into Scott's keeping; but by the accidental capture of Bothwell's servant the plot was discovered, and Scott was immediately apprehended and lodged in the Castle of Edinburgh. On 23 January, 1595, he was brought to the Tolbooth Gaol, and kept there all night. On being interrogated he delivered up the band, and, according to Calderwood, made a con- fession to the effect that the King should have been taken, committed to per- petual prison, the prince crowned king, Huntley, Erroll and Angus chosen Re- gents. Notwithstanding this extraordinary revelation, 'he was' says Calderwood, 'permitted to keep his own chamber upon the 29th of January, and was fined in twenty thousand pounds, which the hungry courtiers gaped for but got not.' Calderwood also publishes the heads of the band, and Scott's confession is fully noticed in the record of the meeting of the Privy Council of IIth February. Nevertheless the matter does not appear to have been taken very seriously by the council, it being only too manifest that if the Earls had the will, they had not the power to effect any such revolution. On 25 January, Scott obtained a remission, under the Great Seal, much to the chagrin of the ministers of Edinburgh, who desired the task of excommunicating him. On 29 August, 1599, he was required to give caution that he would keep the peace. If during the remainder of his life he eschewed entangling himself in politics, there is evidence that he remained as heretofore, restless and unruly. Having on 5 November, 1601, been denounced for failing to answer a charge of destroying the growing corn of Patrick Pitcairne of Pilour, he on 16 October, 1602, found caution in three thousand merks not to harm him. On account of his repeated fines, Scott was compelled to sell various portions of his estates until in 1600, all that remained in his possession was the tower and fortalice of Strathmiglo, with the village and lands adjoining. On 13 December, 1696, a decree was passed against him lying at the horn for debt, and various other decrees at the instance of different complainers were passed on sub- sequent occasions. Before his death the remaining portions of his lands were dis- posed of, and he left no heritage to his successor. The downfall of the family affected the popular imagination and gave birth to traditions more or less apochry- phal. According to one of these, although his inveterate quarrelsomeness made him lose his all, he was very mean and miserly ; and on one occasion, while looking over his window, directing his servants, who were throwing old and mouldy oat- meal into the moat, he was accosted by a beggar-man who desired to be allowed to fill his wallet with it. This the harsh baron of Balweary refused, whereupon the beggar pronounced his curse upon him and declared that he himself should yet be glad to get what he then refused."

Sir James Scott married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Andrew Wardlow, of Tor-

1426

SCOTT

rie, and had two sons; William, his heir; and James, who left county Fife and purchased the lands of Logie, near Montrose, county Angus ; married Katharine, daughter of Orrock, of Orrock, and ( although Playfair says he had no succession ) was the ancestor of the present family of Scott, Baronets of Dunninald, (See Burke's Peerage) ; and a daughter, Janet, married Sir John Boswell, of Balmuto.

WILLIAM SCOTT, (no longer of Balweary), eldest son of Sir James, lived in the reign of King James VI, of Scotland, and I, of England, and King Charles I; it is uncertain whether he died before his father or not. As the latter's heir apparent, he gave his consent to Sir James's alienation of the lands of Pitlour, Wester Outhronie, etc., in the Barony of Strameglo, county Fife, to Alexander Moncrief, as appears by a charter under the Great Seal, dated January 7, 1601. His only son :

COL. WALTER SCOTT, was successor to either his father or grandfather, but as there was no heritage to succeed to, he betook himself to a military life, and rose to the rank of Colonel in the army, but never married. Playfair, (Bristol Baron- etage, 18(1) says: "Some little time before his death he sent over from Holland to Sir John Scot, of Ancrum, Baronet, the seal of the family of Balweary, with a letter acknowledging him to be his heir male, which is still preserved. He died in Flanders, reign of Charles II, and having no lawful issue, in him ended the whole male line of Sir William Scott, of Balweary, eldest son of Sir William. The representation therefore devolved upon the family of Ancrum, as descended from Andrew, second son of the said Sir William." Playfair is wrong as to the whole male line of Sir William, son of Sir William, dying out with Col. Walter, for James, second son of Sir James, (of William, of Sir William), carried on a line (now Baronets of Dunninald), much nearer in relationship to Col. Walter than the Ancrum line, but Col. Walter, nor Sir John, of Ancrum, appear not to have known of these relatives, and Playfair certainly did not, for he says, that of this James, "there is no succession."

ANDREW SCOTT, EsQ., second son of Sir William Scott, of Balweary, obtained from his father the lands and barony of Glendoick, county Perth, with the express provision that, on his death, these lands should revert to the family of Balweary. This Andrew Scott lived in the reign of Queen Mary, was a man of prudence and economy, and acquired the lands of Kirkstyle, parish of Kinfauns, Perthshire, which subsequently became the title of his family. He married Euphame, daugh- ter of Sir Thomas Blair, of Balthyock. She was of Royal descent, through the following line :

Edward I, King of England, married as second wife, Margaret, daughter of

Philip III, King of France, and had by her,

Edmond, of Woodstock, Earl of Kent, beheaded, 1329; he married Lady Mar- garet, daughter of John, Baron de Wake, also of Royal descent, and had,

Lady Joan Plantagenet, "The Fair Maid of Kent," who married (first ) William de Montacute, Earl of Salisbury, from whom she was divorced; (second) Sir Thomas de Holland, K. G., Earl of Kent; (third) Edward, "The Black Prince," son of King Edward III. By her second husband, Sir Thomas de Holland, Earl of Kent, who died December 26, 1360, and who was nearly related to the reigning family, she had,

Sir Thomas de Holland, K. G., second Earl of Kent, Marshall of England, who

1427

SCOTT

married Lady Alice, daughter of Richard Fitz Alan, K. G., Earl of Arundel and Surrey, by his wife, Lady Eleanor Plantagenet, and had,

Lady Margaret Holland, who died December 31, 1440; married (first ) Sir John de Beaufort, K. G., Marquis of Dorset, and Earl of Somerset, who died in 1418, and had,

Lady Joan de Beaufort, married (first) James I, King of Scotland; (second) in 1439, Sir James Stewart, "The Black Knight of Lorn," also of the Royal Family of Scotland, by whom she had,

Sir John Stewart, created Earl of Athol in 1457, died 1512. He married, as his second wife, Lady Eleanor Sinclair, daughter of William, Earl of Orkney and Caithness, and had,

Lady Elizabeth Stewart, who became the second wife of Andrew, third Lord Gray, who had by her,

Lady Jane Gray, whose first husband was Sir Alexander Blair, of Balthyock, Perthshire, and by whom she had,

Sir Thomas Blair, Knt., of Balthyock, father of Euphame Blair, who married Andrew Scott, Esq., above mentioned, and their son,

ALEXANDER SCOTT, of Kirkstyle, Esq., married Catharine, daughter of Hugh Moncrief, of Rind, by whom he had a son :

PATRICK SCOTT, of Kirkstyle, Esq., later of Langshaw and later of Ancrum, who succeeded his father. He lived in the reign of King James VI, and was a man of good abilities and great application to business. He sold his lands of Kirk- style, Perthshire, and purchased those of Langshaw, south country. He after- wards acquired lands and barony of Ancrum, Roxburghshire, which has ever since been the chief seat and title of the family. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Simpson of Monturpie, an ancient family in the county of Fife, by whom he had three sons and one daughter. He died in the reign of King Charles I, and was succeeded by his son :

SIR JOHN SCOTT, of Ancrum, who obtained a charter under the Great Seal, dated 1670, of the lands and barony of Ancrum, etc. He was by King Charles II, created a Baronet of Nova Scotia, October 27, 1671, with remainder to his heirs male generally. Sir John Scott died in 1712, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Sir Patrick.

Sir John Scott, of Ancrum, married (first) Elizabeth, daughter of Francis Scott, Esq., of Maugerton ; issue :

Sir Patrick Scott, who succeeded his father as Baronet of Ancrum, a lawyer of eminence, who was summoned by the Prince of Orange to the Scottish convention, in 1688, for the co. of Selkirk; m. (first) Anne, dan. of William Wallace, Esq., of Helington, by whom he obtained a considerable fortune, but had no surviving issue; m. (second) Margaret, dau. of Sir William Scott, of Harden (this family being now Barons Pol- warth, as previously shown), by whom he had two sons and four daughters; his de- scendants are still Baronets of Ancrum, and may be found in Burke's "Peerage";

Charles Scott, Esq., m. Margaret, sister of John Rutherford (who voted at Peers' elec- tions as Fifth Lord Rutherford), and they left a son, John, of Belford, and several daughters, one of whom m. Mr. Sinclair, writer to the signet in Edinburgh; another m. Mr. Ronalds, a military officer; and a third m. Rev. James Rose, of Udney;

JOHN SCOTT, "who being bred a merchant, settled in New York, where he married and had a numerous issue, some of whom are in a prosperous situation"; of whom pres- ently ;

Andrew Scott, also bred a merchant, but d. without surviving issue;

William Scott, bred to the law, and an advocate; also d. without surviving issue;

Anne Scott, m. (first) William Scott, of Raeburn, whose second brother, Walter, was

1428

SCOTT

great-grandfather of Sir Walter Scott, Baronet of Abbottsford, author of "Waverly"; they were a branch of the Scotts of Harden, who were cadets of the Buccleugh family ; Elizabeth Scott, m. Elliott, of Stobem, but had no issue by him; Playfair gives two Elizabeths among the daughters of Sir John Scott, but possibly Lady Elliott m. (second) John Erskine, of Sheffield; see forward;

Cicely Scott, m. William Ainslie, of Black Hill;

Jean Scott, m. John Murray, of Bow Hill, Esq., second son of Sir John Murray, of Philiphaugh, and one of the senators of the College of Justice;

Elizabeth Scott, m. John Erskine, of Sheffield, and had issue. (These two Elizabeths are given on the authority of Playfair; perhaps they are the same, and Sir John had but four daughters by his first wife, the eldest Elizabeth, Lady Elliott, above men- tioned, marrying (second) John Erskine).

Sir John Scott, of Ancrum, married (second) Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Will- iam Bennett, of Grubbet ; issue :

Margaret Scott, m. (first) Thomas Scott, of Whitshead, (second) Sir David Murray, of Stanhope;

Christian Scott, m. Sir Thomas Calder, of Murton, Bart.

Sir John Scott married (third) Barbara, daughter of Walter Ker, of Little- dean, by whom he had no issue.

JOHN SCOTT, of New York, was third son of Sir John Scott, first Baronet of Ancrum. The exact date of his arrival is not known to the family in America. The first official record of his presence in this country is in the office of the Secretary of State of New York, Albany, being that of the appointment of John Scott and his partner, William Glencrosse, as Prize-Masters at New York. On March 2, 1702, John Scott was "received and allowed a freeman and a citizen" of the city of New York. He was again in Great Britain, 1709-10, for on January 28 of that year we find him drawing, from London, on his brother, Patrick Scott, then or afterwards Baronet of Ancrum, for £25, 15s., to the order of Robert Bruce, of Edinburgh, which amount Sir Patrick paid to Bruce and took his receipt, en- dorsed on the draft, and dated March 21, 1710. Fourteen years afterwards, Sir Patrick, by a formal separate paper, dated at Ancrum, April 2, 1724, assigned this bill of exchange as a gift to his nephew, Patrick Scott, son of the drawer, John Scott, who apparently still owed the amount to his brother, Sir Patrick. These papers, with letters from members of the family at Ancrum to members of the family in New York, still preserved by descendants, leave no doubt as to the origin of the American branch of the family and the identity of the emigrant, John Scott.

On March 1, 1710, John Scott was commissioned, by Gov. Robert Hunter, Lieutenant of Capt. James Weemes's company of Fusileers posted in the Province of New York, succeeding Charles Conereve, gentleman, resigned ; the commission being recorded at Albany. Lieutenant Scott was commandant at Fort Hunter, erected 1711, on the Mohawk river, New York. In March, 1711-12, he wrote to the Provincial Secretary, Mr. Wileman, to get "His Excellency's" signature to an extension of his leave of absence for four months to enable him to go to South Carolina. The signature to the letter, which is on file at Albany, and other signatures of the commandant, compared with the signatures on the above men- tioned bill of exchange and other papers, leave no doubt whatever as to the identity of Lieutenant Scott with the emigrant, the New York merchant, and the son of Sir John Scott, of Ancrum.

1429

SCOTT

Lieutenant John Scott died in June, 1725. Family tradition says that his deatlı occurred from the effects of a fall which he received when landing, on some occa- sion, at the city of New York, and that he was buried "at the foot of the fort."

His position at Fort Hunter enabled him to locate great quantities of vacant lands in the "Mohawk Country," afterwards Ulster and Albany counties, New York. He became a very large landowner in this region, some of his land having been granted him for his military services. Among other purchases he bought some land from the Indians, May 14, 1716, a tracing of the deed for which is in possession of Mrs. Lewis A. Scott, of Philadelphia. Besides this document and a copy of Lieut. Scott's commission, Mrs. Scott has the originals of the following : The draft on "Sr. Pat : Scott of Anckrum," Jan. 28, 1709-10, and the assignment of the same to his nephew, April 2, 1724, both mentioned above; the certificate of his admission as a freeman of the city of New York, March 2, 1702 : the indenture of partnership between John Scott and William Glencrosse, September 4, 1703; the certificate of the admission of "John Scott, Merchant of New York In Amer- ica" as a "Burges and Gild-brother" of the city of Glasgow, Scotland, July 7, 1709. Mrs. Scott also has a copy of the certificate of his admission, under the name of "John Scott lawful son of Sir John Scott, of Ancrum," as a burgess and guild- brother of the burgh of Peebles, Scotland, July 12, 1709, the original of which was in 1869 in possession of Mrs. Essex Watts, of Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

One of the deeds in possession of Mrs. Scott is an important one, dated No- vember 4, 1722, by which John Scott, of Albany county, gentleman, grants lands in Albany county and in Perth Amboy, to two of his younger sons, Patrick and Hunter Scott, in trust, for the use of himself and his wife, and after their death to the use of all their children, eventually to be divided in equal shares between the said children or their representative heirs. In the minutes of the Council of New York there is mention of a petition from John Scott for permission to pur- chase fifteen hundred acres of land from the Indians, which he did purchase before August 31, 1722, and a patent therefor was issued to him later by the New York authorities.

Lieutenant John Scott married Magdalena, daughter of John Vincent, and granddaughter of Adrian Vincent, a Hollander, who was in New Amsterdam, (afterwards New York) as early as July 16, 1645, and had land on Broad street. By her John Scott had nine children. These children are all mentioned in the deed of November 4, 1722, referred to above, from John Scott to his sons, Patrick and Hunter Scott, which was acknowledged by the grantor at Fort Hunter, Sep- tember 14, 1724. In the acknowledgment the grantor is styled "Lieutenant John Scott, Commandant of his Majesty's garrison called Fort Hunter, in the Mohawk Country." At this date all of the nine children were living except Ann. Magda- lena (Vincent) Scott survived her husband about three years and ten months. She made a will dated April 11, 1729, at which time six of her children were living, John, Patrick, Hunter, Vincent, Rebecca and Rachel; Patrick afterwards died, before his mother.

Issue of Lieut. John and Magdalena (Vincent) Scott:

JOHN SCOTT, eldest son, of whom presently;

Patrick Scott, to whom his uncle, Sir Patrick Scott, of Ancrum, assigned his father's unpaid bill of exchange, and who was one of the parties to the deed of Nov. 4, 1722; d., unm., about 1731, on the coast of Guinea, while on a trading voyage to those parts;

1430

SCOTT

Mrs. Lewis A. Scott, of Phila., has in her possession copies of two letters referring to his death, the originals of which belonged, 1869, to Mrs. Watts, above referred to; one of these is from Sir Patrick Scott, of Ancrum, March I, 1731, to his nephew, John Scott, Jr., of New York, and says. "For we hear your brother Patrick died some time ago on the coast of Guinea, to the great loss of all his relations and much regret of all who knew him"; the other is from Margaret Scott, dau. of Sir Patrick, bearing the same date, March 1, 1731, to her cousin, John Scott, Jr., of New York; she writes of "Pour Pattie's" death, and of a note she had received from him shortly before that event, and greatly laments the family's loss; it is inferred that he visited the Ancrum family, and that there was a love affair between Patrick and his cousin, Margaret; at any rate she never married, as may be seen by reference to Burke's "Peerage and Baronetage";

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Colonial families of Philadelphia, Volume II, Part 67

Author: Jordan, John Woolf, 1840-1921, ed Publication date: 1911 Publisher: New York : Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 978

Author: Jordan, John Woolf, 1840-1921, ed
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: New York : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 978