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THE
BOYD FAMILY OF YORK COUNTY, MAINE
Arthur Sumner Boyd Jr.
Published by
Leland E. Dorthy
15 Vandewater St.
New York 1924
This Electronic Edition published by
Richard G. Boyd
568 W. Friedrich St.
Rogers City, Michigan 49779
© 1995
INTRODUCTION
(PART 1) Skip the
introduction and go directly to the Maine Boyds
In the several books and pamphlets on the various branches of
the family of BOYD, there is little or no mention of the Boyd
Family of York County, Maine, U.S.A. This work was undertaken with a view of eliminating that deficiency, and to also
supplement the extremely bare account of the Scottish family in the Peerage of Scotland, and to correct the errors found in the "History of the Boyd Family" by William P. Boyd, of Conesus, New York, published at Rochester in 1912.
The portion covering the family in Scotland is based on
Wood's Douglas's Peerage of Scotland: Robertson's
Description of Cunninghame" (Irvine 1820) Robertson's History of Scotland (London 1776); "The Norman People and
their descendants in the British Dominions and the United
States", Anonymous, (London, 1874); and the works of Lang,
Lingard, Hume-Brown, and others. The data on the Family of
York County, Maine, is principally taken from notes of the
researches of the Rev. James Boyd, who compiled a history,
and the printed copies were all destroyed by fire, together with the original manuscript. The other information is
gathered from the hundreds of volumes and papers consulted,
and the hundreds of letters written and received in the past
twelve years.
ii
Genealogical records are never perfect, mistakes are bound to
creep in, and many records are lost, while others disagree.
However, the writer has endeavored to be as exact as possible
and for such errors as exist corrections are solicited.
At the time of the first settlement of New England, the new
year began on the 25th day of March, "Annunciation" or "Lady"
Day. Any dates between January and March 25 appearing in original records should, therefore, have one year added.
Later a new form of designating the year was adopted; the
first time it was used in the General Court of Connecticut
was "this 20th day of March, 1649-50, or 1650 by our present
reckoning. This style prevailed for about 100 years. Due to
an error in the calendar the dates in all months between 1600
and 1700 should be carried forward ten (10) days, thus July
10 was really July 20, according to our present system. The
British Parliament changed the calendar from the old style to
the new, the one used at the present time, and changed the
date of September 3rd, 1752 (Old Style) to September 14, 1752 (New Style), thus dropping eleven days.
Another error is that resulting from our ancestors (as the
people of Europe still do today) of putting the month of a
date in the middle. Thus 8th March, 1758, often abbreviated
it to 8/3/58 or 8/III/58, so that when an abbreviated date in
an old document is found or copied as, for example, 4/6/61,
iii.
it is not known whether June 4th or April 6th is meant, as
the figures might have been transposed by the modern copyist.
As a rule our pious ancestors always sought baptism for their
children, and following as nearly as possible the Biblical
rule of circumcism on the eight day after birth, enables us
to approximate the date of birth from baptismal records. It
must be noted, however, that baptismal records have this element of error: The church would not baptize children
unless at least one of the parents was a church member. Thus,
in many instances, none of the children would be baptized
until one or both of the parents joined the Church, and then
the whole family would be baptized on the same day.
The spelling of both Christian and surnames have been copied
exactly as found. Practically all the data on living and
recently deceased members of the family has been furnished by
themselves or by members of their immediate family, and needs no further acknowledgement. Every living member has received
at least three communications from me, except those for whom
addresses are lacking, some as many as ten, and a lack of
data in these cases is certainly not the fault of the compiler. I am especially indebted to Mr. Leonard Boyd, Mrs.
Flora (Boyd) Chadbourne, Mrs Emma (Boyd) Billings, Mrs.
iv.
Charles H. Boyd, and Miss Angeline Gould, for the assistance
they have rendered in the past ten years, and to my wife, who
helped bring my work to a successful conclusion.
In conclusion I wish to thank all who have been so kind in
answering my many questions, and venture a hope that this
little book will serve to remind future generations that they
have a heritage of a race and a name of which they may well be proud.
Arthur S. Boyd Jr.
Brooklyn, New York, July 1, 1924.
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THE BOYD FAMILY OF KILMARNOCK, SCOTLAND
(Early History)
Skip
the early history of the Kilmarnock Boyds go directly to the Maine Boyds
The Boyd family of Kilmarnock, Scotland, from which is
descended all the Boyd families of Scottish origin, is a
branch of the Breton family of Dinan, or de Dinant. The identity of the families appears in their arms; as the family
of Dinan bore a fesse indented, while that of Fitz-Alan (from
which the Stuarts and Boyds are descended) bore a fesse
chequey.
The principally of Dol and Dinan was in the old French
Province of Bretagne, and extended from Alet (St. Malo), by
way of the towns of Dol (now known as Dol-de-Bretagne, in the
Department of Ille-et-Vilane), Dinan (in Cotes-du-nord), and Combourg, to the central hills of Bretagne, over a tract of
ninety miles by sixty. Its chiefs, on whom many Barons were
dependent, were rather sovereigns than magnates, and their
origin is lost in antiquity. In all probability they
represented the patriarchal sovereigns of the Diablintes, the
nation who held that part of Bretagne in the time of Julius
Caesar, who conquered Bretagne in 57-56 BC and gave it the name of Armorica, and occupied the coast of Gaul between the
seine and the Loire, but later the name of Armorica was
confined to Bretagne.
Page 2.
During the 5th and 6th centuries Armorica suffered from Anglo
Saxon invasions, and its name was changed to Britannia Minor.
About 500 AD the Frisians invaded Armorica at the instigation
of Clovis, but in 513, Hoel, son of Budic, King of Armorica, returned from exile with his principal chiefs, and re-established the independence of Armorica. In the fuedal
dismemberment of the Kingdom of France in the 9th century, Bretagne became a County hereditary to the Counts of Bretagne
in 824 AD. Prior to the Romans, Gaul (France) was peopled by
barbarians, but under the Romans they acquired some semblance
of civilization. After the departure of the Roman Legions
they reverted to a species of barbarity, the strong oppressing
the weak, the well known or powerful gathering followings and
setting themselves up as petty rulers and warring on there
surrounding neighbors, but show a more or less united front to invasion by other barbaric peoples from the north, east
and south. Thus grew up petty kingdoms and the feudal system,
with the King over all, the Dukes holding vast possessions,
and responsible only to the King (who they often ignored),
the Counts and Barons, Knights, yeomen, freemen, and serfs,
making a military form of government.
Page 3.
From the time of the return of Hoel, the Counts of Dol
began to appear. Frogerius is mentioned as possessed of great
power in the time of Samson, Abbot of Dol, ca. 570. Count
Loiescan, his successor, granted to the Abbey of Dol an
estate in Jersey, part of which had been formerly given to
Samson. "Quidam comes nomine Loiescan, vaide divitarium
opibus obsitus". Rivallon, who is mentioned as a "tyrranus",
or one of great power, "potentissimus vir" ca. 710 AD,
restored a monastery at the request of Thurian, Bishop of
Dol. Early in the following century, Salomon appears to have
been Count of Dol, and his son Rivallon, with his brothers
Alan and Guigan, witnessed a charter of Salomon, King of
Bretagne, ca. 868 AD.
Alan, Count of Dol, about the year 919, gave his daughter in
marriage to Ralph, Lord of Rieux, in Bretagne. About 930
mention is made of Salomon as advocate, or protector, of the
church of Dol, he being evidently Count of Dol at the time.
3) Ewarin seems to have been the immediate successor of
Salomon as Count of Dol, 950 AD, and with him we can start
the probable consecutive line of descent. Two of Ewarin's
sons, Alan and Gotsclien de Dinan, witnessed a charter of
Bertha, mother of Duke Conan, about the year 980. Alan
succeeded his father as Count of Dol, and was in turn
succeeded by his brother Hamo, another son of Ewarin.
Page 4.
(4) Hamo I, succeeded his brother Alan about 980, and was
known as Viscount of Dinan. He had six sons: the first being
Hamo II, ancestor of the Viscounts of Dinan and the Barons de
Dinant of England, by writ, 1294 AD; the other sons were
Juahoen, (or Junkeneus), Archbishop of Dol, ca. 1000 AD;
Rivallon, Seneschal of Dol, from whom the latter Counts of
Dol were descended; Gosclein de Dinan; Salomon, Lord of Guarplic, ancestor of the Breton family of Du Guesclein; and
Guienoc.
(5) Guienoc, being ancestor of the Boyds, we will not pursue
further the descent of the Counts of Dol and Viscounts of
Dinan. We find mention of three sons of Guienoc: Flahald;
Alan Seneschal of Dol; and Rivallon. Alan, Seneschal of Dol,
in 1079, at the foundation of the Abbey of Mezouit, near Dol
(a cell of St. Florient, Saumur, of which William de Dol or
Dinan was Abbot) granted to the Abbey the site on which it
stood. This grant of Alan was confirmed by his brother
Flahald, and was also confirmed by Oliver, Viscount of Dinan,
whose charter was witnessed by Alan, Seneschal of Dol. At
about the same time, Geoffrey, Viscount of Dinan, granted the
lands of Dinan to the same Abbey, which were part of the
estate of "Alan, the Seneschal, son of Guienoc" which were
given with the consent of Rivallon, Alan's brother, and
Rivallon is received as a monk in the Abbey.
Page 5.
(6) Flahald, son of Guienoc, whose name is variously spelled
as Flaud, Fledadus, Flaad, or Falud, had at least one son:
(7) Alan Fitz-Flahald, who was Baron of Oswaldestre (now
Oswestry), in Salop (now shropshire), and Mileham, England
and was one of the army of William, Duke of Normandy, when he
invaded and conquered England In 1066. In 1098 he granted the church of Gugnan, in Bretagne, to the Abbey of Combourne (or
Combourg), where the Castle of the Viscounts of Dinan was
located from about the year 1000. He was sheriff of Shropshire, and married Margaret, daughter of Tergus, Earl of
Galloway, by whom he had five children, and he died in 1114.
According to the Scot's Peerage, he married the daughter and
heiress of Warine, sheriff of Shropshire.
The first of these children is unknown, but is supposed to
have been William "Fitzland", (1105-1160) who was the
ancestor of the Earls of Arundel (England), which title, in
1546, passed thru an heiress to the Dukes of Norfolk. The
"Norman People" states that William Fitz-Alan, founder of Haughman, Salop, was the son of Alan Fitz-Flahald, and father
of Simon.
The second son of Walter Fitz-Alan (d. 1177), who went to
Scotland in the service of King David I., and had large
possessions conferred on him in Renfrewshire. Under the reign
Page 6.
of Eadger, King of Scotland (1097-1107) the crown authority
only extended south of the Forth and Clyde. The Western
Islands and extreme north were possessed by the Norwegians.
Eadger was the son of King Malcolm Canmore (reigned 1058-1093) and St. Margaret, sister of Eadger Aetheling, who was
the sole representative of the Saxon rulers of England after
the death of King Harold and his brothers at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Scotland and England being then at peace,
and during this and later reigns of Alexander I (1107-1124)
and David I (1124-1153) many Norman nobles entered the
Scottish service in the wars against the Norwegians, being
rewarded by large grants of the recaptured land. David I had
been educated in England under Norman teachers, and brought
Normans and Norman customs with him to Scotland, among whom
was Walter Fitz-Alan. He was created "dapifer" (Steward or
Seneschal) of the Royal household, which title became
hereditary in the family. (See appendix A). He founded the
monastery of Paisley in 1160, and he and de Moreville were
witnesses to a charter of David I to the Abbey of Melrose.
(See appendix B).
The third son was Simon Fitz-Alan (8), ancestor of the Boyds;
the fourth unknown; and the fifth was Adam Fitz-Alan, mentioned in a charter given by David I in 1139.
Page 7.
(8) Simon Fitz-Alan (son of Alan Fitz-Flahald) followed his brother Walter into
Scotland in the service of King David I.
Simon witnessed Walter's foundation charter to the monastery
of Paisley in 1160, in which he is designated as "frater
Walterii, filii Alani, dapiferi". According to Sir James
Balfour Paul's Scottish Peerage (vol. v. pp 136-137) this
charter was executed not at Paisley but at Fotheringay, and
Mr. J.H. Round appears to have proved that this Simon was
only uterine brother to Walter, and that he was Simon de
"Caisneto" alias "de Norfolc" who held the manor of Mileham. There is no evidence that Simon remained permanently in
Scotland. He was living about the year 1200, and had a son:
(9) Robert, who was surnamed "Boyt", now variously spelled
Boit, Boyt, Boid, Boidet, Boyd and Boyde, but the form "Boyd"
is the one generally used. This name is supposed to be
derived from the Celtic "Buidhe" meaning of fair complexion.
But it is not without it improbilities. It is most unlikely
that there were any Celtic people around the family of the
high Steward in those days, of importance or influence enough to bestow any appellative upon his nephew, it being known
that Norman Barons surrounded themselves exclusively with
their own families and dependents. Still less is it likely
that any appellative bestowed by a remote and conquered
people would have become hereditary among those haughty
chiefs. In the examination of the lands which anciently
Page 8.
belonged to the Bishopric of Glasgow, made during the
government of Count David (later David I), when that region
was considered a province of England, the most ancient and
authentic document extant of native origin, this important
fact was distinctly brought out. In the names of witnesses
cited in that document, moreover consisting as they do of
Judges of Cumbria (or Lothian) and other natives, as in all the writings of that Prince connected with that district,
there is not a Celtic name to be found, all being either
Saxon or Norman, with one or two Danish or Norwegian names although this occurred at a time prior to the settlement of
Alan Fitz-Flahald in that County. It is to be noted still
further that amongst the Saxon names of witnesses occurs that
of Bold or Boyd, a person of some consequence at that time.
It may therefore be less improbable that the name is derived
from a descendant of this individual who may have become
connected with the family of the Steward by marriage. When
the gentility of blood was not marked by the actual tenure of
land or office, something was wanting to indicate it. Hence the adoption of surnames and of armorial bearings, which were
devised in the 11th and 12th centuries.
The first mention of the surname Boyd in Scotland is when
Robert is witness to a contract between Boyce de Eglinton and
the town of Irvine in 1205. He is designated as "Dominus
Page 9.
Robertus Boyt" nephew of Walter, High Steward of Paisley, and
Lord High Steward of Scotland. The Boyds bear the same arms
as the Stuarts, denoting their descent. The Boyd arms,
granted in 1206, are "Azure, a fesse chequey, argent, and
gules, Crest: a dexter hand, couped at the wrist; motto:
"Confido" "I Trust". In design these arms are the same as the
Stuarts, denoting their kin, and the "tartan" or plaid worn
by the Boyds is known as "Hunting Stuart". In former times in
Scotland every clan and the clergy wore a distinctive
"tartan" or plaid, and it was a criminal offence for one to wear a tartan to which he was not entitled. Robert died prior
to 1240 leaving a son:
(10) Robert, "Dictus Boyd", first mentioned (1262) in a
charter by Sir John Erskine, of the lands of Halkill, in
which he is designated as "Robert de Boyd, miles". He took part in the Battle of Largs, in Ayrshire, October 3, 1263 (See Appendix E), between the Scots and King Hako or Haakon
of Norway, for the possession of western Scotland and the
islands, resulting in a complete victory for the Scots. The
word "Goldberry" was placed on his arms in commemoration of
his services in this Battle in the vincinity of Goldberry
Hill, near Keppenburn, and he received a grant of several lands in Cunninghame, Aryshire, from King Alexander III. He
died about the year 1270, leaving a son:
Page 10.
(11) Sir Robert Boyd, who, with the majority of the Scottish
nobles, was probably at first loyal to King John Baliol, but
regretted their loyalty when time showed that Baliol was a
tool of Edward of England in his attempt to obtain the rule
of Scotland. Baliol swore fealty to Edward soon after he was
crowned in 1292, and resigned his crown to Edward on July 7,
1296.
Edward overran lower Scotland in 1296, and Sir Robert was one
of the nobles who swore fealty to him, but soon showed that
it was force and not inclination that made him do so, for,
with his cousin, the Steward, he joined Sir William Wallace
in July 1297, in his gallant attempt to gain Scotland's
freedom. He was present at the taking of Ayr, and accompanied
him on many raids into England. No further record is found of
him, but as many of the Scottish nobility were captured and
executed or exiled, his death seems to be unrecorded. He was
evidently at the Battle of Stirling Bridge, September 11,
1297, in which the Scots under Wallace were victorious; and,
as the Stewarts were present, he was probably with them at the Battle of Falkirk, in 1298, in which the Scots were
defeated. He left a son:
(12) Sir Robert Boyd, who was one of the first to join Robert
Bruce on the execution of Wallace. "Bruce was stripped of
lands, honors, and even christian dues, for he was solemnly
Page 11.
excommunicated by the pope, a circumstance which produced no
effect on the mind of Scotland. Only his friends remained,
among them the ancestors of the House of Kilmarnock, whose
descendants were, in the utmost calamity, to be as true as
they to the blood of the Bruce. . . " Many joined Bruce from
ill will at the English justiciaries, by whom they had been
put out of their lands in 1306, and because, in accordance
with English Law, Scots were punished by burning, by hanging,
and being torn to pieces at the heels of horses. Therefore
they rose like one man, preferring death to the laws of
England.
Robert Bruce was crowned King of Scotland at Scone on March
27, 1306, and a short time after his little army was broken
and routed and he himself a fugitive on the Isle of Rathlin.
Sir Robert Boyd joined him on Rathlin in February, 1307, and
shortly after, with Sir James Douglas, descended with a body
of soldiers on the Isle of Arran and captured the Castle of
Brodick, and Bruce soon joined them. The Boyds took part in the Battle of Loudon Hill, May 10, 1307, and were in the
third (left) division of the Scottish first line at the
Battle of Bannockburn, June 24, 1314, under Walter, 6th Steward, which battle marked the end of English dominion in
Scotland. Sir Robert was a member of the Scottish expedition
to Ireland in 1315. For his services Sir Robert-
Page 12.
"Roberti Boyde, militi dilecto et fideli nostro"- received from Bruce
grants of the Barony of Kilmarnock, and the lands of Kilbryde
and Ardnele which were Geoffrey de Ross's (son of the
deceased Reginald de Ross); all of the land which was William de Mora's (de Moreville?) in the tenement of Dalry; all
erected into a free barony to be held of the King, the
charters being dated 1308 and 1316. He also had a charter of
the lands of Nodellsdale, and another granting Hertschaw in
free forest.
In "Robertson's Index of Charters (1797)", among the missing
charters of Robert Bruce are five: to Robert Boyd, of Duncoll
and Clarksland in Dalswinton; to Robert Boyd, son of William
Boyd, of the lands of Duncoll and the Barony of Dalswinton,
and the lands of Dulgarthe; to Robert Boyd, the lands of
Glenken, the five pound land in Trabeache "in Kyle regis",
and the five penny land of Trabeache in Kyle. The "Robert",
son of William (who was son of Thomas, son of Sir Robert) who
was ancestor of the Boyds of Badenheath.
The Barony of Kilmarnock (including the lands of Bondington,
adjacent) comprised about 2350 acres, and according to Timothy Pont
in his "Cunninghame Topographer (1609)" belonged "... first
to ye Locartts (de Loch Ard), Lords there of, then to Lord Soulis...." At the time of granting to Sir Robert Boyd it
was the property of King John Baliol, so Soulis must have
Page 13.
forfeited it to Baliol, as he was loyal to Bruce as early as
1298, before he was crowned, and was therefore a rebel, but
he later turned against Bruce and was executed for treason in
1320 (See Appendix D). The Barony was in the possession of the Boyds, with but little intermission, until the Glencairn
family acquired it from them some time after 1752. It is
situated in the heart of the Parish of Kilmarnock, in the baliwick of Cunninghame, County of Ayrshire. The town of
Kilmarnock is on a stream known as Marnock Water, about 21
miles SSW fron Glasgow, 12 miles NNE from Ayr, and 6 1/2
miles east of Irvine. The name is supposed to be derived from
St. Marnock, whose cell (or kil), residence, or place of
sepulcher is thought to have been there. He is stated to have
died about 322 AD, but Kilmarnock is not mentioned in history
until nearly 1000 years after, and then not as a town, but as
a territorial possession, when it was granted to Sir Robert
Boyd.
Dean Castle, the ancient residence of the Boyds, is situated
about one-half mile up from the town, in a hollow near the
bank of the Marnock. It consists of three edifices in very
different styles of building. Two of them are square piles of
very great height, with extremely few windows or openings,
and apparently very ancient. The other is comparatively
modern, forming two sides of a square, of two stories in
Page 14.
height, and well furnished with windows. It was accidentally
destroyed by fire in 1735, and the family then moved to a
large house in the town of Kilmarnock, which was still standing a few years ago, and the ruins of the castle may
also still be seen. (See Appendix D).
Sir Robert Boyd was one of the guarantors of the treaty of
peace with England in 1323. He, with his retainers, was in
the first line and was taken prisoner at the Battle of
Halidon Hill, July 19, 1333. This battle, near Bannockburn,
was a terrible defeat for the Scots by the English under
Edward Baliol. In May, 1334, King David II was carried to
France, and his adherents, including the Boyds, were either
exiled or compelled to flee for safety. Many Scots took
service at that time under the King of France and other
foreign rulers. In 1336 they recaptured from the English some
of the lands that were taken, and David II returned from
France, June 2, 1341, then aged 18. If the Boyds had been
deprived of their lands they took possession of them again
without a new charter from the King, as the Scots did not recognize the forfeitures and seizures of the English. It was
a maxim of the age that any noble knight might claim as his own any territory which his sword had won from the enemy.
Great estates were acquired in this way, and to these the
gratitude and liberality of David II added, by distributing
Page Page 15.
among such as adhered to him the vast possessions which fell
to the crown by the forfeitures of his enemies. There is
record of a charter of David II to John Boyd, of the lands of
Guaylistoun, in Galloway, forfeited by John Guaylistoun. He
must have been one of the younger members of the family. Sir Robert Boyd died in the beginning of the reign of David
II, or about 1329 or 1330. He left three sons: Sir Thomas
(13); Sir Alan, who commanded the Scottish archers at the
siege of Perth, held by Edward Baliol, and was killed there
in August, 1333; and James de Boyd, who witnessed a charter
in 1342.
(13) Sir Thomas Boyd had from King David II a grant of
forfeiture of William Carpenter; and accompanied that monarch
to the Battle of Durnam (or Neville's Cross), October 17,
1346, where he was taken prisoner with his Royal master,
taken to London, and imprisoned for a time. In October, 1357,
a treaty was made for David's ransom, and no doubt Sir Thomas
was ransomed at or before that time. He had three sons: Sir Thomas (14); William, ancestor of the Boyds of Badenheath
(See Appendix F); and Robert de Boyd, ancestor of the Boyds
of Portincross (See Appendix G).
(14) Sir Thomas Boyd (erroneously styled by Mr. W.P. Boyd as
the First Lord Boyd) had a remission for the killing of one
Nielson, of Dalrymple, in a feud in 1409, from Duke Robert of
Page 16.
Albany, who had seized the reins of government from King
Robert III. He married Alice, a second daughter of Sir Hugh
Gifford, of Yester, and by this union acquired a large
fortune. They had one son:
(15) Sir Thomas Boyd, "dnus de Kylmoreowe", who was one of
the sureties, or hostages, for King James I (who had been
held by the English as prisoner for 19 years), when he came
to Scotland, May 31, 1421, to make arrangements with his subjects for his ransom. The King was released by the English
on the promise of the Scots to pay a ransom of 40,000 pounds,
and ascended the throne in 1424. Sir Thomas was one of the
hostages handed over to the English as security for the payment, which was never made, as the King wasted the money
that was raised for it, and many of the hostages died in
English prisons. Sir Thomas was delivered as hostage May 28,
1424, and was released July 16, 1425, being probably
compelled to pay his own ransom. At the time he was delivered
as hostage his annual income was estimated at 500 merks. The
Scots merk (or Mark) was reckoned at 2/3 of a Scots pound, a
Scots pound being worth 1/12 of the English pound Sterling. The Scots pound contained 20 shillings, each shilling worth
one penny Sterling. Thus the Scots merk was worth 13 1/2
pence Sterling, or about $0.26, at the present silver weight
of the pound Sterling. However, the pound Sterling originally
Page 17.
contained more silver by weight than it now does, the silver
content being reduced by several monarchs to enable them to
pay their debts, so the merk was worth more then, and the
purchasing price of silver was greater then, as the board and
lodging for two knights and their horses overnight at an inn
in the 13th century was three pence. Sir Thomas married Johanna Montgomery, daughter of Sir John
Montgomery of Ardrossan. He died July 7, 1432, and is buried
at Kilmarnock, the monument to him and his wife reading: "Hic
Iacet Thomas Boyde, Dominus de Kilmarnock, qui obitt Septimo
de mensis Julii, 1432" and Johanne Montgomery, eins sposa
Orat, pro iss". They had two sons: Sir Thomas (16); and
William, Abbott of Kilwinning, who obtained from King James
III a charter confirming grants of the crown to the Abbey. William had a dispensation from Rome, and received grants of
land in Lanarkshire, which descended in lineal succession
until sold by the late Rev. William Boyd, D.D., father of
Edward Boyd, of Merton Hall, County of Wigton, Scotland,
whose arms are the same as the Kilmarnock family. Of the lands of Kilwinning a small estate, Auchinmade, was owned by
an Andrew Boyd in 1820. For a very complete description of
Kilwinning see "Cunninghame", page 191.
Page 18.
(16) Sir Thomas Boyd was arrested May 13, 1424, during the
regency of the Duke of Albany, for appropriating part of the Crown rents, and was placed in confinement at Dalkeith, but
was freed on compensating for the discrepancy. One of the
most tenacious and persistent foes was Sir Alan Stewart of
Darnley, who had been High Constable of the Scottish Army in
France. Having returned to his home in the Eastwood parish of
Renfrewshire, he prosecuted campaigning against Sir Thomas,
in whom he found a foeman worthy of his steel, and the
borderlands of Ayrshire and Renfrewshire had good cause to
remember the rapine and plunder which distinguished the long
continued combat. It was war to the knife, against houses and
homesteads, against castles and mansions, against farmers and
rustics, against all who in any way were allied to, or connected with either of the great families of Boyd or Stewart.
In 1439 Sir Thomas Boyd killed Sir Alan Stewart at Polmaise
Thorn, between Falkland and Linlithgow. When Sir Alexander
Stewart heard of his father's death, he prepared for his
revenge. Sir Thomas, with a hundred men, awaited him in the
Dean Castle, which was well fortified with its moat, drawbridge, and battlements. Sir Alexander had two hundred men,
but divided his forces. The fight took place at Craignaugh
Hill, in Renfrewshire, on the night of July 9, 1439, where
Sir Thomas met Stewart with part of his men. The rest of
Stewart's men fell on Boyd's rear, and they were ambushed.
While Sir Thomas was in personal combat with Sir
Page 19.
Alexander, one of Stewart's followers stabbed him in the back
with a dagger, and, after a short resistance, the Boyd forces
retired. Before the fight the wife of Sir Thomas, Lady
Isobel, had a dream, foretelling his death in the encounter,
and she swooned as his body was brought into Dean Castle, and
he died that night. The fight did not end the feud, however,
for another Stewart was slain by the Boyds, near Dunbarton.
Sir Thomas had four children: Robert Boyd (17); Sir Alexander
Boyd of Drumcoll, "a mirror of Chivalry", who was with King
James II when Earl William Douglas was killed by the King in
Stirling Castle, February 22, 1451-52, and was one of those
to stab Douglas. He was appointed Governor of Edinburgh
Castle and to superintend and instruct the young King James
III in his military exercises, in 1466. A safe conduct was
granted to "Alexander Boyde, knight, as Ambassador to
England, 28th March 1465" and another to "Alexander Boyde of
Drumcoll, knight" for the same purpose, September 8, 1465. He was executed on Castle Hill, Edinburgh, November 22, 1469,
for complicity in kidnapping the King. David Cathcart, son of
Alan, 1st Lord Cathcart (who d. 1499) married Margaret,
daughter of Sir Alexander Boyd of Drumcoll, and died without
issue. Who Sir Alexander married is not recorded.
The third child was a daughter, Janet, who married John
Alexander Maxwell, of Calderwood, and the fourth was
Page 20.
Margaret, who married Alexander, 2nd Lord Montgomery, Parish
of Kilwinning, Cunninghame, Ayrshire. (Robertson says she was
daughter of Sir Robert Boyd of Kilmarnock). Their eldest son,
Alexander Montgomery, died before his father, and his son
Alexander succeeded as 3rd Lord Montgomery (ca. 1465). His
son Hugh, 4th Lord Montgomery (1460-1545) was created Earl of
Eglinton in 1507. He had a son John, Master of Eglinton, who
was killed in April, 1520, before the death of his father, but the second son of John was Hugh, who succeeded as 2nd
Earl of Eglinton. The son of Hugh, 2nd Earl was Hugh 3rd Earl
(d. 1585) whose son Hugh, 4th Earl of Eglinton, married Giles
(or Egidia), daughter of Robert, 4th Lord Boyd. Hugh, the 4th Earl was murdered April 12, 1586, and left a son. Hugh, 5th
Earl, who during his minority, was placed under the guardianship of his maternal uncle, William Boyd of Badenheath, while
his estates were placed in the care of his paternal uncle,
Robert Montgomery of Giffen. Hugh, 5th Earl, married Elizabeth Montgomery, the only child of his uncle, but having no
issue, and seeing no probability of having any, he settled his
lands on a cousin, Alexander, and died in 1613, his estates
and titles passing to the cousin aforementioned, and his
widow afterwards married (as his first wife) Robert 6th Lord
Boyd. (Robertson says she married Thomas, Lord Boyd, but
seems to be incorrect, as there is no record of a Thomas,
Lord Boyd at that time.)
Page 21.
(17) Robert Boyd was created a peer of Parliament with the
title of Lord Boyd prior to July 13th, 1459, by King James
II, and in the same year was one of the commissioners sent to
prolong the truce with England, which they concluded for nine
years.
On the death of James II, in 1460, Lord Boyd was appointed
Justiciary of Scotland, and one of the Council of Regency
during the minority of King James III (then aged 8 years),
and was twice sent as ambassador to England, in 1464 and
1465. There is also record of safe-conduct to "Robert Lord
Boyde and Alexander Boyde, Knight" into England, 5th December
1463.
Robert Boyle is witness to a charter of Robert Boyd of
Kilmarnock, to John Boyle of Wamphray, of the lands of
Ryesholme, dated October 11, 1446. "Our beloved cousin, Lord
Boyde" is witness to a charter of King James to the burgh of
Tain and St. Duthus (Inverness) dated October 12, 1457.
On the death of Bishop Kennedy in July, 1465-66 Lord Boyd
introduced his sons and his brother, Sir Alexander Boyd, to
the Royal favor. On February 10, 1466, this Sir Alexander
Boyd, with Robert, Lord Fleming (son of Malcolm Fleming, who
had suffered death with the 6th Earl Douglas in 1440), and Gilbert, Lord Kennedy (brother of the late Bishop), entered
Page 22.
into a bond pledging themselves to stand by each other in all
quarrels and against all persons, with sundry other clauses
and conditions. The very qualifications they made to their
bond showed the measure of their power. In the case of all
three there were previous pledges to other leading persons of
the country, and in favor of these was to be an exception in
the present understanding. The two important clauses in the document exhibit spirit and the aims of its authors. Fleming,
on his part, was to leave the King in the hands of Boyd and
Kennedy, while they pledged themselves to put in his way any
"large thing" that should fall to the crown. (This bond is in
notes to Vol. V of Tytlers History of Scotland).
Lord Livingston, Lord Hamilton, Crawford, Montgomery,
Maxwell, and Patrick Graham (Bishop of St. Andrews and half
brother of Bishop Kennedy and Lord Kennedy), were in the
band. They planned to take advantage of the extreme youth of
the King, James III, then aged fourteen years, that they
might broaden their power and increase their wealth. In June,
1466, there was an audit of the Royal revenue, and on July
10th, while the King was at Linlithgow, Alexander Boyd,
Sommerville, Hepburn of Hailes, and Andrew Ker of Cessford,
constrained him to proceed to Edinburgh, on the pretext of a hunting trip, and to remove from his presence those who had
been ordered to attend him by the states. For reasons unknown
Page 23.
Kennedy evidently changed his mind, quarreled with the others
and was imprisoned in Stirling Castle by Sir Alexander Boyd.
Graham then grew antagonistic, and was driven from Scotland,
going to Rome.
On October 9th, Parliament having been summoned , Lord Boyd
knelt before the King, in presence of the assembled estates,
asked the King if he had been taken to Edinburgh against his
will. The King replied that everything had been done by Royal consent, and, as further proof of Boyd's loyalty, he was
appointed guardian of the persons of the King and his two
brothers, and keeper of the Royal Castle. Afterwards he was
appointed one of the Council chosen to arrange the marriages
of the Royal family. The act of Parliament was ratified by
charter under the great Seal, October 25th, 1466, and by
another charter of the same date Lord Boyd was constituted Governor of the Kingdom until the King came of age. Nor did
the honors that fell to the Boyds cease there. The act of
attainder which was soon to overtake them shows the extent of
the territory they contrived to acquire, but the pride of
their house reached its limit in the fortunes of Thomas Boyd,
eldest son of Lord Boyd. The rapid rise of the family is
proof of their audacity and talent, but in the case of Thomas
Boyd we have a distinct testimony to the brilliant qualities
that led to his ascendency. Supported by these gifts and
Page 24.
graces, the influence of his family did the rest, and in the
beginning of 1467 he received the title of the Earl of Arran,
and was married to the Lady Mary, eldest sister of the King.
By the grants of land which followed, Arran became the first
subject of the Kingdom, and but for an ill-advised step,
might have maintained the position which his capacity and
influence seemed to assure him.
The supreme power of Scotland was now vested in Lord Boyd,
who was constituted Great Chamberlain of Scotland for life,
on August 25, 1467, but his power, however, was short lived,
as the mind of the King was alienated from the Boyds by their enemies. A Parliament was assembled in 1469 and Lord Boyd was
summoned to appear and answer such charges as might be
brought against him. He appeared, followed by his retainers
and friends under arms, but on learning that the Royal favor was withdrawn he disbanded his followers and fled to England,
dying at Alnwick in the next year, 1470. His brother, Sir
Alexander Boyd, was detained by illness, and appeared before
Parliament. The principal charge against the Boyds was the removal of the King's person from Linlithgow to Edinburgh,
and this, in spite of the King's statement, was declared
treason. The Boyds were found guilty and condemned to be executed, and their estates were forfeited to the crown. For a
family claiming descent from Lord Boyd.
Page 25.
He married Mariota, daughter of Sir Robert Maxwell of
Calderwood, and they had five children: Thomas Boyd (18);
Alexander, who carried on the succession after the death of
his nephew; Archibald, ancestor of the Boyds of Bolinshaw; Elizabeth, who married Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus,
and had children, one of whom was the Scottish poet Gavin
Douglas, one time Bishop of Dunkeld (born in Brechin about 1474 and died of the plague in London in 1522). Elizabeth had
a charter of the Lordship of Abernathy, May 21, 1468, in
which she is designated as a "daughter of Robert, Lord Boyd,
and the wife of Archibald, Earl of Angus". The fifth child of Robert was Annabella Boyd, who married Sir John Gordon of
Lochinvar.
The above mentioned Archibald, ancestor of the Boyds of
Bolinshaw received the estate of Bolinshaw, situated
on the east side of the Glazert, in the parish of Stewarton,
Cunninghame, but it passed from his descendants prior to
1592, for in that year we find in the hands of a Lawson. Of
Archibald's children, a daughter name unknown first married
Hugh Muir of Pokelly, and then Archibauld Crauford, of Craufordland, whose posterity will be found in Robertson's
"Cunninghame". The second daughter of Archibald was
Page 26.
Elizabeth, who married Thomas Douglas, Laird of Lochleven
(having a son, Sir Robert Douglas of Lochleven, killed at the
Battle of Pinkie, 1547, from whom the Earls of Morton are
descended.
The third daughter of Archibal was Margaret, who in her youth
was mistress to King James IV, and bore to him Alexander
Stewart (Archbishop of St. Andrews), and Jean Stewart, later
Countess of Morton. Margaret was a great favorite at Court, and, as a relative of Elizabeth Boyd, whose husband Archibald
Earl of Angus (then Chamberlain) had the greatest power in
the Kingdom, by his means and her own caused the Boyds to be
restored to their ancient patrimony, the Lordship of Kilmarnock (forfeited to the crown by Robert, Lord Boyd), in
possession of which they continued under the protection of
the Earl of Angus until they were again restored by the Duke
of Hamilton, Governor, after the Battle of the field of
Glasgow, in 1545 (?). Margaret married John Muir, ward of the
Laird of Rowallan, and brought about the marriages of her
other sisters to the Lairds of Lochleven and Craufordland.
At the time of the marriage of her sister to the Laird of Craufordland, Margaret, as "donator", in the presence of
Archibald, Earl of Angus, Chamberlain, "apud Bognall prope
Biggar, 17m Decembris, 1493" disponeth to Archibald Crauford
Page 27.
of Craufordland (her kinsman, as she calls him) the ward of
the lands of Craufordland. She persuaded Elizabeth Muir,
daughter of her sister, the Lady Pokelly, to marry Robert
Crauford, the young Laird of Craufordland, for which she
procured for him the kindness and tack of the lands of
Walston from Archibald, Earl of Angus. The Walston lands were
part of the Barony of Kilmarnock, and remained with
Crauford's successors.
There had also been a long feud between the Lairds of
Craufordland and Rowallan, which, thru the influence of
Margaret Boyd, was settled, upon surrender to the Laird of Craufordland by the Laird of Rowallan, of the land of Ardoch,
the basis of the feud.
In the year 1507, before the Lords of Justiciary at Ayr,
appeared Partick Boyde, a brother of the Laird of Rowallan, and 26 followers, charged with a raid upon the Cunninghames
of Cunninghamehead; together with another brother of
Rowallan, indicted for a quarrel with John Mowatt, Laird of
Busby, and one of his adherents, in the town of Stewarton.
Patrick Boyde was, in all probability, one of the Kilmarnock family, and connected by marriage to the Mures of Rowallan,
as a "brother-in-law" was called brother in those days. At
the same time, before the same court, appeared John Shaw, a
Page 28.
follower of the Craufords of Kerse, indicted for killing,
with a stone, a certain John Boyd, whether a member of the
Kilmarnock family or a man of no importance, we do not know,
but in all probability the latter, for the case was soon
disposed of by imposing a fine.
Robert Crauford, who married Elizabeth Muir, was son of Archibald Crauford (who married the unknown daughter of
Archibald Boyd), and Robert died of wounds he received at the
"Wyllielee", in company with his father, both being in attendance to James Boyd (son of Thomas Boyd, Earl of Arran),
who was killed there by Hugh Montgomery, 4th Lord Montgomery
and 1st Earl of Eglinton (descended from Janet, daughter of
Sir Thomas Boyd (16).
John Crauford, son of the aforementioned Robert Crauford,
settled the feud between the Boyds and the Montgomeries by
arbitration, and married Janet Montgomery, daughter of the
Laird of Giffen. A later John Crauford (who d. January 10,
1763) married secondly, Elenora Nicholson, widow of the
honorable Sir Thomas Boyd advocate, son of William Boyd, 2nd
Earl of Kilmarnock.
(18) Thomas Boyd (son of Lord Robert Boyd) married Princess
Mary eldest daughter of King James II, and sister of King
James III in 1467. In order that his rank be appropriate
Page 29.
to that of his wife, he was created Earl of Arran in the same
year, and the island of Arran, with other lands was given as
the bride's dower, an erected into an Earldom by a charter
dated April 26, 1467, and by other charters of the same date
he received the lands of Stewarton, Tarrinzean, Turnbery, and
Rosedalemure, in Ayrshire; Meikle Cumray in Bute; Covertoun
in Roxburghshire; Teling in Forfarshire; Polgavy in Perth-
shire; and a charter to him and his heirs, of Kilmarnock,
Dalry, Kilbride, Nodisdale, Monfodd, and Le Flat, in Ayrshire; and of Nairstoun in Lanarkshire, on the resignation of
his father, Lord Robert Boyd.
He officiated as Constable in Parliament, October 12, 1467: "Quo etiam de
communicato super nonnullis statum Domini Regis
et cancelarii Comes de Arane constabbularius hac vice per
dominum regnum specialiter deputatus praesens parliamentum in
crastinum contnuavit"; and was also present at Parliament on October 16, 1467, when he was called "Constabularius
Scotiae", but that office was then, and still is, hereditary
in the Erroll family.
Full powers were granted to him, and other commissioners, in
1468, to visit the Courts of England, France, Spain, Denmark,
Burgundy, Bretagne, Savoy, and others, that they might select
a wife for King James III. A marriage treaty was concluded
Page
30.
with King Christian I of Denmark, who agreed to give his
daughter to James III, in marriage, and with her the islands
of Orkney and Zetland as dowry. Earl Thomas Boyd proceeded
with a noble train to Denmark, in 1469, to bring her to
Scotland, but during his absence, their enemies successfully
undermined the Boyds in the King's favor, and when Thomas
arrived in Leith Roads with the Royal bride, in July, 1469, his wife hastened on board to inform him of the withdrawal of
the Royal favor, and they fled to Denmark. James III persuaded Mary to return to Scotland, on the pretext of a pardon
for her husband, but imprisoned her in Dean Castle, Kilmarnock. He then caused public citations, attested by witnesses,
to be fixed up at Kilmarnock, wherein Thomas, Earl of Arran,
was commanded to appear within sixty days, which he not
doing, his marriage with the King's sister would be declared
null and void, the Earl being absent and unheard, the pretext
being a claim of some legal impediment at the time of her
marriage, said to be a prior contract to Lord Hamilton.
The unfortunate Earl Thomas Boyd wandered into England and
other countries. He was in England about 1470, as appears in
the "Paston letters", wherein Paston desires his brother, Sir
John, to recommend him, in his most humble wise, unto "the good Lordship of the most courteous, gentlest, wisest,
NOTE:
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