1^ST BARON OF INCHBRAKIE

AND HIS WIFE

MARGARET STEWART

(OY OF THE DUKE OF ALBANY)

1513 – 1538

The founder of this House became owner of the lands at a very early age, owing to his father, the first Earl of Montrose, having been slain at Flodden. So far as I know, there is no date of his birth extant, and it is only surmise that it occurred about 1508 or 1509, as his mother’s marriage took place subsequent to 1506.

The lands to which he succeeded as the second son of the Earl of Montrose were of considerable value and importance at that time. Young Patrick’s Charter is dated 20th June 1513, three months before the Earl was killed at Flodden, and in it he gives to Patrick, and his heirs male in succession, the lands (amongst others) of "Inchbrakie" or "Inchbraco" and "Pettquelerant" and those of "By Cullard of Foules"

Lands of Pyreny.

I say among others, because later on when litigation occurs on some matter he is styled Patrick Graeme of

"Pyony" or "Pyreny" in the Stewartship of Strathearn; Patrick also owned the lands of Strathbowie, these latter forming part of the Barony termed Aberuthven.

Countess of Montrose, the mother of the Ist Laird.

The Countess of Montrose (Christian Wavane, Lady Segy and Haliburton) also had dowered her eldest son Patrick with lands, but these were resigned by him at a very early age at Edinburgh in 1512. There is a "Reversion" by Patrick Graeme, son to William, Earl of Montrose, of the lands of Nethur Crago for £100, and a five years’ lease at 10 merks yearly, to the ladies of Direlton, Jane, Marian, and Margaret.

The ladies Dirleton, step-sisters to Ist Laird.

These ladies were step-sisters to young Patrick, their father (the Countess of Montrose’s first husband) having been Patrick, sixth and last Lord Haliburton, and their mother, his first wife, having been Margaret, daughter of James Douglas of Pompherston and Aucherston.

Lady Ruthven, step-sister of Ist Laird.

The eldest of these three step-sisters had married William Lord Ruthven, and their grandson William Earl of Gowrie, added the title of Lord Haliburton to his own, being descended from the eldest daughter. The second sister Marian married George, fourth Lord Home.

It would appear from the Reversion alluded to that Lord Haliburton had settled Nethur Crago on his second wife, Christian Wavane, Lady Segy, as part of her jointure; and that it had been settled on her heirs at the time of her marriage with the Earl of Montrose; when making up young Patrick’s portion the Earl probably wished to have the lands more or less massed together, and as undivided as possible; and the exchange of Nethur Crago for £lOO was conducive to this arrangement. thus Patrick’s step-sister Marian became its owner.

Lady Hume, step-sister of Ist Laird.

Tutelage of Xtian, Countess of Montrose.

On the death of his father, Patrick was placed under the tutelage of his mother, the Countess Xtian in the "first instance," and under his brother William, the second Earl and in 1516, when there is litigation before the Supreme Civil Court there is a special mention of Patrick Graeme of "Pyony" and of Christian Wavane, Countess of Montrose, his "mater tutoria".

A charter dated 28th June 1522, mentions William, the second Earl, as lawful tutor to "Patrick Grahame,"

"fratris sui".

The supposition I have made regarding the date of Patrick’s birth seems to be fairly correct, for in December 1523 he appears to have attained his fifteenth year, and be thus entitled to witness charters freed from the tutelage of mother and brother.

The charter is an interesting one inasmuch as it is drawn up on the occasion of the marriage of his young kinswoman, Elizabeth Ruthven, the daughter of his step-sister, Janet Dirleton, (her marriage to Lord Ruthven has already been referred to in the Reversion of Nether Crago in 1512).

It must be borne in mind that Lady Ruthven must necessarily have been many years older than Patrick; still her daughter, Elizabeth Ruthven, must have been of a very tender age, when widowed by Flodden, of her first husband, the Earl of Errol.

Signature A.D. 1523.

It is on the occasion of the Lady Errol’s second marriage, 12th December 1523, to Ninian "Lord of Ros and Mailvale" who is settling on his bride the lands of Stonehous, Prestoun, Morningside,etc., that young Patrick makes his first signature to the "Registrum Magni Sigillie"

Inchbrakie Castle, 1519.

Patrick either built, or restored and enlarged the old castle of Inchbrakie. It was a fortified building surrounded by a moat, and defended by a drawbridge; one hundred and twenty years later, Cromwell and his emissaries set fire to it, making it a heap of ruins; traces of it can still be seen standing to the east of the site of the last mansion; and the moat which surrounded it is distinctly visible, showing a large circle with an approach; within the circle stands an oval ring of beech trees divided by four entrances or apertures, and probably these trees formed a beech hedge surrounding the garden or pleasaunce; to the left stands the historic yew tree which comes into prominence during the time of the fourth and fifth lairds.

Land Titles in 1400.

The young lairds of these early days had need of all necessary appliances to turn their homes into fortresses. There still lingered in the Scottish mind the reply, given a hundred years previously by the Convention of nobles summoned by King Robert the Bruce, to whom he had put the impolitic question, " By what title did they hold their lands ? "

Simultaneously every sword had flashed from its scabbard, and the shout of " we carry our titles in our right hand," must have made the Bruce feel that he was before his time in the matter of equity!

Nor were still more recent examples wanting to show the uncertainty of the times in which our young laird was living. I have already referred to the " Bonds of Friendship " entered into by landowners large and small, in order to protect themselves, and each other, against the turbulence or revenge of their respective followers.

In 1518 we read, that on the 2Ist of May a letter of summons is raised upon my " Lord Drummond for the violence committed upon Andrew Toscheoch, the Lyon King at Arms,"and another instance is in 1530, when Alexander of Strowan, having a dispute with the Tullibardine of that day regarding the marches of their respective estates;

Alexander is attacked and slain by the Athole retainers, but it would be wearisou to multiply such instances, they were sufficiently numerous to make them a matter of almost every-day occurrence.

AD. 1513.Half-sister of Ist Laird afterwards Lady Madertie.

In 1513 Patrick’s second sister the Lady Elizabeth Grame had married Walter, Master of Drummond, and was living in the Strath at Maddert] just midway between her childhood’s home of the Royal Castle of Kincardine, and her young brother’s home of Inchbrakie.

His mother the widowed Countess of Montrose was apparently a woman of some strength of character; she had been given by the late Earl the senior place in the tutorship of their son, and her name appear prominently in the legal proceedings of young Inchbrakie’s claim for lands - we have found no record of the time or place of her death.

Wife of the 1st of Inchbrakie

Patrick’s marriage was one of the most important events of his very short life, and the details regarding it are most scanty. We know it occurred in his early youth and that his bride was of royal

blood for he married the Lady Margaret Steuart. " Oy " to the Duke of Albany, her genealogy is as follows:

James II, King of Scotland, had a second son Alexander of Scotland, he was created Duke of Albany-tempo 1452-and married Lady Katherine Sinclair daughter of the Earl of Orkney. A son Alexander was born of this marriage, but the Duke and Duchess of Albany being afterwards divorced, this boy was declared illegitimate; he took holy orders, becoming Bishop of Moray. This Bishop was the father of Margaret Steuart who became the wife of the first Baron of Inchbrakie and Aberuthven.

Her descent

He seems to have had other children than Margaret, for the Records speak of his son Alexander Steuart of Scotstownhill, whose tutor dative was Henry Sinclair, Bishop of Ross (probably his step-uncle). After Inchbraikie’s death in 1536, his widow married Colin Campbell of Lochow and Glenurchy; a decreit arbitrall also speaks of her as his spouse on April 16th, 1548 it is by Maister Laurence Oliphant, Vicar of Foulis, and other arbiters chosen by Laurence Lord Oliphant, and Margaret Steuart and Colin Campbell her spouse for settling the disputes between Lord Oliphant and the Campbell’s regarding the lands of Dalquhoroquhy in lordship of Carny set by Alexander Abbot of Incheffray to the deceist Walter Oliphant and Margaret Maxwell his spouse and the said Margaret Steuart in life rent probably these lands were Abbey tacks to her father Bishop of Moray.

Her grandfather the Duke of Albany predeceased her husband by two years; Patrick died at Inchbrakie in 1536, having scarcely attained his thirtieth year; he was buried at " Inchefray," the Aberuthven burial-place had not yet been handed over to the Inchbrakies. He left to the care of his young widow their four children, George, Robert, Nichola, and Jonet.

In the following sketch of Inchbrakie’s children we shall meet his widow again but married in a more distant home.