Notes:

For the sources of information, see in this file under "INFORMATION,Sources of" and also "INFORMATION, General Clan Genealogy ".

James married Jean (Janet) Beaton in Nov 1516. Jean (daughter of Sir David John (1st of Creich) Beatoun and Jean Duddingston) and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

James married Mary Princess of Scotland Stewart in Apr 1474. Mary (daughter of James II (The Fiery Face) King of Scotland and Marie of Gueldern) was born about 1451; died about 1488. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Beaton, Beatoun Bethune

David + Jean Duddingston. Jean (daughter of Stephen (1st of Sandfurd) Duddingston) died after 1541. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

The son of Sir John Hamilton of Cadzow and his wife, Janet Douglas, James Hamilton is first attested to in 1397. In a writ of that year, his father Sir John Hamilton granted him the lands and privileges of Kinneil, in return for the superiority of all property that had been promised to him through his marriage after his attainment of majority.
Hamilton next comes to notice in a Safe-conduct issued by Henry V of England to travel to Calthorpe Castle in Lincolnshire.
In 1424, Hamilton was one of the Scottish Lords allowed passage to Durham to visit the captive James I of Scotland. In the same year, he was one of many Scots hostages given to the English as security for the payment of the ransom of the newly freed King of Scots. His estate was valued at 500 merks.
Hamilton was confined first at Fotheringay Castle, then at Dover Castle. He appears to have been released by 1426. He was invested as a knight before 1430.
Hamilton died not later than 1441, when his son is described as Lord of Cadzow.
He was the son of Janet (or Jacoba) Douglas, daughter of Sir James Douglas, 1st Lord Dalkeith, but his paternity is uncertain. Douglas's husband was Sir John Hamilton of Cadzow and it was long thought that he was James's father. However DNA testing of his descendants in the Hamilton Surname DNA Project suggests that Sir John was not his biological father

James + Janet Livingston. Janet (daughter of Sir Alexander (of Callender) Livingston and Dundas) and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

In 1449 James II reached adulthood, yet in many ways his "active kingship" differed little from his minority. The Douglases used his coming of age as a way to throw the Livingstons out of the shared government, as the young king took revenge for the brief arrest of his mother (a means to remove her from political influence) that had taken place in 1439. Douglas and Crichton continued to dominate political power, and the king's ability to rule without them remained arguably limited.

But James did not acquiesce with this situation without argument, and between 1451 and 1455 he struggled to free himself from the power of the Douglases. Attempts to curb the Douglases' power took place in 1451, during the absence of the Earl of Douglas from Scotland, and culminated with the murder of Lord Douglas at Stirling Castle on 22 February 1452.

The main account of Douglas's murder comes from the Auchinleck Chronicle, a near contemporary but fragmentary source. According to its account, the king accused the Earl (probably with justification) of forging links with John Macdonald, 11th Earl of Ross (also Lord of the Isles), and Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Crawford. This bond, if it existed, created a dangerous axis of power of independently-minded men, forming a major rival to royal authority. When Douglas refused to break the bond with Ross, James broke into a fit of temper and stabbed Douglas to his death. His court officials (many of whom would rise to great influence in later years, often in former Douglas lands) then joined in the bloodbath, one allegedly striking out the Earl's brain with an axe.

This murder did not end the power of the Douglases, but rather created a state of intermittent civil war between 1452 and 1455. James attempted to seize Douglas lands, but his opponents repeatedly forced him into humiliating climbdowns, whereby he returned the lands to James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas, and a brief and uneasy peace ensued.

Military campaigns ended indecisively, and some have argued that James stood in serious danger of being overthrown, or of having to flee the country. But James's patronage of lands, titles and office to allies of the Douglases saw their erstwhile allies begin to change sides, most importantly the Earl of Crawford after the Battle of Brechin, and in May 1455 James struck a decisive blow against the Douglases, and they were finally defeated at the Battle of Arkinholm.

In the months that followed, the Parliament of Scotland declared the extensive Douglas lands forfeit and permanently annexed them to the crown, along with many other lands, finances and castles. The Earl fled into a long English exile. James finally had the freedom to govern as he wished, and one can argue that his successors as Kings of Scots never faced such a powerful challenge to their authority again. Along with the forfeiture of the Albany Stewarts in reign of James I, the destruction of the Black Douglases saw royal power in Scotland take a major step forward. - Wikipedia

James married Marie of Gueldern on 3 Jul 1449 in Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh, Scotland. Marie (daughter of Arnold Duke of Gueldres and Catherine of Cleves) was born in 1432 in Grave; died on 1 Dec 1463 in Edinburgh, Scotland; was buried in Collegiate Church Of The Holy Trinity, Edinburgh. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

John + Mary (of Balgregie) Boswell. Mary (daughter of David (4th of Balgregie 1st of Boswell) Boswell and Elizabeth (of Raith) Melville) and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]