Notes |
- a. This note relates to Euphemia Ross, John Munro's paternal grandmotherand wife of William Munro of Clynes/Mid-Swordale (Munro Tree Q/38).
Euphemia Ross is named in THE MUNRO TREE (1734), edited by R. W. Munro,as "Euphem daughter to Hugh Ross of Achnacloich," but it does not furtheridentify her. The chronoological evidence points clearly to Hugh Ross IIof Tollie/Acnacloich as her father and Isabel, third daughter of GeorgeMunro, 4th of Milton/Dochcarty (MUNRO TREE L/4), and his wife JanetFraser, as her mother.
From
Douglas Hickling
Dhhic@comcast.com
516 Blair Avenue
Piedmont CA 94611
(August 2003)
A more detailed discussion on "NOTES ON A FEW FEMALE ANCESTORS OF JOHNMUNRO" will appear in the up coming edition of the MUNRO EAGLE, thepublication of the Clan Munro Association in the U. S. (June 2003) . SeeBelow.
1. EUPHEMIA ROSS, JOHN MUNRO'S PATERNAL GRANDMOTHER AND WIFE OF WILLIAMMUNRO OF CLYNES/MID-SWORDALE (MUNRO TREE Q/38)
The manuscript identifies the wife of William Munro ofClynes/Mid-Swordale as "Euffem daughter to Hugh Ross of Achnacloich," [6]but is silent as to which of the several generations of Hugh Rosses ofTollie/Achnacloich was Euphemia's father.
In order to determine Euphemia's parentage, it is necessary to estimateher year of birth, as well as that of John Munro. William Munro died in1619 and was survived by four sons, the eldest of whom, Hugh, was alreadyof age as he was served heir to his father in 1620. [7] Thus, William'swife must have been born no later than 1582.
John was apparently unmarried at the time of his capture in 1651, and mayhave been still in his teens. It was the practice, established in 1647,to transport only unmarried prisoners. [8] William Munro, John'sclansman who was also a Scottish prisoner transported on the JOHN ANDSARAH, twice testified under oath in 1691 that he was then 56/57 yearsold, [9] thus establishing his year of birth as 1634/1635. This meansthat William Munro was at most 17 at the time of the battle ofWorcester. It is reasonable to place John Munro's birth year between1629 and 1635.
The chronological evidence points clearly to Hugh Ross II ofTollie/Achnacloich as Euphemia's father. Two of his known childreneither had or could have had grandchildren who were contemporaries ofJohn Munro. Hugh Ross of Breakach, the son of Hugh Ross II, died in1610, leaving a son Hugh Ross III of Tollie/Achnacloich, born about 1601,as he was not old enough to succeed his father and grandfather until1622. Hugh Ross III died suddenly of apparent poisoning in 1643, andwas succeeded by his son John Ross, who was already of age in 1644,meaning that he was probably a little older than John Munro. [10]
Janet Ross, a daughter of Hugh Ross II and a sister of Hugh Ross ofBreakach, was born no later than 1580, as she married Walter Ross ofMorangie in 1595. She died in 1600, a month after giving birth to herthird child. Her son Thomas Ross was born in 1599. He became a notary,and his first wife Margaret Strachan died in 1629, showing that Janet wasalso of the right age to have had grandchildren who who would have beencontemporaries of John Munro. [11]
Further chronological support of Euphemia's placement as a daughter ofHugh Ross II of Tollie/Achnacloich is the fact that Katherine Munro, asister of William Munro of Clynes/Mid-Swordale, Euphemia's husband,married as his first wife William Ross, 3rd of Invercharron, thegreat-grandson of Sir David Ross, 7th of Balnagown. [12] As a presumeddaughter of Hugh Ross II, Euphemia was a great-granddaughter of the sameSir David Ross. [13] Thus, William Ross and Euphemia Ross, who weresecond cousins, married, respectively, Katherine Munro and William Munro,who were sister and brother. Finally, Alexander Ross, 9th of Balnagown,who was the first cousin of Hugh Ross II of Tollie/Achnacloich, thelatter being the presumed great-grandfather of John Munro, was, himself,the great-grandfather of David Ross, 12th of Balnagown, born in 1619.David Ross was thus John's contemporary. Like his cousin John, David wascaptured at the battle of Worcester. He thereafter died a prisoner inthe Tower of London. [14]
Euphemia Ross's mother, the spouse of Hugh Ross II of Tollie/Achnacloich,was Isabel, third daughter of George Monro, 4th of Milton/Dochcarty, andhis wife Janet Fraser. [15]
From
Douglas Hickling
Dhhic@comcast.com
516 Blair Avenue
NOTES TO TEXT
6. R. W. Munro, ed., THE MUNRO TREE--A GENEALOGY AND CHRONOLOGY OF THEMUNROS OF FOULIS AND OTHER FAMILIES OF THE CLAN--A MANUSCRIPT COMPILED IN1734 EDITED WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES (Edinburgh 1978), p. 16.
7. Munro, p. 15.
8. Malcolm Atkin, CROMWELL'S CROWNING MERCY--THE BATTLE OF WORCESTER1651 (Great Britain: Sutton Publishing 1998), p. 130.
9. Richard S. Monroe, comp., HISTORY AND GENEALOGY OF THE LEXINGTON,MASACHUSETTS MUNROES, rev. ed. (Florence, Mass.: 1986), pp. viii-x.
10. R. J. Adam, ed., THE CALENDAR OF FEARN: TEXT AND ADDITIONS,1471-1667 (Edinburgh: Scottish History Society 1991), pp. 172, 207;Francis Nevile Reid, comp., THE EARLS OF ROSS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS(Edinburgh: The Scottish Antiquary 1894), p. 105.
11. Adam, pp. 42, 45, 47-48, 199, 219.
12. Reid, pp. 18-19.
13. Adam, pp. 151-152, 192; Reid, p. 24, 104-105.
14. Adam, pp. 216-218; Reid, p. 11.
15. Munro, pp. 2-3.
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