| Notes |
- The case of the identity of Alexander's wife, who was mother of his heirJohn and two daughters, illustrates some of the difficulties faced inidentifying spouse's maiden names and their parents. Even such meticulousand experienced researchers as Jean Munro, Ph.D., and R. W. Munro canapparently be led astray, as the two letters from Douglas Hickling belowillustrate.
The "note of a discharge" mentioning "Dame Elizabeth Haliburton, countessof Ross," is dated 40 years after Isabel (of Albany) Stewart firsthusband's death and close to that after her second marriage. Given that,and the differences in first names, this may not be the end of thisdiscussion. So Elizabeth (probably of Dirleton) Halyburton shown here aspossibly one of his wives may or may not have existed.
1st letter from Douglas Hickling based on research of Jean Munro, Ph.D.,and R. W. Munro.
"I am going to comment on the name of Alexander's wife. Virtually all ofthe authorities state, without any documentary proof, that Alexander'swife was Elizabeth Seton, a daughter of Sir Alexander Seton and his wifeElizabeth Gordon. The Munros in their ACTS OF THE LORDS 0F THE ISLES, at302-303 and elsewhere provide convincing evidence that Elizabeth'ssurname was Haliburton. At, 63, the Munros set forth a 1443 note of adischarge to Sir John Scrymgeour by "Dame Elizabeth Haliburton, countessof Ross," apparently the only contemporary record which gives Elizabeth'ssurname. The Munros, at 241, set forth a reference to a papal indult,dated 19 October 1433, to Alexander and Jacobella, his wife, for aportable altar. There seems to be no other record of this earliermarriage or of any children resulting therefrom. On 2 November 1467,Alexander's son John granted a charter confirming a gift to the monasteryof Fearn "for the salvation of the souls of his parents, Alexander earlof Ross and Elizabeth his wife." (See Munros, at 143.) This shows thatElizabeth, not Jacobella, was John's mother. BURKE'S PEERAGE &BARONETAGE (106th edition), at 328, accepts "Elizabeth Halyburton,probably of Dirletoun," as Alexander's wife. "
Douglas Hickling
Dhhic@comcast.com
516 Blair Avenue
Piedmont CA 94611
(August 2003)
2nd letter from Douglas Hickling
Based on my previous e-mail to you, you now show that the wife of
Alexander Macdonald ID: I37488, and the mother of John, Lord of the
Isles, was Dame Elizabeth Haliburton.
A correction seems to be needed. In the fall 2003 issue of THE
GENEALOGIST, there is an article by Andrew B. W. MacEwen, beginning at
222, on Cristina de Brus, Countess of Dunbar. At page 225, the author,
as an illustration of the difficulty in sometimes determining a woman's
maiden name, says:
And the twice married Isabella Stewart of Albany in a dischargedated
10 December 1443 was styled "Dame Elizabeth Haliburton, countess of
Ross," taking the rank of her first husband, Alexander Lesley, Earl of
Ross, and the surname of her second husband, Sir Walter Haliburton of
Dirleton--and seriously misleading such acute modern scholars as the
Munros.
Footnote 13 says: "Jean Munro, Ph.D., and R. W. Munro, eds. ACTS OF
THE LORDS OF THE ISLES 1336-1493, Scottish History Society, 4th ser.,
22 (1986); 63, No. 41. Corrected in WEST HIGHLAND NOTES & QUERIES
[Isle of Coll. Argyll], ser. 2, No. 19 (March 1999): 24-25."
The foregoing means that Isabel, daughter of Robert Duke of Albany,
married (in 1398) Alexander, Earl of Ross (died 1402). She
subsequently married Sir Walter Haliburton of Direlton. The wife of
Alexander, Lord of the Isles and Earl of Ross (died 1499) and the
mother of their son John, the last earl of Ross and lord of the Isles,
cannot be named with certainty. As the Munros point out at p. 63 in
their comment regarding the note of a discharge No. 41, and in a
subsequent comment at p. 303, Elizabeth Seton, daughter of Sir
Alexander Seton and Elizabeth Gordon, and sister of the first earl of
Huntly, has been accepted as the wife of Alexander, but she is not so
named in any contemporary record. Her place as the wife of Alexander,
Lord of the Isles and Earl of Ross depends upon a 16th century Gordon
genealogy by John Ferrerius . Ferrerius is generally well-regarded and
I suggest that you may wish to show Elizabeth Seton as the earl's wife.
The Munros were not alone in failing to discern the true identity of
"Dame Elizabeth Haliburton, Countess of Ross," referred to in the note
of a discharge cited above. Complete Peerage V. 11, p. 151, published
in 1949, makes the same mistake.
Doug Hickling
Dhhic@comcast.net
(November 2003)
|
Bef 1423 - 1449 (~ 26 years)
