Notes |
- NOTES ON A FEW FEMALE ANCESTORS OF JOHN MUNRO,
WHO "WENT TO THE ARMIE TO WORCESTER 1651"
John Munro's ancestry is of special interest to the many persons whotrace their descent from John Munro, who died in Bristol, Rhode Island,in 1691. This John Munro is widely believed to have been the "JohnMonrow," listed as a prisoner taken at the battle of Worcester in 1651and transported to Boston as an indentured servant aboard the JOHN ANDSARAH, arriving there by 24 February 1652. [1] There can be no absoluteproof that John Munro, the prisoner taken at Worcester and shipped toBoston, is the same person identified by THE MUNRO TREE (1734) as Q/41with the note that he "went to the Armie to Worcester 1651." [2] In theabsence of (1) information that any other Munros of the name werecaptured at Worcester, (2) any suggestion that Q/41 returned to Scotlandafter the battle, or (3) any claims of descent by other family lines fromQ/41, it may be reasonably presumed that the two John Munros wereidentical. [3]
Alexander Mackenzie's 1898 HISTORY OF THE MUNROS OF FOWLIS, althoughfrequently a valuable resource, is unreliable in its identification ofthe origins of the three female ancestors of John Munro covered by thisarticle. In order not to give currency to Mackenzie's misstatements,they are not included here even for the purpose of refutation.Mackenzie's work, however, appears to be correct and is cited withrespect to a few other persons in the appended ancestral lines of JohnMunro.
The most respected and authoritative genealogy of the Munros is amanuscript originally compiled in 1734, which was edited and extensivelyannotated by R. W. Munro and published in 1978 as THE MUNRO TREE (1734).[4] The analysis which follows uses the entry from the 1734 manuscriptas the starting point of each section. Sometimes, as in the case of thewomen whose origins are the subject of this article, the manuscriptentries, because they are confused or incomplete, present riddlesrequiring interpretation. Fortunately, with the assistance provided byother written sources, the application of chronological clues, andestablished family relationships, we can, with some confidence, determinethe origins of the following female ancestors of John Munro. Thisanalysis begins, not with John's mother "Marjory daughter to Hugh Ross of[illegible]" [5] , whose probable origins will be the subject of anotherarticle, but rather with Euphemia Ross, John's paternal grandmother. Theidentification of Euphemia may assist in finding Marjory's lineage.
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]
2. JANET FRASER, A PATERNAL GREAT-GREAT GRANDMOTHER OF JOHN MUNRO ANDWIFE OF GEORGE MUNRO, 4TH OF MILTON/DOCHCARTY (MUNRO TREE L/4)
The 1734 manuscript identifies the wife of George Munro as "Fraser ofPhopachies daughter." [16] The primary source of information on theFrasers of Phopachy is seven scant pages included in the WARDLAWMANUSCRIPT, [17] written by the Rev. James Fraser, 3rd of Phopachy. Bornin 1634, he was the minister of Wardlaw (Kirkhill, Inverness) from 1669until his death in 1709. The WARDLAW MANUSCRIPT, which covers 7 1/2centuries of Scottish Frasers in 557 pages, is widely criticized for itshistorical inaccuracies, which may reflect the fact tht its author couldnot rely on either personal knowledge or public records in compiling sucha comprehensive family history. As the third generation head of theFrasers of Phopachy, it is reasonable to believe that traditions of hisown family line had trickled down to him, and that pages 115 through 121of the manuscript that pertain to that line, although somewhat confused,are more or less correct. [18]
According to the manuscript, John Fraser, a son of James Fraser, Laird ofFruid in Tweeddale, "seeing his name and famely decaying in those partsby the rigour and oppression of Twadall," chose to go north in 1486 tobecome Bishop of Ross. [19] In 1492, because of the "cruel andfraudulent useage of William Hay Lord Twadal," at the invitation ofBishop John Fraser, Anna Wallace, widow of either John or James Fraserof Fruid, came north with her seven sons--Paul, Almond, Alexander, John,James, Duncan, and Robert--as well as a daughter Janet, the youngest.The bishop helped establish his kin in various religious and laypositions. [20]
According to Rev. Fraser, Alexander Fraser, the third son, "lived withthe Bishop all his lifetime." After Bishop John's death at the age of 78in 1507, Alexander married Anna Oliphant and they had several children,including James and Janet. James married Janet Dunbar, daughter ofGeorge Dunbar of Avoch, and they had a son James. This James Frasersupposedly lived with either his aunt or great-aunt Janet, the wife ofAndrew Munro of Milton, and, in 1590, entered the service of Lord SimonFraser of Lovat. After marrying in 1599, this James bought Phopachy andbecame the first of that line of Frasers. [21]
Public records support, and sometimes help us to correct and supplement,the manuscript. Although there appears to be no public record which tiesBishop John Fraser to the Frasers of Fruid, the bishop is clearly anhistorical person, his papal appointment to the see of Ross having beenmade on 14 March 1498, at which time Fraser was the first Dean ofRestalrig, near Edinburgh located about 40 miles from Fruid. [22] Hisearlier positions suggest a lowland origin far from Ross. [23] Asbishop, Fraser granted the rents from a tenement in Linlithgow to thevicars and chaplains of his cathedral on 10 May 1504, a documentwitnessed by Alexander Fraser. [24] Upon the bishop's death, AlexanderFraser, on 1 May 1507, was named one of the bishop's executors grantedthe temporality of the bishopric for one year. [25] On 16 August 1507,Alexander, then identified as a burgess of Linlithgow, received a grantof a portion of Arboll, property of the bishop that had fallen into theKing's hands. [26] These transactions support the existence of a closefamily relationship between Alexander and the bishop, and suggest thatthe claim that the seven sons of Fruid were the bishop's nephews is areasonable one.
Two contemporary charters, dated 13 December 1540 [27] and 2 February1552 [28], name "Jonete Fraser" as the wife of George, not Andrew, Munroof Milton. Another early charter, also dated 2 February 1552, [29] helpsus to estimate the year of Janet's birth. In the latter charter, QueenMary confirmed the grant of George Munro of Dochcarty of a quarter partof Easter Aird "to his son and heir apparent Andrew Monro and KatherineUrquhart, his spouse." Since Andrew had married by 1552, we can assumethat his parents George and Janet married no later than 1530. Thus,Janet's birth year would probably have been 1515 or earlier, and GeorgeMunro's year of birth would be no later, and not much earlier, than 1508.
Having established that Janet Fraser married George Munro, we must nowdetermine which of the two Janet Frasers identified by Rev. Fraser becameGeorge's wife. Chronology rules out Janet Fraser who came north fromFruid in 1492 with her mother and seven brothers. She would have beenfar too old to have married George Munro, who was born about 1508.Chronology further tells us that Janet Fraser who married George Munromust have been the daughter of Alexander Fraser, one of the sevenbrothers of Fruid and the grandfather of James Fraser, 1st of Phopachy.Janet's estimated birth year of 1515 or somewhat earlier is fullyconsistent with the manuscript's statement that Alexander did not marryuntil after the bishop's death in 1507. Janet's date of death is notknown, but her husband George Munro of Milton/Dochcarty died 18 November1576, [30] meaning that James Fraser, lst of Phopachy, could well havelived with his aunt Janet during his childhood before entering theservice of Lord Simon Fraser of Lovat in 1590.
The parents of Janet's husband, George Munro, 4th of Milton/Dochcarty,were Andrew Beg Munro, 3rd of Milton, and his wife Euphemia Dunbar. [31]
3. EUPHEMIA DUNBAR, A PATERNAL GREAT-GREAT-GREAT GRANDMOTHER OF JOHNMUNRO AND WIFE OF ANDREW BEG MUNRO, 3RD OF MILTON (MUNRO TREE L/3)
The 1734 manuscript identifies the wife of Andrew Beg Munro as "EuffemDunbar daughter to the Laird of Tarbet." [32]
Contemporary accounts and records make it possible to place EuphemiaDunbar in the somewhat elusive Dunbars. The first Dunbar Laird of EasterTarbat was James Dunbar, a younger son of David Dunbar of Durris, nowDores, in the County of Inverness. He acquired a nine-year tack of theking's lands in Tarbat on 6 May 1516 [33], and, on 21 August 1526 and 11May 1542, he acquired feu-ferme charters to Easter Tarbat. [34] Throughother grants, he extended his control to other parts of Tarbat parishbefore dying in August 1560. [35] James Dunbar first appeared in thepublic record in 1511 as lessee of the mains of Fearn. [36] Assumingthat he was at least 21 at that time, he would have been born no laterthan 1490, which would mean that he was at least 70 at the time of death.
Andrew Beg Munro, who was known for behavior that was loutish even by thestandards of his day, died in October 1519, allegedly as the result of afall down his own stairs as he attempted to make certain that his femaleservants engaged in the harvest had appeared in a state of nudity as hehad decreed. [37] He was survived by Euphemia and three recordedlegitimate sons. [38]
As noted above, George Munro was born about 1508, based upon the factthat his son Andrew Munro was already married in 1530. This means thatGeorge's mother Euphemia Dunbar would have been born around 1490 if weassume that she was at least 16 at the time of her marriage in 1506 orso. Thus, she was of the same generation as James Dunbar, first laird ofTarbat, and could not have been his daughter. Similarly, if, assuggested, George Munro was not born until about 1508, he would have beenaround 68 at the time of his death in 1576. James Dunbar seems to havehad a somewhat longer life than George Munro although preceding him indeath by just sixteen years. This strongly indicates that, as James wasonly one generation older than George, James was George's maternal uncle,not his grandfather.
George Munro wrote a history of the Mackintosh family with which he wasfamiliar because his mother, the widowed Euphemia Dunbar, married JohnMalcolmson, the illegitimate nephew of Lachlan, Laird of Mackintosh.This history, which is no longer extant, is cited by the compiler of theKINRARA MANUSCRIPT as one of his principal sources. [39] Lachlan gaveMalcolmson "possession of the lands of Connage for some years" so "thathe might obtain for him in marriage Euphemia Dunbar, widow of AndrewMonro of Miltown; and in this way he thought to tame John of his wontedmaraudings." [40]
As the manuscript says, "it happened otherwise," as Euphemia's husbandparticipated in the murder of Lachlan by stabbing in 1524, leading toMalcomson's beheading in 1534. [41] Euphemia seems to have been unluckyin the husbands chosen by, or for, her. Her third husband proved justas treacherous. [42]
By Malcomson, Euphemia had a son named Lachlan, referred to in theKINRARA MANUSCRIPT as George Munro's brother-uterine. [43] William, theson of Lachlan Mackintosh who had been killed by Malcolmson and hisassociates, eventually became Laird of Mackintosh. In 1548, William tookLachlan, into his favor and granted him for some years the lands ofConnage. Lachlan bound himself by oath to give faithful obedience to thelaird, and George Munro of Dochcarty, James Dunbar of Tarbat, and RobertDunbar of Durris, the son and heir of James Dunbar's brother AlexanderDunbar of Durris, "pledged the greater part of their fortune for hisfidelity." [44]
These guarantors of Lachlan's fidelity are identified in the Latinversion of the manuscript as "ejus cognati et consanguinei," which istranslated as "his cousins and kinsmen." [45] Both "cognati" and"consanguinei" usually denote kin who are related by blood, but "cognati"frequently means "related on the mother's side," especially in Scotland.[46]
A. M. Mackintosh in his THE MACKINTOSHES AND CLAN CHATTAN, [47] at130-131, both quotes and paraphrases provisions of two contracts, dated26 February 1548, which show the steps taken by young Lachlan's kin tosave him from his father's sin in having murdered William's father. Theauthor says that James Dunbar of Tarbat and Robert Dunbar of Durris wereprobably brothers of George Munro's mother. [48] He was apparentlyunaware that Robert Dunbar of Durris had succeeded his father AlexanderDunbar of Durris, the older brother of James Dunbar of Tarbat, in 1526.[49]
In pledging their respective lands to guarantee Lachlan's fidelity to hischief, James Dunbar of Tarbat and his nephew Robert Dunbar, as successorLaird of Durris,
provided convincing evidence of Euphemia Dunbar's place among the Dunbarfamily as a daughter of David Dunbar of Durris, 5th son of Sir AlexanderDunbar of Westfield, the first of the Dunbar sheriffs of Moray, by hiswife Isabel, daughter of Alexander Sutherland of Duffus. [50]
As it happens, Lachlan's oath of loyalty to the Mackintosh chief provedto be of no avail as "he determined by every sinister means to make awaywith his innocent chief." [51] This resulted in Lachlan's execution in1551 "as confessedly the betrayer of their chief." [52] Lachlan'smisconduct does not seem to have caused the forfeiture of the lands ofhis kin who had guaranteed his loyalty.
The attached line of descent will assist the reader in fitting thefemales whose origins were the subjects of this article into John Munro'sancestry. John Munro's multiple lines of descent from King Robert II ofScotland, and at least one line of descent from King Robert III ofScotland, will be the subject of a future article.
Compiled by
Douglas Hickling
Dhhic@comcast.com
516 Blair Avenue
Piedmont CA 94611
June 2003
NOTES TO TEXT
1. The most comprehensive account of the transportation of the Scottishprisoners captured at Worcester is "Scotch Prisoners Deported to NewEngland by Cromwell, 1651-1652," PROCEEDINGS MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICALSOCIETY 61, October 1927--June 1928, pp. 4-29. Documents related to thisevent were recorded in the Registry of Deeds, Boston, County of Suffolkin 1652 and are reprinted in tha above article as well as in Samuel G.Drake, RESULT OF SOME RESEARCHES AMONG THE BRITISH ARCHIVES FORINFORMATION RELATIVE TO THE FOUNDERS OF NEW ENGLAND, 3rd ed. (Boston:John Wilson & Son, 1865), pp. 72-76.
2. 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.
3. See Joan S. Guilford, THE MONROE BOOK (Franklin NC: GenealogyPublishing Service, 1993), pp. 255-257.
4. See note 2.
5. Munro, p. 16.
6. Munro, 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.
16. Munro, p. 3.
17. W. Mackay, ed., CHRONICLES OF THE FRASERS: THE WARDLAW MANUSCRIPT,916-1674 (Edinburgh: Scottish History Society 1905).
18. Rev. Archibald Macdonald, THE OLD LORDS OF LOVAT AND BEAUFORT(Inverness 1934), p. 20.
19. Mackay, p. 115.
20. Mackay, pp. 116, 120.
21. Mackay, pp. 117, 120
22. John Dowden, THE BISHOPS OF SCOTLAND, ed. J. Maitland Thomson(Glasgow: James Maclehose and sons 1912), pp. 222-224; D. E. R. Watt,FASTI ECCLESIAE SCOTICANAE MEDII AEVI AD ANNUM 1638, 2nd draft(Edinburgh: Scottish Record Society 1969), p. 289; REGISTRUM SECRETISIGILLI REGUM SCOTORUM [hereafter RSS], eds. M. Livingstone and others(Edinburgh 1908-), 1: 1469, 1 May 1507.
23. Adam, p. 109; Dowden, p. 222-22. He was for a time abbot ofMelrose, and one of the cloister tombs bears an inscription referring tothe spouse of Robert Fraser, apparently one of Abbot John Fraser's kin.See James A. Wade, HISTORY OF ST. MARY'S ABBEY, MELROSE, THE MONASTERY OFOLD MELROSE, AND THE TOWN AND PARISH OF MELROSE (Edinburgh: Thomas C.Jack 1861), pp. 235, 335.
24. REGISTRUM MAGNI SIGILLI REGUM SCOTORUM [hereafter RMS], eds. J. H.Burton and others (Edinburgh 1882-1914), 2: 2791.
25. RSS 1: 1469.
26. RMS 2: 3123.
27. RSS 2: 3742.
28. RMS 4: 672.
29. RMS 4: 673.
30. Munro, p. 132.
31. Munro, pp. 2-3.
32. Munro, p. 3.
33. RSS 1:2762.
34. RMS 3: 372; RMS 3: 2661.
35. Adam, p. 77.
36. Adam, p. 117.
37. William Fraser, THE EARLS OF CROMARTIE (Edinburgh 1876) vol. 1, p.431.
38. Munro p. 3.
39. This manuscript is named for Lachlan Mackintosh of Kinrara, whocompiled and wrote it a few years before his death in 1686. See JeanMunro and R. W. Munro, eds., ACTS OF THE LORDS OF THE ISLES 1336-1493(Edinburgh: Scottish History Society 1986) p. 4. This genealogy of theMackintosh family appears in print, with an English translation from theLatin by Walter Macleod, in Walter Macfarlane, GENEALOGICAL COLLECTIONS(Edinburgh: Scottish History Society 1900) v. 1, p. 148.
40. Kinrara, p. 216.
41. Kinrara, pp. 216-218.
42. Kinrara, p. 222.
43. Kinrara, p. 241.
44. Kinrara, p. 227.
45. Kinrara, p. 227.
46. P. G. W. Glare, ed., OXFORD LATIN DICTIONARY (Oxford: ClarendonPress 1982), pp. 344-345, 410; Maurine and Glen Harris, comps., CONCISEGENEALOGICAL DICTI0NARY (Salt Lake City:
Ancestry Inc. 1989), p. 50. A crown charter granted by King James V toGeorge Munro of Dochcarty on 27 July 1542 refers to James Dunbar ofTarbat as George's "consanguineus." RMS 2: 2732.
47. A. M. Mackintosh, THE MACKINTOSHES AND CLAN CHATTAN (Edinburgh 1903).
48. A, M. Mackintosh, pp. 130-131.
49. Adam, p. 112; RMS 3:390, 14 November 1526.
50. Sir Robert Douglas, THE BARONAGE OF SCOTLAND (Edinburgh 1798), p.119.
51. Kinrara, p. 227.
52. Kinrara, p. 232.
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