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1. Malise Graham, Earl of Monteith, appears to have been
the only son of Patrick, Earl of Strathearn. The King having divested
him of the Earldom of Strathearn, gave him that of Monteith. It does not
appear that he was a man of any note. He died about the year 1491. He
married Lady Ann Vere, daughter of the Earl of Oxford, and had issue
three sons:—
1. Alexander.
2. Sir John Graham of Kilbride. This Sir John was known
as “Sir John of the bright sword;” he held, from his father, charters of
the lands of Port, Coldon, Monie-vrachie, “ with the Loch of Inchmahome
and the Islands thereof.” He was ancestor of the Grahams of Gartmore,
Preston, Nether by, Norton, Conyers, &c.
3. Walter, ancestor of the Grahams of Buchquhaple. He
held the lands of Loch ton, Glaskelgie, Colyart, &c.; he had also
charters of several lands in Monteith, with the Lake of Loch-Chon.
1. Alexander, Master of Monteith, died before his father,
leaving one son.
3. Alexander, second Earl of Monteith, was served heir to
his grandfather, 6th May 1493. He married a daughter of Buchanan of
Buchanan, and had issue two sons:—
1. William, third Earl of Monteith.
2. Walter, who had a charter of the lands of Gartur from
the Abbot of Inchmahome, and was ancestor of the Grahams of Gartur.
4. William, third Earl of Monteith, died in 1537. He
married a daughter of Mubray of Barnbougle, by whom he had issue three
sons and one daughter.
1. John, fourth Earl of Monteith.
2. Robert, who got the estate of Gartmore, but died
without issue.
3. Gilbert, who appears to have got the Gartmore estate
on the death of his brother, but whose male line became extinct.
Lady Margaret, married to the Earl of Argyll.
5. John, fourth Earl of Monteith, appears to have been a
man of some note. He was taken prisoner at the “rout of Solway,” and was
afterwards killed in a duel by the Tutor of Appin in 1547. He married a
daughter of Lord Seton, and had issue two sons and two daughters:—
1. William, fifth Earl of Monteith.
2. George Graham, who had the estate of Rednock; he had a
son, James, who held a charter of the Ring’s lands of Easter Rednock.
James had one daughter, Marion, who was heiress to her grandfather,
George. She married John Graham of Duchray, and conveyed the estate to
her husband.
1. Lady Mary, who married the Laird of Buchanan.
2. Lady Christian, who married Sir William Livingston of
Kilsyth.
6. William, fifth Earl of Monteith, married the eldest
daughter of Sir James Douglas of Drumlanrig, and had issue one son.
7. John, sixth Earl of Monteith, was served heir to his
father in 1587, and died 1598. He married Mary, third daughter of Sir
Colin Campbell of Glenurchy, by whom he had issue two sons and one
daughter.
1. William, seventh Earl of Monteith.
2. Hon. Sir James Graham, who married Lady Margaret
Erskine, daughter of the Earl of Buchan. They had a daughter married to
Walter Graham of Gartur.
Lady Christian, married to Sir John Blackadder of
Tulliallan.
8. William, seventh Earl of Monteith, succeeded to the
Earldom in the year 16x0. In August 1630 he was served heir of David,
Earl of Stratheam, and was designed “Earl of Strathearn and Monteith.”
Earl William appears to have been a man of transcendent genius. The
great superiority of his talents attracted the notice of Charles I., and
that monarch promoted him to the high offices of Justice-General of
Scotland and President of the Privy-Council, and he held charters of
extensive lands and baronies. Being a man of great ambition, and having
a pedigree reaching back to David, Earl of Stratheam, eldest son of King
Robert II., the King and his ministers for Scotland soon began to view
him with jealousy, heightened by a diversity of opinion regarding the
legitimacy of King Robert II., thereby affecting Charles’ right to the
throne—a man who, in the opinion of many, had the preferable right to
the crown. The Earl at last brought down upon himself the displeasure of
his monarch by exclaiming, in his presence, “My blood is the reddest in
the kingdom.” Charles at once ordered a reduction of his retours,
deprived him of the Justice-Gene-ralship, and set aside his patent as
Earl of Strathearn. The King, however, was some short time afterwards
pleased to confer upon him the new title of Earl of Airth, and he was
afterwards known as Earl of Airth and Monteith. He got a new investiture
of the lands of Monteith, granted under the great seal, nth January
1644, to himself and his son John, Lord Kinpont, as heir-apparent.* He
married a daughter of Lord Gray, and had issue four sons and three
daughters.
1. John, Lord Kinpont.
2. The Hon. Sir Charles Graham, who died without issue.
3. The Hon. Sir James Graham, who also died without
issue.
4. The Hon. Archibald Graham, who had one son by his
wife, Janet Johnston; whose male line, however, appears to have become
extinct previous to the death of the last Earl.
1. Lady Mary, who married Sir John Campbell of Glen-urchy,
and was mother of the first Earl of Breadalbane.
'2. Lady Margaret, who married Lord Garlies.
3. Lady Anne, married to Sir Mungo Murray of Blebo.
2. John, Lord Kinpont, the eldest son and heir-apparent
of William, Earl of Airth and Monteith, had charters of the lands of
Kilbride and Kinpont. His Lordship appears to have been a man of great
interest and ability, and a keen royalist. He joined his noble chief,
the renowned Marquis of Montrose, with 400 of his followers, taking a
prominent part in the decisive battle of Tippermuir, fought on the 1st
September 1644, and where Montrose gained a complete victory over an
army quadruple in numbers. Four days afterwards, Lord Kinpont was basely
murdered in Montrose’s camp, at Collare, in Perthshire, by James Stewart
of Ardvoirlich. It would appear that Stewart had proposed a plan to his
Lordship to assassinate Montrose, whereupon Lord Kinpont at once
signified his abhorrence of the act as being “disgraceful and devilish.”
Stewart, afraid of discovery, without saying a word drew his dagger and
stabbed him to the heart, and immediately fled over to the Covenanters.
The Marquis of Montrose was deeply affected by the loss of his noble
friend, and ordered his body to be conveyed to Monteith, and there
interred within the family burying-vault. His Lordship married Lady Mary
Keith, by whom he had issue.
1. William, second Earl of Airth and Monteith.
2. Mary, married to Sir John Alardice of Alardice.
3. Elizabeth, married to SirWilliam Graham of Gartmore.
4. William, second Earl of Airth and Monteith, succeeded
his grandfather in the title and estate. He does not appear to have been
a man of any note, or to have taken any part in public affairs. Dying
without issue, on the 12th of September 1694, he bequeathed all his
landed property to the Marquis of Montrose, and the moveable to Sir John
Graham of Gartmore. He married, first, Anne Hews; and secondly,
Catherine, second daughter of Thomas Bruce of Blairhall, in Perthshire,
who pre-deceased him. |
