The GRAHAM family of Kincardine

Many books and maps of Scottish clans and tartans link the Doigs with the family of Graham of Menteith, rather than Clan Drummond. The Graham family has been associated with the Kincardine area in Perthshire, around the junction of the Teith and Forth Rivers, since at least the thirteenth century. One branch of the family became the Earls of Menteith in the 15th century.
Many Doigs also have a descent from the early Grahams of Kincardine through descent from Dorothy Cuninghame, wife of James Dog of Dunrobin in the late sixteenth century. (This page is mirrored at the Doig.net site.)

The early parts of this family history may not be wholly reliable, due to the difficulties of researching medieval history. Nevertheless, most of the people mentioned are well-recorded individuals from Scottish history.

1. William de Graham of Abercorn and Dalkeith

William came to Scotland with King David I some time before 1128.

Father of: Peter de Graham of Abercorn and Dalkeith, and

2. John de Graham

John witnessed charters in about 1170 and at the court of King William the Lion at Alyth in 1200.

Father of:

3. William de Graham

William witnessed a charter in 1200.

Father of:

4. David de Graham

David was granted Kinnabar in Forfarshire and other lands near Montrose by King William the Lion, and also had other lands in Midlothian granted to him by his kinsman Henry de Graham of Dalkeith.

Father of: David (#5), Sir Patrick, Sir Thomas, and William.

5. Sir David de Graham of Dundaff; married Agnes. David died after 1244.

David had charters for Dundaff and Strathcarron from Patrick, Earl of Dunbar in the reign of Alexander II (1214-1249). He was one of the guarantors of the Scottish treaty with Henry III of England in 1244, but died soon after.

Father of:

6. Sir David Graham of Dundaff; married Annabella, daughter of Robert, 4th Earl of Strathearn. David died about 1270.

David was also Sheriff of Berwickshire. He witnessed a grant in 1260. He obtained a charter for all of his lands from King Alexander III, and acquired the lands of Kincardine in Perthshire from his brother-in-law Malise, 5th Earl of Strathearn.

The arms of David's second son, Sir John Graham of Dundaff, who was killed fighting alongside William Wallace when he was defeated by the English at the Battle of Falkirk on 22 July 1298.

Father of: Sir Patrick (#7), Sir John Graham of Dundaff, and Sir David

7. Sir Patrick Graham of Kincardine; killed 28 April 1296 at the Battle of Dunbar, Scotland.

Patrick was sent to negotiate the marriage of Prince Alexander of Scotland and Margaret of Flanders in 1281. He sat in Parliament in 1284 and acknowledged Margaret, Maid of Norway as heiress to the throne. He swore fealty to Edward I of England in 1292, and was summoned to attend Edward into France in 1294. He was killed fighting against the English.

Father of: Sir David (#8) and Sir John (alive 1317)

8. Sir David Graham of Kincardine; born about 1260; died about 1329

David was taken prisoner to England by Edward I in 1296 but released 1297 on the condition that he would serve Edward in foreign wars. He had several grants from King Robert Bruce in recognition of his services. He exchanged Cardross in Dumbartonshire with the king for Old Montrose in Forfarshire. He signed the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320 and was a guarantor of the treaty with England in 1322.

Father of:

9. Sir David Graham of Kincardine and Old Montrose; died after 4 April 1373

David was probably an only son. He was known for his patriotism and valour. He was one of the barons who negotiated the ransom of King David II after he was captured by the English at the Battle of Durham in 1346. He sat in Parliament in 1357 when the treaty for King David's release was approved. He took an oath of homage and fealty to King Robert II in 1371.

Father of: Sir Patrick (#10), a son, John, and a daughter (m William, 7th Earl of Ross).

10. Sir Patrick Graham of Kincardine, Lord of Dundaff; married (1) Matilda; married (2) about 1384 to Euphemia/Egidia, daughter of Sir John Stewart of Ralston. Patrick died before 1404.

Patrick was a Knight-Banneret. He was one of the hostages for the release of King David II. He was one of the commissioners who conducted negotiations with the English in 1394.
His two eldest sons by his second marriage met particularly violent ends. Sir Patrick Graham of Dundaff and Kilpont (see below) was murdered by his brother-in-law Sir John Drummond of Concraig in 1413. The next son, Sir Robert Graham of Kilpont, was one of the group which assassinated King James I at Perth on 21 February 1437, and he was executed at Stirling Castle later that year.

Father of (by Matilda): Sir William (#11), Matilda (m Sir John Drummond of Concraig)
Father of (by Euphemia): Sir Patrick, Sir Robert, David, Alexander

11. Sir William Graham of Kincardine; possibly married (1) after 1390 to a daughter of Sir Alexander Lindsay of Glenesk and Catherine Stirling; married (2) before 1404 to Mariota, daughter of Sir John Oliphant of Aberdalgie; married (3) about 13 November 1413 to Mary, daughter of Robert III, King of Scots and Annabella Drummond (died after 1458). William died in 1424.

William had a charter from Robert, Duke of Albany in 1407 of an entail for the lands of Old Montrose. He may have been created a Lord of Parliament as Lord Graham by the Duke of Albany in his capacity as Regent in about 1419, while James I was in English captivity, but such creations can only legally be made by a monarch. He married the king's sister as his second or third wife, while he was her third or fourth husband.
His first wife (if the marriage took place) was widow of David Stewart, Earl of Caithness and Strathearn, a younger son of King Robert II. The only child of this earlier marriage, Euphemia Stewart, married William's half-brother Sir Patrick Graham of Dundaff and Kilpont, and they were the parents of Malise Graham, Earl of Menteith.
William's daughter Elizabeth had a church dispensation to marry Walter, Earl of Atholl and Caithness, another of Robert II's younger sons, although the marriage may never have taken place. She later married an illegitimate son of Robert II.

Father of (by Mariota): Alexander (#12), John, and Elizabeth
Father of (by Mary): Sir Robert, ?(Patrick, Archbishop of St Andrews), William, Walter, 2 sons

12. Alexander Graham of Kincardine; died between 14 March 1416 and 8 January 1422.

Alexander had a safe conduct to go into England as a hostage for Murdoch, son of the Regent Albany in 1408. He died in his father's lifetime.

Father of: Patrick (#13), Alexander, and Catherine (m Sir Humphrey Moray of Ogilvy)

13. Patrick Graham, 1st Lord Graham; married Christian Erskine, daughter of Robert, Lord Erskine and Earl of Mar and Elizabeth Lindsay (died after 1478). Patrick died in 1466, after 24 June.

Patrick was a supplementary hostage for the ransom of James I in England from 1427 to 1432. He was appointed one of the Lords of the Regency during the minority of King James II, and was created a Lord of Parliament by 1445 as Lord Graham.

Father of: William, 2nd Lord Graham (ancestor of the Earls of Montrose), and

14. Elizabeth or Margaret Graham; married William Livingston of Kilsyth (killed 9 September 1513 at the Battle of Flodden)
Mother of: William (#15), and Alexander

15. William Livingston of Kilsyth; married Janet Bruce, daughter of the Laird of Airth. William died before 21 July 1545 (or may have been killed at Flodden instead of his father).
Father of: William (#16), Alexander, ?and Elizabeth (#17)

16. William Livingston of Kilsyth; married Mary, daughter of Sir Duncan Forrester of Carden.
Father of: William, Isabel (m Colin Campbell), Margaret (m Ninian Bruce, Alexander Baillie), and

17. Elizabeth Livingston; married Gabriel Cuninghame, 3rd Laird of Craigends (killed 10 September 1547 at the Battle of Pinkie)

The is some disagreement over Elizabeth's parentage – she may be daughter of William Livingston #15 and Janet Bruce

Mother of: William (#18), James, Janet (m Sir Patrick Houstoun), and dau (m Andrew Stirling)

18. William Cuninghame, 4th Laird of Craigends; married Margaret, daughter of Sir William Cuninghame of Cuninghamehead (died 1618). William died in 1568.

William's widow Margaret married Paul Dog of Dunrobin after his death. William's daughter Dorothy married Paul's son James.

Father of: Alexander, 5th Laird of Craigends, and

19. Dorothy Cuninghame; married in about 1589 to James Dog of Dunrobin, son of Paul Dog and Dorothy Buchannan (died February 1634).

Sources:

Burke's genealogical and heraldic history of the landed gentry [Burke's Landed Gentry], 15th edition, London, 1937, p 537: not always reliable, but only used for the Cuninghame generations

Burke's genealogical and heraldic history of the peerage, baronetage and knightage [Burke's Peerage], 105th edition, London, 1970, pp 1863–1864: not always reliable for the earliest generations, but later material is usually quite good

Sir Bernard Burke, A genealogical history of the dormant, abeyant, forfeited and extinct peerages of the British Empire [Burke's Extinct Peerage], London, 1962, p 329: another work with some reliability problems; the Livingston part of the genealogy is drawn from here

G E Cokayne, The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant, revised edition by Vicary Gibbs, London, 1910-1959, vol VI pp 51–52, vol XII(1) p 389: this much more reliable work is the reference for generations 10–13

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Created: 11 August 1999
Last modified: 15 August 1999

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