| Notes |
- (Research):Chief of Clan Colquhoun
15th of Colquhoun & 17th of Luss
From the 1844 original edition of Sir William Fraser's The Chiefs of Colquhoun and their Country:
Alexander Colquhoun was 15th Laird of Colquhoun & 17th of Luss from 1592-1617. It does not appear that Alexander was ever knighted, so he did not have the title of "Sir."
Alexander was the 3rd son. His eldest brother, Humphrey, was murdered at 27 by MacGregors and MacFarlands. His other elder
brother, John, died prior to 1592. His parent and siblings were noted as:
Sir John Colquhoun only had children by his 2nd wife, Agnes Boyd; 3 sons & 2 daughters:
1. Sir Humphrey, who succeeded him.
2. John, 2nd son, who had a reputation for harassing the tenants of neighboring lands.
3. Alexander, who succeeded his brother, Humphrey
4. Jean, who married Sir Mathew Stewart of Minto as his 2nd wife.
5. Margaret, who married Sir James Edmonstone of Duntreath, Knight.
And he had an illegitimate son, Gavin, who was given land by his "brother-germain", Alexander Colquhoun of Luss. In this agreement, Gavin was referred to as the '"natural son" of Sir John Colquhoun of Luss.
Humphrey, the prior laird and Alexander's brother, had not paid taxes to King James VI that were owed by all the lairds of the land and had his lands in Luss taken from him and given to the Lord of the Privy Seal, Walter Commandator of Blantyre. Humphrey had to pay him 5000 merks for the return of the lands.
Alexander acted as official tutor to his nieces, Jean, Margaret, and Annas, the daughters of his deceased brother, Humphrey.
As we have heard, Jean, was raped by the marauders who killed her father, and did not long survive him, perhaps due to the injuries she suffered that day.
The Colquhouns were feuding with the MacFarlanes, the MacGregors, and the Buchanans. In order to settle the Buchanan feud, Alexander Colquhoun married the daughter of Sir George Buchanan of that Ilk, Helen Buchanan. That seems to have finally settled affairs betwixt the 2 clans. The marriage contract was signed on 25 Oct 1596.
The deadly feuds in the Highlands continued, with Alexander Colquhoun among them, and King James finally brought the various heads of clan before him and made them find others who would be responsible for them financially if they broke the peace. This didn't really work and the feuding went on into the 1600's.
In 1600, Alexander's great-uncle, William Chirnside, Pastor of Luss, finally died and Alexander gave the parish church and its' living to Duncan Arrall.
The Colquhouns finally settled with the MacFarlanes in 1603 but the MacGregors were a worse problem for them.
In Dec 1602, there was the deadly MacGregor attack in Glenfinlas.
On 7 Feb 1603, Glenfruin and its' bloody nightmare for the Colquhouns occurred. The MacGregors so horrified the King and the country with their attack on the Colquhouns that the name Gregor and MacGregor were abolished. MacGregors were hunted down and put on trial, others simply put to death. And this went on for more than a decade.
In 1616, Sir Alexander Colquhoun of Luss, was gifted land in Ireland from the King. He was given a portion of 1000 English acres, in the precinct of Portlough, Barony of Raphoe, County of Donegal, Ireland, which became known as the Manor of Corkagh.
His obligations as to the Irish lands were that 1) he would annually pay the King (after the 1st two years), ?5, 6 shillings, 8 cents; 2) make upon the land within 2 years a strong Court or Bawn; 3) have ready in his house at all times a convenient store of arms, with which to furnish a competent number of men for their defense; 4) Place, within 2 years, a competent number of English or inland Scots tenants upon his portion; 5) Be present, or place someone to be present, for 5 years upon the property; and 6) Enter a bond of ?200 for due performance of these conditions.
Alexander sent his daughter, Nancy, and her husband, John McAuselan (younger son of the Baron McAuselan), to live on the land and to develop it to the standards of the Crown.
In Alexander's first will, he gave the Irish inheritance of Corkagh Manor to Nancy and John McAuselan, but just before his death (in fact on 16 May 1617), Alexander changed his will to give over the land to his son, Adam, instead.
Alexander Colquhoun died on 23 May 1617.
Alexander Colquhoun and his wife, Helen Buchanan had 6 sons and 5 daughters (listed as males first, then females):
1. John, who succeeded him and was created a baronet.
2. Humphrey of Balvie, who inherited the Colquhoun estate at Balvie from his father.
3. Alexander
4. Walter, who with his brother, George, moved to Sweden and became cannon makers to King Adolphus Gustavus.
5. Adam, who inherited the lands in Ireland
6. George, who went to Sweden. See Walter.
7. Jean, who married Allan, 5th Lord Cathcart in 1626. She remarried upon his death to Sir Duncan Campbell, Baronet, of Auchinbrecht. Her 3rd husband was Sir William Hamilton, Knight, and 3rd son of James, Earl of Abercorn.
8. Nancy, who married a McAuley and moved to Ireland.
9. Katharine, who married Sir John Mure of Auchindraine, Knight.
10. Helen
11. Mary
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Edited to Add (Story about Alexander's 2 older brothers, Humphrey and John, and Dunglass Castle):
Dunglass was once the chief stronghold of the Clan Colquhoun. From 1439 onwards it was the seat of Sir John Colquhoun, Lord Chamberlain of Scotland and one of the most distinguished men of his time. The tower-house is said by Tranter to have been the work of Sir Humphrey Colquhoun, 16th of Luss, who, he goes on to tell us "in 1592 was slain at Bannachra (a castle now much more ruined than this, that lies between Helensburgh and Loch Lomond) by MacFarlanes and MacGregors as he went upstairs to bed, a tampered with servant carrying a light which intermittently silhouetted the laird at the stairway's arrow-slit windows - unneighbourly conduct but phenomenal shooting!"
An intriguing story, about which I immediately wanted to know more! Here's the full story:
In July 1592, a party of Macgregors and Macfarlanes came down upon the low country of Dumbartonshire, and committed vast ravages, especially upon the territory of the Colquhouns. At the head of his vassals, and accompanied by several of the gentlemen of the neighbourhood, Sir Humphry Colquhoun attacked the invaders, and after a bloody conflict, which was only put an end to at nightfall, he was overpowered by his assailants, and forced to retreat. To quote from Mr Fraser's Chiefs of the Colquhouns ?
"He betook himself to the castle of Bannachra, a stronghold which had been erected by the Colquhouns at the foot of the north side of the hill of Bennibuie, in the parish of Luss. A party of the Macfarlanes and Macgregors pursued him, and laid siege to his castle. One of the servants who attended the knight was of the same surname as himself. He had been tampered with by the assailants of his master, and treacherously made him their victim. The servant, while conducting his master to his room up a winding stair of the castle, made him by preconcert, a mark for arrows of the clan who pursued him, by throwing the glare of a paper torch upon his person when opposite a loophole. A winged arrow, darted from its string with a steady aim, pierced the unhappy knight to the heart, and he fell dead on the spot. The fatal loophole is still pointed out, but the stair, like its unfortunate lord, has crumbled into dust".
The story goes that the death of the chief was brought about by his second brother, John. At any rate an entry in the diary of Robert Birrell, burgess of Edinburgh, dated 30th November, 1592, mentions that "John Cachoune was beheidit at the Crosse at Edinburghe for murthering of his auen brother the Lairde of Lusse." Further confirmation of the tradition that John was the guilty man is to be found in the fact that Sir Humphrey was succeeded, not by his second but by his third brother, Sir Alexander Colquhoun.
Last Changed: May 31, 2022
K
KariannePrange
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1573 - 1617 (44 years)
