William (Crichton) Crichton Third Lord Crichton (abt. 1445 - abt. 1493)

Born about 1445 in Crichton, MidLothian, Scotland

Ancestors

Descendants

Died about 23 Oct 1493 at about age 48 in Inverness, Inverness-Shire, Scotland

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Biography

William (Crichton) Crichton Third Lord Crichton is a member of Clan Crichton.

William Crichton was the eldest son and heir of James Crichton, 2nd Lord Crichton, and his wife, Janet Dunbar, elder daughter of James Dunbar, Earl of Moray, and sister of Elizabeth Dunbar, the wife of Archibald Douglas, second son of James, Earl of Douglas.^[1] This relationship governed politics in Scotland for nearly 60 years. His parents married around 1445 and he was likely born soon after, c. 1445/50.

Family Relationships

William, 3rd Lord Crichton, joined the Duke of Albany in his rebellion against his brother, King James III, and garrisoned his castle at Crichton on his behalf. As a consequence he was attainted for treason, by Parliament, on 24th February 1483/4/ His younger brothers Gavin and George, were also forfeited for joining in the same rebellion. At this point Crichton castle passed out of the family and was initially granted to Sir John Ramsay of Balmain; after him to Lord Hailes.^[2]

Anderson states that he "married Margaret, second daughter of King James II, and had, with a daughter [Margaret], a son, Sir James Crichton of Frendraught"^[3], he being born circa 1470. Macfarlane writes in 1750 that: "Margaret is daughter to William, Lord Crichton, and niece to King James II." He also calls this Margaret "sister to Sir James Crichtoun of Frendraught". Not half-sister.^[4] Cockayne states that "by Margaret, second daughter of James II, he had an illegitimate daughter, Margaret."^[5] Dunbar writes: "she was married (or ought to have been married) to William 3rd Lord Crichton, and had a daughter, Margaret."^[6] This and Cockayne's version concur that a marriage between Lord Crichton and Margaret did not take place and that she was his mistress. The son, James, must have been illegitimate (despite being erroneously called "son and heir" in a couple of sources) as he was unable to inherit Frendraught in the usual way and instead it was settled upon him as a gift by his grandmother, Lady Janet Crichton (née Dunbar), in 1493.^[7] In addition, there were no subsequent appeals to the Crown for the Lordship of Parliament to be restored to William's legitimate male heirs, as would normally occur.

William, 3rd Lord Crichton, is known to have married Marion Livingston, daughter of James Livingston, Lord Livingston of Callendar, before 1478.^[8] There is no known legitimate issue. This marriage between these two families designed to finally end the long-continued rivalry of the two families.^[1] However the relationship fell apart when she had an affair with King James III.

Treason and Banishment

A brother of King James III, Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany, headed a powerful faction in Scotland's affairs. He was also the Earl of March and created significant disruption on the borders with England that he broke the truce between Scotland and England arising from the Marriage of James III. In 1479, the seat of Albany's earldom of March was seized, although accounts of his imprisonment in Edinburgh Castle at this time appear to be misdated. Albany fled by sea to Paris where, in September 1479, was welcomed by King Louis XI, and received royal favour by his marriage to Anne de la Tour. Louis, however, would not assist him to attack his brother the king, and, crossing to England, he made a treaty with King Edward IV at Fotheringhay in June 1482. Albany promised to hold Scotland under English suzerainty in return for Edward's assistance and to deliver the southern shires into English possession. With the Duke of Gloucester, afterwards King Richard III, he marched at the head of one of the largest English armies to be assembled after the Wars of Independence—20,000 men, and invaded Scotland, seizing Berwick. James III was seized at Lauder Bridge as he marched to face the invasion, and was imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle. Crichton was clearly part of a conspiracy to remove James from power.

Albany's power evaporated with the death of Edward in Apr 1483 and he, facing a Scotland, in the main hostile to him, capitulated and made peace with James III. In this indenture between the two brothers one of the terms of the bargain was that Lord Crichton and others of Albany's associates should on the one hand be discharged by him of certain obligations into which they had entered with him, while Lord Crichton, along with the Earls of Angus and Buchan, Lord Gray and Sir James Liddale of Haulkerston, were in like manner to renounce certain unlawful bonds which they had given to the King of England. Further Lord Crichton was banished from the Kingdom for three years.^[1]

Forfeiture

James' power was not, initially, strong enough to evict Albany and his supporters. However by July 1483 James could march on Dunbar and Albany escaped seeking shelter in England. Alexander Stewart was attainted by Parliament, 8 July 1483.

Crichton, who had fled to the sanctuary of St. Duthac at Tain, near Thurso in the Highlands, had a process of forfeiture commenced against him, and various of his kinsfolk and other persons. The charges including traitorous correspondence with Albany in England after his forfeiture and the fortifying of Crichton Castle against the King. He failed to appear and was forfeit and outlawed, 24 February 1484.

Although there is a story regarding the death of Marion Livingston and an attempted reconciliation there is no recorded source that suggests any reconciliation occurred prior to the death of both James and Crichton. Neither is there any evidence that he married Margaret Stewart and it seems highly improbable that this occurred.^[9]

William Crichton was certainly dead before 23 October 1493.

Family and Children

By Margaret Stewart, he had one daughter and one son:

• James Crichton; The date of his birth is circa 1470. He must have been of age before 23 October 1493, when an action was pursued by James Giffert as assignee to "James Creichtoun, the son and are of umquhile William, sumtyme Lord Creichtoun". This would suggest he was born c1473 or slightly earlier. Later that year, 22 November 1493, his grandmother, as Joneta Dunbar, domina de Frendracht, under reservation of her own life-rent, personally resigned the lands and barony of Frendracht in the sheriffdom of Aberdeen, and the lands and barony of Inverkethny in the County of Banff, and a Crown charter was granted in favour of James Crichton, son and heir of the deceased William, Lord Crichton, and the heirs male of his body. In this way Frendraught came to be the principal holding of the main line of the family of Crichton.

Daughter with Princess Margaret - Margaret Crichton

William Crichton, Lord Crichton, also had, by the Princess Margaret, a daughter, Margaret Crichton, whose chequered career is regarded as one of the most curious in the history of her day.^[9] She appears, in the Treasurers Accounts of 1496, as Lady Margaret's daughter.

She was married, first, to William Todrik, burgess of Edinburgh. This marriage must have been prior to 8 February 1505, when Todrik received from the King under the Great Seal a grant of certain exemptions from customs in respect of his marriage; "cum consanguinea nostra Margreta Creichtoun". Todrik must have died before 27 July 1507.

She was married, secondly, to George Halkerstoun also a burgess of Edinburgh. This marriage must have taken place prior to 4 July 1510, when she and her husband obtained a similar grant, to them and to the survivor, of exemption from customs to the amount of 100 merks yearly import and export. Halkerstoun, who became one of the custumars of Edinburgh, seems to have been killed at Flodden, and his widow succeeded him in that office. By George Halkerston she had a son James, who was conjoined with her in a lawsuit in 1538.

Margaret Crichton's third husband was George Leslie, Earl of Rothes. This marriage must have taken place prior to 1 April 1517 when a new charter of the Rothes estates passed the Great Seal in favour of "Georgio Lesley Comiti de Rothes dom. Lesly et Margarete Creichtoun ejus sponse affidate per verba de futuro cum carnali copula inde secuta". This marriage was dissolved on 27 December 1520 and Lord Rothes married successively Elizabeth Gray, the widowed Countess of Huntly and Agnes Somerville, relict of John, Lord Fleming. Margaret Crichton does not seem to have acquiesced in the judgement, and may have ultimately been successful in getting it set aside, and in reasserting her position as Countess of Rothes, prior to 31 May 1542, when as Margaret Creychtoun Comitissa de Rothes she obtained a charter of the lands of Drumcroce.

She seems to have died prior to 1546, when Lord Rothes appears as the husband of "dame Margret (properly Isabel) Lundy, relict of umquhile David, Erle of Craufurde". By Lord Rothes Margaret Crichton had issue at least one child, Norman Leslie, known as the Master of Rothes.

Research Notes

• thepeerage.com - William Crichton, Lord Crichton

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Paul, James Balfour. The Scots Peerage : founded on Wood's ed. of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland; containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom, Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1906, Vol. III, Archive.org, p. 64
2. ↑ The Scottish Nation by William Anderson, Edinburgh, 1867 edition, vol.iii, p.725.
3. ↑ Anderson, 1867, vol.iii, p.725.
4. ↑ Genealogical Collections concerning families in Scotland 1750-1 by Walter Macfarlane, edited by James Toshach Clark, Keeper of the Advocates' Library, Scottish History Society, Edinburgh, 1900, vol.2, pps: 23 & 428.
5. ↑ The Complete Peerage by G. E. Cockayne, edited by the Hon. Vicary Gibbs, & H. Arthur Doubleday, London, 1913, vol.iii, p.539n.
6. ↑ Scottish Kings, a Revised Chronology of Scottish History, 1005 - 1625 by Sir Archibald H. Dunbar, Bart., Edinburgh, 1899, p.202.
7. ↑ The Great Seal of Scotland no.2184 confirmed 22nd November 1493.
8. ↑ Cockayne, 1913, vol.iii, p.539.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Paul, James Balfour. The Scots Peerage : founded on Wood's ed. of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland; containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom, Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1906, Vol. III, Archive.org, [https://archive.org/stream/scotspeeragefoun03pauluoft#page/66/mode/2up p. 66