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Alexander (Gordon) Gordon Third Earl of Huntly (abt. 1467 - abt. 1524)

Born about in Scotlandmap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married after 20 Oct 1474 in Scotlandmap
Husband of — married after 27 Jul 1511 in Scotlandmap
Descendants descendants
Died about at about age 57 in Perth, Perthshire, Scotlandmap
Profile last modified | Created 7 Jun 2011
This page has been accessed 9,351 times.
Scottish Clans
Alexander (Gordon) Gordon Third Earl of Huntly was a prominent member of a Scottish Clan.
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Magna Carta Surety Baron Descendant (see text).
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Preceded by
George Gordon
Third Earl of Huntly
Succeeded by
George Gordon

Contents

Biography

Alexander (Gordon) Gordon Third Earl of Huntly is a member of Clan Gordon.
Notables Project
Alexander (Gordon) Gordon Third Earl of Huntly is Notable.

Birth and Parents

Alexander Gordon was the son of George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly and, probably, his third wife Elizabeth Hay.[1][2][3] (See Research Notes below.) His birth date is uncertain.

Marriages and Children

On 20 October 1474 Alexander was contracted to marry Jean Stewart, daughter of John Stewart, Earl of Atholl.[1][2][3] When they actually married is uncertain. They had the following children:

Alexander's first wife Jean died on 27 October 1510. Alexander married again, after 27 July 1511, has second wife being Elizabeth Gray, daughter of Andrew Gray (2nd Lord Gray) and his first wife Janet Keith, and widow of John Lyon, 4th Lord Glamis.[1][2][3] They had no children.[5]

Life

Alexander succeeded his father as Earl of Huntly in 1501.[5][6] That year he made lieutenant (royal deputy) over much of Northern Scotland. From 1502 to 1506 he helped to suppress rebellions in the Scottish Isles.[5] In 1503 he was one of the witnesses to James IV's marriage contract.[2][3] James IV rewarded him with extensive lands, and by making him Sheriff of Aberdeen and Inverness.[1]

On 9 September 1513 Alexander was commander of a battalion in the Battle of Flodden, where James IV and many of the Scottish nobility died. He himself escaped with his life.[1][5]

In 1517 Alexander was made one of the Vice-Regents during the minority of James V.[1][2][3][5] The next year he was given the lieutenancy of all Scotland except the area controlled by the Earl of Argyll.[1][5]

From 1520 ill-health reduced his capacity to play an active part in public affairs or the government of the realm.[5] In December 1521, though, he was fit enough to be one of those for whom the Duke of Albany asked Henry VIII of England to grant safe conduct for negotiations for peace between Scotland and England.[7]

Death

Alexander died at Perth on 21 January 1523/4. He was buried at the church of the Dominican Friars in Perth.[1][2][3]

Before 5 June 1525 his widow Elizabeth married again, her third husband being George Leslie.[1][2][3]

Research Notes

Mother

There has been disagreement about whether Alexander's mother was his father's second wife Annabella Stewart or his third wife Elizabeth Hay.

  • The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography comes down in favour of Annabella Stewart, arguing that Alexander must have been of age by 1485, when he sat in the Scottish Parliament and was one of the Lords of the Articles of James III, pointing to a birth date of before 1464, before his father's marriage to Elizabeth Hay.[5]
  • James Balfour Paul, in The Scots Peerage, acknowledges this argument but says there are strong indications that Elizabeth Hay was Alexander's mother: she is described as such in a Charter of 21 February 1594-5; and in 1592 Alexander himself asked that the banns of marriage of his father and Elizabeth Hay, and his father's divorce from Annabella Stewart, be recorded in the Aberdeen Consistory Court - Alexander would be unlikely to have done this if Annabella was his mother.[1]
  • Cokayne's Complete Peerage is agnostic, merely recording that there are arguments on both sides.[6]

Wikipedia[8] and Cracroft's Peerage[9] opt for Annabella Stewart. Douglas Richardson gives Elizabeth Hay as Alexander's mother.[2][3]

Previously-attached Daughter

Marjory Gordon has previously been shown on Wikitree as a daughter of Alexander Gordon and Jean Stewart. No good evidence has been found for this.

Sources

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 James Balfour Paul (ed.). The Scots Peerage, Vol. IV, David Douglas, 1907, pp. 531-533, Internet Archive
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham, 2nd edition (Salt Lake City: the author, 2011), Vol. I, p. 98, BARCLAY 13, Google Books
  3. 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), Vol. I, p. 242, BARCLAY 14
  4. James Balfour Paul. The Scots Peerage, Vol. IX, David Douglas, 1914, p. 110 (in Addenda et Corrigenda), Internet Archive
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by Richard D Oram for 'Gordon, Alexander, third earl of Huntly', print and online 2004
  6. 6.0 6.1 G E Cokayne. Complete Peerage, revised edition, Vol. VI, St Catherine Press, 1926, p. 678, viewable on Familysearch
  7. 'Henry VIII: December 1521, 11-20', in Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 3, 1519-1523, ed. J S Brewer (London, 1867), pp. 788-801., entry for 12 December 1521, British History Online, accessed 12 June 2021
  8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Gordon,_3rd_Earl_of_Huntly Wikipedia: Alexander Gordon, 3rd Earl of Huntly]
  9. Cracroft's Peerage - Earl of Huntly
  • Paul, James Balfour (ed.). The Scots Peerage, Vol. IV, David Douglas, 1907, pp. 531-533, Internet Archive
  • Richardson, Douglas. ‘’Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families,’’ 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham. Salt Lake City: the author, 2013. See also WikiTree’s source page for ‘’Royal Ancestry.’’
  • Richardson, Douglas. ‘’Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families,’’ 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham. 2nd edition. Salt Lake City: the author, 2011. See also WikiTree’s source page for ‘’Magna Carta Ancestry.’’
  • Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by Richard D Oram for 'Gordon, Alexander, third earl of Huntly', print and online 2004
  • Cokayne. G E. Complete Peerage, revised edition, Vol. VI, St Catherine Press, 1926, p. 678, viewable on Familysearch
  • Cracroft's Peerage - Earl of Huntly
  • Wikipedia: Alexander Gordon, 3rd Earl of Huntly
  • Wikidata: Item Q361092, en:Wikipedia help.gif

Acknowledgements

Magna Carta Project

Magna Carta Project logo
This profile is in a trail badged by the Magna Carta Project.
This profile was developed for the Magna Carta Project by Michael Cayley on 12 June 2021 and reviewed/approved by Thiessen-117.
Alexander (Gordon) Gordon Third Earl of Huntly appears in Magna Carta Ancestry in a Richardson-documented trail from Gateway Ancestors Robert Barclay and John Barclay to Magna Carta Surety Barons Gilbert de Clare and Richard de Clare (vol. I, pages 94-101 BARCLAY). This trail was re-developed in 2021 by Michael Cayley and was badged by the Magna Carta Project on 22 June 2021. See the Magna Carta Trails on Robert Barclay's profile to view the profiles in that trail.
See Base Camp for more information about identified Magna Carta trails and their status. See the project's glossary for project-specific terms, such as a "badged trail".




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Comments: 5

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I plan to do some work soon on this profile on behalf of the Magna Carta Project
posted by Michael Cayley
I have now finished the main work I currently intend on this profile. If anyone spots any typos etc, please either correct them or message me.

I have proposed merges of the three profiles of his second wife.

posted by Michael Cayley
This link is not working. Main page is http://www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk/introduction.htm
posted by Clare Bromley III
Gordon-5372 and Gordon-741 appear to represent the same person because: same information
posted by Robin Lee