Margaret (Graham) of Ross and Gartley (abt. 1300 - aft. 1341)

Born about 1300 in Scotland [uncertain]

Ancestors

Wife of Aodh (Ross) Earl of Ross and Stratherne — married before 24 Nov 1329 (to 19 Jul 1333) in Old Montrose [uncertain]

Descendants

Died after 1341 after about age 41 in Scotland [uncertain]

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Biography

Birth

Margaret (Graham) of Ross and Gartley is a member of Clan Graham.

Margaret was likely born in Scotland circa 1300 (see Research Notes) to David Graham, laird of Dundaff, Kincardine, and Old Montrose and an unknown wife.^[1] To this marriage, sons Patrick of Kinpunt and David of Kincardine and Old Montrose were also born.^[2][3] Balfour Paul suggested the possibility of another son, William, keeper of Lochleven castle in 1362, but no sources have been located that support this claim.^[3]

Marriage and Children

Margaret had a dispensation dated 24 November 1329 to legitimize her earlier dated marriage to Sir Hugh, 4th Earl of Ross.^[3][1] During her marriage to Sir Hugh, she bore four children: Hugh of Rarichies, 1st of Balnagown; Euphame, wife of John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray and later, Robert II, King of Scots;^[4] Janet, who married John de Monymusk; and Lilias, possible wife of William Urquhart^[5] She was widowed within four years of her marriage, when Sir Hugh was killed, while commanding the reserve at the battle of Halidon Hill, 19 July 1333.^[1] Margaret married secondly, Sir John Berkeley (de Barclay),^[5] 10th Lord of Gartley, son of Andrew de Berkeley, on 13 April 1341.^[1] According to Charles Cawley, Janet was likely a product of Margaret's second marriage, not her first. ^[6]

Death

Margaret's date of death and location of burial are unknown. She would have died sometime after April 1341, the year she married Sir John Berkeley.^[5] Sources have not been located that allow for a closer estimation of the year of her death.

Research Notes

Conflicting Views Regarding Margaret's Parentage:

Although the father of Margaret has been called into question, Balfour Paul has indicated that she was the daughter of David of Old Montrose, as does Cockayne. D. Richardson in Magna Carta (pp. 525-526) also states that Margaret de Graham was the said daughter of David, knight of Old Montrose.^[4] Cawley, in contrast, has presupposed that the dates call this assertion into doubt and has suggested instead that one of Patrick's brothers may have been her father, where he has stated in Medieval Lands:

Balfour Paul claims that Margaret's parentage and marriage are confirmed by a charter of her son Hugh Earl of Ross which names Patrick de Graham "avunculus meus," but assumes that this means that her father was David Graham and her husband William Earl of Ross [Balfour Paul states that her husband was Hugh, not William^[3]]. From a chronological point of view, this seems improbable. It is more likely that Earl Hugh addresses Patrick de Graham as "avunculus," meaning his wife’s uncle, in which case his wife was the daughter of one of Patrick’s brothers.^[6] The implication, then, is that John was potentially Margaret's father.

Estimated Date of birth:

Margaret had her earlier dated marriage to Hugh Ross legitimized in a dispensation in 1329.^[3][1] With a rough assumption that she may have been between the ages of 25 and 30 at this time, it would tentatively place her date of birth in the proximity of 1300.

Parentage of Jean Munro:

No sources have been located that corroborate Margaret as the mother of Jean Munro.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Cokayne, G. E. (1910). The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom: Extant, extinct, or dormant (Vol. XI; p. 145). London: The St. Catherine Press. Retrieved from FamilySearch (Available online); accessed 1 February 2021.
2. ↑ Cawley, C. (21 September 2020). Scotland untitled nobility (Graham, David II de Graham, David [V] de Graham). Retrieved from Foundation for Medieval Genealogy (Available online); accessed 6 December 2020.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4} Balfour Paul, J. (1909). 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 (Vol. VI, p. 211). Edinburgh: D. Douglas. Retrieved from Internet Archive (Available online); accessed 1 February 2021.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Richardson, Douglas. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham, 2nd ed. (Salt Lake City: the author, 2011), vol. 3, pp. 525-526 SCOTLAND. 4.vii. Maud de Brus.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} Balfour Paul, J. (1910). 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 (Vol. VII, pp. 235, 236). Edinburgh: D. Douglas. Retrieved from Internet Archive (Available online); accessed 1 February 2021.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Cawley, C. (21 September 2020). Scotland, earls created 1162-1398. (Ch. 1, sec. B, Hugh de Ross). Retrieved from Foundation for Medieval Genealogy (Available online); accessed 30 November 2020.