John (Ross) Ross First Lord Ross of Halkhead (bef. 1428 - abt. 1501)

Born before 1428 in Renfrewshire, Scotland [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Mariota Baillie — married after 1491 in Scotland

Descendants

Died about Jun 1501 after about age 73 in Renfrewshire, Scotland [uncertain]

Biography

John (Ross) Ross First Lord Ross of Halkhead is Notable.

John (Ross) Ross First Lord Ross of Halkhead was born in Scotland.

John (Ross) Ross First Lord Ross of Halkhead lived during the medieval period.

John is presumed, by James Paul and others, to be the son of John Ross, noticed on record, on 6 Aug 1447, as "Jon Rosse de Haukede".^[1][2]

He first achieved distinction as one of the combatants in the tournament held on 25 February 1448-49, in the presence of James II, between two knights and an esquire of Scotland and the same of Burgundy, the other two Scots representatives being James Douglas, brother of the Earl of Douglas and James Douglas, brother of Lochleven. It is not clear which was the squire on the day.

He had a charter, as Johanni le Rosse de Haukhede militi,' of the lands of Tarbert in Ayrshire and Auchinbak in Renfrewshire, on the resignation of Robert Rosse of the monastery of Holyrood on 17 January 1450-51. He had been knighted shortly before that date (between 10 Aug 1450 and 17 Jan 1451). The relationship between Robert and John is not provided but might be presumed to be of the same lineage. This notice serves to indicate that the father of Jon had died prior to 1451 and John, of this profile, succeeded.

He was appointed Sheriff of Linlithgow in succession to Archibald Dundas of that Ilk; and his account as Sheriff rendered in June 1471 seems to show that he was superseded in that office by Henry Livingston in 1468, and restored to it again on 3 August 1469. He was reappointed Sheriff on 9 March 1472-73.^[3]

Between 1471-73 he was appointed bailie of the barony of Melville by his daughter-in-law Agnes Melville, heiress of Thomas Melville. ^[3]

He was created LORD ROSS of Halkhead some time before 31 May 1499, when, as such, he granted a charter of Walterstoun, Linlithgow, to John Ross de Malevyn, knight, his heir-apparent.^[3][4]

He married firstly to Marjory Mure, daughter of John Mure of Caldwell,^[5] and their effigies are represented on a recessed tomb in the parish church of Renfrew. They had issue:

1. Robert Ross, his son and heir. Robert will predecease his father and the line continued by his son.
2. Giles Ross, married to James Auchinleck, son of Sir John Auchinleck, of Auchinleck, contract dated 3 March 1480.
3. Elizabeth Ross, married Sir Thomas Semphill of Eliotstoun. ^[6] She was alive 13 November 1495, and dead before 17 November 1505.

After 1491 he married Marion (Mariota) Baillie, widow of John, third Lord Somerville, from whom he obtained a divorce.

John died between 12 December 1500 and 16 October 1501, when his successor had a precept of sasine from John, Lord Sempill, in the lands of Craigrossy. ^[3]

Research Notes

• His mother is not noticed in source and his date of birth is not provided. He was of age in 1449 and thus estimated as born prior to 1428. It is presumed he was born at the family estate in Renfrewshire.

• Possible conflation. Different sources seem to have varying dates of death and spouses. For example, Cokayne had him killed at Flodden.^[7]

• The Peerage: Sir John Ross, 1st Lord Ross of Halkhead

• Clan MacFarlane: Sir John Ross, 1st Lord Ross of Halkhead, Sheriff of Linlithgow

• Marilyn Lewis: Sir John Ross, 1st Lord Ross of Halkhead

Sources

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, 1910, Vol. VII, Archive.org, p. 248
2. ↑ Knowles, George Parker, "A Genealogical Account of the Rosses of Dalton, in the County of Dumfries, from their First Settlement in Scotland in the Twelfth Century, to the Year of our Lord 1854", London: private, 1855, Archive.org, p. 5
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3} 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, 1910, Vol. VII, Archive.org, p. 249
4. ↑ Douglas, Robert, "The Peerage of Scotland, Containing an Historical and Genealogical Account of the Nobility of that Kingdom, from their Origin to the present Generation. Collected from the Public Records and Chartularies of this Country, the Records and other Writings of the Nobility and the Works of Our Best Historians", Edinburgh: R. Fleming, 1764, Archive.org, p.582
5. ↑ MacGregor, Gordon, The Red Book of Scotland, Scotland, private, 2022, Ed. 3, Vol. VII, p. 199
6. ↑ 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, 1910, Vol. VII, Archive.org, p. 530 Although not recorded in the discussion of the Ross family by Balfour Paul he does note, under discussion of the family of Semphill of Eliotstoun (Egliston), a daughter to John Ross and Marjory Mure:
7. ↑ Cokayne, George Edward, "The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom", London: William Pollard & Co, 1949, Ed. 2 Vol XI, FamilySearch, p. 156

See also:

• Wikipedia: John Ross, 1st Lord_Ross

• Wikidata: Item Q6255664, en:Wikipedia

• Halkhead Castle