Mary (Stewart) Stewart Countess Angus (bef. 1381 - aft. 1458)

Born before 1381 in Scotland

Ancestors

Wife of George (Douglas) First Earl of Angus — married 24 May 1397 in Scotland

Wife of James Kennedy — married before 27 Jan 1406 in Scotland

Wife of William (Edmonstone) Edmonstone of Culloden and Ist of Duntreath — married 1425 in Scotland

Descendants

Died after 20 Mar 1458 after age 77 in Scotland

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Biography

Mary (or Marion) Stewart is the daughter of Robert the III, King of Scotland and Annabella Drummond, thought by some historians to be born in or after 1378,^[1][2] but her year of birth was more likely to have been as late as 1381. Please see the research note below for more about this date.

Marriages and Children

She married first, George Douglas,1st Earl of Angus, by contract dated 24 May 1397.^{[1][3][4][5][6]} George was taken captive at the Battle of Homildon Hill, 14 September 1402, imprisoned in England, and died there of the plague.^[1][3][5] They had two children:^[1][3]

• William Douglas married Margaret Hay, 3 Dec 1414; died about October 1437.^[5][7][8][9]
• Elizabeth Douglas married (1) Sir Alexander Forbes (2) Sir David Hay.^{[8][9][10][11][12]}

She married secondly, Sir James Kennedy^[4] before 27 January 1405/6.^[1][5][13] James was killed in a quarrel with his illegitimate brother, Gilbert Kennedy, shortly before 8 November 1408.^[1][5][13] They had at least three sons, but see the research note below regarding a possible daughter:

• John Kennedy died after 1434.^[13][14]
• Gilbert Kennedy^[13] born about 1406; married (1) Katherine Maxwell about 1440 (2) Isabel Ogilvie after 1460; died after 6 March 1478/9.^[15][16][17]
• James Kennedy born about 1405 or 1406; died 24 May 1465.^[13][18]

She was named in a papal dispensation, 7 July 1409 allowing "Sir William Cunningham, Earl of Carrick, Lord of Kilmaurs to marry Marjory [sic] Stewart, widow of James Kennedy, doncel, Glasgow diocese,"^[19][20] however there is no evidence such a marriage ever took place. For further discussion of this, please see the Research Note.

She married next, William Graham of Kincardine,^[4][21] perhaps on 13 November 1413, but certainly by 15 May 1416.^[1][5] They had five sons of record:

1. Robert Graham^[1] (first son)^[22] married (1) Janet Lovel, (2) Matilda Scrymgeour.^[21]
2. Patrick Graham^[21] (second son).^[22]
3. William Graham^[1][21] (third son).^[22]
4. Henry Graham^[1][21] (fourth son) died after 1421.^[22]
5. Walter Graham^[1][21] (fifth son).^[22]

Royal Ancestry overlooks Patrick in the list of sons, but does list him in the accounts of grants by two Dukes of Albany.^[1][22]

She married last, Sir William Edmonstone of Duntreath (or Culloden) in 1425.^{[1][2][4][5][23]} William died about 1460.^[1] They had two children:

• William Edmonstone.^[1][23]
• Elizabeth Edmonstone (The Edmonstone account gives her name as Mary).^[1][23]

Property

Mary was a wealthy woman in her own right. To her several marriages, she not only brought considerable property but received a number of lands and benefits as her dower.

• At the time of her first marriage, her father gifted her the lands of Abernethy and Bonhill "with the issues of the justice ayres in the sheriffdom of Forfar."^[4][6]
• For her second marriage, her dower included the barony of Dalrymple.^[4]
• On 10 December 1452, James II confirmed to "William of Culloden, and the said Marion Countess of Angus," the barony of Duntreath, and after their resignation, to their son William "tenure in fee and heretage for ever," reserving to "William of Culloden, and the said Marion Countess of Angus, and longest liver of them their liferent."^[24]

Death

Mary Stewart is commonly said to have died in or after1458,^[2][5] and more specifically, that she was living 20 March 1457/8,^[9][25] but please see the research note below for more about this date. After her death she was interred in the parish church at Strathblane.^{[2][5][26][27]}

Research Notes

Date of Birth

As noted above, after her marriage in 1425 at what would be the age of 48, Mary then had two more children (so would be about age 50-52 at the birth of her last child if that child was born within three years of her last marriage). Not unheard of, but certainly unusual. While 1378 appears to be too early for her birth, her first marriage was in contracted in 1397 with son William being born shortly after. Given that, it seems more likely that Mary was born about 1381 making her age 16 when first married, and about 49 at the birth of her last child.

Mary Kennedy

Previously, this profile showed Mary Kennedy as a daughter of James Kennedy and Mary Stewart. She is not shown in either Scots Peerage or Royal Ancestry, and has been detached until reliable sources can be found. See the research note on her profile for more on this.

William de Cunningham

In spite of the papal dispensation, most accounts of Mary Stewart state there is no known evidence that the marriage ever took place.^{[4][5][25][28]} Douglas Richardson appears to believe there was such a marriage, but does not provide convincing sources for this.^[1][29][30] He appears to rely on the fact that, in several instances, Robert, Duke of Albany called William de Conyngham, Knt., "kinsman"^[31] or "cousin."^[30] This is not persuasive, as there are many other ways Cunningham may have been related to the Duke of Albany, not the least of which is that he had been married to the Duke's niece (as that term is used today), she being the granddaughter of the Duke's half-sister (and one of the reasons for needing the papal dispensation).

In any event, Mary and WIlliam Cunningham had no known issue, and Sir William died sometime between 7 August 1413 and 27 December 1415 when he was referred to as "the late Sir William Cunningham, Lord of Kilmaurs."^[1]

For more on this issue, please see the Research Note on her father's profile.

Date of Death

Royal Ancestry states she was apparently still living in February 1461/2.^[1] This date could reflect when she was last paid the liferent from the barony of Duntreath, but no evidence has been found among the available sources given in Royal Ancestry.

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 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18} Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, Kimball G. Everingham, editor (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), 1: 651-3 (BRUS 11.v).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Sir James Paul Balfour, The Scots Peerage 9 vols, (Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1904-1914), 1: 18, Internet Archive.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Scots Peerage, 1: 172-175 Internet Archive.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6} Rotuli Scaccarii Regum Scotorum (Exchequer Rolls of Scotland), George Burnett, ed,. (Edinburgh: General Register House, 1880), 4: (appendix to preface), clxxiii, Internet Archive.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9} Cokayne, George Edward, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, 13 volumes in 14, (London: St. Catherine Press, 1910-1940), 1: 154-5, Internet Archive.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} The Miscellany of the Spalding Club, (Aberdeen: s.p., 1852) 5: 252-253, Internet Archive.
7. ↑ Richardson, Royal Ancestry, 1: 653 (BRUS 11.v.a).
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Scots Peerage 1: 174, Internet Archive.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2} William Fraser, The Douglas Book, 4 vols. (Edinburgh: 1885) 2: 23n, Internet Archive.
10. ↑ Richardson, Royal Ancestry, 1: 654 (BRUS 11.v.b).
11. ↑ Complete Peerage, 6: 421, Family Search Library Catalog entry.
12. ↑ Richard Augustin Hay, Genealogie of the Hayes of Tweeddale ( Edinburgh : T. G. Stevenson, 1835),19-20, Internet Archive.
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4} Scots Peerage, 2: 449-50, Internet Archive.
14. ↑ Richardson, Royal Ancestry, 1: 654 (BRUS 11.v.a).
15. ↑ Richardson, Royal Ancestry, 1: 654 (BRUS 11.v.b).
16. ↑ Scots Peerage, 2: 452-454, Internet Archive.
17. ↑ Complete Peerage, 7: 121, Internet Archive.
18. ↑ Richardson, Royal Ancestry, 1: 654 (BRUS 11.v.c).
19. ↑ Richardson, Royal Ancestry, 1: 653n (BRUS 11.v).
20. ↑ Francis McGurk (ed), Calendar of Papal Letters to Scotland of Benedict XIII of Avignon 1394-1419 (Scottish History Society, 1976), 207, National Library of Scotland.
21. ↑ ^{21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 21.5} Scots Peerage, 6: 218-219, Internet Archive.
22. ↑ ^{22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 22.5} Third Report of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts (London: Stationery Office, 1872, 397-398, Google Books.
23. ↑ ^{23.0 23.1 23.2} Sir Archibald Edmonstone, Genealogical Account of the Family of Edmonstone of Duntreath (Edinburgh: privately printed, 1875), p. 29-32, Google Books.
24. ↑ Edmonstone, Edmonstone, 65-66 (note 10), Google Books.
25. ↑ ^{25.0 25.1} Neil D. Thompson, Charles M. Hanson, The Ancestry of Charles II, King of England: A Medieval Heritage [Twelve Generations] (Saline, Michigan: American Society of Genealogists, 2012), 185 #1089.
26. ↑ Edmonstone, Edmonstone, 77 (note 34), Google Books.
27. ↑ John Guthrie Smith, The Parish of Strathblane and its Inhabitants from Early Times: A Chapter of Lennox History, (Glasgow: James Maclehose, 1886), 104, (see also pp 72-74, 104-108, 309-310), Internet Archive.
28. ↑ Scots Peerage, 4: 230.
29. ↑ Richardson, Royal Ancestry, 1: 635 (BRUS 10.i).
30. ↑ ^{30.0 30.1} Richardson, Royal Ancestry, 1: 644-5 (BRUS 10.vii.a.1).
31. ↑ John Maitland Thomson, Registrum Magni Sigilli Regum Scotorum: The Register of the Great Seal of Scotland A.D. 1306-1424 New ed. (Edinburgh: General Register House, 1912) 396 #922, Google Books.

See also:

• 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), 3: 575 SCOTLAND 5.v.a, Google Books
• Adrian Benjamin Burke, "The Livingston Ancestry of the Duncanson Sisters of New Netherland, Part II: Identifyng their maternal great-grandmother Margaret Forrester," The Genealogist 27 (2013): 162-181 at 176.
• Mark Noble, An Historical Genealogy of the Royal House of Stuarts… (London: R. Faulder, 1795) 88-90, Internet Archive.
• George Burnett, "The Early Earls of Mar," The Genealogist, n.s. 4 (1887):177-193, Internet Archive.

Acknowledgements

Thank you to all who have contributed to this profile. Click the Changes tab to see those previous edits.

Magna Carta Project

This profile was developed by Greg Cooke for the Magna Carta Project on 1 November 2023 and reviewed by Jen Hutton.

This profile has been identified by the Magna Carta Project as in a trail from Magna Carta Surety Baron Gilbert de Clare to Margaret and Catherine Duncanson. The trail, which was badged 11 December 2023, is set out in the Magna Carta trails section of Margaret Duncanson's Profile.

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".