John Porterfield (1613 - 1690)

Born 1613 in Kilmacolm, Renfrewshire, Scotland

Ancestors

Husband of Jean (Hamilton) Porterfield — married 21 Jun 1636 in Cambusnethan, Lanark, Scotland

Descendants

Died 1690 at about age 77 in Duchal Castle, Kilmacolm, Renfrewshire, Scotland

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Biography

John Porterfield was the fourth laird of Duchal from the Porterfield family. He became laird upon the death of his father Alexander in 1675. ^[1]

He was born in 1613.^[2]

Lands

He succeeded to the Duchall lands in 1675. In 1681, he purchased the lands of Craigbait and Carsemeadow from the Sinclairs of Craigbait.^[1]

Covenanter Movement and Trial

John was a devout Covenanter and at often at odds with the government due to his opposition to the Prelacy. After the Restoration, John maintained his Presbyterian beliefs and suffered greatly.^[1]

For encouraging conventicles he was fined in the sum of £84,000 Scots.^[1]

In 1662, John was called before the court for refusing for refusing to hear the Curate Abercrombieof Kilmacolm, where his estate and lands were. As witness were called it became apparent they were supporting Porterfield. At this point the court interrupted the proceedings and demand John take an oath of allegiance. He refused and was fined 500 pounds sterling, ordered his estate sequestrated, and confined him in the town of Elgin in Murray (Moray).^[3][4][1]

Duchal Castle was famous as a safe retreat for all sufierers for consciences' sake. It was, therefore, carefully watched by the miserable tribe of informers who sought to make gain by betraying fugitives. One of these informers, a low fellow named Greenshields, a Paisley weaver to trade, offered his services to the Government, and a troop of soldiers was placed at his disposal. Late one night, when all the household were asleep, Greenshields, with his followers, arrived at the house of Duchal. He had orders, he said, to search for and apprehend any " field-preachers, vagrant ministers, or forfeited persons." Accordingly, every nook and corner of the old castle was explored, but no suspicious persons were found. Greenshields then impudently demanded supper and lodgings for his whole party, which the laird dared not refuse. A few days passed, and yet the intruders showed no signs of removing themselves. On the laird's remonstrance they oftered to go if he would give them a sum of money. This being refused they maintained their free quarters till all the available provisions in the castle and neighbourhood were exhausted. When no more could be had they gathered together the silver spoons and all other valuables on which they could lay their hands, and took their departure. It is satisfactory, however, to find that this was too gross an offence for the Government of even that day to condone; and, on Porterfield's complaint, the matter was looked into ; the Duchal spoons and some other property were found in the possession of the thieves and restored to their rightful owner ; and, one is glad to hear, Greenshields was publicly whipped and dismissed.^[1]

Capital Trial of 1684

By November 1684, while laird of Duchal, John was indicted before the Court of High Commission in Edinburgh on a capital charge. The main items in the count against him were that he had conversed with his own brother, Alexander, who had been forfeited for his connection with the rising at Pentland, and that he had harboured on his lands George Holms, a Kilmacolm rebel, who had been at the battle of Bothwell Bridge. We are told that Duchal " was most cheerful and sedate in all his sufferings, and bore the same with a Christian patience which highly raised his esteem amongst all good men, and drew pity and compassion even from some of his enemies." He calmly maintained his honour as a gentlemen and his loyalty as a subject. He felt upon him the smile of God, and nothing that men could do was able to ruffle him.^[1]

His judges were not disposed to listen to any defence. He was condemned to death as a traitor, "to underlye the pains of treason, his name, fame, memory, and honours to become extinct, his blood to be tainted, his Coat of Arms to be torn out of the Herald's Book and thrown in his face, so that his posterity may never have place, nor be able hereafter to bruik nor enjoy any offices, titles, honours, or dignities in the realm in time coming ; and to have forfeited, amitted, and tint all and sundry his lands, heritages, goods and geir whatsomever."^[1]

To save time the Council had drawn up his sentence before the trial took place ; and to make it quite sure that it would be arrived at, the Crown had made a donation of the personal and heritable property to be forfeited to his judge, the John Drummond, Earl of Melfort (Milford).^[1]

The trial papers in Howell (1816) run twenty pages and document John and other members of his family's alleged activities over the course of three decades.^[5]

On May 6, 1685, the First Parliament of James VII/II of Scotland approved and confirmed the sentence of John for treason for supplying given to traitors.^[6]

The full text of that Act reads:

"OUR SOVERAIGN LORD, and Estates of Parliament, Do Ratifie, Approve, and Con∣firm the Sentence of Forfaulture pronounced by the Commissioners of Justiciary against Iohn Porterfield, sometime of Duchall, and the Interlocutors, and whole Procedure of the saids Commissioners in that Process. And Declares that the same was conform to the Laws of this Kingdom. And in general, Statutes and Declares, that the Conceal∣ing, and not Revealing of Supplys Given to, or Demanded for Traitors Forfaulted for Treason against the Kings Person or Government, is Treason, and to be Judged accordingly."

Return of Estate

The sentence was not carried out to the full. His life was spared ; but he was deprived of all his property and thrown into prison. After a year, the old Laird, now designed " late of Duchall," was set free from prison, but confined to the town of Edinburgh. It is pathetic to find the old man, his frame weakened by disease, petitioning that he may be " spoken for to the King," that his Majesty might allow him a competency to live upon out of his own estate, and especially to take some course with his debts, the burden of which was very grievous to his spirit. For two or three dreary years he lived frugally in Edinburgh ; but at length deliverance came with the " happy and glorious Revolution." Porterfield was indemnified in part for his losses. His estates were redeemed on a payment of 25,000 merks ; and he returned again, as the Laird, to Duchal, though with his property very much reduced.^[1]

His estate was badly depleted and returned to him upon the accession of William and Mary to the throne of England in 1689.

Death

John died in May, 1690, in his 77th year, and was buried with his in the family sepulchre at Kilmacolm.^[1] Upon his death, as his sons passed before him, his grandson, Alexander, succeeded as the laird of Duchall.^[1][7]

Family

John married Jean Hamilton of Broomhill, daughter of James, in 1636.^[8][9][1][7]

They were the parents of three sons and two daughters.

• Alexander of Fullwood (Fulwood), eldest son died before his father shortly after his release from prison in his youth.^[1][2]
• Ann or Anne, m. James Hamilton of Aikenhead^[10][2]
• Margaret, m. Archibald Crawford of Auchinames^[2]
• William m. Annabella Stewart, sister of sister of Sir Archibald Stewart of Ardgowan.^[1][2] He also died before his father; his son Alexander succeeded to Duchal.^[7]
• unnamed son, Kilmacolm (1898) mentions three sons but names just first two. He is presumed to be the last born and died young.^[1]

Murray (1898) mentions three sons and three daughters are mentioned. Only two sons are named.^[1]

Crawfurd (1710) states William is the older son and that William was dead about 1690 and Alexander is alive and of Fulwood in 1710. No daughters are mentioned.^[7]

Research Notes

John, Alexander, and William are very common given names for Porterfield in the 1500s. Use caution when merging these individuals. There are numerous unsourced internet family trees that have these relationships mixed up.

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} James Murray, Kilmacolm: a Parish History, 1100-1898 (1898), p. 250-251; scanned image, Open Library (https://archive.org/stream/kilmacolmparishh00murr).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} Frank Burke Porterfield, The Porterfields (Roanoke, Virginia: Multiprint Inc, 1947), p. 10, 24, digital images, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89066246737;view=1up;seq=32. Hathi Trust Digital Library (https://babel.hathitrust.org: accessed 24 October 2019).
3. ↑ Woodrow, Robert; Robert Burns . The history of the sufferings of the church of Scotland from the restoration to the revolution - Volume 1 (Glasgow: Blackie, Fullarton, & Company, 1828) p. 392. Retrieved 2020-22-03, https://books.google.com/books?id=AuMqAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA392#v=snippet
4. ↑ The Laws and Acts Made in the First Parliament of Our Most High and Dread Soveraign James VII..." (Edinburgh: Andrew Anderson, Printer,1685) p. 5. Retrieved 22 March 2020, https://books.google.com/books?id=u8ArAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA5
5. ↑ T. B Howell, A Complete Collection of State Trials and Proceedings for High Treason..., Volume 10" (London: T. C. Hansard for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, 1816) p. 1045-1066 Retrieved 22 Mar 2020, https://books.google.com/books?id=VYA-AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA1047
6. ↑ " VII. ACT Anent Porterfield of Duchall, And Concealing of Supply given to Rebels." The laws and acts made in the first Parliament of our most high and dread soveraign James VII by the grace of God, King of Scotland, England, France and Ireland, defender of the faith holden at Edinburgh the twenty third day of April 1685, by His Grace William Duke of Queensberry ..., p. 4; transcription, Early English Books Online Text Creation Project (EEBO) TCP (https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A58628.0001.001/1:2?rgn=div1;view=fulltext), .
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3} George Crawfurd, A General Description of the Shire of Renfrew (1818), p. 63, 103; scanned image, (http://books.google.com/books?id=bpnmAAAAMAAJ). Note: Large portions written in 1710.
8. ↑ "Scotland Marriages, 1561-1910," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XTYC-M65 : 8 December 2014), John Porterfield and Jean Hamilton, 21 Jun 1636; citing Cambusnethan,Lanark,Scotland, reference ; FHL microfilm 1,041,968, 102,891.
9. ↑ John Anderson, Historical and genealogical memoirs of the House of Hamilton; with genealogical memoirs of the several branches of the family (1825), p. 250; scanned image, (https://archive.org/stream/historicalgeneal00ande#page/250/mode/2up).
10. ↑ Bernard Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland , Volume 2 (1863), p. 1685; scanned image, Google Books (http://books.google.com/books?id=Ni4BAAAAQAAJ).

See also:

• John Birnie, William Barclay Turnbull, ed., Account of the Families of Birnie and Hamilton of Broomhill (1838), pp. 34-36; Google eBook, Google Books (http://books.google.com/books?id=4chrAAAAMAAJ).
• Robert Woodrow, The History of the Sufferings - Volume 2 (1839), p. 120,226; scanned image, Google Books (http://books.google.com/books?id=i5UoAQAAIAAJ).
• Sir Bernard Burke, Royal descents and pedigrees of founders' kin, Pedigree VII, James Maxell Graham (unpaginated), https://archive.org/details/royaldescentsped00burk/page/n130/mode/1up?q=Porterfield