Joanna Forrester

Born [date unknown] in Corstorphine, Midlothian, Scotland [uncertain]

Ancestors

Wife of James (Baillie) II Lord Forrester of Corstorphine — married 15 Dec 1649 in Corstorphine, Midlothian, Scotland

Died about 1652 in Corstorphine, Midlothian, Scotland

Biography

Joanna Forrester was born in Scotland.

Family

Joanna was the fifth child and fourth daughter of George Forrester, 1st Lord of Corstorphine, and Christine Livingston.^[1] The exact date of her birth is unknown. On 17 May 1622 her father was created a baronet.^[2] He later sat in parliament for Edinburgh, and was the sheriff for the county.^[3] On 22 July 1633 he was raised to the peerage as Lord Forrester of Corstorphine, with remainder to his heirs-male whomsoever.^[2][4]

His son having died without issue sometime after 1634,^[4][1] Forrester disinherited his three eldest daughters by resigning all of his estates in favor of James Baillie, the eldest son of General William Baillie of Lethame.^[3][4] James Baillie was married to Forrester's fourth daughter, Joanna. Corstorphine was to go to James and Joanna and their heirs-male conditional on James assuming the name and arms of Forrester; whom failing, to James's younger brother, William, and his future wife Lilias (Joanna's younger sister) and their heirs-male; whom failing, to the eldest daughter of James and Joanna; whom failing, to their other daughters successively; whom failing, to the similar heirs of William and Lilias.^[3][4][5]

Marriage and Children

Joanna married James Baillie by a marriage contract dated 15 December 1649.^{[3] [4]} James Baillie received the charter for the lands and estate of Corstorphine on 1 March 1650.^[4] It was not to be a long marriage. Together they had one son:

• William Forrester; born 8 February 1652;^[6][7] d. in infancy^[4][7]

Death

Joanna Forrester died soon after the birth of her son.^[4][7] Her husband married (second) Janet Ruthven, daughter and co-heir of Patrick, Earl of Forth and Brentford. There were five children from that marriage.^[4][7] He was killed 26 August 1679 when his niece Christian Hamilton, who was also his mistress, stabbed him in the heart with his own sword.^[4][7]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), vol. 4, p. 92.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Reg. of Baronets, f.67, cited in Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), vol. 4, p. 91.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3} Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), vol. 4, p. 91.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9} MacGregor, Gordon. The Red Book of Scotland. Scotland: by the author (2016), rv. 2020, pp. 378-389.
5. ↑ Anderson, William. The Scottish Nation. (1863) , digitized by Electric Scotland. Forrester.
6. ↑ "Scotland Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X1T9-YNT : 11 February 2020), Joanna Forrester in entry for William Baillie-Forrester, 1652.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4} Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), vol. 4, p. 93.

See Also:

• Clan Forrester Society. Clan Forrester Origins.

• Clan Forrester Society. The Murder of James Baillie, 2nd Lord Forrester].

• Cokayne, G.E. The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant. Glouster, UK: Alan Sutton (1926), vol, 5, pp. 556-557.

• Douglas, Sir Robert. The Peerage of Scotland. Edinburgh: R. Fleming (1764), p. 272.