Alexander
Porterfield
Born about in Duchal Castle, Renfrewshire, Scotland
[uncertain]
Ancestors [uncertain]
Son of Alexander Porterfield
and Agnes (Houston) Porterfield
Brother of
Jean (Porterfield) Hamilton, Gabriel Porterfield, George Porterfield, Agnes Porterfield, Marion (Porterfield) Fergushill and Mary (Porterfield) Hamilton
Husband of
Agnes (Blair) Porterfield
— married
1613 in Duchall Castle, Renfrewshire, Scotland
Descendants 
Died about
at about age 84
in Duchal Castle, Renfrewshire, Scotland [uncertain]
[uncertain]Profile last modified
| Created 18 Sep 2012
This page has been accessed 4,232 times.
| Preceded by William Porterfield |
Laird of Duchal 1620 - 1675 |
Succeeded by John Porterfield |
Biography
Alexander was the son of Alexander Porterfield and Agnes Houston[1] and was the third Porterfield to be the laird of the Duchal estate in near Kilmacolm in Renfrewshire, Scotland. Alexander and the rest of this line of the Porterfield family of this era were staunch Covenanters. He became laird of Duchall upon the death of his grandfather, William Porterfield, in 1620. Alexander passed away in 1675. He was interred in the Porterfield Tomb in the Kilmacolm kirkyard.[2]
Alexander married Agnes (or Ann) Blair in 1613.[1][3][4][5] They were the parents of:
Heraldry and Arms
Alexander registered his arms with Lord Lyon in 1672 during the initial period of free registrations.[6]
Dame Margaret Porterfield also registered her arms at the same time.
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Burke - Royal Descents: p. 130
- ↑ Porterfield: p. 2, p. 10, p. 24
- ↑ Paterson - Ayr Vol. II: p. 506
- ↑ Crawfurd: p. 63
- ↑ Robertson, George: p. 85
- ↑ Legal Records, "Scotlands People", digital image, (subscription)
- Burke, Bernard, "The Royal Descents and Pedigrees of Founders' Kin", London: Harrison, 1858,
- Crawfurd, George, "A General Description of the Shire of Renfrew: Including an Account of the Noble and Ancient Families ... To which is Added, a Genealogical History of the Royal House of Stewart, and of the Several Noble and Illustrious Families of that Name, from the Year 1034 to the Year 1710", Paisley: J.Neilson , 1818
- Murray, James, "Kilmacolm: A Parish History, 1100-1898", Paisley: Alexander Gardner, 1898
- Paterson, James, "History of the County of Ayr: With a Genealogical Account of the Families of Ayrshire", Edinbugh: John Dick, 1852, Vol. II
- Porterfield, Frank Burke, "The Porterfields", Roanoke, VA: Southeastern Press, 1947
- Robertson, George, "A Genealogical Account of the Principal Families in Ayrshire, More Particulary in Cunninghame", Irvine: Cunninghame Press, 1823
See also:
- Murray - Kilmacolm: p. 249
- 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
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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Alexander by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. Y-chromosome DNA test-takers in his direct paternal line on WikiTree:
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Alexander by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. Y-chromosome DNA test-takers in his direct paternal line on WikiTree:
- George Porterfield
:
Y-Chromosome Test 37 markers, haplogroup R-L21
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P > Porterfield > Alexander Porterfield
Here some additional thoughts.
The male Porterfield line stayed in Kilmacolm until it died out. The Porterfield estate was subject to at least two court cases as to determine who succeeded to the Porterfield estate on which female line.
You may want to research the Covenanter movement as the Porterfields in general were staunch Covenanters in the 1600s and generally suffered for their beliefs. If you have Amazon Prime there is an interesting locally-produced video on the movement from the Scottish perspective I found interesting. https://www.amazon.com/Scottish-Covenanters-Ichthus-Ministries/dp/B002DPH8I2/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=covenanter&qid=1605883852&s=instant-video&sr=1-1ovedenjaveg%20rnarlkelds%20eilds. Some Portefields on cadet lines ended up in the Abercorn estate that as run by James? Hamilton. This estate was part of a larger movement called the Plantation of Ulster that started around 1607. The records are rather sparse in Ireland so the exact line that came to America is not well proven.
The Porterfields book is now available on line at https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89066246737&view=1up&seq=13. It is attached as one of the sources. I have a copy of the reprint. I think my aunt has the original version. It is a prized possession..
Between Edward, myself, and many other WIkitree researchers I believed we have a pretty solid, well sourced genealogy for the the Porterfields and allied/related lowland Scottish families from Ayrshire/Renfrewshire, but there is always more to do.
There is also now a Porterfield surname page here at WikiTree the gives some more background. See https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Porterfield_Name_Study.
Let me/us know f you have further questions and look forward to seeing how you are related to the Porterfields.
Marty Acks
The short answer is that they converted to Protestantism when Henry VIII withdrew England from the Catholic church in 1532. They became Presbyterians. When the Church of England began to again assert its power, they were persecuted and fled to Ireland. This is a really short version of the story. For a lot of gory details, and interesting details, about the Porterfields see the book "Porterfield" on microfilm at the LDS library. Roll # XUB7-102 2219, GS call # 1321295. I borrowed it from them through one of their many local libraries back in 1996. I made copies of many of the pages -- just those pertaining to my family tree. Best wishes on your quest.