The lands of Prestonhall originally formed part of the lands of Thomaston, and before 1614 belonged to the Turnbulls of Airdrie. By marriage with Elizabeth Turnbull, heiress of William Turnbull of Airdrie, these lands were acquired by Catherine's father, Sir John Preston of Pennycuik Bt, who was President of the Court of Session from1609-1616. [2] Either Sir John or his descendants built a mansion house on the lands, and the name changed to Prestonhall. [3]
Marriage
Catherine married Robert
Nairn of Mukkarsy, 6th Baron Strathgurd although the exact date of their marriage is unknown.[1] Nairn was admitted advocate on 22 May 1605, and received Charters to lands which included Rogartoun, Blackhall and others, incorporated into the Barony of Strathgurd on 16 July 1621; and Easter Greenyards, County of Stirling ,18 July 1635 [1][4]
Catherine's life was spent against the backdrop of the turbulent first fifty years of the seventeenth century, a time of political and religious turmoil.[11] In the very early days of her life, thirteen months after Mary Queen of Scots was forced to abdicate and the death of Queen Elizabeth I on 24th March 1602, James VI succeeded to the English throne and became James VI and I [12] an event now known as the Union of the Crowns [13]This period saw the rise of Puritanism and Calvinism, which eventually led to the British Civil Wars . [14]
There is an unexplained gap of ten years between the birth of her daughter Catherine and her son Alexander. It is not known what Catherine's role in the years of crisis were but her family suffered great personal sacrifice, her eldest son Robert was taken prisoner along with other members of the Committee of Estates (a group appointed to govern Scotland when Parliament was not in session) [15] by General Monk at Alyth, County of Forfar, 28 May 1651, and was detained in the Tower of London until the Restoration.[1] Her son William was killed at the Battle of Worcester in 1651 [1][16]
Death
Catherine's date of death is unknown, but estimated to be after 1635 when her daughter Elizabeth was born. This date is the last known sourced date of a child's birth, but it is not established that Elizabeth was the youngest of her children so Catherine actually may have died considerably later than this. Her husband Robert died February 1652 [1]
Research Notes
There is some speculation that there was a daughter named Margaret, possibly born in 1640. No Sources found.Graham-21867 04:52, 20 April 2022 (UTC)
Some unsourced entries in family search indicate that Catherine's father re-married after Elizabeth Turnbull died and had several more children. No Sources found.Graham-21867 23:15, 20 April 2022 (UTC)
In unsourced Ancestral Files and unsourced family trees on Family Search Catherine's birth date is entered as 1598. No Sources found Graham-21867 04:41, 25 April 2022 (UTC)
Because there are no Sources for her date of birth, no place of birth is able to be determined although unsourced family trees show her place of birth as Pencuik, Midlothian, Scotland Graham-21867 03:20, 27 April 2022 (UTC)
Catherine appears in many unsourced family trees with a death date of 1640. As this date is the same as the supposed birth date of the daughter named Margaret, it could be concluded that Catherine may have died in childbirth. Graham-21867 12:16, 23 April 2022 (UTC) No credible sources found.
Catherine is named as "Margaret" daughter of John Preston on some sites. Not supported by sources Graham-21867 19:34, 1 May 2022 (UTC)
On some websites there is mention of a daughter named Isabel born 1625, may explain the gap in Births between 1620 and 1630 but no Sources found Graham-21867 03:43, 4 May 2022 (UTC)
Sources
↑ 1.001.011.021.031.041.051.061.071.081.091.101.111.12 Paul, James Balfour, Sir, "The Scots Peerage, founded on Wood's edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland, containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom; Edinburgh, D. Douglas, 1904-1914 , vol. 6, p. 392
↑ 2.02.12.2 Cokayne, George Edward, "The Complete Baronetage, Creations by Charles I published in Exeter by William Pollard Ltd , 1902, vol. 2, page 346
↑ Leighton, John M , History of the County of Fife : from the earliest period to the present time, 1840, page 41 .
Gardiner, Samuel Rawson: History of the Great Civil War 1642-1649 published in London by Longman, 1844, vi 1642-1644, vii 1644-1647, viii 1647-1649 (https://archive.org/details/historyofgreatci01gard)