Scotland Project > Scottish Clans > Clan Pollock
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Welcome to Clan Pollock
| Clan Pollock Team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Team Leader | TBA | |
| Team Members | Marty Acks | |
- Clan Chief:
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- Slogan/War Cry:
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- Gaelic name:
Clan Team
Team Goals
The focus of this team's work is to identify, improve and maintain profiles associated with the Lairds and Chiefs of Clan Pollock together with members bearing the name Pollock, the related families and those recognised as septs of Clan Pollock.
Team To Do List
This list will be developed by the Team. If you are working on a specific task, please list it here:
- promoting the entries of those bearing the name Pollock on Wikitree.
- ensuring entries appearing on Wikitree are as accurate as possible, correcting mistakes once spotted.
- encouraging interest in and study of Clan Pollock
.
Septs
Clan History
Clan Branches
Other Names Associated with the Clan
Allied Clans
Rival Clans
Clan Research and Free Space Pages
Source Material
Image Credits and Acknowledgements
Information below this line should be summarized and incorporated into this Team page. Detailed information should be moved to additional Clan pages.
Clan Pollock is an armigerous Scottish clan whose origin lies in a grant of land on the southern bank of the River Clyde, courtesy of King David I, to the sons of Fulbert "the Saxon" from Walter fitz Alan, the 1st High Steward of Scotland, in the 12th century. It is among the oldest recorded surnames in Scotland. The clan is a sept of Clan Maxwell.
Origins of the Clan
http://www.genealogysource.com/fulbertofsaxon.html
The clan can trace its origin to Fulbert "the Saxon", a vassal knight of Walter fitz Alan from Oswestry, Shropshire, England. One of Walter fitz Alan's followers was a Richard Wallace of Oswestry, of whom Fulbert would've likely been aware. It is possible that "the Saxon" refers to the Futhorc spelling of the name Wallace. Fulbert came to Scotland with Walter fitz Alan in about 1136 and fought for Scotland at the Battle of the Standard at Northallerton in 1138. Fulbert's sons were granted land in Renfrewshire for the service of their father, a knight to Walter fitz Alan, reconfirmed in a charter in 1157 by Malcolm IV. The family name is retained in placenames such as Pollok, Pollokshields and Pollokshaws, all situated to the south side of the River Clyde, between Glasgow city centre and Paisley.
The church of Pollock was given to the monks of the Priory of Paisley in 1163 by Petrus de Polloc, eldest son of Fulbert. As part of a dowry for one of his daughters, Petrus bestowed the barony of Rothes upon her. Robert de Polloc, Fulbert's third son, gave the church of Mearns to the Priory of Paisley. John de Polloc was a signatory to the Ragman Rolls subscribing allegiance to King Edward I of England in 1296. John Pollok of Pollok fought on the side of Mary, Queen of Scots, at the Battle of Langside on 13 May 1568, only a few miles from Pollok Castle and, as a result, was forfeited of some of his lands. John Pollok, his son, was killed on 7 December 1593 at the Battle of Dryfe Sands near Lockerbie during a battle between Clan Maxwell and the Clan Johnstone. Robert Pollok of Pollok was knighted and made 1st Baronet of Pollok by Queen Anne in 1703 for his services to the crown.
An extensive explanation of the differences in the descendants of Fulbert are in the notes for the American immigrant of this family, Robert Bruce Polk, proven ancestor of our 11th president, James Knox Polk. Data herein recorded follows our main source Bill Polk's research and this is from his notes:
"Fulbert may have come with William the Conquerer in 1066 and may have participated in the Battle of Hastings, but this is not proven. Camp's "My Ancestors Came With the Conquerer," 1988, pg. 48, shows one Filberd and three Fiberd in the list of men who probably came with William. Whether the Fulbert, progenitor of the Pollok line, is one of these men will probably never be known. If he is one of the men above, then he was born long before 1080, the approximate date of his birth as given in most sources (Mary Winder Garrett, in her series of articles on the Polk family published in the late 1890s, shows his birth as 1075). That Fulbert is the progenitor of the Pollok family there is no doubt. This family is without question among the most ancient families in Scotland. Fulbert is shown as the father of both Peter (or Petrus) and Robert (or Robertus) de Pollok in documents showing donations to the Monastery of Paisley (then the Abby of Pasly) before 1199. Fulbert was probably not a nobleman or lord and probably had no title at all." 2. This and the next note from our Clan Pollock International Society source database: "Pollock is among the oldest family names recorded in Scotland, as written by George Crawfurd in his 'General Description of the Shire of Renfrew, Including an Account of the Noble and Ancient Families', first published in 1710.
The surname Pollock was adopted from the ancient lands of Pollock in Renfrewshire, when surnames were beginning to be used. Records of the 12th century reveal the sons of Fulbert, the progenitor of the Pollock Family, held these lands. Fulbert's son, Petrus, who inherited the lands of Pollock from his father in 1163, was the first person to use Pollock as a surname. One surviving document charters the lands to Petrus through Walter Fitz-Alan, High Steward of Scotland and the progenitor of the >Royal Stewart line. The lands then passed to Robertus, brother of Petrus, when Petrus had no male heir. The main line of Pollock descent is from Robertus, who was a witness to the founding of Paisley Abbey in 1160, being described as 'Roberto filio Fulberti.' Between 1189 and 1199 he granted the Church of Mearns to the Monastery of Paisley. The original church building no longer stands. The location for the present church of Mearns is at the intersection of Eaglesham Road and Mearns Road. Many prominent Pollocks are buried in the adjoining cemetery and within the walls of the church. The lands were divided into Upper and Lower Pollock. The Pollocks retained upper Pollock while Lower Pollock was chartered to the Maxwell's. The Maxwell's of Pollock became a prominent branch of that powerful border clan. A common alliance was formed between the Maxwell's and the Pollocks. Marriages took place between members of the two families. Today, Pollocks continue to be recognized as septs of Clan Maxwell and may correctly wear the Maxwell tartan.
The lineage of the family of Pollock-of-that-Ilk in Scotland was recorded by George Crawfurd in his 'General Description of the Shire of Renfrew, Including an Account of the Noble and Ancient Families', first published in 1710. John Pollok, Of That Ilk, as town Baillie, signed the Charter of St. Andrews University in 1453, the oldest university in Scotland.
Fourteenth in descent from Fulbert was John Pollock of Pollock. He fought on the side of Mary's forces at Langside, only a few miles from Pollock Castle, ended her reign in Scotland. For his role in her losing cause, John Pollock forfeited some of his lands. On 30 November 1703, Sir Robert Pollock-of-that-Ilk was knighted and made Baronet of Nova Scotia by Queen Anne for his services to the crown, with a "recital of the antiquity and flourishing condition of the ancient family of Pollock-of that-Ilk, for 600 years". Other notable Pollocks in Great Britain were The Rt.. Hon. Sir Jonathan Frederick Pollock, Bart.,Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer; Field Marshall Sir George Pollock, Bart., Lord Chief Justice of Bombay; Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart., famous barrister and codifier of English Law; Robert Pollock. Scholar and author of the once widely read epic poem "The Course of Time" and John Pollock, official biographer of The Reverend Billy Graham and author of many books, including 'the Apostle' and 'The Master.' With the passage of time, changes occurred to the Pollock surname. For some descendants of Scottish {Pollock it became Polk and Pogue, spelled in various ways. Capt. Robert Bruce Pollok emigrated from Donegal Ireland to Maryland around 1680 and was the progenitor of a great number of persons now using the name Polk and Pollock. Prominent among his American descendants were James K. Polk, 11th President of the United States, General Leonidas Polk of Civil War fame, and Colonel Thomas Polk of Charlotte, North Carolina, who convened that meeting at which Mecklenburg County, North Carolina declared it's independence from England in May 1775, a year ahead of the Philadelphia Convention. Governor Charles Polk of Delaware and Governor and Senator Thrusten Polk of Missouri also belonged to this family. Other notable Pollocks were James Pollock, an early Governor of Pennsylvania; Thomas Pollock, born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1654, and who died in 1722 while serving as acting governor of the Colony of North Carolina, and Oliver Pollock, from Colerain Ireland, who settled in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and is credited as the 'financier of the American Revolution in the West' during the Revolutionary War.
Today there is no Pollock of that Ilk recognized as the hereditary chief of the clan. The last Pollock chief recognized by the Crown was in 1845. The clan badge portrays a boar pierced by an arrow and the motto Audacter et Strenue, Boldly and Strongly. In 1980, Clan Pollock adopted its own tartan and registered it with the Scottish Tartan Society in Scotland. Pollock Castle, in its last configuration, was a magnificent structure. Built in the style of a British manor house, the castle was demolished in 1954 and the lands were sold. For the first time in eight centuries the lands of Upper Pollock were no longer Pollock lands. Nothing of the old Pollock estate remains except the two gate houses, the stable, and the gardener's cottage (all are presently occupied), the castle stone foundation, the south entrance steps and a few stones that once formed the castle's massive walls. One of those stones, cut and polished, is imbedded in the Scottish Memorial Cairn in North Carolina. The cairn was dedicated in 1980 at the site of the annual Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, near Linville, North Carolina."
3. From A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE SHIRE OF RENFREW, including an Account of the Noble and Ancient Families, who, from the Earliest Times Have Had Property in that County, and the Most Remarkable Facts in the Lives of Distinguished Individuals by George Crawfurd, Author of the Peerage of Scotland, etc and continued to the Present Period By George Robertson, Author of the Agricultural Survay of Mid Lothian, etc:
Family Descent. POLLOK OF-THAT-ILK. This family is, without question, among the most ancient in Scotland. The first of which (anciently called Pulloc) whose existence can be proven by written evidence, was,
I. Fulbert; he had three sons, Peter, Robert, and Helias. Peter, the eldest, was a man of great eminence in his day, (see page 37.) but he died without male issue. Helias, the third son, was in holy orders.
II. Robert, the second son, seems to have been a companion of Walter the Stewart of Scotland. He was one of the witnesses of the Charter of Paisley, in 1164 ( see page 136 ). He appears to have been succeeded by his son,
III. Robert (see an instance of his munificence to the Paisley Monks, page 37). He appears to have been succeeded by his son,
IV. Peter de Pulloc, who is a witness to a resignation by Dungallus, son of Christinus, Judge of Lennox, of the lands of Cullbuth, supposed to be Kilbowie, in the district of Lennox, and of a piece of ground near the Kirk of Kilpatrick, to the Abbey of Paisley. Among the witnesses, he is set down immediately after Alano de Cathcart, and, from the Chartulary, it would appear that this was about the year 1234.
V. The next in the course of succession, appears to be Thomas de Pulloc, who, in 1270, is witness to a resignation by John de Wardroba Bernaird de Erth, &c. In favor of the Abbey of Paisley, of the lands of Cachmannock, supposed now Cochnoch, Femballoch, Edenbarnon, Bachannet, Drumgreave, &c. He is set down among the witnesses after John de Knox. He appears to have been succeeded by,
VI. John de Pulloc, who lived in the time of Edward I of England, and, unfortunately for himself and family, took part with Baliol against Bruce. He appears from Pryne's collection, p.662, to have sworn fealty to Edward; and in the reign of Robert Bruce, about 1310, there appears to have been a grant by Robert of his moveable goods to the Abbey of Arbroath, for his joining the English. Probably, from this cause, and at any rate about this period, a part of the family estate appears to have been ravished from the Polloks of that-Ilk, and to have been seized by the Maxwells, Lords of the Mearns.
VII. Robert de Pollok, successor to the above John, espoused Agnes, daughter of John Maxwell, Lord of the Mearns. He appears to have been succeeded by,
VIII. John de Pollok his son, and accordingly there is in the charter-chest of Over Pollok, an original charter, dated 3d May 1372, granted by John Maxwell, Lord of the Mearns, with consent of Robert de Maxwell, his son, and heir to his beloved Kinsman, heir of Robert de Pollok, son of Agnes Maxwell, deceased, the daughter of the said John Lord of the Mearns. He appears to have been succeeded by.
IX. John Pollok, designated of that-ilk, in an instrument of resignation in the charter-chest of Lord Dundonald, dated 30th March 1441,bearing to be granted by the said John Pollok and Walter Spreul of Cowden, in favor of Thomas Spreul, of the lands of Cowden and Uply. To him succeeded,
X. Charles Pollok, and of this date (28th July 1486), John Maxwell, Lord of the Mearns, granted a charter of the Lands of OverPollok to the said Charles, designing him his kinsman, and to Margaret Stewart his wife, daughter of the Laird of Minto, (see page 38) in conjunct fee and liferent, and to the heirs male procreated betwixt them, who failing, to the superior on Charles's own resignation. He had two sons, 1. John; 2. David, of whom afterwards. The eldest son, John, died in his father's life-time. He married Janet Spreul, a lady of the family of Cowden, by whom he had a son, John, who succeeded his grandfather, but, dying in his infancy, the estate, in terms of the investiture to heirs male, devolved upon
XI. David, the second son of Charles, who obtained from the superior a charter, dated the last July 1527, altering the Investiture from heirs male to his heirs whatsoever. He married Marion, or rather Margaret, (see page 38) daughter of William Stewart of Castlemilk, by whom he left John Pollok, his son and heir, who, in consequence of a particular agreement entered into by his father, married Margaret, daughter of Gabriel Sempill of Cathcart. Crawfurd says that David left a younger son, of whom the Polloks of Balgray were descended; but I have not been able to see any evidence of this descent, though I see he had a younger son, Charles Pollok, and this Charles was afterwards designed of Greenhill, and by Janet Stirling, his spouse, Charles left a son John. David Pollok appears to have died in 1545, and was succeeded by his son,
XII. John, who dying in 1564, left a son and heir. From the donations of the churches of Mearns and Pollok by the Pollocks of that-ilk,to the Abbey of Paisley, it seems extremely probable, that the barony of Mearns and lands of Nether Pollok were their property; and this opinion is very considerably strengthened, if not evident, from the circumstance of the lands of Nether Pollok bearing their name.
XIII. John Pollok, who married Janet Mure, (see page 38), daughter of William Mure of Glanderston, and he appears to have died before March 1577, and was succeeded by his son,
XIV. John Pollok, who married, 1. Maud Montgomery, daughter of Neil Montgomery of Lainshaw; and it would appear, that certain differences having arisen betwixt them, a divorce had taken place, and it appears he was afterwards married to Dorthea Stuart of Cardonald, by whom he had, 1. Robert; 2. Mary, who married James Williamson, brother of Robert Williamson of Murieston. Being at the conflict at Locherby, in the year 1593, assisting his kinsman, Lord Maxwell, assisting his kinsman, Lord Maxwell, against the Laird of Johnston, was the
XV. Robert, who was married to Jean, daughter of James Mowat of Busby, and by her had his eldest daughter, name unknown, married to John Pollok of Balgray, whose issue seems to have failed; also, 1. Robert; 2. Helen, married to Robert Marshall, writer in Glasgow, by whom she had no surviving issue. This Robert acquired the superiority of the estate from the Earl Nithsdale, and came thereby again to hold it of the crown. He died in 1657, and was succeeded by his son,
XVI. Robert, who, in 1660, married Jean Crawfurd, daughter of Cornelius Crawfurd of Jordanhill, by whom he had;
1. Robert, and several other children, of whom there is no issue, except by a daughter, married to Semple of Beltrees. He died in 1676, and was succeeded by his son, Robert Pollok, who was married, 1 to Annabella, daughter of Sir George Maxwell of Nether Pollock;
2. To Annabella, daughter Walter Stewart of Pardovan. He was, by her Majesty Queen Anne, created a Baronet of Nova Scotia, 30th November 1703, to him and to the heirs male of his body; it proceeds upon a recital of the antiquity and flourishing condition of the ancient family of Pollok of that-ilk, for 600 years then by-past, since the reigns of David and William, Kings of Scotland; also, upon recital of the many illustrious services of the said Robert, now Sir Robert of that-ilk, the representative without interruption, of that ancient family. As also, his faithful and zealous services, in defending the reformed religion at the time of the Revolution, and that, when bearing the King's commission, he had been taken, and confined in the most barbarous and uncivilized places of the Highlands, during the space of nine months, because he would not renounce his allegiance to King William. By his second wife, he had four sons and three daughters:
Robert, an Officer in the army, who died before his father , without issue; # Walter, of whom afterwards; John, a Captain in the army - was killed at the battle of Fontenoy. He married to Ann, daughter of John Lockhart of Lee, by whom he left one daughter, Robina, of whom afterwards; William, who died without issue. 1. Elizabeth, married to Alexander Hamilton of Grange, and had issue; 2. Jean, married to James Polok of Arthurlie, and had issue; Annabella, married to James Hamilton of Newton, surgeon in Glasgow, who had an only son, James, who died without issue. Sir Robert Pollok died in 1736, and was succeeded by
XVIII. Walter Pollok, the second son, who married --- Bogle, daughter of ---Bogle of Daldowie, merchant in Glasgow; by the said Lady, 1.Robert; 2. Walter, who died unmarried; 3. John, an Officer in His Majesty's service, who died unmarried; 4th, Elizabeth, who died unmarried; 5, Jean of whom afterwards; Walter, having predeceased his father, his eldest son,
XIX. Sir Robert, succeeded to his grandfather. He married to Ann Crawfurd, daughter of the Reverend Cornelius Crawfurd, son of Lawrence Crawfurd of Jordanhill, Esquire, by whom he had an only daughter, Cornelia, and he dying, 1783, was succeeded by
XX. Cornelia Pollok, his only child, who survived her father but a very short time, having died in her infancy, on 28th Feb, 1785,and was succeeded by her aunt,
XXI. Jean Pollok, who died unmarried, in 1807, and was succeeded by her cousin,
XXII. Robina Pollok, only child of Captain John Pollok of Belgray, and relict of Sir Hew Crawfurd of Jordanhill, Bart. There exist of this marriage, 1. Sir Robert Crawfurd, bart. married Miss Mushat: no issue.
XXIII 2. Hew, a Captain in the Army, married Jane, daughter of the late William Johnston, Esq; of Headfort, in the county of Leitrim, Ireland, by whom he had an issue,
XXIV 1. Hugh, an Officer in the army; 2.Robert; 3. Jane Pollok; 4. Maria; 5. Anne.
XXV 3. Mary, married to Colonel Hamilton of Bardowie, no issue; 4. Robina, unmarried; and 5. Lucken, married to General John Gordon Cumming Skene, of Pitlurg Dice, &c. Aberdeenshire, issue, four sons and five daughters.
John F. Polk, Jr. Historian, Clan Pollock International. This information is provided by Larry Chesebro, email Larry@@Chesebro.net. It must be verified for accuracy based on cited sources.
Liberal use of approximate dates has been exercised to provide approximate time frames! Source citations herein, credit and contact information should be given for its origin if used or published elsewhere!
[edit] Sources
↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 George Chalmers, Caledonia, Or an Account, Historical and Topographic, of North Britain, Volume 1 (London: T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1807), p. 576, digital images, https://books.google.com/books?id=sL8_AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA576 (http://books.google.com : accessed 31 July 2016). ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 George Crawfurd, A General Description of the Shire of Renfrew (Paisley: J. London, 1818), p. 289, digital images, https://books.google.com/books?id=bpnmAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA289 (http://books.google.com : accessed 4 November 2016). ↑ Sir Bernard Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage, 40th Edition (London: Harrison, 1878), p. 960, digital images,https://books.google.com/books?id=YyJNAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA960 (http://books.google.com : accessed 31 July 2016).
See also:
Jeffery James, James Web Site, MyHeritage.com family tree, Family site: James Web Site, Family tree: James77, : Media: 14153311-1 http://www.clanpollock.com/index.php?content=pollock_genealogy http://pollock.4mg.com/Fulbert.html
Crest
- A boar passant shot through with a dart Proper
Clan Pollock family crest
- Motto: Audacter et Strenue (Boldly and earnestly)
- Slogan:
- Region: Lowlands
- District: Renfrewshire
- Historic seat: Pollok Castle
- Plant badge:
- Pipe music:
- Gaelic name:
Septs of Clan Pollock:
Pogue, Polk, Pollok, Polloke, Pollick, Polloch, Pook, Pooke, Poock, Polke, Paulk, Poalk, Poalke, Poulk, Poole, Pogue, Poag, Poage, Poague, Poak
Allied clans:
Clan Maxwell
Rival clans:
Clan Johnstone
Names associated with the clan:
Castles
Pollock Castle
Castle Pollock was constructed in the 1600's by Sir Robert Pollock, but was destroyed by fire in 1880. The final Castle Pollock, completed in 1889, was reported to have 88 bedrooms and 365 windows. Although reconstructed, it was demolished in 1954 and the lands were sold. For the first time in eight centuries, the lands of Upper Pollock were no longer Pollock lands.
Pollok House
Pollok House is the ancestral home of the Maxwell family, located in Pollok Country Park, Glasgow, Scotland.
The house - built in 1752 and designed by William Adam - was given to the City of Glasgow in 1966 by Dame Anne Maxwell Macdonald, whose family had owned the estate for almost 700 years. It is now managed by the National Trust for Scotland and is open to the public.
Displayed within the Pollok House is a large, private collection of Spanish paintings, including works by El Greco, Francisco Goya and Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. There are also paintings by William Blake, as well as glass, silverware, porcelain and antique furniture. The house also features servants' quarters downstairs (accessible free of charge), which include two shops and a restaurant.
The house also has an extensive garden, boasting a collection of over 1,000 species of rhododendrons.
See Also:
