Memoirs of the Jacobites of 1715 and 1745 Volume III Part 33

No. II.--THE PEDIGREE OF THE DERWENt.w.a.tER FAMILY. (_See Page 513._)

Francis Radcliffe, 1st Earl of Derwent.w.a.ter; died 1696;===Catherine Fenwick.

| +-------------------------------------------------------------------+-+-+-+--------+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | | | Francis, 2nd Earl of Derwent.w.a.ter; === Lady Mary Tudor; born 1673; Four sons; Four born ----; married 1687; died 1705. | mar. three times; died 1726. whose fates daughters.

| are unknown.

| +-------------------------------+---------+------------------------------------+ | | | | James, 3rd Earl===Anna Maria Francis; Charles === Charlotte, Countess of Mary === Mr.

Derwent.w.a.ter; | Webb; no Radcliffe;| Newburgh, in her own Tudor. | Petre, beheaded 1716; | born 1693; issue. beheaded | right, the descendants | of aged 26. | mar. 1712; 1746, | of her daughter in her | Belhouse.

| died 1723. aged 53. | first husband, Thomas | | | Clifford, being born No surviving issue.

| | aliens do not succeed.

| | She died 1755.

+---------------+ | | | | John, died Anne === Robert James, | unmarried, Radcliffe; | 8th Lord Petre; | about 1730. born 1713 | born 1713; | mar. 1732; | mar. 1732; | died 1760. | died 1742. +-----------------------+-----------+ | | | | | James Bartholomew,===Miss James; Mary; born===Francis +----------------------+ 4th Earl Newburgh; | Kemp. no issue; ----; mar. | Eyre, of | born 1725-6; mar. | died 1788. 1755; died | Ha.s.sop Robert, 9th Lord === Anne Howard; 1749; died 1786. | 1798. | Petre; b. 1733; | born 1742; | | mar. 1762; | mar. 1762; +------------+ | died 1801. | died 1787. | | | Anthony, === Miss Webb; | +---------------------------------+ 5th Earl | now | | | Newburgh; | living, | Robert, 10th === Mary Howard; Other b. ----; | 1846. +----------------------------+ Lord Petre; | born 1767; Issue. mar. 17--; | | | born 1763; | mar. 1786; died 1814. | Francis Eyre,===Miss Gladwin. Other mar. 1786; | died 1843. | 6th Earl | issue.

died 1809. | No issue. Newburgh; | | born 1762; | +----------------------+ mar. 1787; | | | died 1827. | William, 11th, and Other | present, Lord issue. +----------------------+------------------+-+-+ Petre. | | | | | Thomas Eyre, 7th Earl Francis Eyre, 8th, Three Newburgh; born 1790; and present, Earl daughters.

mar. 1817; died 1833. Newburgh.

No issue.

No. III.

The following address affords a curious specimen of the subtlety of Lord Lovat, and the mode usually adopted by him of cajoling his clan. It was copied by Alexander Macdonald, Esq., from an old process, in which it was produced before the Court of Session, and it is preserved in the Register House, Edinburgh; the signature, date, and address are, holographs of Lord Lovat.

THE HONOURABLE THE GENTLEMEN OF THE NAME OF FRASER.

My dear Friends,

Since, by all appearances, this is the last time of my life I shall have occasion to write to you, I being now very ill of a dangerous fever, I do declare to you before G.o.d, before whom I must apear, and all of us at the great day of Judgement, that I loved you all, I mean you and all the rest of my kindred and family who are for the standing of their chief and name; and, as I loved you, so I loved all my faithful Commons in general more than I did my own life or health, or comfort, or satisfaction; and G.o.d to whom I must answer, knows that my greatest desire and the greatest happiness I proposed to myself under heaven was, to make you all live happy and make my poor Commons flourish; and that it was my constant principle to think myself mutch hapier with a hundred pounds and see you all live well at your ease about mee than have ten thousand pounds a year, and see you in want or misery. I did faithfully desire and resolve to make up, and put at their ease Allexander Fraser of Topatry, and James Fraser of Castle Ladders and their familys; and whatever disputs might ever be betwixt them and me which our mutual hot temper occasioned, joyned with the malice and calomny of both our ennemies, I take G.o.d to witness, I loved those two brave men as I did my own life for their great zeal and fidelity they showed for their chief and kindred; I did likewise resolve to support the families of Struy Foyers and Culdithels families, and to the lasting praise of Culdithel and his familie. I never knew himself to sarwe from his faithfull zeal for his chief and kindred, nor none of his familie, for which I hope G.o.d will bless him and them and their posterity. I did likewise desyring to make my poor Commons live at their ease and have them always well clothed and well armed after the Highland maner, and not to suffer them to wear low country cloths, but make them live like their forefathers with the use of their arms, that they might always be in condition to defend themselves against their ennemies, and to do service to their friends, especially to the great Duke of Argile, and to his worthy brother the Earl of Illay, and to that glorious and n.o.ble famyly who were always our constant and faithful friends; and I conjure you and all honest Frasers to be zealous and faithfull friends and servants to the family of Argile and their friends, whilst a Campbell and a Fraser subsists. If it be G.o.d's will that for the punishment of my great and many sins and the sins of my kindred, I should now depart this life before I put these just and good resolutions in execution; yet I hope that G.o.d in his mercy will inspire you and all honest Frasers to stand by and be faithfull to my cousin Inverlahie and the other heirs male of my family, and to venture your lives and fortunes to put him or my nearest heirs male named in my Testament written by John Jacks, in the full possession of the estate and honours of my forefathers, which is the onely way to preserve you from the wicked designs of the family of Tarbat and Glengary joyned to the family of Athol: and you may depend upon it, and you and your posterity will see it and find it, that if you do not keep stedfast to your chief, I mean the heir male of my famyly; but weakly or falsely for little private interest and views abandon your duty to your name, and suffer a pretended heiresse, and her Mackenzie children to possess your country and the true right of the heirs male, they will certainly in les than an age cha.s.se you all by slight and might, as well Gentlemen, as Commons, out of your native country, which will be possessed by the Mackenzies and the Mackdonalls, and you will be, like the miserable unnatural Jews, scattered, and vagabonds throughout the unhappy kingdom of Scotland, and the poor wifes and children that remains of the name, without a head or protection when they are told the traditions of their familie will be cursing from their hearts the persons and memory of those unnaturall cowardly knavish men, who sold and abandoned their chief, their name, their birthright, and their country, for a false and foolish present gain, even as the most of Scots' people curs this day those who sold them and their country to the English by the fatal union, which I hope will not last long.

I make my earnest and dying prayers to G.o.d Almighty, that he may, in his mercy, thro the merits of Christ Jesus, save you and all my poor people, whom I always found honest and zealous to me and their duty, from that blindness of heart that will inevitably bring those ruins and disgraces upon you and your posterity; and I pray that Almighty and Mercifull G.o.d, who has often miraculously saved my family and name from utter ruin, may give you the spirit of courage, of zeal, and of fidelity, that you owe to your chief, to your name, to your selves, to your children, and to your country; and may the most mercifull, and adorable Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three persons, one G.o.d, save all your souls eternally, throu the blood of Christ Jesus, our Blessed Lord and Saviour, to whom I heartily recommende you.

I desire that this letter may be kept in a box, at Beaufort, or Maniack, and read once a-year by the heir male, or a princ.i.p.ale gentleman of the name, to all honest Frasers that will continue faithfull to the duty I have enjoined in this above-written letter, to whom, with you and all honest Frasers, and my other friends, I leave my tender and affectionat blessing, and bid you my kind, and last farewell.

LOVAT.

London, the 5 of Aprile, 1718.

Not being able to write myself, I did dictat the above letter to the little French boy, that's my servant. It contains the most sincere sentiments of my heart; and if it touch my kindred in reading of it, as it did me while I dictat it, I am sure it will have a good effect, which are my earnest prayers to G.o.d.

IV.

Allusion having been made often, in the course of these memoirs, to the process of "serving oneself heir" to an estate, in Scotland: the following doc.u.ment,[424] shewing the form of such a process, may not be deemed uninteresting.

Claim for William Maxwell, Esq. of Carruchan, who served heir-male in general of Robert, Fourth Earl of Nithisdale.

"Honourable persons and good men of Inquest: I, William Maxwell, of Carruchan, who was son of Captain Maxwell of Carruchan, who was son of Alexander Maxwell, of Yark and Terraughty, who was son of the Honourable James Maxwell, of Breckonside, immediate younger brother of John, third Earl of Nithisdale, who was father of Robert, fourth Earl of Nithisdale, say unto your wisdoms, that the said Maxwell of Nithisdale, nephews of my great-great-great-grandfather, died in the faith and peace of our Sovereign Lord the King then reigning, and that I am nearest and lawful heir male in general to the said Robert, fourth Earl of Nithisdale, the nephew of my great-great-great-grandfather, and that I am of lawful age.

Therefore I beseech your wisdoms to serve and cognesce me nearest and lawful heir male in general to the said deceased Robert, fourth Earl of Nithisdale, and cause your clerk of the Court to return my service to your Majesty's Chancery. Under my seal,

"According to justice and your wisdom's answer, &c. &c."

FOOTNOTE:

[424] I am indebted for a copy of this process to Sir John Maxwell, Bart. Pollok.