GORDON, William 4th of Tillyangus, Captain ²

   Another name for William was GORDON, William fiar of Tillyangus.^{1 3}

   User ID: J109.

  General Notes:

'William Gordon of Tillyangus in 1640 got a patent to raise a company of soldiers for the Government. He made a sensational attack at an inn on the Muir of Rhynie on Father Blakhal while the latter was riding from Strathbogie to Cromar ("Brieffe Narration of the Services done to Three Noble Ladyes,' pp. 105-107).

from The Gordons of Nethermuir




"Reference is made, no doubt, to this William as 'of Tillyangus' in a letter from Gilbert Blakhall, a Roman Catholic priest, to the daughter of John, Viscount Aboyne, who perished in the fire at Frendraught in 1630, by Lady Sophia Hay.

It is mentioned in that letter that William Gordon of Tillyangus had been page to the Viscount, and that he and John Gordon, Leichiston, had both been of that company of light horsemen [viz., of the Gordons] who had spoiled the lands of Frendraught, and had been banished since that raid till 'The Troubles' began. The letter is part of a series entitled 'A Brieffe Narration of the Services done to three noble Ladyes by Gilbert Blakhal,' a priest, published by the Spalding Club. It describes his journey on horseback from Strathbogie to Aboyne, where the Viscount's daughter [Henriet] was lying ill with smallpox. At the hostelry at Muir of Rhynie he fell in with a party of soldiers under their Captain, William Gordon of Tillyangus, and John Gordon of Licheston, his lieutenant, all much the worse of liquor. [Muir of Rhynie is only about three miles from Tillyangus, and about the same from Craig, one of the houses which Blakhal visited from time to time as a priest.] Leicheston was in a very friendly mood, and swore to live and die with him, while Tillyangus was quarrelsome. The former, though he did not recognise Blakhal, who found it necessary to conceal his identity, aided him in keeping the peace. At this time, in 1640, Tillyangus was 'listing men for the Covenant.'

The priest very cleverly evaded answering the Captain's questions as to who he was, and in the end they became great friends, and they all drank to one another before they parted."

from Memorials of the Family of the Gordons of Craig ²

William married Marjorie GORDON, daughter of James GORDON of Knowen and Elizabeth JAMIESON, on 26 November 1641.^{1 2} (Marjorie GORDON was born about 1620.)

  Marriage Notes:

"William Gordon of Tillyangus got sasine on 3rd August 1641 in Tillyangus, and Marjorie Gordon, his spouse, got sasine in the same on same date; this may have been on their marriage or on William's succession. I take Marjorie to be the lady mentioned in the Balbithan MS., p. 56, as a daughter of Sir James Gordon of Knowen [otherwise Knaven or Knawen], the son of David Gordon of Nethermuir, as Sir James's daughter is there said to have married the fiar of Tillyangus. On the above supposition, viz., that this sasine was granted on their marriage, William must have been 'fiar' up to or after 1641 : this implies that at that date he was the acknowledged heir of the third laird."

from Memorials of the Family of Gordon of Craig




"James Gordon of Knaven ....had .... sons and a daughter: -

----- Gordon, married William Gordon, fiar of Tillyangus. This may be the William Gordon of Tillyangus, who married on Nov. 26, 1641, Marjory Gordon, 'sister to John Gordoun in Tillideask, now called Wells' (Ellon Register). William Gordon of Tillyangus in 1640 got a patent to raise a company of soldiers for the Government. He made a sensational attack at an inn on the Muir of Rhynie on Father Blakhal while the latter was riding from Strathbogie to Cromar ('Brieffe Narration of the Services done to Three Noble Ladyes,' pp. 105-107). Hugh Gordon and John Gordon, grandson of James Gordon of Tillyangus, emigrated to Vangroba, in Poland, in 1636."

from Gordons of Nethermuir ^{1 2}