GORDON, William 5th of Gight ¹

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  General Notes:

"William Gordon, the fifth laird of Gight, son of John, the fourth laird, by Margaret Gordon of the Lesmoir family, seemed to have been impelled by the double dose of Gordon blood in his veins to outdo his predecessors in a spirit of rebellion. The check which the advent of the Kirk implied lashed him into a fury of revolt, and this was accentuated in the conduct of his seven stalwart sons, and several of his grandsons, including the eighth laird of Gight, and his cousin, Nathaniel Gordon of Ardlogie, whom the Kirk at last beheaded (1646). Before he succeeded to Gight in 1592, William had made himself a terror."

from House of Gordon ¹

  Noted events in his life were:

1. Quarrel: with Thomas Fraser leading to Fraser's death, 1576. ¹

2. Appointed: Burgess, 1582, of Aberdeen, Scotland. ¹

3. Engaged in: Moray affair, 1592-1591. ¹

4. Wounded: in battle, 1594, Glenlivet, Banffshire, Scotland. ¹

5. Excommunication: by Kirk General assembly over Moray affair, April 1595. ¹

6. Engaged in: feud with the Keiths, 1597-1587. ¹

7. Escaped: denounced rebel over quarrel with Mowats and Hays, 1601, to England. ¹

8. Burial, 1605. ¹

William married Isobel OCHTERLONY, daughter of James OCHTERLONY younger, of that Ilk and Agnes BETON (BETHUNE).¹ (Isobel OCHTERLONY was born about 1547 and died in May 1604 ¹.)

  Marriage Notes:

"William Gordon married Isobel Ochterlony, daughter of (William ?) Ochterlony of Kelly (Balbithan MS.). In the charter chest of Lord Morton (Hist. MSS. Com., 2nd Report, Appendix, p. 184) there is a letter from 'Dame Elizabeth Gordon Lady of Gycht,' under date 1597. Alice Lady Morton declined to let me examine it. Isobel Ochterlony died in May, 1604, and like her spouse was buried according to the rites of the Roman Catholic Church.[ ....]

William Gordon and his spouse, Isobel Ochterlony, had seven sons and seven daughters. All the boys followed in the footsteps of their sire one of the daughters, even, was charged with a brutal assault on a man ; and the grandchildren of the laird (the sons of his sons and of his daughters alike) became notorious."

from Gight ¹