BURNET, Margaret 2
- Born: About 1640
- Marriage (1): GORDON, Patrick 9th of Hallhead about 1654 1
User ID: D91.
General Notes:
"Margaret (Burnett), mentioned in Sir Thomas Burnett's will" (page 61)
from Family of Burnett of Leys 2
Research Notes:
The historical judgment about whether Patrick Gordon, 9th of Hallhead, married this Margaret Burnett, appears to be still in the balance, at least according to THE BURNETT BANNER on the web.
Someone made an enquiry about this matter and was given this 'on the fence' kind of reply. However the reasons given by the person who made the enquiry are interesting and deserve to be considered, so are reproduced here with a view to deciding if they are truly convincing:
Reason 1 Patrick & Margaret's grandson may have been the philosopher and historian Dr. Adam Ferguson whose dates were 1723-1816. Scholarly works about him refer to his being descended from the Earls of Argyll through his mother Mary Gordon, and this Margaret Burnet was descended from the Earls of Argyll.
Response to 1 The scholars could have been assuming this Margaret as her mother when they made the remarks about the Earls of Argyll.
Reason 2 Families intermarried a lot in those days, and the Gordons and Burnets knew each other well, Adam Gordon (Margaret Burnet's nephew) married Elspet Burnet in 1681. Katherine Gordon married John Burnet in 1714. Isabella Black (great granddaughter of Patrick & Margaret Gordon) married James Burnet, son of the above-mentioned Katherine & John Burnet, in 1741. The above-mentioned Isabella and James Burnet's daughter Catherine married the same Dr. Adam Ferguson the philosopher in 1766.
Response to 2 The intermarriage of these families in other cases doesn't really convince that it is true in this case, although it does not disprove anything either. It simply describes the ambiance of the time.
Reason 3 Before the marriage of Patrick Gordon to Margaret Burnet 'Alexander' does not occur in the Gordon of Hallhead family as a first name. However, Margaret's father and brother were both Alexander, and the name Alexander appears the enquire's tree for five generations afterwards.
Response to 3 This is called circumstantial evidence. In itself it is not 100% convincing but it should be taken into consideration, remembering that the reason for it may lie elsewhere.
Final word? The burden is on the historians to prove it, but the odds are Patrick married this Margaret. 3
Margaret married Patrick GORDON 9th of Hallhead, son of George GORDON 8th of Hallhead and Unknown WIFE, about 1654.1 (Patrick GORDON 9th of Hallhead was born about 1625 and died in 1683 4.)
Marriage Notes:
"Patrick Gordon, 9th of Hallhead was the son of George Gordon, 8th of Hallhead. He married Margaret Burnett, daughter of Alexander Burnett and Jane Arbuthnott, circa 1654. He died in 1683."
from thepeerage.com
"IX. Patrick Gordon of Hallhead. He had a charter of Hallhead and Conquhonderland in 1669, from John, Duke of Rothes. Rothes. He married Margaret ----------, and had issue : -
I. John, of Hallhead.
II. Robert, of whom afterwards.
III. Rev. Patrick, whose only child, Jane, married John Calder (issue extinct).
IV. Charles, d. s. p. He mortified one thousand merks Scots for the poor of Cushnie, 1740.
1. Margaret.
2. Maria, married in 1705, Rev. Adam Ferguson of Dunfallandy, minister of Logierait; issue, Adam Ferguson, LL.D., born June 20, 1723, and others.
Patrick Gordon died 1683, and was succeeded by his eldest son, X. John Gordon of Hallhead."
from Thanage of Fermartyn 1 4
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