LESLIE, William 7th of Balquhain, Sir ¹

   Another name for William was LESLEY, William.

   User ID: F493.

  General Notes:

"At this time also, as John Leslie, Bishop of Ross, informs us in his History of Scotland, great feuds existed among the barons of Aberdeenshire, and particularly between the powerful families of Leslie and Forbes. A sharp war was carried on between these two families, in which many barons, gentlemen of great consideration, and others of inferior rank, fell, and many murders were committed. Almost the whole of Aberdeenshire came to be engaged in the quarrel, most families siding with one party or the other, so that the county
was divided into two factions."

from Historical Records of the Leslie Family

  Noted events in his life were:

1. Attack: with Alexander Seton and John Leslie of Wardis, 1 October 1525, On Aberdeen.

2. Assurances under penalty: of £2000, 12 February 1527, Aberdeen.

William married Elizabeth OGILVY, daughter of Sir Walter OGILVY of Auchlevyn and of Boyne and Margaret EDMONDSTONE.¹ (Elizabeth OGILVY was born about 1485 and died in September 1518 ¹.)

  Marriage Notes:

"Elizabeth, married to William Leslie of Balquhain. They had a charter of Syd, with the mill, 7 April 1514. She died in September 1518, leaving, with other issue, a son John, who succeeded to Balquhain."

from Scots Peerage (vol 2)




"William Leslie married, first, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Walter Ogilvie, second Baron of Boyne. King James V. granted a charter of the lands of Syd, with the mill, Erlisfeild, Segateden, and the Wrays, in the earldom of Mar and lordship of the Garioch, in favour of William Leslie of Balquhain, and Elizabeth Ogilvie his spouse, dated 7th April 1514. By this marriage William Leslie had issue"

from Family of Leslie ^{1 2}

William next married Marjory KEITH, daughter of Alexander KEITH of Pittendrum and Marion LUNDIE, by 13 September 1522(presumed contract). (Marjory KEITH was born about 1512.)

  Marriage Notes:

"Elizabeth Ogilvie died in September 1518, and William Leslie married, secondly, Marjory Keith, a most virtuous lady, daughter of Alexander Keith of Inverugie and Pittendrum, a son of William, third Earl, and thirteenth Grand Marischal of Scotland. King James V. granted a charter of the lands of Erlisfeild, Segyden, and the Wrais, in favour of William Leslie of Balquhain, and Marjory Keith his spouse, dated 13th February 1522. There is no record of any issue by this marriage."

from Family of Leslie

Note: The paternity of Marjory.

1
There was an Alexander Keith "of Pittendrum", son of the Earl Marischal and husband of Marion Lundy, but as far as is known he was not "of Inverugie". It sounds as if two Alexander Keiths may have been conflated here.

2
'Scots Peerage' states that the eldest son of Sir William Keith was
"Sir Alexander, who died between 1512 and 1518, without issue."
It makes no mention of a daughter Marjory. Nor, for that matter, does it mention a daughter Marjory as the offspring of Alexander Keith of Pittendrum.

3
In his 'PhD thesis', Miles Kerr-Petersen shows a Marjory Leslie in Table 5 Keiths of Inverugie, as the daughter of Sir Alexander Keith of Inverugie, and adds that she married William Leslie in 1518.

4
'Family of Leslie' say she married William Leslie by 13 February 1522, but does not name her mother.

5
The heiress of Inverugie, Margaret, daughter of Sir William Keith, younger, of Inverugie, did not marry the Earl Marischal until 1538, but the research of Mike Wade in his paper 'Keith of Inverugie', makes it clear that Sir William Keith younger was heir to his father by 1518, and that his daughters Margaret and Elizabeth were heiresses by 1522.

6
The use of "Inverugie", in the 'Family of Leslie' designation of Marjory's father seems to point to the family of Sir William Keith of Inverugie rather than to the family of the Earl Marischal, since "Inverugie" continues in former family from Sir Alexander Keith of Inverugie through his brother Sir William Keith younger, of Inverugie, and then to the two heiresses, one of whom carries "Inverugie" to the Earl Marischal's line by her marriage.

7
So, was Marjory the daughter of "Alexander Keith of Pittendrum", or of "Sir Alexander Keith of Inverugie"?
In the absence of any hard evidence that any child of Sir Alexander Keith of Inverugie survived, for surely her presence in the saga of inheritance would have been noted, it seems somewhat likely that Marjory was "of Pittendrum", and that the inclusion of "Inverugie" in her father's designation may have been an error.
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