STRACHAN, James of Monboddo, then of Thornton, Sir 2
- Born: possibly about 1290
- Marriage (1): DE THORNTON, Agatha or Agneta 1
Another name for James was STRATHEYHAN, James.
User ID: C930.
General Notes:
The barony of Strachan and the lands of Feteresso passed to the family of Keith from the Strachans by marriage, in the reign of David II. Sir James Strachan obtained the lands of Thornton in Kincardine.
A cynical take on this situation might be that, having been beaten in 1308 at Inverurie by King Robert I for supporting Comyn's claim to the throne, James Strachan looked for a likely way to restore his fortunes, and looking round found Valentine de Thornton with a young daughter of marriageable age.
"About the year 1316, the Barony of Strachan, Fetteresso and Dalspersey etc etc merged by marriage into the family of Keith, but the line of Strachan of Thornton was carried on by the branch of Strachan of Monboddo decended lineally therefrom and coeval therewith; Sir James Strachan of Monboddo in the reign of king David Bruce ('Jacobus de Stratheyne' as he is called in the charters) having obtained the lands and barony of Thornton, Kincardineshire, by the marriage of Agneta de Thornton."
from Burke's Peerage
"This Sir James Strachan the first of this Antient and Honourable Race who had the Barony of Thornton had Two Sons Duncan the Eldest who had the Lands of Meniecabo &c. in the County of Kincairden and a part of the Lands of Keir in the Shyre of Perth who left only one Daughter Cristiana Strachan who was Married to Sir Malcom Fleeming of Biggar Ancester to the present Earl of Wigton with whom he got the Estate of Meniecubo &c. which Continued long in that family. The Second Son of Sir James Strachan the first of the House of Thornton was Sir John Strachan to whom his father gave the Estate and Lands of Thornton and obtained the Honour of Knighthood from King Robert the 2d."
from Macfarlane genealogies in NLS
Note: Some details of this information, about the name of the husband of the granddaughter of James Strachan for example, may not be accurate, but the gist of the narrative seems to be generally agreed to be sound. 2 3 4
Research Notes:
KING ROBERT
King Robert II of Scots reigned between 1371 and 1390. 5
James married Agatha or Agneta DE THORNTON, daughter of Valentine DE THORNTON and Unknown.1 (Agatha or Agneta DE THORNTON was born about 1295.)
Marriage Notes:
"In 1309, Valentine of Thornton had a charter from King Robert the Bruce of the lands of Thornton in the Mearns; and as this is the first, so is it the last, record of the family being possessed of that estate.
It is said that the male line of the Thorntons failed in the reign of King David II., and that a daughter, Agatha, or Agneta, carried the property by marriage to Sir James Strachan of Monboddo, by whom she had two sons, Duncan, or Donald, and John. It is further asserted that the younger son received Thornton, and, subsequently succeeding his brother in Monboddo, was knighted by King Robert II."
from Memorials of Angus and the Mearns
NOTE: the full picture is more complex than this, but it does indicate
i] there were diferent strands of Strachans
ii] they were probably interrelated
iii] some absorbed the others in a variety of ways historically 1
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