OGSTON, John of the Craigs, Sheriff-depute of Aberdeenshire ¹

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  General Notes:

"John Ogistoun of the Crags, our knowledge of whom is detailed in the History at considerable length.

It gives his death as having occurred almost immediately after that of his father, for he was only once termed 'de eodem,' (see Note below) while his father and son regularly were so.

But he now appears to have lived at least one year later than 1473, which the History gives as the last date upon which he is mentioned. For we find that 'upon 28th March 1474' he witnessed a 'Precept of Infeftment in the above land [of Braeruddoch] by the Earl of Huntly directed to ' Alexander Strachan of Glenkindie, and Thomas . . . his bailie,' in favour of Thomas Gordon. Witnesses - Gilbert Ogilvy of Deskford, knight : Gilbert Hay of Ury : John Ogston of . . . [Craig, or that Ilk] : Mr. Adam Gordon, Prebendary of Kinkell : Sir John Kemlok, chaplain to the Earl (original in Aboyne charter chest). - The Records of Aboyne, by Charles, eleventh Marquis of Huntly, page 12. From this we may conclude that for the brief period of one year he was able to style himself 'of that Ilk,' a title in which he was almost immediately replaced by his son." (pages 43 and 44)

"From the insufficient data which alone were available when it was written, the History is somewhat indistinct and inaccurate regarding the lands held by John of the Crags. It states that 'John of the Crags purchased the lands of Cragie or Cragy, Shethin, and Rawak or Raxton or Ravyston, in the barony of Slains, and in the now parish of Tarves, from Gilbert Hay of Ury' (History, page 41). But it fails to make clear, what we now know to have been the case, that John of the Crags, although he owned these lands in Aberdeenshire, derived his designation, not from them, but from the barony of Craggis or Crags in Forfarshire, which he inherited from his grandfather, Johannes de Ogyston, sixth of that Ilk, who was 'Lord of the barony of Crags and Glenylefe.' " (page 45)

from Supplement to the History of the Familiies of Ogston

Note:

Regarding the death dates of Alexander Ogston and his son John (above) we do not have exact dates, so it is difficult to know with certainty whether John did inherit from his father, or whether his son Walter inherited from his grandfather, Alexander.

1

The death of Alexander is noted by the Supplement as "about 1473" (Genealogical Table and page 43). Might that include the old calendar months from January to March 1474? If one switches between the old and new calendar dating styles, then the year 1474 is not always "one year later" than 1473.

2

The death of John must have been after 28 January 1473(1474), but, taking point 1 above into account, it still might have been before his father's death. Note that the excerpt from Records of Aboyne places brackets arounf the designation for John:

"John Ogston of . . . [Craig, or that Ilk]".

It is unclear whose brackets they are. Were they in the original document? The use of the brackets may merely indicate John Ogston belonged to that particular family, not necessarily that he himself was designated as such and held the title in law. The author of the Supplement may be incorrect to say that "he was only once termed 'de eodem'. " John Ogston may never have legitimately held that designation.

3

Later in the Supplement, on pages 78 and 79, it states:

"Since the History was published, the Armorial Bearings of the Ogstons of that Ilk have been treated of in a work entitled Scottish Arms, being a Collection of Armorial Bearings, a.d. 1370-1678, reproduced in Facsimile from Contemporary Manuscripts, with Heraldic and Genealogical Notes, by B. B. Stoddart ; Edinburgh, William Paterson, 1881. Mr. Stoddart was an authority upon such subjects, having been Lyon King Depute in the Lyon Office in Edinburgh, and in the second volume of the work, page 72, under the Boll of Arms by Sir Bobert Forman, Lyon King of Arms, c. a.d. 1562, he writes ....

' .... In 1473, Alexander Ogstoun of that Ilk sold Ogstoun to John Innes of that Ilk : his son and heir, John of Crag, was sheriff of Aberdeenshire : Walter, son of John, took the designation of that Ilk, and died 1489, leaving two daughters co-heirs' "

If Alexander Ogston did sell Ogston, and Walter took the designation 'of that Ilk', does that mean John Ogston's designation was 'of Crag', and nothing more? Did Walter assume the designation 'of that Ilk' because his own father had died before his grandfather? Without exact documentary evidence the question remains open. ¹

  Noted events in his life were:

1. Witness: of a precept of infefment, 28 January 1473(1474), (charter) Banff, Banffshire, Scotland. ²

John married Daughter ABERNETHY, daughter of William ABERNETHY 2nd Lord Saltoun of Abernethy, Sheriff of Banffshire and First WIFE.¹ (Daughter ABERNETHY was born about 1437.)

  Marriage Notes:

"We find both these estates ('Crags and Glenylefe') in the hands of Walter, son of John of the Crags, and from him they passed on to his two daughters, Elizabeth and Janet, the former receiving mostly the Aberdeenshire estates, the latter mostly those in Forfarshire.

Our authorities are further now sufficient to enable us to judge, with considerable probability, that John of the Crags had married a wife of the name of Abernethy, who was likely a daughter of Lawrence, first Lord Saltoun, for the extracts from the Acta Dominorum Concilii given at pages 47 to 49 of the History, of which it says, 'it is not clear what connection existed between the Abernethys and Ogstons,' are intelligible only on this supposition, and it is strengthened by the evidences now available" (pages 45 and 46)

"It will be observed that the dates at which we know John of the Crags flourished, the fact that he died almost immediately after succeeding his father, and the short period during which his son Walter lived, as well as the inferences deducible from the papers regarding the Abernethy lawsuit, combine to favour the supposition that John's wife was an Abernethy." (page 47)

from Supplement to the History of the Families of Ogston

Note:

The identity of the father of this Abernethy daughter, as with her sister, appears to be uncertain and disputed by various secondary sources, mainly since the biographical dates of all parties in both families are so vague. eg, according to pages 46 and 47 of the Supplement:

"The Frasers of Philorth, by Alexander Fraser of Philorth, seventeenth Lord Saltoun, Edinburgh, 1879, vol. ii. pages 47, 48 :

'For some years prior to 1498 he (James Abernethy, third Lord Saltoun) and his son and heir, Alexander, were engaged in litigation against Adam Hepburn of the Craigs, and his wife, Elizabeth Ogstoune, together with Sir John Wemyss of Strathardill and his spouse, Christiana Abernethy, who claimed some right of inheritance in the movable property and in some of the landed estates of the deceased William, second Lord (Act Dom. Concil., pp. 326, 332). The claim on the part of Christiana Abernethy and her husband is intelligible enough, as she was a daughter of Lawrance the first Lord, and therefore sister to the second and third Lords, against the latter of whom she brought her action; but that of Elizabeth Ogstoune is more obscure, though she may have been the child of another daughter of the first Lord. [1 This is not possible, her mother's name being Jane Scrymgeour, but her grandmother, as here argued, was probably an Abernethy.] She was the co-heiress of Walter, Laird of Ogstoune, or Ogistoune, who also held the lands of Craigs or Cragy, in the east of Aberdeenshire (Antiquities of Aberdeenshire, vol. iii. p. 170) ; but if any such alliance took place between his family and the Abernethies, all record of it has been lost. This lawsuit was, however, terminated on the 1st of July 1498, by a reference to a court of arbitration consisting of Robert, Archbishop of Glasgow, Andrew, Bishop of Moray, John, Prior of St. Andrews, George, Earl of Huntly, Patrick, Earl of Bothwell, Lord Hailes, Patrick Home of Fastcastle, and Master Richard Lawrence, clerk of Justiciary, by whom it was settled, and the sums due to the ladies - probably daughters' portions - were appointed to be paid to them, which, in the case of Adam Hepburn and Elizabeth Ogstoune, amounted to nine hundred marks, for which they granted a receipt on the 28th of August of the same year." ¹