LINDSAY, Ludovic 16th Earl of Crawford ¹

   User ID: N779.

  Research Notes:

HEIRS

" In 1641-42 Earl Ludovic agreed to resign his earldom in favour of his heirs-male of the body with remainder to John Earl of Lindsay, Lord Lindsay of the Byres, and the heirsmale of his body, with ultimate remainder to his own right heirs-male. Letters patent to this effect passed the Great Seal 15 January 1642. Lord Lindsay was but a distant connection of the Earl of Crawford, their common ancestor being that Sir David Lindsay of Crawford who died in 1357. By this proceeding the condition on which the dignity had been regranted to the son of the ' Wicked Master ' in 1546 was broken, and the right heirs to the dignity were excluded until the death of the last male descendant of John, Earl of Lindsay, in 1808. It is said that Earl John obtained this concession from his chief, when in prison, as the price of his liberty. It is, however, to be observed that the estates were all gone, nothing but the title remained, and the Earl of Lindsay was by far the most powerful member of the clan. The dignity of Lord Lindsay was not resigned, and passed de jure with the chiefship of the race to George, Lord Spynie, thereafter to John Lindsay of Edzell, whose son claimed the earldom (vide Balcarres), and finally, to James, Earl of Balcarres, great- great- grandfather to the present Earl of Crawford and Lord Lindsay."

from Scots Peerage (vol 3)< ¹

Ludovic married Margaret GRAHAM, daughter of William GRAHAM Earl of Airth and Menteith and Agnes GRAY, before 5 October 1643.¹ (Margaret GRAHAM was born about 1616.)

  Marriage Notes:

"Ludovic (Lindsay), sixteenth Earl of Crawford, styled 'The Loyal Earl,' succeeded his brother, and sat in Parliament 28 August 1639. He was retoured heir to his uncle the eleventh Earl and to Colonel Henry Lindsay 24 August 1639. Having joined the royal army in 1641, he was imprisoned at Edinburgh for a short time, because of the 'Incident,' and after the battle of Lansdowne he was declared an enemy of religion by the Committee of Estates, 12 January 1644, and forfeited 26 July. He joined the Spanish army, and was at Badajos 23 June 1649. He is stated in the diary of Sir Edward Nicholas to have died at the Hague November 1652. He married before 5 October 1643 Margaret Graham, daughter of William, Earl of Airth and Menteith, and widow of Alexander Stewart, Lord Garlies.

'Henry Gray,' alleging himself a son of this marriage, was dismissed from Douay for illegitimacy, as mentioned in the article on Airth. He did not bear the name Lindsay, but Gray or Graeme, and having regard to his age and the date of the Earl's marriage, if he had been a son of the marriage it is not obvious why he was illegitimate."

from Scots Peerage (vol 3) ¹