| Clan Marjoribanks | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Crest: A demi-griffin Proper, issuant from a crest coronet Or | |||
| Motto | ET CUSTOS ET PUGNAX | ||
| Profile | |||
| Region | Lowlands | ||
| District | Renfrewshire | ||
| Chief | |||
 | |||
| Andrew George Marjoribanks of that Ilk | |||
| Chief of the Name and Arms of Marjoribanks | |||
| Historic seat | Balbardie House | ||
| |||
Clan Marjoribanks is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands.
The story often told of the origins of the surname Marjoribanks, and even supported by respectable authorities, is that Marjorie, daughter of King Robert the Bruce, brought into her marriage with Walter Stewart in 1315 lands in Dumfriesshire which became known as "Marjorie's Banks"; [1] [2] unfortunately no such lands formed part of Marjorie's dowry. An alternative explanation is that lands in the area of Ratho (which undoubtedly were Marjorie's) were granted to an early Marjoribanks in the 16th century; this is true enough, but the surname had already been current for at least 50 years.
This attractive myth was almost certainly invented by a junior branch of the Marjoribankses (represented now by Marjoribanks of Lees) in the 17th century to bolster their claim to gentility. The reality is perhaps more mysterious. The first known Marjoribanks, Philip "de Merioribankis de eodem", i.e. "Marjoribanks of that Ilk", appears in 1485 as the holder of the "five merklands of Merioribankis of ancient extent." He was probably a Johnstone who distinguished himself from the many other Johnstones of the area by adopting this patronymic. There have been many explanations of the origin of this place name (it is now Marchbank Farm in the parish of Kirkpatrick-Juxta near Moffat, Dumfriesshire); it may even have been adopted as a token of respect to Marjorie, since the Bruces at one time owned land in the area. But this is a problem which may never be convincingly solved. [3]
The name is usually pronounced 'Marchbanks', and Alexander Nisbet [4] asserts that the family who acquired the lands of the princess and took her name were originally kin to the Johnston Lords of Annandale. He finds evidence for this in the family's coat of arms, which incorporates a gold cushion and a star. The Clan Johnstone's coat of arms bears three gold cushions, and in heraldry a star often alludes to a spur-rowel, which is part of Lord of Annandale's crest (heraldry).
The Marjoribanks came to prominence in the early sixteenth century, when the Court of Session, the civil section of the Supreme Court of Scotland, was reinstituted in its modern form by King James V of Scotland in 1532. Thomas Marjoribanks of that Ilk, [5] son of Philip Marjoribanks, [6] was one of ten advocates appointed as procurators, or pleaders, before the Lords of the Court of Session. Four centuries before the introduction of legal aid the Scottish Courts recognised the need for the poor to be represented by able lawyers, and in March 1535, Thomas was appointed advocate 'for the puir' with a salary of £10 Scots per annum. He willingly accepted the post, but waived his right to the salary. His public-spirited nature was rewarded when he became Lord Provost of Edinburgh in 1540, [5] representing the city in the Parliament of Scotland of that year, and again in 1546. He had acquired land at Ratho [7] near Edinburgh by a charter of 1539 which enabled him, ten years later, to assume the title, 'Lord Ratho', on his appointment as a judge. He became the Lord Clerk Register and acquired more land at Spotts and in Annandale, Dumfries and Galloway.
After Lord Ratho died, the chiefship devolved on his grandson, Thomas, [8] who sold Ratho in 1614 to James Duncan. The family acquired lands at Balbardie around 1624. [8] Christian Marjoribanks, Ratho's great-grandniece, married George Heriot, [2] [9] goldsmith and financier to King James VI of Scotland, founder of the famous Edinburgh school George Heriot's School which still bears his name. Heriot was so wealthy that he reputedly kept his purse filled with gold, and to the citizens of Edinburgh he was known as 'Jinglin' Geordie'.
Andrew Marjoribanks of Balbardie and of that Ilk [8] was another distinguished lawyer who was appointed Writer to the King in 1716. He acted as agent for James Sandilands, 7th Lord Torphichen and was commissary of Edinburgh, an important post in the administration of estates of the deceased.
Andrew Marjoribanks grandson, Alexander, [8] brought the family full circle when he acquired the Barony of Bathgate, which had also formed part of Princess Marjorie's dowry. He was convenor of Linlithgowshire (now called West Lothian) for over thirty years, and in 1824 voluntarily surrendered his baronial rights to allow Bathgate to become a burgh, with Alexander as its first Provost. [1] Alexander was ultimately succeeded by his seventh son, the Reverend Thomas Marjoribanks, [8] Minister of Lochmaben and later of Stenton in East Lothian. In 1861 he sold the estates of Balbardie (including Balbardie House) and Bathgate to the trustees of Stewart's Hospital (now part of Stewart's Melville College). His eldest son, Alexander, [8] succeeded in 1869, but although he married twice, he died childless and was succeeded by his brother, the Reverend George Marjoribanks [8] minister of Stenton. George's son the Reverend Thomas Marjoribanks, minister of Colinton was the next chief and his son, another Reverend George Marjoribanks succeeded him in 1947. This George Marjoribanks devoted most of his life to the Moral Re-Armament spiritual movement, died in 1955 without issue in Warm Springs, Georgia and was buried in New York. [8] [10] The next chief, brother of George and father of the present chief, [11] was William Marjoribanks of that Ilk [12] who was an ecologist and worked on major conservation projects for the government of Sudan in Khartoum. William's brother was the diplomat Sir James Marjoribanks who was the Ambassador to the European Economic Community at the time of Britain's negotiations to enter the EEC.
A George Marjoribanks (hypothesised to have been the son of George Marjoribanks, a junior member of the family of Marjoribanks of Balbardie and of that Ilk [13] [14] ) took part in the Jacobite rising of 1715 and fought with the Jacobite army against the British at the Battle of Preston (1715). He was captured and transported to Virginia in 1716. [15] [16] Many of his descendants now live in the US, in particular, North and South Carolina, where there are regular meetings of the Marjoribanks family. [17] [18]
A junior line of the Marjoribanks family called Marjoribanks of Lees [19] is descended from James Marjoribanks, a younger son of Thomas Marjoribanks of Ratho [6] and Joseph Marjoribanks, a wine and fish merchant in Edinburgh who died in 1635. [20] Joseph's son John Marjoribanks matriculated the arms of Marjoribanks of Leuchie in 1673. [21] A century later the arms were re-matriculated as Marjoribanks of Lees by Edward Marjoribanks of Lees, [21] a wine merchant. [19] His son, Sir John Marjoribanks, [22] was Lord Provost of Edinburgh [23] [24] and became a baronet, [25] his grandson David, Baron Marjoribanks was elevated to the peerage [20] as was another grandson Dudley Coutts Marjoribanks, 1st Baron Tweedmouth. These titles have since become extinct but there are several descendants of the Marjoribanks of Lees line living in England and the Channel Islands today. [19] [20]
Robert Marjoribanks, an engineer employed by the railways and from Kirkpatrick-Juxta, Dumfriesshire, Scotland married Jessie Walker and died before 1895. His two sons Robert Alexander, and John Walker Marjoribanks emigrated before the First World War to Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia where there are numerous Marjoribanks descendants – including Robert Marjoribanks or "Bob Banks" an Australian international rugby league player. [20] [26]
There is an official tartan for the Marjoribanks family. [27] [28]
The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grants of arms, and serving as the judge of the Court of the Lord Lyon, the oldest heraldic court in the world that is still in daily operation.
Clan MacNeil, also known in Scotland as Clan Niall, is a highland Scottish clan of Irish origin. According to their early genealogies and some sources they're descended from Eógan mac Néill and Niall of the Nine Hostages. The clan is particularly associated with the Outer Hebridean island of Barra. The early history of Clan MacNeil is obscure, however despite this the clan claims to descend from the legendary Irish King Niall of the Nine Hostages, who is counted as the 1st Clan Chief, the current Clan Chief being the 47th. The clan itself takes its name from a Niall who lived in the 13th or early 14th century, and who belonged to the same dynastic family of Cowal and Knapdale as the ancestors of the Lamonts, MacEwens of Otter, Maclachlans, and the MacSweens. While the clan is centred in Barra in the Outer Hebrides, there is a branch of the clan in Argyll (McNeill/MacNeill) that some historians have speculated was more senior in line, or possibly even unrelated. However, according to Scots law the current chief of Clan MacNeil is the chief of all MacNeil(l)s.
Clan Nicolson is a Lowland Scottish clan. The clan claims descent from an Edinburgh lawyer who lived in the 16th century and from a distinguished line of Aberdeen merchants who preceded him. During the mid-1980s David Nicolson, 4th Baron Carnock was recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms as the chief of Clan Nicolson. Around the same time, a Nicolson who claimed descent from the Highland clan of "Nicolsons" historically centred on Skye, petitioned the Lord Lyon King of Arms to be recognised as chief of his own clan. The Lord Lyon King of Arms accepted this man's petition on the condition he took the surname MacNeacail. In consequence there are two Scottish clans with similar names—the lowland Clan Nicolson and the highland Clan MacNeacail.
Clan Hay is a Scottish clan of the Grampian region of Scotland that has played an important part in the history and politics of the country. Members of the clan are to be found in most parts of Scotland and in many other parts of the world. However, the North East of Scotland, i.e. Aberdeenshire (historic), Banffshire, Morayshire and Nairnshire Nairn (boundaries), is the heart of Hay country with other significant concentrations of Hays being found in Perthshire, especially around Perth, in the Scottish Borders, and in Shetland.
Lieutenant-Colonel Dudley Churchill Marjoribanks, 3rd Baron Tweedmouth, CMG, MVO, DSO was a British army officer and courtier.
Dudley Coutts Marjoribanks, 1st Baron Tweedmouth, also known as the Laird of Guisachan and Glenaffric,, was a Scottish businessman and a Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1853 until 1880, when he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Tweedmouth. He was the breeder of the first golden retriever.
Clan Brodie is a Scottish clan whose origins are uncertain. The first known Brodie chiefs were the Thanes of Brodie and Dyke in Morayshire. The Brodies were present in several clan conflicts, and during the civil war were ardent covenanters. They resisted involvement in the Jacobite uprisings, and the chief's family later prospered under the British Empire in colonial India.
Clan Nesbitt is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Borders that is recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms.
Sir Thomas Innes of Learney (1893–1971) was a Scottish officer of arms who was Lord Lyon from 1945 to 1969.
The House of Burnett is a Lowland and Border Scottish family composed of several branches. The Chief of the Name and Arms of Burnett is James Comyn Amherst Burnett of Leys.
Clan Napier is a Lowland Scottish clan.
Clan Buchanan is a Highlands Scottish Clan whose origins are said to lie in the 1225 grant of lands on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond to clergyman Sir Absalon of Buchanan by the Earl of Lennox.
Clan Home is a Scottish clan. It held immense power for much of the Middle Ages and dominated the eastern Scottish Borders. It produced no fewer than eight Wardens of the Eastern March – more than any other family.
Clan Arthur or Clan MacArthur, is a highland Scottish clan that once held lands on the shores of Loch Awe opposite Inishail. The clan has been described as one of the oldest clans in Argyll. Clan Arthur and Clan Campbell share a common origin, and at one point the MacArthurs challenged the seniority of the leading Campbell family. A branch of MacArthurs from the Isle of Skye were a sept of the MacDonalds of Sleat, and were hereditary pipers for the MacDonalds of the Isles. In late 18th century the chief of the clan died without an heir, leaving the clan leaderless until the late 20th century. In 2002, the first chief of Clan Arthur was recognised in about 230 years.
Clan MacLennan, also known as Siol Ghillinnein, is a Highland Scottish clan which historically populated lands in the north-west of Scotland. The surname MacLennan in Scottish Gaelic is Mac Gille Fhinnein, meaning the son of the follower of St Finnan.
Clan MacAulay, also spelt Macaulay or Macauley is a Scottish clan. The clan was historically centred on the lands of Ardincaple, which are today consumed by the little village of Rhu and burgh of Helensburgh in Argyll and Bute. The MacAulays of Ardincaple were located mainly in the traditional county of Dunbartonshire, which straddles the "Highland Line" between the Scottish Highlands and Lowlands. Clan MacAulay has been considered a "Highland clan" by writers and has been linked by various historians to the original Earls of Lennox and in later times to Clan Gregor. The MacAulays of Ardincaple, like Clan Gregor and several other clans, have traditionally been considered one of the seven clans which make up Siol Alpin. This group of clans were said to have claimed descent from Cináed mac Ailpín, King of the Picts, from whom later kings of Scotland traced their descent. The chiefs of Clan MacAulay were styled Laird of Ardincaple.
A clan badge, sometimes called a plant badge, is a badge or emblem, usually a sprig of a specific plant, that is used to identify a member of a particular Scottish clan. They are usually worn affixed to the bonnet behind the Scottish crest badge, or pinned at the shoulder of a lady's tartan sash. According to popular lore clan badges were used by Scottish clans as a means of identification in battle. An authentic example of plants being used in this way were the sprigs of oats used by troops under the command of Montrose during the sack of Aberdeen. Similar items are known to have been used by military forces in Scotland, like paper, or the "White Cockade" of the Jacobites.
David Robertson, 1st Baron Marjoribanks, was a Scottish stockbroker and politician.
Clan Ralston is a Scottish clan. The clan is recognized as such by the Court of the Lord Lyon, but as it does not currently have a chief recognized by the Lord Lyon King of Arms it is considered an Armigerous clan.
Thomas Marjoribanks (1871–1947) was a Scottish minister of the Church of Scotland and religious author who served as minister of the parish of Colinton, Edinburgh, Scotland and also served the role as Chief of Clan Marjoribanks.