The title Lord Duffus was created by Charles II in the Peerage of Scotland on 8 December 1650 for Alexander Sutherland. He was a descendant of the 4th Earl of Sutherland, who fell in battle in 1333. The title is now extinct, although there may be male-line Sutherlands descended from earlier lairds of Duffus.
In 1734, the 3rd Lord was attainted and the lordship was forfeited. His son Eric tried but failed to get a reverse of the attainder. His son James Sutherland of Duffus got the attainder reversed, and was restored to the lordship as 4th (titular 5th) Lord Duffus on 25 May 1826. The last two Lords Duffus were also baronets, of Hempriggs in the County of Caithness (3rd and 4th). The lordship became extinct on the death of the 6th (titular 7th) Lord Duffus on 28 August 1875.
The Sutherland family of Duffus descended from Nicholas Sutherland, only brother of William de Moravia, 5th Earl of Sutherland (d. 1370), and younger son of Kenneth de Moravia, 4th Earl of Sutherland. The village of Duffus is outside of the county of Sutherland, but the Sutherlands of Duffus also held lands within Sutherland, most notably Skelbo. Some of the Sutherland of Duffus family may have assumed the surname Duffus, which was the family title instead of the surname Sutherland. [2]
These are the early ancestors of the Lords Duffus. [2]
Information on the Lords Duffus was obtained in part from the Sutherland history (below), and from Elinor Glyn (1955), a memoir by her grandson Anthony Glyn. Glyn and her sister Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon were born Sutherlands, descended from David Sutherland, Laird of Cambusavie, allegedly a son of Alexander Sutherland, a younger brother of the Jacobite 3rd Lord Duffus, who is described in The Scots Peerage as having died without issue. The fact that the 6th Lord Duffus inherited in 1827 over the now Canadian Sutherlands, who sold their estates in the 1770s to the Earl of Sutherland, probably means that the relationship was more distant, or if the same, that the Laird of Cambusavie was illegitimate.
Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in April 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that Peerage, and as such its holder is the Premier Peer of Scotland, as well as being head of both the House of Hamilton and the House of Douglas. The title, the town of Hamilton in Lanarkshire, and many places around the world are named after members of the Hamilton family. The ducal family's surname, originally "Hamilton", is now "Douglas-Hamilton". Since 1711, the Dukedom has been held together with the Dukedom of Brandon in the Peerage of Great Britain, and the Dukes since that time have been styled Duke of Hamilton and Brandon, along with several other subsidiary titles.
Earl of Sutherland is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created circa 1230 for William de Moravia and is the premier earldom in the Peerage of Scotland. The earl or countess of Sutherland is also the chief of Clan Sutherland.
Lord Ruthven of Freeland is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1651 for Thomas Ruthven. He was the grandson of Alexander Ruthven, younger son of William Ruthven, 2nd Lord Ruthven. The letters patent creating the peerage is said to have been burnt with the House of Freeland in 1750, and the remainder to the peerage is not accurately known. However, as the dignity was retained on the Union Roll, it has been presumed that the honour was to heirs-general. Lord Ruthven of Freeland was succeeded by his son, the second Lord. He never married and on his death in 1722 the title and estates devolved by entail upon his youngest sister, Jean. On her death the estates passed to her nephew Sir William Cunningham, 3rd Baronet, of Cunninghamhead. He was the only son of Anne, elder sister of the third Lady Ruthven and also heir of line. He assumed the surname of Ruthven upon the death of his aunt, but lived only six months after his accession to the estates and never assumed the title.
Earl of Gowrie is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Scotland and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, both times for members of the Ruthven family. It takes its name from Gowrie, a historical region and ancient province of Scotland. On 23 August 1581, William Ruthven, 4th Lord Ruthven, was created Earl of Gowrie by James VI, King of the Scots. He was executed for high treason, attainted and his peerages forfeited on 28 May 1584. Two years later in 1586, the attainder was reversed and his son, the second Earl, was restored as Earl of Gowrie and Lord Ruthven, but both peerages were forfeited after the alleged plot and subsequent death of the second Earl's younger brother, the third Earl, in 1600.
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Clan Sutherland is a Highland Scottish clan whose traditional territory is the shire of Sutherland in the far north of Scotland. The chief of the clan was also the powerful Earl of Sutherland, however in the early 16th century this title passed through marriage to a younger son of the chief of Clan Gordon. The current chief is Alistair Sutherland who holds the title Earl of Sutherland.
Kenneth de Moravia was the 4th Earl of Sutherland and chief of the Clan Sutherland, a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands.
William de Moravia was the 5th Earl of Sutherland and chief of the Clan Sutherland, a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands. William, 5th Earl of Sutherland was a loyal supporter of David II of Scotland in the wars against England.
The Sutherlands of Forse were a minor Scottish noble family. Kenneth Sutherland, 1st of Forse was the second son of William de Moravia, 5th Earl of Sutherland. They were a cadet branch of the Clan Sutherland.
The Murrays of Aberscross were a minor noble Scottish family who were seated at Aberscross Castle, in the county of Sutherland, Scotland. The Murrays in Sutherland are recorded specifically as a clan in two Acts of the Scottish Parliament of the 16th century.
George Sinclair was a Scottish nobleman, the 4th Earl of Caithness and chief of the Clan Sinclair, a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands.
Nicholas Sutherland, 1st of Duffus was a Scottish noble who was seated at Duffus Castle, near Elgin, Moray, Scotland in the 14th and 15th centuries.
Alexander Sutherland was the 1st Lord Duffus, a member of the Scottish nobility and a cadet of the Clan Sutherland.
Alexander Sutherland, 3rd of Duffus was a Scottish member of the nobility and a cadet of the Clan Sutherland.
William Sutherland, 5th of Duffus was a member of the Scottish nobility and a cadet of the Clan Sutherland.
William Sutherland, 7th of Duffus was a Scottish member of the nobility and a cadet of the Clan Sutherland.
Alexander Sutherland, 8th of Duffus was a member of the Scottish nobility and a cadet of the Clan Sutherland.
William Sutherland, 10th of Duffus was a member of the Scottish nobility and a cadet of the Clan Sutherland.
James Sutherland was the 2nd Lord Duffus, member of the Scottish nobility and a cadet of the Clan Sutherland.
Eric Sutherland was the 4th Lord Duffus, member of the Scottish nobility and a cadet of the Clan Sutherland.