CLAN MAXWELL SOCIETY

One dictionary of family names of the United Kingdon, Patronymic Britannica, defines the name Adair as “a branch of the Great Anglo-Hibernian Family of FitzGeralds, settled at Adare in County Limerick.” According to this source, Robert FitzGerald Adair moved to Scotland in the 14th century due to family feuds and began expressing his name in the current spelling.

Another source thinks Adair is just a different pronunciation of Edzear (z=y) or Edgar. Thomas Edzear or Odeir had a charter of lands in Galloway from Robert the Bruce, and others of the same name had grants of land in Dumfries.

Still another authority also believes the name is simply a form of Edgar, probably having started with Edgar, son of Duvenald, who was a leader at the Battle of the Standard in 1138 and grandson of Donegal of Morton Castle, a descendent of whom, Thomas Edzear, had a charter from Robert Bruce of the lands in Galloway. Various deeds prove the name Edzear and Adair to have been interchangeable with the Galloway Adairs. In a charter dated 1625, the name is spelled in both forms on the same page.

Whichever origin is actually true, the Adairs, as landholders in the Dumfries area, would naturally have allied themselves, in times of strife, with the Lords Maxwell, the principal landholders in the area and the hereditary Wardens of the West Marches.

Blackstock is a common name in the Dumfries area, and the Blackstocks affiliated with the Maxwells in 1570 when John signed the “Band of Dumfries,” obligating him to join the force led by Lord Maxwell defending Dumfries and environs against an English invasion. There were probably also other, unrecorded, affiliations.

Although the Blackstock name is not connected with significant early land holdings, there are mentions of it in Scotland beginning around 1500, as recorded by Black¹. William Blackstok witnessed a notarial instrument in 1517; William Blackstock was appointed clerk of court in 1524; John Blakstok held a tenement in Edinburgh in 1549; and Agnes Blackstock held a tenement in Edinburgh around 1700. John Blakstok signed the Band of Dumfries in 1570; James Blackstok was a tenant of Andrew Hay of Craignethan in 1659; John Blackstock was a merchant in Dumfries in 1641; Robert Blackstock was a tenant in the barony of Mousewall (Mousewald) in 1673; and John Blackstocks was burgess of Peebles in 1689. David Blackstocks was appointed constable in Littleclyde in 1712; William Blackstock was a tanner in Minigaff in 1767; and Robert Blackstock was a shoemaker in Dumfries in 1738. Nine more of the name are recorded ion the Commissariot Record of Dumfries. According to Gilbert Burns, a Miss Jane Blackstock was the heroine of his brother’s “O Poortith Cauld.”

“Of territorial origin from the lands or barony of Dinwoodie in the parish of Dumfriesshire. Sir Alan de Dunwidi was seneschal of Annandale in the first quarter of the 13th Century, and Adam de Dunwidie witnessed a quit claim of the lands of Weremundebi and Anant c. 1194-1214. Bet- ween 1218 and 1245, Adam de Dunwudhi was witness to a quit claim of land in Annan. Aleyn de Dunwythye of Berwickshire rendered homage to Edward I in 1296. John de Dunwothy, dominus ejusdem, appears as charter witness, 1361. In 1504, Thomas Dunwedy of the ilk was slain by the Jardings at the place of Dunwedy, and in 1512, another laird of the name was slain in Edinburgh. In 1504, Robert Dunwedy, son of the laird, was convicted of stouthreif, and Nicolas Dunwedy was hanged for reset of theft. Jean Dinwoodie was examined for the Test in Tinwald, 1685. Robert Dinwiddie, born in Glasgow in 1693, was governor of Virginia from 1751 and 1758. His recommendation of the annexation of the Ohio Valley secured that great territory to the United States. This surname is spelled in more than 100 forms in old Scots records.”    

The lands of the Dinwiddies and the Jardines abutted one another along the east bank of the Annan. If they were frequently at feud with one another, as the evidence of 1504 suggests, and the Jardines allied themselves with the Johnstons, their most powerful near neighbor, the Kinwiddies probably allied them- selves with “the other side” — the Maxwells. Dinwiddie men were probably with Lord Maxwell at the disastrous Dryfe Sands battle which was fought within five miles of their home territory in 1593.

Notes on the Family Name from One of Our Members . . .

Dunwidi of Dunwidi is the first known spelling, according to an 85 page manuscript written by R.D. Whittenbury-Kaye, a young curate, around 1920. He was apparently researching the an- cestry of Gov. Robert Dinwiddie and, typical in dealing with the origins of the Dinwoodies, found that the governor’s own grandfather wrote his name as Dinwoody. Whittenbury-Kaye died at a young age, and a friend, Thomas Somerville, tried without success to have his research pub- lished. The manuscript was left with a printer, Robert Dinwiddie, in Dumfries, Scotland.

The manuscript’s forward states that Dinwoodies are an ancient Scottish family of Annandale whose surname is derived from their old estate, and the Lairds of Dinwoodie wrote themselves “of that ilk” for at least four centuries. They appear on the famous Ragmans Roll, considered the Scottish Equivalent for the Norman Roll of Battle Abbey in all matters of family antiquity.

Dinwiddie Arms

MOTTO: WHERE THERE’S LIBERTY
THERE’S MY COUNTRY.

Dunwidi/Dunwidie, whence the lairds derived their surnames, is a prehistoric fortified hill, 871 feet above sea level, in the Parish of Applegarth, Dumfrieshire, Scotland. The old lairdship is in the heart of Annandale, about 5 miles N-NW of Lockerbie and Lochmaban.

The manuscript states that there is no doubt whatever as to the first syllable of Dunwidie/ Dinwiddie. It is the old Keltic word Din (Brythonic) or Dun (Gaelic), a fortified stronghold, originally always meaning a “hill fort.” It is usually found in place names combining both meanings, sig- nifying a stronghold built on a hilltop. This indicates the name originates in Scotland, not France or some other place. Johnston’s Place Names of Scot land comes to the same conclusion.

Dinwoodie/Dunwoodie, one might think, could mean Castle /Fort in the wood; however, this spelling is quite modern therefore appears to be a mere corruption. Dunwedy would mean Castle of the pledge or wager, but this Gaelic term was not the first recorded spelling. Dunwithie/ widie in old Scotland would mean a halter or gallows. Here are some of the different spellings and dates they were first recorded in Scotland: Dunwidie/Dunwidi (1191), Dunwythie (1296), Dinwoodie (1617), and Dinwiddie (1629). It appears the old fortress had a purely Keltic name and origin. As we find Dun is the earlier form, the hillfort may have been occupied by the SELGOVAE, the most ancient known inhabitants of Annandale, probable Gaels, akin to the Picks of Galloway, who like the Selgovae, later mingled with Brythonic Conquerors.

    — Robert Dinwoodie, Manchester NH

Dinwoodie Arms

This version of the Dinwoodie Family Arms was found by one of our members, Foster W. Dunwiddie, while visiting Scotland in 1978. It was engraved in a stone which was built into the wall of a farmhouse’s front porch and was said to have been the cornerstone of the long-destroyed Dinwoodie Castle.

The farmhouse, Dinwoodie Mains, was built in 1811. The arms, in red sandstone, are located over the window near the entry-way door.

Above the arms are the initials “R.M.,” and beneath is the date 1631. The arms two “mullets” (stars) would suggest the initials are for Robert Maxwell II who was Laird of Dynwiddie in 1631 and the ward of Lady Jane Dynwiddie, his aunt. According to tradition, this stone in the farmhouse originated from Dinwoodie Castle, which stood near the farm. However, the stone more likely was taken from a newer tower built on the right bank of the Annan River by Robert Maxwell II. Robert Maxwell II is described in documents of the period as “Maxwell of the Tower” and lived there rather than at old Dynwiddie House (or Castle). The “old” Dynwiddie House or Castle was undoubtedly from an earlier era.

This drawing shows the details:

At the center of the arms is a shield surrounded by strapwork enrichment and bearing in chief two mullets (stars) with a human head inverted and suspended by a “woodie” or rope of “withies” passed through the mouth.

The arms also appear in armorial carvings on a number of the tombstones found in the churchyard of Applegarth in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. The present church was built in 1760, standing on the site on an older church, where England’s King Edward I stopped on July 7, 1300 to make his oblations enroute to the siege of Caerlaverock Castle.

In the churchyard is the tombstone of James Dinwoodie (1694-1745), of Newbinning, which contains an excellent depiction of the Dinwoodie Family Arms. The sketch shown above was made from this tombstone.

— Pictures and information provided by Foster W. Dunwiddie, Henderson NV

The Edgars seem to have preceded the Maxwells in many of the offices in Nithsdale. They probably lost power due to financial difficulties or problems in the line of succession and came under the influence of the ascendant Maxwells in the 14th Century.

The name Eadgar is from the Old English and means “happy spear.” The first recording of the name in Scotland is thought to have been Eadgar, King of Scots, who reigned from 1097-1107. The Edgars of Nithsdale are thought to be of Gaelic origin, however. Edgar, son of Duvenald, son of Dunegal of Stranid (Strath Nith), had extensive land holdings in Nithsdale during the reign of William the Lion, and his descendants assumed the surname of Edgar. About 1200, this Edgar granted the church of Kyllosburn (Closeburn in Nithsdale?) and the church of Mortun in Strehtun to the Abbey of Kelso.

Richard Edgar of Wedderbie witnessed the second marriage of King Robert Bruce and possessed the castle and half the barony of Sanchar or Seneschar in Upper Nithsdale during that king’s reign. That was probably the same man (Richar Edgar) who was Sheriff of Dumfries in 1329 and (Ricardus Edgar) who witnessed a royal charter of the lands of Dalmakeran about 1316-18. Thomas Edzear or Odeir had a charter of the lands of Kildonan in the Rynes from Robert I, and Donald Edzear acquired from David II the captainship of Clan MacGowan in Nithsdale.

As the two families are intertwined, see also the section on another of the Maxwells’ allied families: Adair

John Maxwell, second son of Robert, fifth Lord Maxwell, married Agnes Herries, eldest heiress of the Herries title and estates, in 1547, and acquired the title, through purchase, of the lands held by her sisters, thus consolidating the family holdings. Three generations later, the male line of the Lords Maxwell died out, and John Maxwell, seventh Lord Herries, became the twelfth Lord Maxwell and the third Earl of Nithsdale. It was his grandson who made the famous escape from the Tower of London. When the titles merged in one person in 1667, Lord Maxwell became chief, in fact, of the Herries family, although they may have recognized a Maxwe                                 ll chiefship before that date.

Chalmers says the Herries name probably stemmed from the Anglo-Norman family of Heriz of Nottinghamshire and entered Scotland during the time of David I. Black¹ shows William de Heriz to have been the first of that name recorded in Scotland, appearing as witness to charters by Earl Henry, David I, William the Lion, and Walter the Steward, among others, and, in 1296, taking the oath of fealty to England.

Since the mid-14th Century, Herries have been associated with Galloway. Richard Hereis received the lands of Elstanefurd in the sheriffdom of Edinburgh as a gift from Robert I. Some of this name appeared in Banff in the 15th Century: David Heris being bailie of Finlay Ramsay of Banff in 1483, Margaret Hirys being one of the heirs of deceased Andrew Heris in 1496, and Robert Herys receiving a charter in 1498.

The name Kirk is derived from living near a kirk (church). Among the earliest recorded men with this name were: Sir Patrick Kyrk, chaplain at St. Mary, Perth, in 1456; Andrew Kyrk, witness at Arbroath in 1459; Alexander Kirk, bailie of St. Andrew’s in 1520; and James Kirk, charter witness at Inveraray in 1608.

Dunscore, about 10 miles NW of Dumfries, is in the heart of “Maxwell country,” and it was here that the surname Kirkhoe was very common. Over the years, the name was shortened to Kirk. As a less powerful family, the Kirkhoes would have allied themselves with the Maxwells for mutual aid and defense. They may have also given their name to the nearby villages of Kirkland to the NW and Kirkton to the SE.

Among the early Kirk/Kirkhoe family members listed by Black¹ were: Marie Kirko as a resident in the parish of Borgue in 1684; John, Alexander, and James Kirko as residents in the parish of Buittle in 1684; James Kirko (or Kirkoe) as a Covenanter, shot at Dumfries in 1685; John Kirkoe as portioner of Glengaber in the barony of Holywood in 1692; and John Kirkow as tenant at Auchlane in 1732.

Black¹ tells us that Kirklands were known in Scotland as early as the 1200s and that William de Kyrkland was burgess of Glasgow in 1424. Alan de Kyrklande and John de Kirkland were there in 1463 and 1471. George Kirkleane was burgess freeman of Glasgow in 1599, and James Kirkland was constable in Lanark in 1709.

The village of Kirkland in Dumfriesshire is adjacent to Maxwelton and close to the Herries/Maxwell holding of Breconside. The Maxwells of Breconside were established as a cadet branch of the Lords Herries in 1627, 40 years before Lord Herries became also Lord Maxwell.

This name is derived from old English and French words meaning, literally, one who knows Latin. Black¹ tells us that the Latimeris were “among the unruly clans of the West Marche in 1857.”

The unruliness of 1587 is well documented. John, Lord Maxwell, was abroad seeking to ally the interests of the Catholic Lords in Scotland with the invasion plans of the Spanish Court, and his cousin William Maxwell, Lord Herries, was appointed Warden of the West Marches in his place. Herries was declared a rebel by the Scottish parliament for his failure to appear and answer their questions about the unrest on the border. The West Marche was in a state of near-rebellion, fomented to a large extent by the Maxwells in an effort to push their Marianist agenda. The Latimers were evidently party to this.

Various forms of this name are all in current use in Galloway, but the name goes back to a Gaelic spelling: Mac Shitrig (son of Sitric). Black¹ lists several findings of this name from the 14th Century forward: John M’Kethirryke as a tenant in “villa de Prestoun” in 1376; Thomas Makettrik and his heirs having a charter of the lands of Kelauch in Galloway in 1476; and John McQuhitrig witnessing a charter of amortization by the rector of Newlands in 1504.

It is the latter connection which could be the best link to the Maxwells, for it may have meant Newlaw, a Maxwell property. The nearest place name spelled Newlands is actually far from Galloway, near Hermitage Castle in Armstrong County.

Black¹ also tells us that some with this name changed it to Ketteridge, a change deemed “more genteel.”

The inclusion of the Maxtons in the Clan Maxwell Society is based entirely on the fact that there was a common ancestor in the 12th Century. However, the Maxwells left the Roxburgh area (home of the Maxtons) early on, achieving their prominence and “clan” status in the Dumfries and Glasgow areas. Since the Maxtons either stayed in Roxburghshire or moved to Perthshire, both outside the Maxwell spheres of influence, it is doubtful that Maxtons ever actually “rode” with the clan.

The Maxton name derives from the barony of that name in Roxburghshire. It is thought that the name came from Maccus, the son of Undewyn, who obtained lands in that area during the reign of David I. The barony had passed out of the family by the end of the 12th Century.

Edward Maxwell, grandson of Herbert, first Lord Maxwell, acquired the barony of Monreith in 1481. His descendant, Sir Michael Maxwell still owns Monreith House in Galloway. The renowned author and naturalist Gavin Maxwell was of this family.

The name stems from residence beside a moss (or marsh). Black¹ tells us that Gregory de Mos was tenant of the Earl of Douglas of Lourchurde in 1376, among other findings.

Presumably, people living in the Maxwell-dominated area of the Solway Moss used this as their surname. Also, the shorelines of that area’s Solway Firth and River Nith undoubtedly have marshy areas from which people might have taken their name.

The Lords Maxwell held the title ‘Earl of Nithsdale’ from 1620 until 1716.

An early mention of this name in Annan is the basis for including the name among allied and dependent families of the Maxwells. Roger Pacok made a gift of six pennies annually in Annan in the 13th Century.

Black¹ lists many other mentions of the name in other parts of Scotland. For example, Pecoc was the name of a Domesday tenant in 1086; Andreas Pacok was presbyter and notary public in the diocese of St. Andrew’s, 1311-21; and the name appears often in the parish register of Dunfermline, 1561-1700. The name is also found in Edinburgh from 1598 as Pacok and Paecok. In some parts of Scotland the name is said to have been corrupted to Paik.

This name is prominent in Scottish history. It began when Peter, son of Fulbert (or Fulburt), received a grant of “Upper Pollock” in Renfrewshire from Walter the High Steward. The “Upper Pollock” land holdings were part of the extensive lands given Walter by King David I. The High Steward granted the upper part of his holdings to Peter, who was one of his followers. Peter then took his name, Peter de Polloc, from those holdings and passed it on to his descendants.

Peter’s family remained vassals of the Steward, who was the superior of Upper Pollok. That superiority was later acquired by Rolland de Mearns along with the barony of Mearns and, later, by the Maxwells of Caerlaverock on their succeeding Rolland. The Polloks of Upper Pollok thus became vassals of the Maxwells as Lords of Mearns, a vassalage which continued until the 17th Century.

The lower division of Pollok, commonly called Nether Pollok, was given by Sir Aymer Maxwell (of Maxwell, Caerlaverock, and Mearns) to his younger son, Sir John Maxwell. John’s territorial designation thenceforth became “of Pollok, or of Nether Pollok.”

The lands of Darnley formed a separate estate for many years which intersected the upper and lower divisions of Pollok. This separate estate of a younger branch of the Steward family, ancestors of the unfortunate husband of Queen Mary, was acquired by the Maxwells of Pollok about the middle of the 18th Century and thereafter was part of Pollok.

The superiority of Upper Pollok was acquired by Robert Pollok from Robert Maxwell, the second Earl of Nithsdale, about 1650, and the lands of Nether Pollok were disjoined from the barony of Mearns in 1672 by King Charles II. Those lands were erected into the separate barony of Pollok.

The name has become Polk in the United States, and the family has produced one American President: James Knox Polk. A Tennessean, Polk was the great-great-grandson of Robert Polk (or Pollok) who emigrated from Ayrshire to the American Colonies.

For more information, visit the Clan Pollock web site.

Polk is an American adaptation of the Pollok family name, the Polloks having been aligned with the Maxwells as early as the 13th Century.

The Polk name is familiar to Americans because James Knox Polk was 11th President of the United States. A Tennessean, Polk was the great-great-grandson of Robert Polk (or Pollok) who emigrated from Ayrshire to the American Colonies.

Paulk is a variation of Polk.

Rawlins [Rawlin, Rawline, Rawling] are derivatives of Raoulin (Rawle)[Fr. for Ralph]. According to Black¹, this was a noted surname within Dumfries-shire, Scotland throughout the 16th century. David Rawlynge held a “botha seu opella” in Dumfries, 1588 (Retours, Dumfries, 367). Marcus Raulling in Glencapill, 1630, Catherine Railing in Dumfries, 1642, and Thomas Rawling of Dumfries, 1696, are in the same record (Dumfries).

Rawlins is the surname most recently recognized as a family allied with the Maxwells.

This surname was connected with the Dumfries area as early as the 1500s, with Andrew Sturgioun and John Sturgioun noted in records as witnesses in Dumfries in 1544.

Records show that Agnes Sturgeon was examined for “The Test” in Tinwald in 1685, and this suggests that she and, by extrapolation, others of her name were suspected of Catholic sympathies. The Maxwells were ardent Catholics, in contrast to most of the other populace in Southwest Scotland. This, along with the linkage of geography, might explain why the Sturgeons allied themselves with the Maxwells.

Wardlaw hill is a high area near the Maxwells’ ancient Caerlaverock Castle. From the earliest times onward, it was a watch station and signal fire, and it was the traditional gathering place of Clan Maxwell in times of strife. It is from this hill that the Maxwells took their slogan: “Wardlaw! I bid ye bide Wardlaw!”

There are several other places in Scotland named Wardlaw, so there are undoubtedly Scots and persons of Scottish descent who, in actuality, have no ancestral affiliation with the Maxwells. However, those who can trace their origin to the area near Wardlaw hill near Dumfries obviously have a clear and historically significant association with the Clan Maxwell.