Feuds and reforms | 1500s

Introduction

The heyday of the Meldrum clan ended during the 1500s, when the original Meldrum estate was sold to William Maxwell of Newlands and several Meldrum heiresses transferred substantial properties to husbands from other families.

Some male Meldrums became ministers of the emerging Scottish Presbyterian Kirk (Church) which finally broke away from the Roman Catholic establishment via the Reformation Settlement of 1560, which was not ratified by Catholic Mary Queen of Scots, but was approved by her son, King James VI, in 1572.

Early 16th Century

—Sir George Meldrum of Fyvie (eldest son of William and Elizabeth) inherited the lands of Tullinabo, Carnequhyne, Ramoir and Catterloch in 1507, then the lands of Clayhills, a house and garden in Ellon, 1/6th of Rasserty, 1/3rd of Meldrum, 1/3rd of Pettalauchy, and other properties, in 1508. He was married (1483) to Elizabeth Innes, daughter of James Innes of Innes, with whom he had a conjoint charter from his father of the lands and barony of Pitcairy. They had one son, (Sir) George Meldrum of Fyvie. By 1511 he had a further charter from the Commendator of Arbroath, for the lands of Scottston, and he was knighted by King James IV. He died in 1519. [MacGregor, 2021, vol. 6, p. 810–812.]

—Sir George Meldrum of Fyvie (son of Sir George and Elizabeth née Innes), was under age when his father died in 1519 but was heir to half of the barony of Formartine, and owned the barony and castle of Fyvie via a deed signed in 1527. He married Jane Gordon in 1527 and they had five sons: William Meldrum of Fyvie; Alexander Meldrum of Leathers; Thomas Meldrum of Commalynes; George Meldrum, who became minister of the Chapel of Garrioch in 1544; and Andrew Meldrum Sir George Meldrum died by 1557. [MacGregor, 2021, vol. 6, p. 812.]

—Thomas Meldrum (second son of William and Elizabeth) inherited the lands of Eden (with a mill), Auchmoule, Strathary and Fortre of Auchmunzoche in 1508, but he died in 1513, probably at the Battle of Flodden. His lands were transferred to his only son, Patrick Meldrum of Eden, who died in 1553. [MacGregor, 2021, vol. 6, p. 810.]

—Some years before 1510, Margaret Meldrum (of Seggie) married William Bruce, a descendant of Scottish king and independence campaigner Robert the Bruce (1274-1329), and early earls of Fife. William and Margaret lived at Earlshall, near Leuchars, where they had two sons, Peter and Robert Bruce, and two daughters, Agnes (m. Scrymgeour) and Agnes (m. Maxwell). Margaret died sometime after 1522. [‘Earlshall’ in MacGibbon and Ross, 1892, pp. 282–290; ‘Margaret (Meldrum) Bruce’, WikiTree, and ‘Robert the Bruce’, Wikipedia.]

—In 1512, Bishop William Meldrum of Brechin, Angus, referred to the bishops’ residence near the cathedral as Palatium nostrum (our palace). He was a pro-Reformation bishop of a diocese that was originally Roman Catholic but later combined Episcopal (Anglican) and Presbyterian (both Protestant) protocols. He died between 1516 and 1518, about the time when Reformation leader Martin Luther published his 95 Theses. The bishops’ residence was demolished in 1771. [‘William Meldrum (bishop’, Wikipedia.] 

—During William’s episcopate at Brechin (1488-89–1514), the church chapter also employed another William Meldrum as precentor, Thomas Meldrum as subdean and John Meldrum as the prebendary of Burtergyll. [Dowden, 1912, p. 189.]

—In October 1517, Thomas Meldrum of Seggie married Janet Dischington, the second wife and widow of Sir Andrew Lundy of Balgony, who was killed at the Battle of Flodden in 1513 and was succeeded by his son, James Lundy. [Temple, 1894, p. 161.]

—In 1526, Alexander Seton, the 4th laird of Meldrum, and two relations from the Lesley family, were murdered in Aberdeen by 15-year-old John, the Master of Forbes, and his cousin, 16-year-old John Strachan of Lenturk. John’s father, Lord Forbes, paid a 500 li (pounds) fine to secure a pardon for his son from King Henry VIII. A deade later, John was falsely charged with treason and was beheaded and quartered in Ediburgh. The warring Meldrum, Lesley and Forbes families later ‘patched up’ via marriages and the Forbeses transferred their enmities to the Gordons. [MacFarlane, 1750, vol. 2, p. 10; Smith, 1875, part 1, pp. 328-329; ‘Clan feud: Forbes vs Gordon’, Clan Forbes Society website.]

—Jean Meldrum, daughter of Alexander Meldrum of Meikle Folls, married Robert, the fourth son of Alexander Lesley, the 4th laird of Pitcaple, who died in 1565, and Margaret Gordon. Robert owned the lands of Tocher in Wodset and was given Old Craigie by his father. Robert and Jean had three sons (William, George and Alexander) and two daughters. [MacFarlane, 1750, vol. 1, p. 61.]

—In June 1541, George Meldrum of Fyvie granted the lands of Meikle Darley and Little Darley Rochboy etc., in Fyvie to William Forbes, eldest son of Henry Forbes of Thainstoun, and his wife, Agneti Gordon. [MacFarlane, 1750, vol. 2, p. 230.]

—In 1544, Sir George Meldrum was sent as an ambassador to the King of England (then personally engaged in the siege of Boulogne) ‘to commune upon certain abstuence’. Of the Meldrums who owned Fyvie Castle from about 1423 [not 1433, see MacGregor, 2021, vol. 6, p. 808] to 1596, Sir George seems to have been the only laird who engaged in government service. [Smith, 1875, p. 636.] In 1547, Sir George Meldrum’s seal was blazoned (described) as: ‘quarterly: first and fourth, a demi-otter issuing from water in base, for Meldrum; second and third, three uncorns erased, for Preston’. [MacGregor, 2021, vol. 6, p. 808.]

—In 1545, William Meldrum of Fyvie (eldest son of Sir George Meldrum and Jane née Gordon) married Elizabeth Abernethy, daughter of William Abernethy, the 5th Lord Abernethy of Salton. Around this time, when his father was sent to England, he shared with his mother, Lady Fyvie, a charter from the Abbot of Arbroath, for the lands of Fyvie, Haldow, Comalyne, Maktace,, Meikle Gourdies Little Gourdies, Blathery, Comalon and other properties. When Sir George Meldrum  died in 1557, William Meldrum directly inherited the lands of Eden Mill, Auchmoule, Sturquharre, Fortre, Auchnamone and other properties. William and Elizabeth Meldrum had two sons, George Meldrum and William Meldrum of Moncoffer and Haltoun, before he died by 1562; when his widow remarried John Glamis, the 8th Lord Glamis. [MacGregor, 2021, vol. 6, p. 813–815.]

—Distinguished poet Sir David Lyndsay wrote a pair of poems in Chaucerian style, based on his knowledge of the early military and romantic dramas and late life of William Meldrum of Fife. They were named The Historie of Squyer Meldrum (covering Meldrum’s military exploits 1513-1517) and The Testament of Squyer Meldrum (covering the few years before Meldrum died around 1550.)  [Purdie, 2017; Purdie and Wingfield, 2018.]

Mid-Late 16th Century

—In August 1550, William Seton of Meldrum and Thomas Meldrum of Eden were witnesses or jurors in a case of treason against William Mackintosh. [MacFarlane, 1750, vol. 2, p. 229.]

—Janet Duncan, a Meldrum daughter, married Abram of Blackton, the fifth son of William, the 7th Lord Forbes. [MacFarlane, 1750,  vol. 2, p. 263.]

—Janet Meldrum, daughter of Alexander Meldrum of Meiklefollo, married Robert Lesley, fourth son of Alexander Lessly from Pitcaple and Margaret Gordon, a daughter of Achanachie.  Janet and Robert had three sons and a daughter. [MacFarlane, 1750, vol. 2, pp. 61, 446-447.]

—In January 1556, Alexander Meldrum of Leathers, the second son of Sir George Meldrum of Fyvie and Jane née Gordon, married Elizabeth Campbell, daughter of Sir John Campbell, the 1st Earl of Cawdor. [MacGregor, 2021, vol. 6, p. 812.]

—After Sir George Meldrum of Fyvie died around 1557, his widow, Jane, Lady Fyvie, had her liferent in Fyvie confirmed to her. She already shared with her eldest son, William Meldrum, a charter from the Abbot of Arbroath, for the lands of Fyvie, Haldow, Comalyne, Maktace,, Meikle Gourdies Little Gourdies, Blathery, Comalon and other properties. In 1582, Lady Fyvie granted a lease on the lands of Pettie to her third son, Thomas Meldrum  of Commalynes. [MacGregor, 2021, vol. 6, pp. 812, 814.]

—In the late 1500s, Thomas Meldrum of Eden, the second son of Sir George Meldrum of Fyvie, married the eldest daughter of William Leslie (Lesley) who was the Falconer to King James IV. [Douglas, Baronage, p. 29.] They had one son, Patrick Meldrum of Eden, before Thomas Meldrum died in 1577. [MacGregor, 2021, vol. 6, p. 810.]

—In 1565, Patrick Meldrum of Eden married Elizabeth Gordon, daughter of John Gordon of Tunneth. They later inherited the lands of Auchmull and other properties, from his father, Thomas Meldrum, who died by 1599. [MacGregor, 2021, vol. 6, p. 810.]