A True History Of several Honourable Families of the Right Honourable Name of Scot In the Shires of Roxburgh and Selkirk, and others adjacent. Gathered out of Ancient Chronicles, Histories, and Traditions of our Fathers. By Capt. Walter Scot, An old Souldier, and no Scholler, And one that can Write nane, But just the Letters of his Name |
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Dedicated to the Honourable and truly Noble, Sir William Ellict
of Stobs, Knight and Barronet.
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 | A True History Of several Honourable Families of the Right Honourable Name of Scot |  |
Dedicated to the Honourable and truly Noble, Sir William Ellict of Stobs, Knight and Barronet.
It's not in expectation of Reward,
That I this Book into your hands do tender;
But in my humble Duty in regard,
That I am bound my dayly thanks to render;
If my Verse be defective, and my accent rude,
My Stile be harsh, and my Learning slender,
I am defended against a multitude,
If that your Patronage be but my Defender.
This to avoid Hells-hatcht ingratitude,
My duteous Love, my Lines and Life shall be,
To you devoted, ever to conclude;
May you, and your most vertuous Lady see,
Long happy dayes, in honour still encreasing,
And after-death true honour never ceasing.
That I this Book into your hands do tender;
But in my humble Duty in regard,
That I am bound my dayly thanks to render;
If my Verse be defective, and my accent rude,
My Stile be harsh, and my Learning slender,
I am defended against a multitude,
If that your Patronage be but my Defender.
This to avoid Hells-hatcht ingratitude,
My duteous Love, my Lines and Life shall be,
To you devoted, ever to conclude;
May you, and your most vertuous Lady see,
Long happy dayes, in honour still encreasing,
And after-death true honour never ceasing.
37
Your Worships Parents were so well known by me,
That I'm bold to show them to the fourth Degree,
These worthy Families I must needs commend,
From whom Sir William Elliot of Stobs did descend:
I here set down the number what they are,
And then I'le nominate them in particular.
Thy thirty Ancestors I would have men to ken,
Thy eight great Grandsirs, and thy eight great Grandames,
Thy Grandsirs and Grandames eight, that makes twenty four,
Thy Goodsirs and Goodames four, with Father and Mother,
Thy thirty Ancestors I have set down,
And thou thy self makes thirty and one;
This true account from whence your worship sprung,
Is just to the fourth Generation of your Kin:
Thy first great Grandsir and Grandam, it's of truth,
Was Elliot of Lariston, and Scot of Buckcleugh,
To thy second great Grandsir and Grandam now I trot,
They were Scot of Hardin, and Scot of Dryhop;
Thy third great Grandsir and Grandam to their name,
Was Dowglas of Cavers, and a Sister of Cranston,
Thy fourth great Grandsir to his name,
Was Dowglas the Laird of Whittinghame,
I am not certain, yet have heard some mean,
He was married to Hepburn a daughter of Waughton;
Thy fifth great Grandsir to whom I flee,
Was Sir John of Cranston, and Ramsey of Dalhousie;
Thy sixth great Grandsir and Grandam I set down,
Was Cranston of Moriston, and Cockburn of Lanton,
Thy seventh great Grandsir and Grandam I reveal,
Was Lord Seton of Seton, and Maxwel of Maxwel,
Thy eight great Grandsir and Grandam no less,
Then Earl Bothwel and Dowglas sister to the Earl Angus.
That I'm bold to show them to the fourth Degree,
These worthy Families I must needs commend,
From whom Sir William Elliot of Stobs did descend:
I here set down the number what they are,
And then I'le nominate them in particular.
Thy thirty Ancestors I would have men to ken,
Thy eight great Grandsirs, and thy eight great Grandames,
Thy Grandsirs and Grandames eight, that makes twenty four,
Thy Goodsirs and Goodames four, with Father and Mother,
Thy thirty Ancestors I have set down,
And thou thy self makes thirty and one;
This true account from whence your worship sprung,
Is just to the fourth Generation of your Kin:
Thy first great Grandsir and Grandam, it's of truth,
Was Elliot of Lariston, and Scot of Buckcleugh,
To thy second great Grandsir and Grandam now I trot,
They were Scot of Hardin, and Scot of Dryhop;
Thy third great Grandsir and Grandam to their name,
Was Dowglas of Cavers, and a Sister of Cranston,
Thy fourth great Grandsir to his name,
Was Dowglas the Laird of Whittinghame,
I am not certain, yet have heard some mean,
He was married to Hepburn a daughter of Waughton;
Thy fifth great Grandsir to whom I flee,
Was Sir John of Cranston, and Ramsey of Dalhousie;
Thy sixth great Grandsir and Grandam I set down,
Was Cranston of Moriston, and Cockburn of Lanton,
Thy seventh great Grandsir and Grandam I reveal,
Was Lord Seton of Seton, and Maxwel of Maxwel,
Thy eight great Grandsir and Grandam no less,
Then Earl Bothwel and Dowglas sister to the Earl Angus.
38
Now to the first Grandsir and Grandam I come,
Elliot of Stobs, and Scot of Hardin;
To the second Grandsir and Grandam now I run,
Sir William of Cavers, and Dowglas of Whittinghame;
Thy third Grandsir and Grandam I must proclaim,
Was William Lord Cranston, and Sarah daughter to Sir John:
Thy fourth Grandsir was the Lord Coldinghame.
Now to thy first Goodsir I do rehearse,
Which was Elliot of Stobs and Dowglas of Cavers,
Thy other Goodsir and Goodam of much renown,
Was Mr. of Cranston, and daughter to Lord Coldinghame,
Thy Father and Mother who still lives by Fame,
Sir Gilbert of Stobs, and sister to Lord Cranston;
Although I cannot write, yet I have spent my breath,
In dilating thy Descent from good King James the fifth.
Earl Bothwel thy great Grandsir,
Was a valiant man,
He was King James the fifth
His own Natural-son.
Elliot of Stobs, and Scot of Hardin;
To the second Grandsir and Grandam now I run,
Sir William of Cavers, and Dowglas of Whittinghame;
Thy third Grandsir and Grandam I must proclaim,
Was William Lord Cranston, and Sarah daughter to Sir John:
Thy fourth Grandsir was the Lord Coldinghame.
Now to thy first Goodsir I do rehearse,
Which was Elliot of Stobs and Dowglas of Cavers,
Thy other Goodsir and Goodam of much renown,
Was Mr. of Cranston, and daughter to Lord Coldinghame,
Thy Father and Mother who still lives by Fame,
Sir Gilbert of Stobs, and sister to Lord Cranston;
Although I cannot write, yet I have spent my breath,
In dilating thy Descent from good King James the fifth.
Earl Bothwel thy great Grandsir,
Was a valiant man,
He was King James the fifth
His own Natural-son.
And now I humbly crave your Worthiness excuse,
For the boldness of my unlearned Muse,
That hath presumed so high a pitch to flee,
In praise of Vertue and Gentilitie;
I know this Task is fit for learned men,
For Homer, Ovid, or for Virgils Pen;
Boldly to write true Honours worthiness,
Whilst better Muses pleased to hold their peace;
And this much to the World my Verse proclaims,
That neither Gain nor Flattery are my ends,
But love and duty to your Familie,
Has caus'd my Muse these Lines to publish'd be:
And therefore I intreat your generous Heart,
To accept my duty, and pardon my neglects,
Bear with my weakness, wink at my defects,
Good purposes do merit good effects.
Poor Earthen-vessels may hold precious Wine,
And I presume that in this Book of mine,
In many places ye shall something find,
To please its noble well affected Mind,
And for excuse, my Muse doth humbly plead,
That ye'll forbear to judge before ye read.
For the boldness of my unlearned Muse,
That hath presumed so high a pitch to flee,
In praise of Vertue and Gentilitie;
I know this Task is fit for learned men,
For Homer, Ovid, or for Virgils Pen;
Boldly to write true Honours worthiness,
Whilst better Muses pleased to hold their peace;
And this much to the World my Verse proclaims,
That neither Gain nor Flattery are my ends,
But love and duty to your Familie,
Has caus'd my Muse these Lines to publish'd be:
And therefore I intreat your generous Heart,
39
Bear with my weakness, wink at my defects,
Good purposes do merit good effects.
Poor Earthen-vessels may hold precious Wine,
And I presume that in this Book of mine,
In many places ye shall something find,
To please its noble well affected Mind,
And for excuse, my Muse doth humbly plead,
That ye'll forbear to judge before ye read.
The Persians, Egyptians, and the Israelites,
And raging Razin, King of Aramites,
Then the Assyrians twice, and then again
The Egyptians over-run them all amain.
Then the Chaldeans, and once more they came,
Egyptian, Ptolomey, who them overcame;
Then Pompey next King, Herod last of all,
Vespasian was their universal fall,
As in Assyria Monarchie began,
They lost it to the warlike Persian,
Of Nimrods race a race of Kings descended,
Till in Astiages his stock was ended,
For Cyrus into Persia did translate,
The Assyrian Soveraign Monarchizing State;
Then after many bloody bruising Arms,
The Persian yielded to the Greeks Alarms:
But smoak-like Grecian-glory lasted not,
Before 'twas ripe it did untimely rot:
The Worlds Commander Alexander died,
And his Successors did the World divide,
From one great Monarch in a moment Springs,
Confusion, Hydra-like from self-made Kings;
Till they all wearied, slaughtered and forlorn,
Had all the Earth dismembred, rent and torn;
The Romans took advantage of their fall,
And over-ran, captiv'd and conquered all:
Thus, as one Nail another out doth drive,
The Persians the Assyrians did deprive,
The Grecians then the Persian pride did tame,
The Romans then the Grecians overcame,
Whilst like a Vapour all the World was tost,
And Kingdoms were transferr'd from Coast to Coast,
And still the Jews in scattered multitudes,
Deliv'red were to sundry Servitudes,
Chang'd, given, bought, and sold from Land to Land,
Where they not understood nor understand,
To every Monarchy they were made Slaves,
Egypt, Aram, Chaldea, them out-braves,
Assyria, Persia, Grecia, lastly Rome,
Invaded them by Heavens just angry doom;
Four Ages did the Sons of Heber pass,
Before their final Desolation was;
Their first Age, aged Patriarchs did guide,
The second reverend Judges did decide,
The third by Kings, nought, good, bad, worse and worst,
The fourth by Prophets, who them blest or curst,
As their dread God commanded or forbid,
To curse or bless, even so the Prophets did.
And raging Razin, King of Aramites,
Then the Assyrians twice, and then again
The Egyptians over-run them all amain.
Then the Chaldeans, and once more they came,
Egyptian, Ptolomey, who them overcame;
Then Pompey next King, Herod last of all,
Vespasian was their universal fall,
As in Assyria Monarchie began,
They lost it to the warlike Persian,
Of Nimrods race a race of Kings descended,
Till in Astiages his stock was ended,
For Cyrus into Persia did translate,
The Assyrian Soveraign Monarchizing State;
Then after many bloody bruising Arms,
The Persian yielded to the Greeks Alarms:
But smoak-like Grecian-glory lasted not,
Before 'twas ripe it did untimely rot:
The Worlds Commander Alexander died,
And his Successors did the World divide,
From one great Monarch in a moment Springs,
Confusion, Hydra-like from self-made Kings;
Till they all wearied, slaughtered and forlorn,
40
The Romans took advantage of their fall,
And over-ran, captiv'd and conquered all:
Thus, as one Nail another out doth drive,
The Persians the Assyrians did deprive,
The Grecians then the Persian pride did tame,
The Romans then the Grecians overcame,
Whilst like a Vapour all the World was tost,
And Kingdoms were transferr'd from Coast to Coast,
And still the Jews in scattered multitudes,
Deliv'red were to sundry Servitudes,
Chang'd, given, bought, and sold from Land to Land,
Where they not understood nor understand,
To every Monarchy they were made Slaves,
Egypt, Aram, Chaldea, them out-braves,
Assyria, Persia, Grecia, lastly Rome,
Invaded them by Heavens just angry doom;
Four Ages did the Sons of Heber pass,
Before their final Desolation was;
Their first Age, aged Patriarchs did guide,
The second reverend Judges did decide,
The third by Kings, nought, good, bad, worse and worst,
The fourth by Prophets, who them blest or curst,
As their dread God commanded or forbid,
To curse or bless, even so the Prophets did.
Good Reader, I have writ these Lines to let thee know withall,
What Desolations did in former Ages fall,
And here within sixscore of year,
By many Families it doth appear,
Who were Men of note, and their Substance did abound,
Yet to great Servitude their Children came,
But yet I think men should not fret,
For a Suspension never pays no Debt;
For if a man according to the Laws,
He be captivat for an onerous Cause,
And then from Bondage he again return,
This is no act of Credit left by him;
In Histories it's often read,
That Kings sons have been Tradesmen bred,
Crispin and Crispianus the English sing,
Was son to Brænus the British King,
Of such a change men they may admire,
From a Crown to become a Cordiner,
If his Sons son did live to be a man,
And if that he did rightly play his Game,
Durst any Poultry Pismee call him down,
By Exclamation to be a Sutors son.
These idle Questionists, and these Schismaticks,
I hold no better than rank Hereticks;
But this I think not well when honest Hearts,
Shall have this undervaluing Name without Deserts;
If every Hair upon the Heads of Men,
Were Quills, and every Quill a Pen,
Were Earth to Paper turn'd, and Seas to Ink,
And all the World were Writers, yet I think,
They could not write enough of Mischiefs strain,
Calumnious Boasters, Bloody tongued Men,
Of Persians, Pagans, Asians, or Rome,
I need not write, there's Division enough at Home.
What Desolations did in former Ages fall,
And here within sixscore of year,
By many Families it doth appear,
Who were Men of note, and their Substance did abound,
Yet to great Servitude their Children came,
But yet I think men should not fret,
41
For if a man according to the Laws,
He be captivat for an onerous Cause,
And then from Bondage he again return,
This is no act of Credit left by him;
In Histories it's often read,
That Kings sons have been Tradesmen bred,
Crispin and Crispianus the English sing,
Was son to Brænus the British King,
Of such a change men they may admire,
From a Crown to become a Cordiner,
If his Sons son did live to be a man,
And if that he did rightly play his Game,
Durst any Poultry Pismee call him down,
By Exclamation to be a Sutors son.
These idle Questionists, and these Schismaticks,
I hold no better than rank Hereticks;
But this I think not well when honest Hearts,
Shall have this undervaluing Name without Deserts;
If every Hair upon the Heads of Men,
Were Quills, and every Quill a Pen,
Were Earth to Paper turn'd, and Seas to Ink,
And all the World were Writers, yet I think,
They could not write enough of Mischiefs strain,
Calumnious Boasters, Bloody tongued Men,
Of Persians, Pagans, Asians, or Rome,
I need not write, there's Division enough at Home.
For the Elliots brave and worthy men,
Have been as much oppress'd as any Name I ken,
For in my own time I have seen so much odds,
No Elliot enjoy'd any Heretage, but Dunlibire, Fanash and Stobs;
Stobs being sine qua non, and obedient to the truth,
A beloved Sister-son to the Family of Buckcleugh:
Yet in the Border-side the Elliots did remain,
Since King Robert the first, they with him from Angus came.
The Town of Elliot was their Antiquitie,
Which stands in Angus on the foot of Glenshie,
With brave King Robert the Bruce they hither came,
Which is three hundred and eighty years agone,
In west Tiviotdale these Gentlemen did dwell,
They were twelve great Families, I heard my Goodsir tell;
Their Chief was then a Baron of renown,
Designed Reid-heugh, which is now call'd Laristoun;
Stobs and Dunlibyre is of the antient kind,
Cobshaw, Brugh, Prickinhaugh and Gorinberries gone,
Yet there's more Elliots by other Stiles that supplies their room;
Erckletoun it was long out of the Elliots name,
But now it is return'd to the self same again,
Elliot of Bewlies, some say, he's not a Gentleman,
But I protest they do him wrong to his ninth Generation;
What if a man have sons three,
Procreat and born from one belly,
Can one of them be a Gentleman,
And another be a Pesants son,
He neither descends from Kill nor Mill,
He's sprung from the Laird of Horsliehill,
Thereof his Grandsir was a younger brother-son,
Though he was Servant to the Laird of Hardin,
Hardin the foresaid William did so much esteem,
That he in Marriage his Natural-daughter did gain,
And betwixt them two was procreat I must reveal,
That Robert Elliot that lived in Borthwick-sheil,
And Robert Elliot married a gentle Dame,
Hately from the Family of Mellarstain,
Betwixt them two was procreat sure,
Good Thomas Elliot in Borthwick-sheils,
That much reliev'd the Poor,
And Thomas Elliot married then,
The daughter of the Laird Chamberlain Newton,
And procreat betwixt them be,
William Elliot of Bewlie;
William Elliot of Bewlie, ye understand the man,
He's married with the sister of Scot of Sinton,
Who him callumniats with a mis-report,
I'le say he is a Liar in his Throat;
For Romulus that builded Rome,
Was nurs'd upon a Bear, yet was a Princes son;
The Father of the Faithful, Abram, Abel, and Lot,
Were Shepherds in their time, yet Types and Patriarchs;
The Schythian Shepherd a Conqueror compleat,
Tammerlane the great, yet he attended Sheep;
He is but mala fama whatever be his Coyn,
That says that Bewlie is not a Gentleman:
Walter of Erckleton these mis-reports may clear,
For he was called nothing but Shepherd fourty year,
And yet he is the just and very man,
Whose Goodsir and Grandsir was Lairds of Erckleton;
Even though Horsliehill were to sell at this [illeg.]me,
And William Elliot were he that should it gain,
It were but a Suspension he had underline,
Being truely descended from that self same kind,
And though that his Grandsir was a Servant-man,
For the want of Means to the Laird of Hardin,
And he by his Service and good Husbandry,
Had purchased Means might set Horsliehill free;
But being not to sell he purchas'd other Lands,
Doth that make out that he's not a Gentleman,
The Elliots of the Yare they are of that same kind,
And the Elliots of Selkirk they are of the same,
If James Elliot late of Bridgeheugh be a Gentleman,
Then William Elliot of Bewlie must needs be one;
For their Grandsirs were two Brother-sons,
Though in Occupation there was difference,
The one a Magistrat in Selkirk Town,
The other kept the Sheep upon the Doun;
The one did live by Polling of the Poor,
Being Magistrat was counted great Honour;
The other was a Shepherds Swain, and reliev'd the Poor that came,
VVith Bed and Board, though but a Servant-man,
Sixty years ago I have both heard and seen,
And knew that Robert Elliot was the Laird of Hardins man,
Yet he was the Poors reliefs,
For he fed and clad them both with Flesh and Fleece,
But for the Magistrat few Poor he did relieve,
He was still ready to take, but never to give:
Sir Baillie, if't please your Worship,
Was the word of every one,
The other was Will or Hab,
Yet both from Brethren came,
Their foresaid Marriages they are set down by me,
To be a truth I will affirm, and that they are no ly;
I have both eat and drunk, and merry with them been,
All of them except the first William,
Which my Father knew, and that very well,
To be of the Family of these of Horsliehill,
And since Horsliehill was thy Fore-fathers stile,
Bewlie it hath been the same for a pretty while;
And I still do wish that Stile do remain,
With thee and with thine, till the period of time:
Yet pardon my Lines, though they be out of frame,
For I could never any write but the Letters of my Name,
And although that they be not pleasant to the view,
Yet they are both honest, modest, chaste and true;
And though Jason fetch'd his Golden Fleece from Greece,
Thy Fleece in Scotland it is many Poors relief.
Have been as much oppress'd as any Name I ken,
For in my own time I have seen so much odds,
No Elliot enjoy'd any Heretage, but Dunlibire, Fanash and Stobs;
Stobs being sine qua non, and obedient to the truth,
42
Yet in the Border-side the Elliots did remain,
Since King Robert the first, they with him from Angus came.
The Town of Elliot was their Antiquitie,
Which stands in Angus on the foot of Glenshie,
With brave King Robert the Bruce they hither came,
Which is three hundred and eighty years agone,
In west Tiviotdale these Gentlemen did dwell,
They were twelve great Families, I heard my Goodsir tell;
Their Chief was then a Baron of renown,
Designed Reid-heugh, which is now call'd Laristoun;
Stobs and Dunlibyre is of the antient kind,
Cobshaw, Brugh, Prickinhaugh and Gorinberries gone,
Yet there's more Elliots by other Stiles that supplies their room;
Erckletoun it was long out of the Elliots name,
But now it is return'd to the self same again,
Elliot of Bewlies, some say, he's not a Gentleman,
But I protest they do him wrong to his ninth Generation;
What if a man have sons three,
Procreat and born from one belly,
Can one of them be a Gentleman,
And another be a Pesants son,
He neither descends from Kill nor Mill,
He's sprung from the Laird of Horsliehill,
Thereof his Grandsir was a younger brother-son,
Though he was Servant to the Laird of Hardin,
Hardin the foresaid William did so much esteem,
That he in Marriage his Natural-daughter did gain,
And betwixt them two was procreat I must reveal,
That Robert Elliot that lived in Borthwick-sheil,
And Robert Elliot married a gentle Dame,
Hately from the Family of Mellarstain,
43
Good Thomas Elliot in Borthwick-sheils,
That much reliev'd the Poor,
And Thomas Elliot married then,
The daughter of the Laird Chamberlain Newton,
And procreat betwixt them be,
William Elliot of Bewlie;
William Elliot of Bewlie, ye understand the man,
He's married with the sister of Scot of Sinton,
Who him callumniats with a mis-report,
I'le say he is a Liar in his Throat;
For Romulus that builded Rome,
Was nurs'd upon a Bear, yet was a Princes son;
The Father of the Faithful, Abram, Abel, and Lot,
Were Shepherds in their time, yet Types and Patriarchs;
The Schythian Shepherd a Conqueror compleat,
Tammerlane the great, yet he attended Sheep;
He is but mala fama whatever be his Coyn,
That says that Bewlie is not a Gentleman:
Walter of Erckleton these mis-reports may clear,
For he was called nothing but Shepherd fourty year,
And yet he is the just and very man,
Whose Goodsir and Grandsir was Lairds of Erckleton;
Even though Horsliehill were to sell at this [illeg.]me,
And William Elliot were he that should it gain,
It were but a Suspension he had underline,
Being truely descended from that self same kind,
And though that his Grandsir was a Servant-man,
For the want of Means to the Laird of Hardin,
And he by his Service and good Husbandry,
Had purchased Means might set Horsliehill free;
But being not to sell he purchas'd other Lands,
44
The Elliots of the Yare they are of that same kind,
And the Elliots of Selkirk they are of the same,
If James Elliot late of Bridgeheugh be a Gentleman,
Then William Elliot of Bewlie must needs be one;
For their Grandsirs were two Brother-sons,
Though in Occupation there was difference,
The one a Magistrat in Selkirk Town,
The other kept the Sheep upon the Doun;
The one did live by Polling of the Poor,
Being Magistrat was counted great Honour;
The other was a Shepherds Swain, and reliev'd the Poor that came,
VVith Bed and Board, though but a Servant-man,
Sixty years ago I have both heard and seen,
And knew that Robert Elliot was the Laird of Hardins man,
Yet he was the Poors reliefs,
For he fed and clad them both with Flesh and Fleece,
But for the Magistrat few Poor he did relieve,
He was still ready to take, but never to give:
Sir Baillie, if't please your Worship,
Was the word of every one,
The other was Will or Hab,
Yet both from Brethren came,
Their foresaid Marriages they are set down by me,
To be a truth I will affirm, and that they are no ly;
I have both eat and drunk, and merry with them been,
All of them except the first William,
Which my Father knew, and that very well,
To be of the Family of these of Horsliehill,
And since Horsliehill was thy Fore-fathers stile,
Bewlie it hath been the same for a pretty while;
45
With thee and with thine, till the period of time:
Yet pardon my Lines, though they be out of frame,
For I could never any write but the Letters of my Name,
And although that they be not pleasant to the view,
Yet they are both honest, modest, chaste and true;
And though Jason fetch'd his Golden Fleece from Greece,
Thy Fleece in Scotland it is many Poors relief.
| A True History Of several Honourable Families of the Right Honourable Name of Scot | |