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A    HISTORY 


Bethttne  Family. 


Translated  from  the  French  of  Andre  du  Chesne,  with  Additions 
from  Family  Records  and  other  available  sources. 

TOGETHEK  WITH  A  SKETCH  OF  THE 

FANEUIL    FAMILY, 


WITH    WHOM*    THE     BETHUNES    HAVE     BECOME    CONNECTED 
IN    AMERICA. 


Br 

MRS.   JOHN    A.    WEISSE. 


A   HISTORY 


Bethunb  Family. 


Translated  from  the  French  of  Andri  du  Chesne,  with  Additions 
from  Family  Records  and  other  available  sources. 


TOGETHER  WITH  A  SKETCH  OF  THE 


FANEUIL    FAMILY, 


WITH    WHOM    THE    BETHUNES    HAVE     BECOME    CONNECTED 
IN    AMERICA 


I'M   !H?     I  -        H     -   ••• 

*  ■        '  '    ,  "  "    " 

_BT 

MKg.-'JOHN  'A:  WEISSE. 


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.    ,  ■        „  ■       •        *  . "     j      '. 


NEW   YORK: 

TROW'S  PRINTING  AND  BOOKBINDING  CO., 

201-213  East  Twelfth  Street. 

1884. 


«2 


.3  5"  6  3 


J  q-f.S  6 


HISTORY  OF  THE  BETHUNE  FAMILY. 


The  family  name  of  Bethttne  is  taken  from  the  city  of 
that  name  in  the  ancient  Province  of  Picardie,  France.  It 
was  called  by  the  Romans  "  Betunia  in  Gaul."  It  was  the 
chief  city  of  a  barony  belonging  to  a  family  descended  from 
the  Counts  of  Artois.  Since  the  eleventh  century  they 
have  been  known  in  history  as  the  Bethunes  of  Picardie ; 
prior  to  that  date  family  names  were  unknown. 

In  the  year  1011,  Robert,  first  of  his  name,  Baron  of 
Bethune  and  Lord  of  Richebourg,  was  chosen  "  Defender  or 
Protector  of  the  Church."  This  was  deemed  a  very  great 
honor,  only  conferred  on  powerful  princes ;  for  it  involved 
the  duty  of  defending  and  protecting  the  church  property 
and  the  interests  of  the  church  generally. 

The  Advoue  d' Areas,  as  it  is  written  in  the  old  French 
histories,  enjoyed  the  high  honor  of  having  the  banner  of 
the  church  borne  before  him  in  all  warlike  expeditions. 
Hence  Robert  1st  of  Bethune  is  called  "Faisseus"  to  in- 
dicate that  he  enjoyed  this  distinction,  and  the  band  or fasse 
in  the  shield  of  the  Bethune  arms  was  to  commemorate 
the  conferring  of  this  honor  on  him  and  his  posterity. 

In  return  for  the  services  the  Barons  of  Bethune  ren- 
dered the  church,  the  church  has  preserved,  in  its  archives, 
a  minute  and  reliable  history  of  the  family ;  so  that  we 
have  before  us  an  uninterrupted  genealogy  from  father  to 
son  from  1011  to  the  present  day,  together  with  all  the 
l 


2  HISTORY    OF   THE   BETHUNE   FAMILY. 

births,  deaths,  and  marriages,  and  an  account  of  everything 
worthy  of  note  connected  with  their  history.  A  very  large 
volume  is  the  result  of  all  this  accumulation  of  incidents 
during  eight  centuries.  The  difficulty  is  to  select  the  inter- 
esting items  and  pass  by  that  which  is  less  noteworthy. 

The  most  remarkable  feature  of  their  history  is  the  num- 
ber of  churches  they  have  built ;  the  institutions '  for  learn- 
ing they  have  founded,  supported,  and  patronized ;  the 
public  charities  they  have  started  and  kept  alive  by  their 
bounty  ;  and  the  costly  bridges,  buildings,  and  the  like  they 
have  given  to  the  public.  I  have  not  space  to  give  even  a 
list  of  them.  The  beautiful  Church  of  Notre  Dame,  in 
Paris,  built  by  Godefroy1  of  Bethune,  in  the  beginning  of 
the  twelfth  century,  is  a  fine  specimen  of  munificence. 

The  earliest  traditions  speak  of  the  family,  both  men  and 
women,  as  devoted  to  learning,  and  that  even  in  the  darkest 
of  the  dark  ages. 

1  Some  writers  call  liim  Maurice  of  Bethune.  But  as  the  statue  of  Gode- 
froy of  Bethune  was  standing  near  the  westerly  entrance  of  the  Hotel 
de  Ville,  Paris,  and  the  Parisians  stated  that  he  was  the  donor  of  the 
Church  of  Notre  Dame,  I  incline  to  think  it  was  Godefroy.  The  statue 
I  saw  in  1848  had  a  small  round  hat  and  chain  armor. — J.  L.  Weitse. 


HISTORY   OF  THE  BETHUNE  FAMILY. 


BAUDOUIN    OF    BETHUNE    AND   EICHAED 
CCEUK  DE  LEON. 


In  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  century,  when  Philip 
Augustus  of  France  and  Richard  of  England  went  to  the 
Holy  Land,  they  were  accompanied  by  Baudouin  of  Bethune, 
son  of  Robert  5th  of  Bethune.  During  the  sojourn  in  the 
East,  Baudouin  appears  to  have  attached  himself  particu- 
larly to  King  Richard,  and  they  started  on  the  return  in 
company,  and  were  taken  prisoners  together  in  Germany. 
Together  they  endured  the  detention,  and  together  they 
escaped  to  England ;  on  their  arrival,  or  shortly  after,  Bau- 
douin was  married  to  an  English  lady,  the  Countess  of  Au- 
male,  in  Normandie,  and  of  Holderness,  in  the  Province  of 
York,  England.  She  was  daughter  of  the  Count  of  Aumale, 
who  was  son  of  William  the  Conqueror's  half-sister,  who 
had  married  a  Count  of  Aumale ;  this  would  make  her  cousin 
to  King  Richard.  She  had  first  married  William  Mande- 
ville,  Count  of  Essex.  He  died,  leaving  her  without  chil- 
dren. 

The  French  historian  writes  :  "  Their  marriage  was  con- 
tracted by  command  of  Richard,  King  of  England,  ivho 
loved  Baudouin  of  Bethune,  and  had  his  arms  emblazoned 
by  the  author  of  the  catalogue  of  the  arms  of  the  Kings, 
Dukes,  Marquises,  and  Counts  of  England."  (See  du 
Chesne's  history,  p.  152.) 

The  above  events  are  related  by  Richard  Camden,  the 
English  historian,  and  by  Robert,  Abbot  du  Mont,  in  his 
"  Chronicles." 

The  name  of  Baudouin  of  Bethune,  Count  of  Aumale, 


4  HISTORY   OF   THE  BETHUNE   FAMILY. 

is  found  in  many  state  papers  in  the  reign  of  Richard  and 
of  his  brother  John.  From  his  marriage  there  were  two 
children,  a  son,  who  died  young,  and  a  daughter  married  to 
William  Marechal,  Count  of  Pembroke,  in  England ;  no  issue. 

Another  and  less  agreeable  story  is  told  of  a  lady  of 
Bethune,  young  and  beautiful,  who  was  accused  of  witch- 
craft, because  she  produced  some  important  papers  that  had 
been  entrusted  to  her  keeping,  after  they  had  been  forcibly 
taken  from  her  and  destroyed.  Probably  she,  seeing  their 
importance,  had  made  duplicates  of  them,  but  that  was  past 
belief,  and  the  King  of  France  burned  her  for  a  witch. 
Her  relatives  were  so  incensed  that  they  applied  to  Edward 
of  England  for  assistance.  The  young  and  chivalric  mon- 
arch sent  an  English  army  to  aid  the  Flemings  in  avenging 
her  wrongs,  and  a  war  between  France  and  England  of 
several  years'  duration  was  the  consecpience.  This  account 
is  from  Andrew's  "  History  of  England." 

A  very  important  fact  in  the  history  of  the  Bethunes  is 
that  twice  the  whole  fortune  of  the  family  has  rested  with 
an  heiress,  there  being  no  son  to  succeed  his  father,  and  the 
possession  going  to  a  nephew  of  the  last  possessor.  The  effect 
has  been  that  all  but  the  small  part  of  the  possessions  en- 
tailed on  the  male  heir  went  with  the  heiress  to  another 
family,  into  which  she  married.  This  occurred  first  in  1248, 
when  Robert  7th  of  Bethune  died,  and  his  eldest  daughter, 
Matilda,  married  the  Count  of  Flanders;  and  again  in  1405, 
when  by  the  death  of  Robert  Bethune,  Viscount  of  Meaux 
and  Lord  of  Vendeuil,  there  were  left  two  daughters,  Jeanne 
and  Jaqueline,  the  titles  and  a  part  of  the  estate  went  to 
the  brother  of  Robert,  namely,  John  of  Bethune.  But  a 
great  amount  of  property  and  many  large  estates  passed  with 
the  two  heiresses.  The  eldest,  Jeanne,  or  Jeannette,  married 
first  Robert  of  Bar,  Count  of  Marie,  and  after  his  death  she 
married  John  of  Luxembourg,  Count  of  Liney  and  of  Guise, 
a  very  high  connection. 


HISTORY   OF  THE   BETHUNE   FAMILY.  5 

Jaqueline  of  Bethune,  the  younger  of  these  heiresses, 
married  liaoul  d'Ailly,  Lord  Varennes,  who  was  son  of 
Baudouin  d'Ailly,  Lord  Pinqueny,  Chamberlain  to  King 
Charles  VI.     She  was  married  1413. 

These  females'  taking  the  wealth  of  the  family  into  other 
houses  was  a  cause  of  the  diminished  fortunes  of  the  French 
or  elder  branch  of  the  family.  Further,  the  grandfather  of 
the  Duke  of  Sully,  John  of  Bethune,  fourth  of  the  name, 
Baron  of  Kosny,  is  said  to  have  squandered  everything 
that  it  was  in  his  power  to  alienate,  and  in  consequence  his 
children,  although  noble  and  rich,  yet  possessed  not  the 
princely  wealth  that  had  distinguished  the  family  before 
his  day ;  he  was  sometimes  called  John  "  Lack  Land." 
His  son  Francis  of  Bethune,  Baron  of  Itosny,  inherited  from 
his  mother,  Anne  de  Melun  of  Rosny,  and  married  Charlotte 
Dauvet,  daughter  of  the  Baron  du  Pin,  "  Counsellor  of  the 
King."  She  became  the  mother  of  seven  children.  The 
eldest  son,  Louis  of  Bethune,  was  Baron  of  Rosny;  the 
second  was  Maximilian,  who  became  Duke  of  Sully,  Peer 
and  Marechal  of  France,  Sovereign  Prince  of  Henriche- 
mont  and  of  Boisbelle,  and  sixteen  other  titles,  which  all 
descended  to  his  posterity. 

We  will  relate  an  instance  of  the  high  alliances  of  the 
family : 

Jaqueline  of  Luxembourg  was  sister  to  Thibaut,  Lord  of 
Fiennes ;  they  were  descended  from  Matilda  Bethune,  who, 
about  the  year  1250,'  married  the  Count  of  Flanders. 
Matilda  was  the  daughter  and  heiress  of  Eobert  6th  of 
Bethune. 

Jaqueline  of  Luxembourg  must  have  been  a  singularly 
fascinating  person.     She  was  first  married  to  John,  son  of  ^ 
Charles  VI.  of  France ;  after  his  death  she  married,  in  1430, 
the  great  Duke  of  Bedford ;  after  his  death  she  married 
Kichard,  Lord  Woodville.     By  her  last  marriage  she  became 


6  HISTORY   OF   THE   BETHUNE   FAMILY. 

the  mother  of  the  beautiful  Elizabeth  Woodville,  who  when 
a  widow  won  the  affections  of  Edward  IV.  and  became 
Queen  of  England.     See  "  History  of  England." 

In  speaking  of  the  early  history  of  the  family  I  must  not 
omit  the  part  they  played  at  the  time  of  the  Crusades. 
In  1191  Robert  3d  of  Bethune  went  with  Robert,  Count  of 
Flanders,  to  the  Holy  Land.  So  also  did  Adam  of  Bethune, 
the  son  of  Bobert  3d ;  he  was  with  the  Count  of  Flanders  at 
the  taking  of  Jerusalem,  and  after  Godefroy  of  Bouillon 
was  made  King.  When  Godefroy  was  distributing  lands 
and  territories  among  the  most  worthy  of  the  Christian 
nobles  that  were  with  him,  he  bestowed  the  Barony  of 
Bessan  on  Adam  of  Bethune.  His  descendants  held  it  for 
centuries.  A  brother  of  Bobert  6th,  named  Con  on  of 
Bethune,  was  Lord  of  Adrianople,  in  Greece ;  some  writers 
call  him  King  of  Adrianople.  His  son,  Conon,  is  mentioned 
in  Andrew's  history  as  Regent  of  the  Empire  in  Constanti- 
nople, as  follows : 

Fage  200.  "  Yoland  (widow  of  the  Constantino- 
politan  Emperor  Peter)  dying,  Conon  of  Bethune 
takes  the  Regency  and  settles  a  dangerous  dispute 
between  the  Nobility  and  Clergy  of  the  Imperial 
city."     This  event  occurred  about  the  year  1218. 


Genealogical  Chart  of  tiie  Main  Branch  of  toe  Bethune 
Family  from  1011  to  1448. 


Number  of  the 
Generations. 


Year. 


1st.  Robert  the  first,   Lord   of   Bethune  and   of    1011 
Richebourg,  who  received  the  appointment       to 
of  "Advoue  d'Arras,"  or  Protector  aiul    1036 
Defender  of  the  CJmreh  of  Arras,  left  two 
sons:  the  eldest  succeeded  him  ;  the  younger 
founded  the  family  of  the  Lords  of  Carency. 


HISTORY   OF  THE   BETHUNE  FAMILY. 


Number  of  the 
Generations. 


Year. 


2d.    Robert  2d,  etc.,  etc.,  etc.,  "was  one  of  the  1038 

greatest  nobles  of   that  time."     So  writes  to 

Baldric,    author   of   "Chronicles"  of  that  1072 
date.     His  eldest  son, 

3d.    Robert  3d,  etc.,  went  to  the  Holy  Land  with     1075 
Godefroy  de  Bouillon  ;  so  did  also  his  two       to 
younger   sons,    Adam   and  Conon   of  Be-     1101 
thune.     Adam  founded  the  family  of  the 
Lords  of  Bessan  in  Galilee.     Conon  became 
King  of    Adrianoplo   and   was  father  to 
Conon,  Regent  of  the  Empire  in  Constan- 
tinople ;  the  eldest  son  of  the  family  was 

4th.  Robert  4th,  etc.,  surnamed  "Le  Gros."     He     1106 
married  Adelise,    daughter  of   Robert  of       to 
Peronne,    Lord     of     Warneston.       Count     1128 
Charles  of  Flanders,  in  writing  of  him,  says 
that  "  he  is  the  most  distinguished  person 
of  his  court,"  etc.     He  was  succeeded  by 
his  second  son, 

5th.  William  1st,  etc.,  etc.,  Lord   of  Warneston,     1129 
who    married     Clemence     d'Oisy,     eldest       to 
daughter  of  Simon,  Lord  ■©£  d'Oisy  and     1144 
Crevecoeur.     The  tomb  of  this  William  of 
Bethune  is  in  the  Church  of  St.  Bartholemy 
of  Bethune,  on  the  right  and  left  of  the 
great  altar.'     (See  illustrations.)     His  eldest 
son. 


1  The  monument  stands  half  on  one  side  and  half  on  the  other  of  the 
altar. 


8 


HISTORY   OF  THE  BETHUNE   FAMILY. 


Number  of  the 
Generations. 

6th 


I 


V 


Year. 

1145 

to 
1191 


Eobeet  5th,  called  "  Le-Boux,"  married  Ade- 
lide,  daughter  to  Hughes,  Count  of  St.  Pol. 
This  Eobert  went  to  the  Holy  Land  with 
Philip,  Count  of  Flanders.  He  returned  in 
1177.  He  was  father  to  Baudouin,  Count 
of  Aumale,  the  favorite  of  Richard  Cceui- 
de  Leon. 


'  Eobert  6th  died  without  children  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  brother, 

7th.   -J  William  2d,  etc.,  etc.,  who  married  Matilda,     1104 
Lady  of  Tenremonde,  only  daughter  of  Dan-       to 
iel,  Prince  of  Tenremonde ;  she  was  a  great     1214 
heiress.     They  had  six  children  ;  the  eldest^ 

Daniel  of  Bethune,  married  Eustaeia,  dangh-  1215 
ter  of  the  Count  of  St.  Pol.     He  possessed       to 

the  estates  from  1215  to  1225,  but  having  1225 
no  children  was  succeeded  by  his  brother, 

Eobeet  7th,  etc.,  etc.,  who  married  Isabclle     1226 
of    Moreaume,    daughter    of     Nicolas    of       to 
Conde.     She  died  on  [November  13,  1218,     1242 
and   has   a  magnificent  monument  in  the 
Church  of  Saint  Vaast.     They  left  an  only 
daughter,  Matilda,1  who  married  the  Count 
of  Flanders  and  carried  to  him  many  great 
possessions.     The   succession   passed    to  a 
nephew, 

1  From  this  Matilda,  who  in  the  thirteenth  century  married  the  Count  of 
Flanders,  was  descended  the  Duchess  of  Bedford,  who  by  her  last  marriage   / 
with  Richard,  Lord  Woodville,  became  the  mother  of  a  Queen  of  England,     , 
wife  to  Edward  IV. 


8th.   hj 


HISTOKY   OF  TIIE  BETHUNE  FAMILY.  9 

Number  of  the 
Generations.  Year. 

9 tli.  William  3d,  Lord  of  Molembeque.     He  mar-     1243 

ried  a  noble  and  rich   lady,  Elizabeth   of       to 

Pontrohart,   heiress   of  the   Lord  Pontro-     1255 

hart.     The    writer,   James   Meier,    in    his 

"  Annals  and  Chronicles,"  speaks  of  her  as 

an  "  illustrious  and magn ificent  lady  ;  "  says 

she  was  "  the  light  and  guide  of  all  around 

her"  of  "  unbounded  benevolence"  etc. 

10th.  "William  4th,    etc.,    etc.,    son   of   the   above,     1255 
married     Beatrice,    Lady    of    Hebuterne.       to 
Their  son,  1279 

11th.  William,  Lord  of  Locres  and  of  Hebuterne,     1294 
contracted  an  alliance  of  the  highest  order.       to 
Jeanne,  or  Jeannette,  Princess  of  France,     1340 
great-granddaughter  of  Louis  VII.,  married 
Ferdinand,  King  of  Castille  and  Leon ;  by 
this  marriage  she  became  mother  of  Ferdi- 
nand of  Castille  and  of  Leonora  of  Castille, 
wife  of  Edward  I.  of  England.     After  the 
death  of  King  Ferdinand  the  widow  mar- 
ried the  Count,  of  Ponthieu,  by  whom  she 
had   one   daughter,    Jeannette   of    Keelle, 
married   to   William   of    Bethune,    which 
brought  the  children  of  the  latter  in  close 
consanguinity  with  all  the  reigning  houses 
.  of  Europe.     Their  eldest  son, 

12th.  William  Bethune,  Lord  of   Locres,  married 

Marie  of  Eoye,  Lady  of  Vendeuil.     Their     1348 
eldest  son,  Mathieu,  died  young,  and  the 
second  son. 


10 


HISTORY   OF  THE   BETHUNE   FAMILY. 


Number  of  the 
Generations. 

13th.  John  Bethune  of  Locres,  Lord  of  Vendeuil 
aud  of  Liefontaine,  married  Jeannette  do 
Coucj,  who  was  descended  in  the  male  line 
from  the  Counts  of  Guines,  and  in  the 
female  line  from  the  Kings  of  France. 
Their  eldest  son,  Robert,  left  no  son,  and 
the  succession  fell  to  the  second  son, 


Year. 


13T3 


14th.  John  Bethttne  of  Locres,  Lord  of  Autresche 
and  of  MareuiL,  and  eight  other  titles  or 
Lordships,  many  acquired  by  inheritance 
from  his  sister,  Marie  of  Bethune,  Lady  of 
Voudenay  and  of  Baye,  widow  of  Eustache, 
Lord  Voudenay.  lie,  John,  married  Isabeau 
d'Estouteville,  daughter  to  Robert,  Lord 
d'Estouteville,  and  Margaret  of  Montmor- 
ency, descended  from  the  royal  family  of 
France.     They  had  three  sons : 


1380 

to 
1415 


Anthony,  who  died  unmarried,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  brother, 

Robert,  Lord  of  Baye  and  Marenil,  etc., 
Counsellor  and  Chamberlain  to  King  Charles 
VII.  lie  married  Michelle  d'Estouteville, 
15th.  ■  and  from  them  is  descended  (five  genera- 
tions lower  down)  the  Duke  of  Sully.  Our 
interest  now  turns  to  the  third  son  of  John 
Bethune  and  Isabeau  d'Estouteville,  namely, 

Sir  James   Bethtjitb,   who  becomes  Baron 
of  Balfour,  in  Scotland. 


1416 

to 
1470 


1  (3S 


The  continuation  of  the  genealogy  will  be  found  further  on. 


HISTOKY   OF  THE   BETH  LINE  FAMILY.  11 


SIE  JAMES  BETHUNE 

IS   CREATED    BARON    OF   BALFOUE,    SCOTLAND. 

Beginning  of  the  Fifteenth  Century. 


Extract  from  the  Funeral  Oration  delivered  by  M.  Pierre  Victor  Cayer, 
Doctor  of  the  Theological  Faculty  of  Paris,  in  the  Church  of  St.  John, 
the  last  day  of  April,  1603,  on  the  occasion  of  the  death  of  the  Lord 
James  Bethune,  Ambassador  from  King  James  of  England,  Scotland, 
and  Ireland,  near  his  Majesty,  Henry  IV.  of  France,  etc.  The  facts 
related,  he  says,  "  are  derived  from  the  papers  and  records  of  the 
deceased." 

"  In  the  Kingdom  of  Scotland  (1448),  the  question  heing 
agitated  as  to  the  marriage  of  the  King,  James  IT.,  Am- 
bassadors Extraordinary  were  sent  to  the  illustrious  Duke 
of  Gneldres  and  Julliers  to  ask  in  marriage,  in  the  name  of 
the  King,  the  Very  Illustrious  Princess  Marie,  his  daughter, 
who  was  niece  to  Philip,  Duke  of  Bourgongne  and  of 
Brabant,  a  very  powerful  Prince  in  those  times.  The  Am- 
bassadors thus  commissioned  were  the  Very  Hon.  William, 
Chancellor  of  Scotland,  the  Right  Rev.  John,  Bishop  of 
Bonquel,  and  Sir  Nicolas  d'Autriburn,  a  very  distinguished 
Knight.  They  went  to  Gneldres  with  a  great  retinue,  and 
obtained,  by  the  favor  of  the  Very  Christian  King,  Charles 
VII.  of  France,  the  Very  Illustrious  Princess  Marie  of  Gnel- 
dres and  of  Julliers,  and  escorted  her  to  the  King,  their 
master,  to  be  married  in  Scotland,  she  being  accompanied 
by  the  Very  Rev.  Bishop  of  Cambray  and  of  Liege,  together 
with  the  Very  Illustrious  Princes,  the  Prince  of  Vaire,  the 
Prince  of  Bergue,  and  the  Prince  of  Rauastain,  and  many 
great   and  valiant  knights.     Among  them   was  one  lord, 


12  HISTORY  OF  THE  BETIIUNE  FAMILY. 

distinguished  above  all  the  others,  of  the  ancient  race  and 
house  of  Bethune  of  Flandres." 

The  person  here  referred  to  was  James  of  Bethune,  third 
son  of  John  of  Bethune,  Lord  Mareuil,  and  Isabeau  d'Es- 
touteville,  and  brother  to  Robert  of  Bethune,  Chamberlain 
to  Charles  VII.     The  orator  further  states : 

"  Having  come  into  Scotland  with  this  party,  and  being 
a  gentleman  of  quality,  he  entered  at  once  into  the  good 
graces  of  the  King,  who,  wishing  to  retain  him  near  his 
person,  prayed  him  to  remain  in  Scotland,  and  gave  him  in 
marriage  the  only  daughter  and  heiress  of  the  house  of 
Balfour ;  this  house  of  Balfour  being  one  of  the  first  in 
Scotland  in  favor  and  authority  near  the  King.  The  title 
was  Baron  of  Balfour.  At  that  day,  as  in  ancient  times  in 
France,  it  was  the  highest  title.  Since  then  their  titles  have 
been  augmented  to  Counts,  Marquises,  and  Dukes,  and  they 
have  held  offices  and  maintained  their  dignities,  hereditary 
and  successive,  to  the  present  day." 

On  the  occasion  of  this  marriage  of  James  Bethune  and 
the  heiress  of  Balfour,  the  arms  of  Bethune  were  quartered 
with  those  of  Balfour,  producing  the  device  shown  in  the 
illustration,  which  has  since  distinguished  that  branch  of  the 
family  from  all  others  of  the  same  name.  The  crest  of  the 
original  Bethune  arms  was  a  peacock's  head  and  wings ;  that 
of  the  Bethunes,  Barons  of  Balfour,  an  otter's  head. 


Genealogical  Chart,  continued  from  144S  to  18G6. 

Number  of  tlio 
Generations. 

15th.  James  Betiiune,  third  son  of  John  Bethune, 

Lord  of   Baye  and   Mareuil,   married   the 

heiress  of  Balfour.     King  James  conferred 

on  him  the  title  of  Baron  of  Balfour.    Their 

eldest  son, 


HISTORY   OF  THE  BETHUNE  FAMILY.  13 

Number  of  the 
Generations. 

16th.  John  Bethune,   Baron   of   Balfour,   married 

Katharine  Sterling,  daughter  of  Lord  Keir. 

Their  son, 

17th.  John,    married     Margaret    Boiswald.     Their    ^ 
son, 

18th.  John  Bethune,  married  Elizabeth  Money- 
penny,  daughter  to  the  Lord  Moneypenny 
of  Kinkell ;  they  had  seven  sons  and  five 
daughters.     The  eldest  son, 

19th.  John  Bethune,  married  Christiana  Stewart, 
daughter  to  Lord  Rosyth.    Their  eldest  son, 


20th.  John  Bethune,  married  Agnes  Anstruther, 
daughter  to  Lord  Anstruther.  Their  eldest 
son, 


John  Bethune,  married  Elizabeth  Pitcairn, 
daughter  of  Lord  Forthor.  They  had  no 
children,  and  the  estate  passed  to  his 
brother, 


21st.    - 


Robert  Bethune,  who  married  Agnes  Trail, 
daughter  to  Lord  Blebo ;  they  had  four 
sons  and  five  daughters.     Their  eldest  son, 


22d.  David  Bethune,  married  Margaret  "Wardlaw, 
daughter  to  Lord  Torrie ;  they  had  five 
sons,  the  second  of  whom  was  Robert. 
His  great-grandson  David  comes  into  the 
estate  (1719)  at  the  death  of  the  last  male 
issue  of  the  eldest  son  John,  as  will  be  seen 


14  HISTORY   OF   THE  BETHUNE   FAMILY. 

Number  of  the 
Generations. 


Year. 


hereafter.  They  had  also  three  daughters. 
Their  eldest  son, 

23d.  John  Bethune,  married  Katharine  Haliberton, 
daughter  to  Lord  Piteur  ;  they  had  six  sons 
and  two  daughters.     The  eldest  son, 

24th.  James  Bethune,  married  Anna  Moncrieff, 
daughter  of  Sir  John  Moncrieff  and  the 
eldest  daughter  of  David  Bethune,  sixth 
Lord  of  Criech.     Their  son, 

25th.  David  Bethune,  married  Rachel  Hope,  daugh- 
ter of  Sir  James  Hope  of  Hopetown  ;  they 
had  two  sons  and  five  daughters ;  the  sec- 
ond, Anne,  married  David  Bethune,  who 
succeeded  to  the  estate  in  1719.  The  eldest 
son  of  Rachel  Hope  was 

26th.  James  Bethune.  He  married  Anna  Hamilton, 
daughter  of  General  George  Hamilton ; 
they  had  no  children.  This  James  Be-  1719 
thune  of  Balfour  died  at  Rheims,  October 
8,  1719.  By  his  death  the  male  issue  of 
John  Bethune  and  Katharine  Haliberton 
was  extinct,  and  the  succession  came  to  the 
heirs  of  the  second  son  of  David  Bethune 
and  Margaret  Wardlaw,  as  follows : 

22d.  Robert   Bethune,   second   son  of   David     1630 

Bethune  and  Margaret  Wardlaw,  married 
Marion  Insrlis,  daughter  of  Thomas  Inglis 
of  Atherney.  lie  had  two  sons  only,  who 
were  married,  namely,  David  and  William. 


IIISTOEY   OF  THE  BETHUNE   FAMILY.  15 

Number  of  the  _. 

Generations.  *ear- 

23d.  William,  the  younger  brother,  was  an  ad- 
vocate in  Craigfurdie.  His  son  George  Be- 
thune  came  to  Boston,  Mass.,  and  married 

24th.        Miss    Carey ;    their   son    George    married 

25th.        Mary  Faneuil. 

23d.  David  Bethune,  the  eldest  son  of  Marion 

Inglis,  married  Anna  Wardlaw ;  they  had 
two  sons  only  that  lived  to  be  men,  namely, 
David  and  Henry. 

24th.  David  Bethote,  son  of  Anna  Wardlaw,  suc- 
ceeded to  the  estate  at  the  death  of  James  1719 
Bethune,  who  died  at  Rheims,  1719.  He 
married  Anna  Bethune,  daughter  of  David 
Bethune  of  Balfour  and  Rachel  Hope ;  they 
had  two  daughters,  but  no  son,  and  the  suc- 
cession game  to  his  younger  brother, 

24th.  Henry  Bethune,  who  married  Isabel  Max- 
well ;  they  had  an  only  daughter,  but  no   about 
son;  so  that  the  succession  came  to  George     1730 
Bethune  of  Boston. 

24th.  Henry  Bethune,  unknown  to  his  cousin 

and  heir,  George  Bethune,  petitioned  the 
English  Parliament  to  have  the  entail  on 
the  male  heir  set  aside  in  favor  of  his 
daughter,  her  husband,  Mr.  Colgerton,  tak- 

25th.        ing  the  name  of  Colgerton  Bethune.     This 

petition  was  granted  in  favor  of  Mrs.  Col-     1740 
gerton  and  her  heirs  male,  but  no  further, 
so  that  her  heirs  failing,  the  heirs  male  of 


16  HISTORY   OF  THE   BETHUNE   FAMILY. 

Number  of  the 
Generations. 


Year. 


George  Bethune  will  come  into  the  estate. 
It  is  worth  more  than  $100,000  per  ammm. 

26th.  Colgeeton   Bethune  of  Balfour,  hy  special    1754 
act  of  the  firitish  Parliament,  and  to  the 
exclusion   of    the   heir   male,   George   Be- 
thune of  Boston,  Mass. 

Further  of  the  family  of  Colgerton  Bethune  is  not  known. 
For  the  descendants  of  George  Bethune  of  Boston,  see  "Bethunes  in 
America." 

We  have  now  given  twenty-six  generations  of  Bethunes, 
from  Eobert,  first  of  the  name  (1011),  to  that  George  Be- 
thune of  Boston,  Mass.,  who  married  Mary  Amory.  The 
record  extends  over  more  than  eight  hundred  and  forty 
years,  which  gives  about  thirty-two  years  to  a  generation. 
If  we  count  back  from  Robert  1st,  with  whom  we  began,  all 
is  clear :  he  was  great-grandson  to  Edward,  Count  of  Ar- 
tois,  who  (a.d.  870)  married  Gisela,'  Princess  of  France, 
sister  of  Charles  the  Bald  and  granddaughter  of  Charle- 
magne. From  the  Counts  of  Artois  and  the  Kings  of 
France  we  can  go  back  into  the  mists  of  tradition.  Not 
one  link  is  wanting  to  the  present  day,  and  their  history  is 
intertwined  everywhere  with  the  ruling  families  of  the 
civilized  world. 

'  About  1135  the  King  of  France  confirmed  to  William  of  Bethune  the 
right  to  wear  in  his  coat-of-arms  the  fleurs-de-lis  of  Frauce,  on  account  of 
his  descent  from  Gisela,  sister  to  Charles  the  Bald.  See  a  full  account 
of  the  ceremony  of  conferring  this  honor  in  Du  Chesne's  history. 


In  1754  Henry  Bethune  (who  had  married  a  Maxwell) 
sent  to  his  cousin,  George  Bethnne  of  Boston  (married  to 
Mary  Faneuil),  a  manuscript  pm-porting  to  contain  a  gen- 
ealogy and  historic  sketch  of  the  Bethunes  in  Scotland. 
From  that  paper  the  following  chapter  is  mainly  composed. 
It  has  been  compared  with  the  French  account,  from  which 
it  has  received  considerable  addition.  The  two  accounts 
confirm  each  other. 


18  HISTORY   OF  THE   BETHUNE   FAMILY. 


BETHTJKES  OF  BALFOUR,  SCOTLAND. 

Distinguished  Individuals  of  the  Family  from  1448  to  the  present  time. 


The  first  in  order,  as  a  man  of  note,  is  David  Betliune, 
second  son  of  John  Bethvme  and  Margaret  Boiswald.  lie 
was  the  first  Lord  of  Criech.  He  was  Controller  of  the 
Household,  and  afterward  Treasurer  of  the  Kingdom,  to 
James  IV.  See  Crawford's  history  of  his  life  as  Lord 
Treasurer.  He  was  the  founder  of  the  family  of  Criech, 
which  was  very  distinguished  for  two  centuries ;  an  account 
of  them  will  be  given  in  another  place. 

The  third  son  of  John  Bethune  and  Margaret  Boiswald 
was  Ilobert,  first  Abbot  of  Cupar  in  Angus,  and  after  of 
Melross.  The  fourth  son  of  the  same  family  was  Andrew, 
Prior  of  St.  Andrew's.  The  fifth  was  Archibald,  who 
purchased  the  lands  of  Pitlochie  and  Cape  Dree,  and  one 
of  whose  sons  settled  in  the  Isle  of  Sky,  where  his  de- 
scendants are  still  very  numerous.  From  this  hranch  of  the 
family  ivas  jjrobaUy  descended  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Bethune,' 
of  New  York.  The  sixth  son  of  John  Bethune  and  Margaret 
Boiswald  was  James  Bethune,  Bishop  of  Glasgow  and  of 
St.  Andrew's.     He  was  Chancellor  of  the  Kingdom  under 

1  This  was  the  conclusion  that  Dr.  Bethune  himself  came  to  when  dis- 
cussing the  subject  with  Mr.  George  Bethune  in  that  gentleman's  house, 
Tremont  Street,  Boston.  He  only  knew  that  his  family  came  from  the 
Islv  cf  SI,-)/.  Mr.  George  Bethune  pointed  out  to  hini  the  branch  of  the 
family  that  settled  there.  They  have  always  maintained  themselves  in 
affluence,  and  many  of  them  have  been,  and  still  are,  high  in  the  church, 
but  seem  to  have  become  disconnected  with  the  rest  of  the  family  in  Scot- 
land, of  which  they  are  undoubtedly  a  highly  respectable  branch,  and 
possess  the  quality  of  survival. — J.  L.  IK 


HISTOET   OF  THE  BETHUNE   FAMILY.  19 

James  the  Fourth,  and  after  the  death  of  his  master  was 
continued  in  office  during  the  minority  of  James  V.  He 
was  finally  Primate,  of  all  Scotland.  He  died  1522.  John 
Lesley,  Esq.,  of  Eosse,  says  of  him  that  when  he  died  ho 
was  as  loaded  with  glory  and  honors  as  with  years. 

In  the  next  generation  we  have  an  equally  large  and  dis- 
tinguished family,  as  follows :  John  Bethune,  Baron  of  Bal- 
four, married  to  Elizabeth  Moneypenny,  daughter  of  Lord 
Moneypenny ;  had  seven  sons  and  five  daughters.  The 
eldest  son,  John,  succeeded  to  the  estate  and  title  of  Bal- 
four ;  the  second  son,  James,  was  Lord  Balfarge  and  father 
to  James,  Archbishop  of  Glasgow,  as  will  he  related  in 
speaking  of  the  next  generation.     The  third  son  was 

David  Bethune,  Cardinal  of  St.  Andrew's.  His  life 
forms  an  important  part  of  the  history  of  his  country  and 
of  his  church.  He  governed  Scotland  for  eighteen  years. 
He  was  a  great  and  good  man.     See  his  "  Life." 

The  parents  of  Cardinal  Bethune,  namely,  John  Bethune 
of  Balfour  and  Elizabeth  Moneypenny,  lie  interred  in  Mor- 
kench  Church,  and  their  pictures  are  yet  to  be  seen.  The 
following  inscription  is  on  their  tomb : 

Hie  jacet  honorabilis  vir  Joannes  Bethune  of  Balfour, 
cum  Elizabeth  Moneypenny,  quondam  spousa  duti  Joannes 
qui  obiet  ami.  Dom.  1514. 

James  Bethune,  Bishop  of  Glasgow,  we  find  in  the  next 
generation  after  the  Cardinal,  who  was  his  uncle.  James 
was  son  of  James  Bethune,  Lord  Balfarge,  and  Die  Melling, 
and  grandson  of  John  Bethune  and  the  daughter  of  Lord 
Moneypenny.  "While  yet  a  youth  he  was  sent  to  France 
by  his  uncle,  the  Cardinal,  to  study  in  Paris.  Before  he 
was  twenty  the  King,  Francis  I.,  sent  him  back  to  Scot- 
land in  charge  of  troops,  to  assist  Marie  of  Lorraine, 
Queen  Dowager  and  Regent  of  Scotland.  By  the  Queen's 
favor  he  was  made  Counsellor  of  State ;  she  also  gave  him 
the  Archbishopric    of  Glasgow.     Afterward  she  sent  him 


20  HISTORY   OF  THE  BETnUNE   FAMILY. 

Ambassador  to  France,  with  Robert  Reid,  Esq.,  of  Orcliades ; 
George  Lesley,  Count  of  Rothes ;  Gilbert  Kenned,  Count  of 
Casselles,  and  other  Lords,  to  treat  of  the  marriage  of  the 
Princess  Mary  Stuart,  her  daughter — the  Queen  of  Scots — 
and  the  Dauphin,  Francis  of  France,  son  of  King  Henry 
II. ;  which  legation  he  acquitted  so  prudently  that  the  nup- 
tials were  celebrated  in  Paris,  1558,  with  the  entire  appro- 
bation of  the  great  men  of  both  kingdoms. 

Among  the  ladies  who  accompanied  the  Queen  of  Scots 
was  Mary  Bethune,  niece  to  the  Bishop  of  Glasgow. 

James  Bethune  remained  in  Paris  as  Ambassador  for  the 
affairs  of  Scotland,  near  the  Kings  of  France,  during  the 
reigns  of  Francis  L,  Charles  IX.,  Henry  III.,  and  Henry 
IV.,  and  that  of  Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  and  of  her  son 
James,  King  of  Scotland,  England,  and  Ireland.  "He 
conducted  the  affairs  of  his  embassy  with  such  singular  dis- 
cretion and  ability  as  to  secure  praises  from  both  govern- 
ments, which  is  very  rare  with  those  employed  in  affairs  of 
State."     So  says  the  French  historian,  Andrew  du  Chesne. 

When  he  had  attained  his  eighty-sixth  year  he  died  at 
Paris,  in  the  Commanderie  de  Saint  Jean  de  Latran,  April 
25,  1G03.  He  was  buried  in  the  church  of  the  same  name, 
and  the  following  epitaph  is  on  his  tomb  : 

"  Cy  gist  Reverend  Pere  en  Dieu  Ifessire  Jacques  de 
Bethune,  Archevesque  de  Glasco  en  Escosse  /  Abhedv  Nostrc 
Dame  de  VAbsie  en  Gastinc pays  de  Poictou,  Thresorier  de 
Sainct  Hilaire  le  Grande  de  Poictiers,  Prievr  du  Prievee 
de  Sainct  Pierre  de  Pontoise,  Co-nsciller  av  Conseil  d'Estat 
ct  Prive  du  Roy  dEscosse,  et  son  Ambassadeur  Ordinaire 
<ii  France  vers  sa  Maieste  Tres-Chrestienne.  Lequel  cstant 
natif  dudit  pays  dEscosse,  deceda  a  Paris  en  la  Com- 
iimnderie  de  Sainet  Jean  de  Latran  le  25th  jour  (VApvril 
Pan  de  grace  1G03,  age  de  SG  ansP 


HISTORY    OF  THE  BETHUNE   FAMILY.  21 


DAVID  BETHUNE  OF  CRIECH 

AND    HIS    DESCENDANTS. 


David  Bethune,  second  son  of  John  Bethune  and  Mar- 
garet Boiswald,  was  Treasurer  to  King  James  IV.  He  mar- 
ried Janet  Dudiston,  daughter  to  the  Laird  of  St.  Ford,  and 
purchased  the  lands  of  Criech  from  the  Lindells.  He  had 
three  children — a  son,  John,  who  succeeded  him,  and  two 
daughters. 

His  eldest  daughter,  Janet,  was  first  married  to  Lewiston 
of  Easter  Weems,  hy  whom  she  had  two  daughters,  who 
were  heiresses  of  Easter  Weems.  The  eldest  of  these  was 
married  to  Sir  James  Hamilton  of  Finnard.  The  second, 
Elizabeth,  married  to  Ramsey  of  Balmain,  and  afterward 
to  Ramsay  of  Dalhousie,  and  gave  an  heir  to  both  families. 

Janet  Bethune,  Lady  Easter  Weems,  afterward  married 
the  Earl  of  Arran  and  bore  him  several  children,  the 
eldest  of  whom  was  Earl  of  Arran,  Duke  of  Chatelherault, 
and  Governor  of  Scotland ;  the  second  was  Lord  Claud. 
She  had  also  three  daughters,  married. 

David  Bethune,  first  Laird  of  Criech,  lies  in  the  Church 
of  Morkench,  under  a  large  marble  covered  with  a  copper- 
plate, whereon  is  engraved : 

"  Hie  jaeit  David  Bethune  de  Criech  Jilius  Joannis  Be- 
thune de  Balfour,  obit  anno  1500." 

His  son  John,  second  Laird  of  Criech,  married  Janet 
Hay,  daughter  to  the  Provost  of  Dundee.  It  is  said  this 
Janet  was  exceedingly  beautiful,  and  that  young  Criech 
having  fallen  in  love  with  her,  under  promise  of  marriage 
conveyed  her  away  privately  to  St.  Andrew's.  He  lodged  her 


> 


22  HISTORY   OF  THE   BETHUNE  FAMILY. 

iii  a  house  of  that  city,  and  went  himself  immediately  to 
the  Castle  to  the  Archbishop,  who  was  his  uncle,  told  him 
what  he  had  done,  and  desired  that  he  might  be  married  to 
the  lady.  The  Bishop  at  first  refused  to  marry  them,  be- 
cause neither  of  them  had  their  parents'  consent ;  but  being 
told  that  she  desired  to  be  married,  he  sent  for  her  to  the 
Castle,  and  seeing  her  extremely  handsome,  and  they  both 
being  very  urgent  with  him,  he  made  no  further  scruple  to 
marry  them. 

The  Bishop  then  wrote  letters  both  to  his  father  and  to 
her  father,  acquainting  them  with  what  he  had  done,  and 
his  motives  for  doing  it.  This  lady's  portion  was  six  thou- 
sand marks,  at  that  time  a  prodigious  sum. 

Janet  Hay  had  two  sons  and  four  daughters ;  she  was 
herself  one  of  the  greatest  beauties  of  her  time,  and  her 
daughters  were  no  less  handsome.  The  eldest,  Janet,  was 
first  married  to  the  Laird  of  Craigmiller,  and  after  to  the 
Laird  of  Buccleuch — to  whom  she  bore  two  daughters, 
namely,  Janet,  Lady  Borthwick,  and  Dorothy,  Lady  Cran- 
ston. 

The  second  daughter  of  Janet  Hay,  Grissell,  was  married 
to  Sir  Walter  Scott,  younger,  of  Buccleuch,  to  whom  she 
bore  a  son,  Walter  Scott  of  Buccleuch,  and  daughters. 
After  the  death  of  Sir  Walter  Grissell  married  the  Laird 
of  Blackbaronie,  and  had  by  him  three  sons  and  one  daugh- 
ter, Elizabeth,  who  married  James  Bothwick  and  bore  to 
him  a  daughter,  who  married  the  Earl  of  Haddington,  by 
whom  she  had  three  daughters,  the  Lady  Lindsay,  the  Lady 
Carnegie,  and  the  Lady  Ogilvie.1 


1  When  Cardinal  Bethune  was  made  an  Abbot,  lie  bad  been  married  to 
Marion  Ogilvie  more  than  ten  years,  and  they  bad  a  large  family.  A 
daughter  of  theirs  afterward  married  the  son  and  heir  of  the  Earl  of 
Crawford.  The  Pope  granted  hint,  a  dispensation,  and  he  never  separated 
Li' j i i l  bis  family.  Defendants  of  bis  are  now  to  be  found  in  Scotland, 
and  elaim  descent  from  the  Bethune  and  Ogilvie  marriage. 


HISTORY   OE  THE  BETHUNE  FAMILY.  23 

It  was  by  the  interest  of  Grissell  Betkune  with  her  cousin, 
the  Cardinal,  that  Buccleuch  was  made  one  of  the  executors 
of  King  James  V.  It  was  soon  after  that  the  family  of 
Buccleuch  attained  their  great  riches,  and  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  their  present  grandeur. 

To  return  to  the  sons  of  John  Bethune  and  Janet  Hay. 
The  second  son,  David,  succeeded  to  the  estate,  and  went 
with  Queen  Mary  to  France  when  she  married  the  Dau- 
phin, and  returned  with  that  Princess.  He  was  Master  of 
the  Household  to  the  Queen,  and  Keeper  of  the  Palace  of 
Falkland. 

He  married  a  French  lady,  Eugenia  Ranvile,  and  had 
two  sons  and  six  beautiful  daughters ;  the  first,  Mary,  so 
much  celebrated  by  the  famous  Buchanan,  who  wrote  ana- 
grams in  her  praise.     The  others  all  married. 

The  eldest  son  of  Eugenia  Ranvile  married  the  Lady 
Euphemia  Leslie,  daughter  to  the  Earl  of  Rothes. 

David  Bethune,  sixth  Laird  of  Criech,  married  Euphemia 
Forbes.  The  eldest  daughter  of  this  marriage  married  Sir 
John  Moncrieff,  whose  daughter,  Anna  Moncrieff,  married 
James  Bethune  of  Balfour. 

The  second  son  of  Euphemia  Forbes,  David,  who  suc- 
ceeded to  the  estate,  married,  first,  Euphemia  Graham,  and 
afterward  Margaret  Cunningham,  daughter  to  the  Earl  of 
Gleucairn,  but  left  no  children,  and  disposed  of  his  estate 
by  will  to  James  Bethune  of  Balfour,  who  had  married  his 
niece,  Anna  Moncrieff.  Their  further  history  has  been 
given  with  that  of  the  Bethimes  of  Balfour. 

Personal  Appearance  of  the  Bethtjnes. 

It  has  been  remarked  that  all  families  who  for  many 
generations  have  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  education  and 
refinement  acquire  a  strong  family  likeness.  This  has  been 
particularly  noticed  among  the  English  nobility,  where  they 


24  HISTORY   OF  THE  BETHUNE   FAMILY. 

have  old  family  portraits  that  exactly  resemhle  the  present 
generation.  Certain  it  is  that  the  Bethunes  have  all  looked 
astonishingly  alike.  The  name  is  now  almost  extinct,  and 
we  may  relate  what  they  have  been  : 

They  were  of  medium  height ;  the  men  about  five  feet 
ten  inches,  and  the  women  about  five  feet  three  or  three 
and  a  half  inches ;  never  more.  Clear,  florid  complexion  ; 
many  of  the  women  wonderfully  fair,  a  certain  fineness  of 
texture  in  the  skin  very  remarkable.  They  had  dark  brown, 
almost  black  hair,  inclined  to  curl,  rich  and  abundant ; 
clear,  large,  but  not  prominent  hazel  eyes ;  profile  delicately 
Roman,  never  aquiline;  some  of  the  females  have  had  the 
Grecian  profile.  Their  limbs,  feet,  and  hands  might  have 
been  fine  models  for  the  sculptor ;  their  persons  round, 
well  developed,  and  beautifully  proportioned ;  all  of  them 
handsome,  and  scarce  a  generation  passing  without  pro- 
ducing some  individual  wonderfully  beautiful ;  and  that  has 
been  the  case  for  a  thousand  years,  as  has  been  gathered 
from  going  through  the  copious  history  of  the  family,  of 
which  the  foregoing  pages  form  but  a  short  compendium. 

See  Andre  du  Chesne's  "History  of  the  House  of  Be- 
thune."  It  is  a  quarto  volume  of  400  pages,  published  in 
Paris,  1639,  and  dedicated  to  the  Duke  of  Sully.  The 
author  writes  himself  "  Historian  to  the  King,"  and  gives 
reference  to  public  documents  and  church  archives  for  the 
facts  recorded. 


LIFE  OF  CARDINAL  BETHME. 

COMPILED  FROM  LODGE,  THE  ENGLISH  BIOGRArHER,  FROM 
ANDRE  DU  CHESNE,  THE  FRENCH  HISTORIAN,  AND  FROM 
FAMILY  RECORDS. 


Introduction. 


There  never  was  an  historical  character  more  unjustly 
treated  than  Cardinal  Bethune  has  been.  The  biographers 
everywhere  pass  over  his  life  with  a  few  lines  containing 
some  of  those  coarse  accusations  that  were  hurled  at  him 
by  his  enemies  more  than  three  centuries  ago.  There  never 
was  any  truth  in  them,  yet  they  are  repeated  over  and  over 
again.  It  was  a  cruel  age  of  the  world,  but  Bethune  was 
not  responsible  for  its  cruelty.  That  this  injustice  still  fol- 
lows his  name  seems  the  more  surprising  because  Edmond 
Lodge,  F.S.A.,  published  in  London,  1821,  a  "Life  of  Car- 
dinal Bethune," '  that  was  clear  and  explicit,  and  showed  a 

1  The  following  is  the  opening  of  Lodge's  "  Life  of  Bethune  "  :  "David 
Bethune,  for  his  talents,  for  the  loftiness  of  his  spirit,  for  his  complete 
monopoly  of  royal  favor,  and  his  unbounded  power  in  the  government 
both  of  Church  and  State,  may  be  not  unaptly  called  the  Wolsey  of  Scot- 
land ;  but  he  was  not,  like  that  great  man,  the  child  of  obscurity,  nor  the 
builder,  from  the  foundation,  of  his  own  fortunes.  His  family  was  even 
illustrious,  for  he  was  descended  from  the  old  French  house  of  Bethune, 
connected  by  more  than  one  marriage  with  the  ancient  Earls  of  Flanders, 
and  celebrated  for  having  produced,  among  other  branches  dignified  with 
the  same  high  rank,  that  of  the  ever  memorable  Maximilian,  Duke  of 
Sully." 


26  LIFE   OF   CARDINAL   BETIIUNE. 

great  and  good  man  doing  his  best  to  give  peace  to  a  country 
torn  by  two  exasperated  and  contending  parties.  Lodge's 
Biographies  are  considered  reliable  works.  Yet  the  light 
lie  throws  on  Bethune' s  career  has  not  penetrated  to  a  single 
biographical  dictionary ! 

Bethune  was  placed  between  two  fanatical  and  highly  ex- 
cited factions,  and  suffered  from  both.  The  Church  party 
pushed  him  forward  to  put  down  the  disturbers  of  the 
peace,  who  were  avowedly  attempting  revolution  ;  but  he 
positively  refused  to  act  alone.  He  convened  a  council  of 
the  entire  government  of  Church  and  State,  and  before  this 
august  court  all  trials  took  place.  He  saw  that  "no  one 
roas  persecuted  for  his  religious  belief."  Only  those  who 
had  instigated  the  masses  to  crime  and  bloodshed  were  put 
on  trial.  There  existed  a  very  remarkable  state  of  affairs : 
the  so-called  Reformers  in  Scotland  in  the  fifteenth  century 
were  excited  to  violence  by  a  few  men,  perfectly  insane  in 
their  vehemence  of  exhortation,  urging  their  hearers  to  a 
bloody  revolution.  Until  these  men  were  silenced  the  peo- 
ple, who  at  that  time  were  very  ignorant,  could  not  be  held 
sufficiently  within  bounds  to  secure  the  safety  of  the  reign- 
ing family,  and  prevent  the  Catholics,  who  were  the  wealthy 
and  educated,  from  being  driven  out  of  the  country.  On 
Bethune  devolved  the  duty  of  keeping  the  peace.  He  did 
not  seize  the  ignorant  rustic  taken  red-handed  for  murder 
(had  he  done  so  the  executions  would  have  been  innumer- 
able), nor  did  he  arrest  the  leaders  of  a  mob  burning  a 
church ;  but  he  sought  out  the  individual  who  had  exhorted 
them  to  do  those  things,  and  had  him  tried  first,  making 
him  answer  for  the  ignorant  crowd  he  had  set  on  to  crime. 
By  this  means  four  executions  in  eighteen  years  restored 
tranquillity  to  the  country. 

As  to  the  charge  of  cruelty  brought  against  him,  he  vir- 
tually abolished  the  death  penalty  from  the  laws  of  Scot- 
land.    Lodge,  the  historian,  says  that  during  the  eighteen 


LIFE   OP   CARDINAL   BETHUNE.  27 

years  that  he  was  in  power  there  were  but  six  executions 
(four  were  for  exhorting  to  bloodshed  and  two  for  other 
crimes);  during  the  same  time  in  England  there  were  more 
than  six  thousand.  A  man  had  to  be  ingenious  in  crime  to 
get  himself  condemned  to  death  under  his  administration. 
To  kill  in  anger  or  to  plot  treason  would  not  make  sure  of 
it — it  must  be  proved  before  the  highest  court  in  the  land 
that  the  individual  had  exhorted  crowded  audiences  to  vio- 
lence and  bloodshed.  Even  then  a  chance  was  given  him 
for  life ;  he  was  told  if  he  would  give  assurance  that  he 
would  cease  to  be  a  preacher,  for  which  he  had  shown  him- 
self unfit,  his  sentence  should  be  commuted  to  a  short  im- 
prisonment. But  the  insane  fanatics  wanted  to  he  martyrs, 
and  in  a  few  instances  they  succeeded.  It  was  a  cruel  age 
of  the  world ;  the  laws  applied  savage  punishments ;  but 
those  laws  were  made  before  Bethune  was  born.  That  he 
refused  to  act  alone,  and  convened  an  august  court  to  try, 
judge,  and  sentence,  did  not  prevent  the  whole  weight  of 
abuse  being  thrown  on  him  ;  he  was  murdered  before  the 
world  had  found  out  that  he  could  not  have  done  more  than 
he  did  when  he  threw  the  whole  responsibility  on  the  united 
wisdom  of  the  nation.1 

In  this  "  Life  of  the  Cardinal "  I  have  first  shown  who 
he  was,  and  then  tried  to  explain  how  it  was  that  his  bril- 
liant intellect  and  commanding  character  caused  him  to  be 
selected  by  Catholic  Europe  to  counteract  the  growing  power 

'See  Lodge's  "Life  of  Cardinal  Bethune,"  which  I  have  followed 
closely  except  where  it  differed  from  "family  traditions."  Where  our 
accounts  vary  is  in  regard  to  the  time  when  Bethune  entered  the  Church. 
Lodge  says  "  he  was  educated  for  the  Church."  The  fact  is  he  was  edu- 
cated for  a  diplomat,  and  was  resident  minister  near  the  Court  of  France, 
and  had  for  ten  years  been  living  in  Paris  with  his  family,  when  the 
Pope  made  him  an  Abbot.  Lodge  himself  confirms  my  account  when  he 
says  that  the  Pope,  when  he  made  him  an  Abbot  in  152S,  granted  him  dis- 
pensation for  his  past  unclerical  life.  No  dispensation  would  have  been 
required  if  he  had  been  "  educated  for  the  Church." 


28  LIFE  OF   CARDINAL   BETHUNE. 

of  Henry  VIII.  and  stand  between  the  infant  Mary  Queen 
of  Scots  and  her  blood-stained  uncle,  who  wished  to  many 
her  (while  yet  in  her  cradle)  to  his  own  son  Edward.  Her 
fate  would  have  been  very  doubtful  if  once  in  Henry's 
hands,  for  she  was  all  that  stood  between  him  and  the  throne 
of  Scotland. 

The  following  "  life "  is  virtually  only  an  abridgment  of 
that  by  Lodge,  and  for  the  most  part  the  appropriations  are 
acknowledged  by  quotation  signs.  It  is  interwoven  with 
family  history,  of  which  Lodge  appears  to  know  very  little. 
The  rest  is  translated  from  the  French  of  Andre  du  Chesne. 
All  I  have  done  is  to  make  one  clear  narrative  from  facts 
derived  from  these  three  different  sources. 


LIFE  OF   CARDINAL   BETHUNE.  29 


LIFE  OF  CARDINAL  BETHUNE. 


David  Bethune,1  born  1494,  was  son  of  John  Bethune 
of  Balfour  and  Elizabeth  Moneypenny,  daugliter  of  David 
Moneypenny  of  Pitinilly,  in  the  County  of  Fife.  lie  had 
an  uncle,  James  Bethune,  who  was  Archbishop  of  St.  An- 
drew's and  Primate  of  all  Scotland.  This  uncle  was  very 
wealthy,  and  David  was  his  adopted  son  and  heir.  He  re- 
ceived an  admirable  education  in  the  University  of  St.  An- 
drew's, under  the  eye  of  his  uncle,  who  afterward  sent  him 
to  Paris,  with  the  double  view  of  completely  qualifying  him 
for  the  duties  of  a  statesman  and  to  Introduce  him  advan- 
tageously to  the  Duke  of  Albany,  who  resided  in  Paris  and 
was  about  to  accept  the  office  of  Regent  of  Scotland  during 
the  minority  of  his  great-nephew,  James  IV.  The  Duke 
received  him  graciously  and  at  once  employed  him  in  sev- 
eral affairs  at  the  Court  of  France,  in  which  the  interests  of 
Scotland  were  involved ;  and  upon  the  death  of  the  resident 
minister  in  Paris,  appointed  him  to  that  office.  Some  writ- 
ers have  fallen  into  the  error  of  supposing  that  Bethune  was 
educated  for  the  cloister.  Such  a  supposition  was  highly 
improbable ;  he  was  heir  to  his  wealthy  uncle,  the  Arch- 
bishop, and  surrounded  by  powerful  friends.  The  honors 
of  the  Church  were  conferred  upon  him  in  middle  life,  to 
give  him  power  in  Church  and  State  to  control  completely 

1  The  Bethunes,  when  in  Scotland,  were  in  the  habit  of  writing  their 
name  Beatoun,  in  order  that  it  might  be  pronounced  with  the  French 
accent,  while  out  of  Scotland  the  same  individuals  wrote  it  Bethune. 
This  usage  has  long  since  been  dropped,  and  with  it  the  fashion  of  pro- 
nouncing with  the  French  accent. 


30  LIFE   OF   CARDINAL   BETHUNE. 

the  Government  of  Scotland.  Any  supposition  that  lie  was 
educated  for  the  Church  is  entirely  done  away  with  by  the 
fact  that  early  in  life  he  married  a  lady  of  noble  family, 
Marion  Ogilvie,'  and  one  of  the  last  acts  of  his  life  was  to 
give  a  princely  entertainment  on  the  occasion  of  the  mar- 
riage of  his  daughter  to  the  son  and  heir  of  the  Earl  of 
Crawford.  It  was  a  period  of  great  and  pressing  exigency ; 
the  Church  had  need  of  the  best  talent  the  world  could  af- 
ford to  head  the  French  party,  which  was  also  the  Church 
party  in  Scotland.  Bethune  was  exactly  the  man  for  the 
position,  and  the  circumstance  that  he  was  married  was  not 
allowed  to  interfere  with  his  usefulness.  The  Pope  could 
grant  dispensation  for  his  being  married,  as  the  historian 
relates  that  he  certainly  did  in  respect  to  his  appointment 
to  the  rich  and  mitred  Abbey  of  Aberbrothock,  in  Scotland. 
"  The  Pope  granted  him  dispensation,  waiving  the  forms  of 
acceptance  required  by  the  Church." J 

In  1525  Bethune,  after  a  residence  of  ten  years  in  Paris, 
returned  to  Scotland  and  took  his  seat  in  Parliament.  He 
had  not  been  many  weeks  in  the  country  when  he  was 
appointed  one  of  the  six  members  of  that  body  to  whom 
the  charge  of  the  King's  person  and  education  was  com- 
mitted. Younger,  more  polished  and  cultivated  than  his 
colleagues,  it  is  not  strange  that  James  should  have  selected 
him  from  them  as  his  companion  and  confidant.  As  the  mind 
of  the  King  advanced  to  maturity,  to  these  lighter  impressions 
was  added  the  weight  of  Bethune's  splendid  abilities,  and 

1  Descendants  of  the  Cardinal  are  still  living  in  Scotland  and  are  very 
proud  of  their  ancestry,  both  Bethunes  and  Ogilvies,  and  know  perfectly 
well  the  circumstances  that  Bethune  was  a  married  man,  past  thirty-two 
years  of  age,  when  the  Pope  made  him  first  an  Abbot  and  then  a  Cardinal, 
to  give  him  power,  both  in  Church  and  State,  to  govern  Scotland.  "The 
Popo  granted  him  dispensation  for  his  unclerical  life."  He  was  married 
before  ho  left  Scotland.  His  children  were  all  born  in  Paris,  whero  he 
was  resident  minister  from  Scotland. 

:  Quoted  from  Lodge. 


LIFE  OF   CARDINAL   BETHUNE.  31 

motives  of  policy  soon  after  intervened  on  either  side  to  con- 
summate the  ascendancy  which  he  at  length  gained.  In  the 
meantime  Angus,  who  had  governed  not  only  the  realm,  but 
the  King,  with  a  control  too  sharp  and  haughty  to  be  lasting, 
was  overthrown.  Ultimately  Bethune  was  placed  in  the 
office  of  "Lord  Privy  Seal,"  that  appointment  which, 
under  the  Scottish  monarchy,  actually  invested  him  with 
unlimited  power.  From  that  date  (152S)  he  undoubtedly 
was  the  King's  chief  minister  and  favorite.  He  now  pressed 
for  a  special  legatine  commission,  but  the  Pope  answered 
that  the  primacy  annexed  to  his  see  constituted  him  what, 
in  the  language  of  the  Church,  was  termed  "  Legatus  natus" 
and  invested  him  with  sufficient  authority.  James,  who 
had  at  first  seconded  his  suit  for  that  distinction,  seems  to 
have  desisted  at  the  request  of  Henry  VIII.,  who  now  con- 
sidered Bethune  a  formidable  adversary  and  had  dispatched 
to  Scotland  Sir  Balph  Sadlier,  a  minister  of  great  acuteness, 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  effecting  his  ruin  ;  and  James,  though 
he  refused  with  a  laudable  firmness  to  listen  to  insinuations 
against  a  favorite  servant,  which  were  not  only  malicious, 
but  unfounded,  perhaps  yet  deemed  it  prudent  to  concede 
in  this  single  instance  to  the  angry  feelings  of  his  uncle.  A 
most  exact  and  very  curious  recital  of  Sadlier's  conversations 
with  James  on  the  subject  of  his  mission,  highly  creditable 
as  well  to  the  heart  as  to  the  understanding  of  the  Prince, 
may  be  found  in  a  letter  of  great  length  from  the  ambas- 
sador to  his  master,  in  the  publication  of  "  Sadlier's  State 
Papers." 

As  regards  the  disturbances  in  Scotland  at  that  time, 
where  the  Reformers  had  become  violent,  Bethune  seems  to 
have  determined  to  prove  the  degree  of  that  power  to  re- 
press them  which  the  Pope  had  decided  to  be  sufficient. 
But  instead  of  acting  alone  on  any  authority  that  the  Pope 
had  conferred  upon  him,  he  threw  the  whole  responsibility 
on  the  assembled  magnates  of  the  country. 


32  LIFE   OF   CARDINAL   BETHUNE. 

In  the  spring  of  15i0  he  went  to  St.  Andrew's  with  a 
pomp  and  splendor  winch  had  never  before  been  used  by 
any  Primate  of  Scotland,  attended  by  a  numerous  train  of 
the  first  nobility  and  gentry,  by  the  Archbishop  of  Glasgow, 
Lord  Chancellor,  many  other  prelates,  and  nearly  the  whole 
body  of  the  clergy ;  evidently  intending  that  the  responsi- 
bility of  what  was  there  done  should  be  shared  by  all. 
Having  arrived,  he  convened  them  in  a  sort  of  general 
ecclesiastical  council  in  the  Cathedral.  lie  then  represented 
to  them  the  imminent  perils  which  threatened  the  Church 
and  the  great  danger  that'  menaced  the  Government: 
churches  were  being  demolished  and  armed  mobs  were 
spreading  ruin  broadcast.  He  laid  before  them  the  meas- 
ures he  had  devised,  and  his  suggestions  were  received  with 
unanimous  approbation.  Thus  supported,  the  Cardinal  pro- 
ceeded to  arrest  those  who  had  been  active  in  urging  on 
the  populace  to  violence  and  bloodshed,  and  very  naturally 
drew  upon  himself,  from  the  so-called  Reformers,  the  odium 
of  a  persecutor.  "  But  those  who  will  take  the  trouble  to 
disentangle  the  truth  from  the  jarring  and  obscure  historical 
accounts  of  that  time,  will  find  it  to  have  been  unjustly  cast 
upon  him."  I  am  quoting  from  Lodge's  "  Life  of  Bethune." 
He  further  says :  "  The  most  romantic  tales  have  been  told  of 
his  furious  severity.  Buchanan,  who  was  himself  imprisoned 
for  alleged  treason,  tells  absurd  stories  to  show  the  enormous 
cruelty  of  his  natural  disposition  ;  but  the  stories  are  in  no 
way  supported  by  any  other  writer  of  that  time."  "  The 
best  apology  for  Bethune's  memory  with  respect  to  such 
charges  is  in  the  historical  fact,  that  only  four  persons 
suffered  death  during  his  long  government  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland  ;  he  never  persecuted  for  ojnniorfs  sake." 

A  glance  at  English  history  at  the  time  Bethune  was  at 
the  head  of  the  Government  in  Scotland  will  show  a  con- 
trast very  much  to  his  credit.  During  those  eighteen  years 
in  England  executions  occurred  by  the  thousands ;  one  day 


LIFE   OF   CARDINAL   BETHtTNE.  33 

it  was  a  Catholic,  the  next  it  was  a  Protestant,  who  was 
burned  at  the  stake ;  and  the  number  of  nobles  beheaded 
yearly  forms  a  roll  that  it  is  sickening  to  contemplate.  At 
the  same  time,  under  Bethune's  rule  in  Scotland,  no  crime 
was  severely  punished  except  exhorting  a  mob  to  commit 
arson  and  murder. 

There  was  positively  no  persecution  for  opinion's  sake. 
All  that  was  required  was  to  keep  the  peace  and  not  stir  up 
the  people  to  revolution.  It  is  only  after  realizing  the  ex- 
isting state  of  society  at  that  day  tbat  we  can  justly  estimate 
the  character  that  upheld  the  dynasty  and  protected  the 
established  Church  without  unnecessary  severity.  Reforma- 
tion at  that  time  only  meant  pulling  down  and  destroying : 
it  was  before  the  era  of  a  reasonable  reformed  Church  ;  it 
was  twenty-three  years  before  the  reign  of  Elizabeth.  There 
was  ?w  reformed  Church  to  persecute.  It  certainly  is  a  mis- 
nomer to  call  men  reformers  who  were  trying  to  raise  mobs 
armed  with  knife  and  firebrand  to  drive  quiet  Catholic 
gentlemen  out  of  the  country.  Were  the  same  sort  of  men 
to  appear  now  we  should  not  call  them  "  reformers?  Three 
hundred  years  ago  Bethune  (in  the  emergency)  convened  a 
bigh  court  and  had  the  offenders  brought  to  trial ;  when 
they  were  condemned  he  saw  that  they  were  executed. 
Four  men  only  suffered  the  death  penalty  in  the  eighteen 
years  he  was  in  power.  All  disorders  were  arrested  ;  none 
but  the  instigators  to  violence  were  punished.  It  does  not 
seem  as  though  he  could  have  done  any  better  than  he  did. 

As  far  as  we  may  judge  from  his  public  speeches  yet  ex- 
tant, his  own  religious  ideas  were  very  liberal ; .  his  theme 
was  usually  the  paramount  duty  of  preserving  a  strict  mo- 
rality ;  no  religious  observances  would  dispense  with  strict 
moral  deportment;  God  and  man  demanded  thus  much  from 
every  human  being;  after  that  each  was  at  liberty  to  enter- 
tain such  opinions  as  his  conscience  dictated.  This  and  the 
like  were  the  sentiments  that  ran  though  all  he  said.  His 
3 


34  LIFE   OF   CARDINAL   BETHUNE. 

denunciations  were  against  those  who,  under  the  guise  of 
preachers  of  religion,  exhorted  crowds  to  commit  atrocious 
crimes.  He  had  such  persons  sought  out.  arrested,  and  tried 
by  an  august  court,  and  when  convicted  and  sentenced,  he 
saw  to  it  that  they  were  executed  ;  four  such  executions 
restored  peace  to  the  country.  He  constantly  reiterated 
that  every  man  might  entertain  such  religious  opinions  as 
he  preferred:  no  man  should  be  persecuted  for  his  belief. 
More  liberality  could  not  be  asked  in  any  age  of  the  world ! 

In  the  meantime  the  influence  of  Bethune  over  the  mind 
of  the  King  his  master  was  unbounded ;  in  all  political  as  well 
as  religious  matters  James  obeyed  him  with  the  subser- 
viency of  a  pupil.  This  influence  subsisted  to  the  last  day  of 
the  Prince's  life.  A  few  hours  before  his  death,  Bethune 
induced  him  to  sitrn  a  will '  nominating  himself  and  the 
Earls  of  Argyll,  Huntly,  and  Arran  a  council  of  regency  to 
govern  the  country  in  the  name  of  the  infant  Mary. 

For  the  short  remainder  of  Bethune's  life  he  swayed  the 
will  of  the  regent  with  a  power  even  more  unlimited  than 
that  to  which  the  late  King  had  yielded.  He  demanded 
from  the  regent  to  solicit  for  him  at  Home  the  appointment 
of  Legate  a  Latere.  The  request  was  made,  and  seems  to 
have  been  granted  without  hesitation,  and  he  was  raised  to 
that  superb  ecclesiastical  station  on  January  13,  1543.  lie 
commenced  without  delay  the  exercise  of  the  extensive 
faculties  with  which  it  invested  him,  and  held  a  solemn 
visitation  to  his  own  diocese,  attended  by  the  regent  and 
others  of  the  highest  public  functionaries  in  the  realm,  to 
inquire  into  the  state  of  affairs.     He  endeavored  to  reclaim 


1  The  validity  of  this  instrument,  which  had  been  solemnly  proclaimed 
in  Edinburgh,  was  presently  questioned  by  the  English  faction,  and  soon 
after  annulled,  on  the  coarse  and  ready  pretence  that  it  had  been  forged 
by  tli'1  Cardinal.  No  steps  were  taken  to  prove  this  charge,  and  indeed  it 
seems  to  have  been  a  mere  invention  to  apologize  for  depriving  him  of 

|IM»,     1 


LIFE   OF   CARDINAL  BETHUNE.  35 

the  moderate  by  arguments  and  proceeded  with  severity 
against  a  few  self -devoted  zealots,  whose  furious  demeanor 
had  left  him  no  choice  but  to  abandon  them  or  his  Church 
to  inevitable  destruction.  "  He  punished  not  for  espousing 
the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation.,  hut  for  having  insidted  by 
the  grossest  indecencies  the  established  ivorshij?  of  the  land  " 
(Quoted  from  Lodge).  On  his  return  he  convened  an  assem- 
bly of  the  clergy  at  Edinburgh,  which  he  opened  with  a 
speech  of  distinguished  impartiality. 

"  Christianity,"  he  said,  "  labored  under  the  greatest  peril, 
for  which  he  knew  of  but  two  remedies,  each  of  which  he 
had  resolved  to  administer :  the  one  a  vigorous  prosecution 
of  all  who  would  destroy  the  established  order  of  things, 
and  the  other  a  reformation  of  the  scandalous  and  immoral 
lives  of  the  Catholic  clergy,  which  had  furnished  an  ample 
pretext  for  separation." ' 

Bethune  was  universally  envied  for  his  greatness,  con- 
stantly opposed  by  a  powerful  party  in  the  State  and  by  an- 
other not  less  formidable  in  the  Church.  The  great  man 
was  destined  to  fall  by  the  hands  of  assassins  actuated  by 
motives  of  anger  for  private  causes. 

"  On  May  29, 1546,  five  gentlemen,  Norman  Lesley,  eldest 
son,  and  John  Lesley,  brother  to  the  Earl  of  Rothes  ;  Win. 
Kirkaldy  of  Grange,  Peter  Carmichael  of  Fife,  and  James 
Melville,  having  previously  concerted  their  plan  with  great 
circumspection,  entered  the  Castle  of  St.  Andrew's  early  in 
the  morning,  with  very  few  followers.  Having  secured  the 
porter,  by  whom,  as  he  knew  all  of  them,  they  had  been 
readily  admitted  within  the  walls,  they  appointed  four  of 
their  company  to  watch  the  chamber  where  the  Cardinal 
lay,  that  no  advertisement  should  go  unto  him,  and  then 
went  to  the  several  chambers  where  the  servants  lay  asleep, 
and  calling  them  by  their  names,  for  they  were  all  known 

1  Quoted  from  Lodge. 


36  LIFE   OF   CARDINAL  BETHUNE. 

unto  them,  put  fifty  of  his  ordinary  servants  besides  the 
workmen,  masons,  and  wrights,  who  were  reckoned  above  an 
hundred  (for  he  was  fortifying  the  Castle),  to  the  gate,  per- 
mitting none  to  stay  within  but  the  Governor's  eldest  son, 
whom  they  thought  best  to  detain  upon  all  adventures.  This 
was  performed  with  so  little  noise  as  the  Cardinal  did  not 
hear  till  they  knocked  at  his  chamber.  Then  he  asked  who 
was  there  ?  John  Lesley  answered,  My  name  is  Lesley. 
Which  Lesley  ?  said  the  Cardinal ;  is  that  Korman  ?  It  was 
answered  that  he  must  open  to  those  that  were  there.  The 
answer  gave  him  notice  that  they  were  no  friends  ;  therefore, 
making  the  door  fast,  he  refused  to  open.  They  called  to 
bring  fire  ;  whilst  it  was  in  fetching  he  began  to  commune 
with  them,  and  after  some  speeches,  upon  their  promise  to 
use  no  violence,  he  opened  the  door,  but  they  rushing  in  with 
swords  drawn  did  most  inhumanly  kill  liim,  he  not  making 
any  resistance."  ' 

"  Thus  fell  perhaps  the  greatest  man  in  every  point  of 
consideration  that  his  country  ever  produced.  In  the  story 
of  one  of  whom  so  much  had  been  told,  and  that  too  by  his 
enemies,  it  is  at  all  events  unlikely  that  any  just  dispraise 
should  have  been  omitted." a 

Mary,  Queen  of*  Scots,  is  said  to  have  been  so  fond  of 
the  Cardinal  that  after  her  own  father's  death  she  called 
him  her  adopted  father.  She  had  a  likeness  of  him 
painted  and  hung  in  her  private  apartment  in  the  palace  of 
Holy  Rood,  and  there  it  hangs  at  the  present  day,  yet  four 
centuries  have  rolled  past  since  the  violent  deaths  of  both 
Cardinal  and  Queen.  It  seems  time  that  calumnies  and 
false  accusations  should  be  put  aside,  and  we  should  be 
allowed  to  look  back  on  them  as  they  were  in  real  life ;  the 
beautiful  child  Queen  and  her  faithful  guide  aud  protector. 

At  the  time  when  the  Pope,  the  King  of  France,  and  the 


1  Quoted  from  Spotswood.  !  Quoted  from  Lodge. 


LIFE  OF   CARDINAL   BETHTJNE.  37 

Emperor  of  Germany  saw  the  necessity  of  placing  Bethnne 
at  the  head  of  the  Government  in  Scotland,  he  had  been 
ten  years  in  Paris  and  was  resident  minister  from  Scotland 
near  the  Court  of  France ;  certainly  more  pleasantly  situated 
than  he  could  be  at  the  turbulent  Scottish  court,  trying  to 
prevent  revolution  and  making  strenuous  efforts  to  reform 
the  lives  of  the  clergy  of  that  day.  The  honors  the  Pope 
conferred  on  him  at  that  time  were  to  strengthen  his  hands 
to  act  as  a  reformer  and  give  him  unlimited  power  in  Church 
and  State.  In  his  address  to  the  clergy  at  Edinburgh  he 
says  he  has  two  objects,  the  "  one  to  punish  all  who  would 
overthrow  the  established  order  of  things ;  the  other  to  re- 
form the  abuses  in  the  Church  and  correct  the  scandalous 
lives  of  the  clergy." 

Bethune  was  enlightened  and  refined,  the  worthy  son  of 
noble  philanthropic  ancestors  who  had  for  centuries  been 
heaping  benefits  on  their  fellow-men.  Let  us  deal  justly 
with  his  character :  he  governed  Scotland  for  nearly  eighteen 
years;  it  was  a  time  unsurpassed  for  dangerous  complica- 
tions ;  every  element  of  society  was  in  a  ferment,  yet  so  ad- 
mirable were  the  foreign  relations,  and  with  so  firm  a  hand 
was  every  department  of  the  home  Government  sustained, 
that  had  he  not  been  murdered  successful  disorders  could 
not  have  gained  headway.  The  most  blinded  by  prejudice 
could  see  that  the  object  of  his  life  was  to  uphold  the  dy- 
nasty to  which  he  was  pledged,  and  rule  justly  the  country 
over  which  he  was  placed.  Scotland  was  misgoverned  and 
impoverished  from  the  time  of  his  death  till  the  final  union 
with  England,  under  the  son  of  Mary  Queen  of  Scots, 
James  VI.  of  Scotland  and  I.  of  England. 


BETHUNES  EN  AMEKICA. 


About  the  year  1724,  George  Bethune,  son  of  William 
Bethune  of  Creigfnrdie,  Scotland,  and  grandson  of  Robert 
Bethune  of  Balfour,  came  to  Boston,  Mass.,  and  established 
himself  in  business  as  a  banker.  He  married  Miss  Carey ; 
they  had  two  sons,  Nathaniel  and  George,  and  one  daughter, 
Jane.  Nathaniel  died  unmarried  ;  George  (1754)  married 
Mary  Faneuil,  daughter  of  Benjamin  Faneuil  and  niece  to 
Peter  Faneuil. 

Jane  Bethune,  the  daughter  of  George  Bethune  and  Miss 
Carey,  married  a  Mr.  Prince. 

Descendants  of 

George  Bethune  (who  married  Mary  Faneuil), 

and  of  his  sister, 

Jane  Bethune  (Mrs.  Prince). 

The  four  daughters  of  George  Bethune  and  Mary  Faneuil 
who  left  descendants  were  Mary  (Mrs.  Mitchell),  Susan  (Mrs. 
Dunkin),  Penelope  (Mrs.  English),  and  Jane  (Mrs.  Hunt). 
Only  one  son,  George,  left  descendants. 

From  these  four  daughters  of  George  Bethune  and  Mary 
Faneuil,  and  from  Jane  Bethune  (Mrs.  Prince),  whose 
daughter  married  Rev.  Chandler  Robbins,  there  are  now 
all  through  the  country  descendants  of  the  Bethunes  under 
such  names  as  Adams,  English,  Jones,  and  Willard,  in 
Boston  ;  Gilman,  Robbins,  Stein,  and  Weisse,  in  New  York ; 
Makepeace,  in  Baltimore;  and  Alston,  Dunkin,  Huger,  and 


40  BETHUNES   IN   AMERICA. 

Hunt,  in  Charleston,  S.  C.  George  Amory  Bethune,  M.D., 
of  Boston,  son  of  George  Bethnne  and  Mary  Amory,  and 
grandson  of  George  Bethune  and  Mary  Faneuil,  is  the  only 
one  left  of  this  branch  of  the  family  who  bears  the  name 
of  Bethune  (1SS3) ;  he  is  of  the  twenty-seventh  generation 
from  Robert  1st  of  Bethune.' 

It  is  not  possible  for  me  to  give  all  the  names  borne  by 
those  who  are  descendants  of  the  Bethunes,  and  their  num- 
ber is  fast  increasing.  It  is  often  given  as  a  first  name,  as 
Bethune  Dunkin,  Bethune  Stein,  Bethune  Jones,  etc.  To 
girls  it  is  given  as  a  middle  name,  as  Ann  Bethune  Dunkin, 
Elizabeth  Bethune  Gilman,  Eugenia  Bethune  Weisse,  etc. 

It  is  a  name  any  one  may  be  pleased  to  claim  consanguinity 
with  by  giving  it  to  a  child. 

Resume. 

The  history  of  the  Bethunes  has  been  thus  carefully  pre- 
served because  of  the  many  illustrious  persons  the  race 
has  produced.  There  is  probably  no  other  name  or  family 
from  whom  has  sprung  so  many  distinguished  men  and 
brilliant  and  beautiful  women  as  from  the  Bethunes. 

Further,  they  have  given  so  liberally  to  the  Church  that 
Andre  du  Chesne  (the  French  historian)  found  in  the  Church 

1  About  the  year  1830  Mr.  John  Lowell,  of  Boston,  induced  George 
Bethune,  son  of  George  Bethune  and  Mary  Faneuil,  to  collect  all  the 
necessary  evidences  of  his  birth  and  of  the  marriage  of  his  parents. 
These  evidences  consisted  of  the  family  Bibles,  extracts  from  church 
registers,  and  a  letter  from  Henry  Bethune  to  his  cousin  George,  on  the 
occasion  of  the  marriage  of  George  Bethune  with  Mary  Faneuil.  This 
letter  was  dated  1754.  In  it  Henry  Bethune  of  Balfour  tells  his  cousin 
that  he  "must  remember  that  after  the  children  of  Mrs.  Colgerton  Be- 
thune, he,  George,  is  his  heir."  All  these  papers  must  be  now  in  the 
hands  of  the  executors  of  Jeffries,  the  Scottish  lawyer,  to  whom  they  were 
sent.  The  answer  from  Edinburgh  was  that  "  George  Bethune  would  be 
entitled  to  the  estate  at  the  death  of  the  male  heirs  of  Mrs.  Colgerton 
Bethune,"  and  that  "  the  estate  was  worth  $100,000  per  annum." 


BETHUNES   IN   AMERICA.  41 

archives  a  minute  account  of  every  event  of  importance 
that  had  occurred  in  the  Bethune  family  for  a  thousand 
years!  Every  birth,  marriage,  and  death  was  recorded,  to- 
gether with  every  other  incident  of  note  connected  with 
their  history.  The  result  is  that  the  accuracy  of  the  narrative 
is  unexampled  ;  no  other  family  can  show  anything  like  it. 

Maximilian  Bethune,  Duke  of  Sully,1  ruled  France  with 
consummate  wisdom  through  an  entire  reign. 

David  Bethune,  the  Cardinal,  was  head  of  the  Govern- 
ment in  Scotland  for  eighteen  years,  virtually  elected  to 
that  office  by  the  voice  of  united  Europe.  A  Bethune  was 
resident  minister  in  Paris  from  Scotland  during  the  reigns 
of  three  kings.  Another  of  the  family  headed  the  escort  of 
Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  when  she  went  to  France  to  wed  the 
King's  son,  staid  with  her  while  she  remained  in  France, 
and  when  she  returned  a  widow  to  Scotland,  continued  the 
head  of  her  establishment  as  "  master  of  the  household." 
His  uncle,  James  Bethune,  was  (a.d.  1500)  Primate  of  all 
Scotland. 

The  French  historian,  Andre  dn  Chesne,  states  that  at  one 
time  "  there  was  not  a  reigning  family  in  Europe  who  had 
not  the  blood  of  the  Bethunes  in  their  veins."  The  beauti- 
ful Duchess  of  Bedford  was  a  Bethune,  and  a  daughter  of 
hers  by  her  last  marriage  with  Bichard,  Lord  Woodville,  . 
became  Queen  of  England  as  wife  to  Edward  IV. 

Wherever  they  were  prominent  in  history  it  was  their 
wonderful  beauty  that  was  remarked  upon,  joined  to  bril- 
liant mental  powers. 

In  Europe  the  race  is  fast  becoming  extinct ;  in  France 
there  are  still  individuals  of  the  name — men  of  fine  char- 
acter clinging  to  the  remnants  of  their  large  estates  and 
educating  their  sons  for  professions.     Faneuil  D.  "Weisse, 

'  We  do  not  give  a  life  of  the  Duke  of  Sully,  because  it  is  to  be  found 
elsewhere.     We  merely  name  him  and  state  his  place  in  the  family. 


42  BETHUNES   IN   AMERICA. 

M.D.  (himself  a  Betbune  by  descent  through  his  mother), 
met  one  of  them  in  Paris  (in  1873),  a  medical  student,  and 
had  with  hini  a  very  interesting  conversation  on  the  fortunes 
of  the  family.  The  young  French  M.D.  expressed  much 
interest  in  the  American  branch,  and  had  the  whole  of  their 
family  history  read  to  him  in  French.  He  said  that  where 
it  touched  the  French  record  he  could  verify  its  correctness, 
lie  seemed  particularly  struck  with  the  resemblance  between 
family  likenesses  Dr.  "Weisse  had  with  him,  and  some  that 
were  then  hanging  on  the  walls  of  his  father's  house  in  the 
country;  he  said  they  were  so  alike  they  might  have  been  taken 
fur  the  same  person.  The  portraits  to  which  he  referred 
were  a  miniature  of  the  late  George  Bethune,  and  one  of  his 
sister,  Mrs.  Jane  Bethune  Hunt. 

In  Scotland  the  name  has  either  gone  out,  or  it  is  held  by 
persons  who  do  not  know  exactly  how  they  came  by  it. 
Bethunes  are  often  met  with  in  this  country  and  in  Canada. 
They  are  from  the  western  isles  of  Scotland,  undoubtedly 
descended  from  Archibald  Bethune,1  who  settled  in   that 

1  Archibald  Bethune  was  son  of  John  Bethune  and  Margaret  Boiswald, 
and  unnle  to  Cardinal  Bethune.  About  A.n.  1450  a  son  of  his  went  to  the 
western  isles  of  Scotland,  where  he  greatly  prospered.  Their  descend- 
ants are  now  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  are  scholars  and  gentlemen. 
They  continue  (he  name,  which  has  gone  out  in  the  American  branch, 
whose  ancestor  settled  in  Boston  in  1724.  The  latter  are  from  the  elder 
brother  of  Archibald  Bethune,  as  is  set  forth  in  the  foregoing  history. 
Unfortunately  the  name  has  become  extinct  with  them,  the  race  being 
continued  only  through  females,  }-et  they  are  very  numerous  and  con- 
nected everywhere  with  the  best  families.  They  do  not  forget  that  they 
are  Bethunes  in  blood,  though  under  other  names.  The  characteristics 
>>f  the  race  are  distinctly  seen  among  them;  the  children  now  growing  up 
look  like  some  old  pictures  still  in  the  family,  and  are  very  bright.  They 
certainly  are  from  a  race  whose  history  is  phenomenal.  Their  future  will 
be  a  subject  of  interest. 

It  has  been  remarked  that  where  a  descendant  of  some  old  historic 
family  intermarries  with  an  individual  of  a  less  distinguished  race,  the 
superior  traits  that  have  elevated  the  older  family  usually  predominate  in 
the  children  of  the  intermarriage. 


BETHUNES   IN   AMERICA. 


43 


part  of  Scotland,  and  whose  descendants  became  numerous 
and  prosperous;  wherever  they  are  met  with  they  are  people 
of  good  standing.  The  late  Rev.  Dr.  Bethune  of  ISTew  York 
was  from  that  branch  of  the  family. 

The  Bethunes  seem  always  to  have  possessed  the  unique 
power  of  holding  themselves  up  to  the  highest  grade  of 
society. 

Their  inheritance  of  strong  intellect  joined  to  fine  phys- 
ical development  has  hitherto  enabled  them  to  surmount 
the  common  misfortunes  of  life.1  They  have  done  a  world 
of  good  all  down  the  ages ;  always  wise  and  acting  for  the 
best  interests  of  mankind. 

1  There  are  occasionally  found  persons  from  Scotland  calling  themselves 
Bethune  who  are  not  Bethunes  in  blood,  hut  come  from  the  peasantry  on 
the  estates  of  the  family  in  the  old  country,  where  it  is  the  custom  for 
such  persons  to  take  the  name  of  the  family  they  live  under.  Their 
appearance  and  characteristics  show  them  to  he  Scotch  peasantry ;  they 
look  and  are  very  different  from  the  true  Bethunes,  who  have  always  been, 
and  still  continue  to  be,  educated  people. 


Bethune  of  Balfour. 


THE  FANEUIL  FAMILY. 


The  Faneuils  were  Huguenot  refugees  from  La  Eochelle, 
France.  They  brought  with  them  to  America  considerable 
wealth  in  money  and  jewels. 

The  tradition  is  that  in  France  they  were  what  the  French 
call  "rentier /"  that  is,  they  lived  on  the  income  of  their 
estates.  From  their  coat  of  arms  we  should  judge  they 
dated  back  to  the  Crusades.  The  crossed  palm  branches  can 
have  no  other  meaning. 

There  is  a  paper  extant  in  the  French  language  and 
written  by  Benjamin  Faneuil,  Sr.  It  is  a  family  record,  in 
which  he  states  that  in  1699  he  married  Ann  Bureau  ;  then 
follows  in  1701  the  birth  of  Peter  Faneuil ;  in  1702  the 
birth  of  Benjamin  Faneuil,  Jr.;  afterward  the  births  of  three 
daughters.1 

They  first  settled  at  New  Eochelle,  near  New  York.  In 
1699  Benjamin  Faneuil  was  given  the  freedom  of  the  city  of 
New  York.  In  Valentine's  "  History  of  New  York,"  p.  219, 
we  read  in  a  list  of  tire  principal  merchants  of  the  city  the 
name  of  Benjamin  Faneuil,  the  third  in  the  list.  In  the 
same  work,  among  the  inhabitants  in  1703  we  find  Mr. 
Faneuil,  wife  and  three  children.  This  must  have  been  the 
same  Benjamin.  The  brother  of  Benjamin  (Andrew  Fan- 
euil) settled  in  Boston  and  made  a  colossal  fortune,  as  a 
merchant.     He  visited  Holland,  and  there  married  a  very 

'  This  paper  was  left  by  Benjamin  Faneuil,  Jr.,  and  is  now  in  possession 
of  his  great-grandson,  George  A.  Bethuiie,  M.D.,  Boston. 


46  THE   FANEUIL   FAMILY. 

beautiful  lady ;  their  portraits,  by  Sir  Peter  Lely,  were 
owned  by  their  descendant,  Mrs.  Jane  Bethune  Hunt,  and 
for  nearly  half  a  century  they  bung  in  the  ball  of  her  bouse 
in  Watertown,  Mass.  They  were  burned  in  18S2  while 
stored  in  New  York.  Andrew  Faneuil  bad  no  children 
that  lived  to  maturity.  lie  adopted  the  two  sons  of  his 
brother  Benjamin  of  New  York — Peter,  born  1700,  and 
Benjamin,  born  1701.  Benjamin  Faneuil,  Jr.,  of  Boston 
married  the  daughter  of  Rev.  Timothy  Cutler,  rector  of 
Trinity  Church,  Boston ;  Mr.  Cutler  was  a  man  very  distin- 
guished for  learning.  His  daughter  was  highly  educated  by 
an  English  tutor  ;  her  portrait,  painted  by  Blackburn,  showed 
her  very  beautiful — high  Roman  nose,  perfectly  regular 
features,  and  fine  dark  eyes ;  this  picture  was  also  burned 
while  stored  in  New  York,  1882.  Andrew  Faneuil  was 
offended  that  his  nephew  married  at  all,  and  left  the  greater 
part  of  his  fortune  to  Peter  Fanexiil.'  To  his  nieces, 
daughters  of  Benjamin  Faneuil,  Sr.,  of  New  York,  he  left 
$200,000  each,  on  condition  that  they  should  never  ask  any- 
thing further  from  his  estate.  So  that  when  Peter  Faneuil 
died  without  a  will,  five  years  after  his  uncle  Andrew,  his 
brother  Benjamin  was  declared  his  sole  heir,  on  account  of 
this  clause  in  Andrew's  will  prohibiting  the  sisters  from 
demanding  anything  beyond  their  first  legacy. 

Benjamin  Faneuil,  Sr.,  lies  on  the  north  side  of  Trinity 
Church,  in  the  lower  part  of  Broadway,  New  York  City ;  the 
grave-stone  is  in  good  preservation.  The  record  of  the 
christening  of  his  children  can  be  seen  in  the  archives  of 
the  old  French  church  of  New  York.  His  brother  Andrew 
lived  in  a  splendid  house  in  Boston,  at  the  corner  of  Somer- 

1  From  the  fact  that  Andrew  Faneuil  was  opposed  to  his  nephew's  marry- 
ing nt  (ill,  it  would  seem  that,  he  contemplated  making  large  bestowments 
on  the  city  where  he  had  made  his  large  fortune.  The  marriage  of  Ben- 
jamin with  Mary  Cutler  was  certainly  a  very  suitable  alliance  ;  yet 
Andrew  Faneuil  opposed  it  unaccountably. 


THE   FANEUIL   FAMILY.  47 

set  and  Beacon  Streets ;  the  house  was  after  his  death 
owned  and  occupied  by  Mr.  Gardener  Green.  From  that 
house  in  Boston  he  was  buried,  having  a  most  imposing 
funeral.  See  an  account  of  the  same  in  "  The  Memorial  His- 
tory of  Boston,"  recently  published.  His  tomb  is.  in  the 
graveyard  at  the  south  side  of  the  Common.  The  Faneuil 
arms  is  engraved  on  the  face  of  the  structure,  but  some  one 
(unknown  to  the  family)  has  engraved  under  it,  '■'■Peter 
Funnel?  The  Americans  could  not  give  the  name  the 
true  French  accent,  and  habitually  called  it  "  Funnel"  which 
the  family  struggled  against  in  vain  until  quite  recently. 

Benjamin  Faneuil  and  Mary  Cutler  had  three  children, 
two  sons  (neither  of  whom  left  descendants)  and  one  daughter. 
He  lived  at  one  time  at  the  corner  of  Washington  and  Sum- 
mer Streets,  Boston,  and  later  in  Brighton,  a  few  miles  west 
of  the  city.  He  was  eighty-four  years  old  when  he  died. 
For  twenty  years  before  his  death  he  was  stone  blind,  from 
cataract  over  the  eyes.  He  was  an  admirable  character, 
greatly  beloved  by  his  numerous  grandchildren,  who  did 
their  best  to  amuse  him  by  reading  to  him  and  telling  him 
the  news.  The  street  where  he  lived  in  Brighton  has  been 
named  Faneuil  Street  out  of  respect  to  his  memory. 

Peter  Faneuil  possessed  the  estate  only  about  five  years ; 
during  that  time  he  lived  in  sumptuous  style  at  the  corner 
of  Somerset  and  Beacon  Streets,  in  the  house  that  Andrew 
Faneuil  built.  He  gave  in  charity  in  the  most  lavish  abun- 
dance. Faneuil  Hall  was  but  one  of  his  gifts  to  the  city. 
Every  charity  of  that  day  has  his  name  down  for  a  large 
sum.  Tq_Trinity  Church  he  gave  a  handsome  amount  to 
support  the  families  of  the  deceased  clergy  of  that  church. 
It  became  so  large  a  sum  that  it  has  been  divided  between 
Trinity  Church  and  what  is  called  King's  or  Stone  Chapel, 
and  has  done  a  great  deal  of  good. 

An  assistant  minister  in  Trinity  Church,  Rev.  Mr.  Cutler 
(brother  to  Mrs.  B.  Faneuil,  and  son  of  Rev.  Timothy  Cut- 


48  THE  FANEUIL   FAMILY. 

ler)  died  young  and  left  a  widow  and  infant  daughter  un- 
provided for.  Andrew  Faneuil  gave  the  widow  an  income 
while  she  lived,  and  at  her  death  attended  her  funeral,  and 
after  it  was  over  called  at  the  house  and  took  the  child  and  its 
nurse  to  his  own  house,  taught  her  to  call  him  father,  and 
his  nephews  (Peter  and  Benjamin)  she  called  brothers.  She 
was  tenderly  cared  for  by  all  of  them,  and  married  (while 
quite  young)  Captain  Cochran,  who  commanded  a  ship 
owned  by  Andrew  Faneuil.  Her  descendants  are  yet  nu- 
merous and  have  always  been  regarded  as  kindred  by  the 
Faneuils.  Probably  this  case  (of  a  clergyman  of  the  Church 
wanting  a  provision  for  his  family)  caused  Peter  Faneuil  to 
provide  against  a  similar  case  again  occurring. 

There  is  a  fine  portrait  still  extant  of  Peter  Faneuil  (it 
was  given  to  the  Antiquarian  Society  of  Boston  by  his 
niece,  Miss  Jones,  daughter  of  his  sister,  Mary  Ann  Faneuil) ; 
it  is  a  better  picture  than  the  one  in  Faneuil  Hall.  There 
is  also  a  good  likeness  extant  of  Rev.  Timothy  Cutler.  Dr. 
Bethune  has  a  fine  picture  of  his  grandmother,  Mary  Fan- 
euil (Mrs.  George  Bethune),  by  Blackburn,  and  one  of  his 
father,  George  Bethune,  painted  by  Stuart.  There  is  a 
good  likeness  of  Mrs.  Jane  Bethune  Hunt,  copied  from  an 
original  by  Stuart ;  Mrs.  E.  B.  Stein  has  the  copy ;  the 
Stuart  picture  '  is  still  in  the  family. 

The  eldest  of  these  young  men,  Peter,  went  to  Canada ; 
the  youngest,  Benjamin,  was  engaged  to  be  married  to  Miss 
Lloyd,  eldest  daughter  of   Dr.  Lloyd,  and  sister  to  Hon. 


1  The  site  where  the  original  Faneuil  mansion  once  stood  at  New 
Rochelle  is  now  a  corner  lot  where  a  grocery  store  is  kept.  A  ring  was 
found  some  twenty  years  ago  by  a  butcher  whose  grandfather  removed 
the  dust  from  the  Faneuil  house  to  his  own  waste-pile  ;  the  ring  was  found 
in  a  cornfield  ;  it  had  engraved  on  the  inside  the  name  of  Andrew  Fan- 
euil. It  was  purchased  from  the  butcher  by  Mrs.  Gen.  Hawkins,  a  de- 
scendant of  the  Faneuils  and  Bethunes  through  her  mother,  Maria  Be- 
thune Hunt. 


THE   FANEUIL   FAMILY.  49 

James  Lloyd.  They  were  very  privately  married,  and  when 
a  vessel  had  just  sailed  for  England  they  dropped  down  the 
harbor  in  a  row-boat,  under  cloud  of  night,  and  quietly  got 
on  board  the  vessel  {that  had  been  induced  to  lay  to  for 
them)  and  went  to  England.1  Faneuil's  father  gave  his 
married  son  one-third  of  his  estate  in  English  funds.  Miss 
Lloyd  had  no  children.  The  couple  lived  in  affluence  in  Lon- 
don, and  were  very  friendly  to  all  American  refugees,  of 
whom  there  were  many  at  that  time  in  England.  They  are 
spoken  of  by  travellers  who  saw  them  in  London.  They 
are  said  to  have  been  liberal  in  supplying  the  wants  of  those 
who  were  in  need  among  the  refugees.  When  they  died 
they  left  back  to  the  family  the  property  they  had  received 
when  they  went  to  England.  They  were  never  after  spoken 
of  in  Boston  either  by  the  Lloyds  or  Faneuils,  and  their 
memory  died  out  entirely.  The  family  often  wondered  why 
the  Lloyds  and  Faneuils  considered  themselves  related,  but 
those  few  who  knew  all  about  it  never  spoke.  Peter,  who 
went  to  Canada,  ultimately  died  at  his  sister's  in  Brighton ; 
he  did  not  marry — was  an  invalid  all  his  life. 

Benjamin  Faneuil  (the  younger)  lived  a  very  happy  life 
in  London  with  Miss  Lloyd.  They  were  entirely  apart  from 
politics,  and  had  around  them  a  circle  of  refugees  from  the 
colonies,  to  whom  they  had  the  means  of  being  very  useful. 

1  See  Boston  papers  of  that  date  as  to  how  and  why  they  went.     Those 
papers  are  full  of  conjectures  and  details. 
4 


THE  FANEUILS. 


SOME    INCIDENTS    IN   THEIR    HISTORY. 


During  the  war  of  the  revolution,  or  rather  just  before 
the  outbreak  of  hostilities,  when  the  people  were  greatly- 
excited,  the  two  sons  of  Benjamin  Faneuil  of  Boston 
(nephews  of  Peter  Faneuil)  found  that  their  safety  obliged 
them  to  leave  the  country. 

The  opinions  the  young  Faneuils  held  should  not  have 
excited  the  populace  to  violence.  They  were  perfectly  agreed 
that  the  colonies  must  soon  have  an  independent  govern- 
ment, but  they  counselled  prudence  till  the  country  was 
prepared  for  action  and  strong  enough  for  successful  resist- 
ance; all  this  gave  an  impression  that  they  were  unpatriotic, 
and  the  angry  people  called  them  Tories. 

Society  just  at  that  time  was  in  a  ferment.  "When  it  was 
found  that  the  young  Faneuils  had  left  the  country,  a  mob 
went  to  Faneuil  Hall  and  destroyed  Peter  FaneuiVs  picture  ! 
He  at  least  was  one  of  the  best  friends  they  ever  had !  but 
it  was  unreasonable  violence  that  moved  the  masses  who 
called  themselves  patriots. 

The  father  of  these  young  men  had  recently  received 
from  his  brother's  (Peter  Faneuu"s)  estate  something  like 
$300,000  in  English  funds.  It  was  expedient  that  one  of 
the  family  should  go  to  London  and  settle  there  permanently 
to  hold  that  large  property.  There  was  no  ivant  of  patriot- 
ism in  any  of  them,  but  they  did  not  want  to  see  the  colonies 
involved  in  misery  by  premature  outbreaks;  they  thought 


52  THE   FANET'ILS. 

there  was  no  hurry  for  war,  and  were  all  of  them  entirely 
against  mob  violence  and  tearing  up  Peter  FaneuiV  s  picture! 
Their  patriotism  took  a  reasonable,  practical  form,  looking 
to  the  best  interests  of  all.  Further,  they  had  no  angry 
feelings  against  the  English ;  they  had  too  recently  been 
received  and  protected  by  them  when  their  own  country 
turned  them  out.  They  always  spoke  of  the  English  as  a 
great  nation.  They  admired  their  liberality  as  to  religious 
opinions,  in  which  France  was  wanting. 

When  the  English  had  possession  of  Boston,  and  Wash- 
ington's headquarters  were  in  Cambridge,  Benj.  Faneuil,  Jr., 
the  brother  of  Peter  Faneuil,  was  living  in  Brighton.  He  was 
then  more  than  eighty  years  old,  and  had  been  blind  for 
many,  many  years ;  he  never  left  his  room  except  for  an 
occasional  drive  in  fine  weather.  His  daughter  Mary  (Mrs. 
George  Bethune),  then  a  widow,  kept  his  house. 

One  afternoon  Washington  and  some  of  his  officers  were 
riding  by.  The  cherry-trees  in  the  garden,  loaded  with  fruit, 
spread  their  branches  over  the  road,  and  some  of  the  gentle- 
men reached  up  and  gathered  of  the  tempting  fruit.  Mrs. 
Bethune  saw  them.  She  sent  out  her  man-servant  with 
"Mrs.  Bethnne's  compliments  to  Gen.  Washington  and  his 
friends ;  would  they  do  her  the  favor  to  come  in  and  eat 
some  of  the  fruit?"  They  at  once  rode  up  to  the  door, 
dismounted,  and  came  in.  She  received  them  as  graciously 
as  possible,  and  regretted  she  had  no  son  to  call  upon  them. 
She  entertained  them  with  fruit,  wine,  and  cakes  as  she  had 
at  hand.  When  they  left  she  invited  them  to  dine  with  her 
on  a  day  she  named,  expressing  at  the  same  time  her  polit- 
ical sentiments,  which  were  very  patriotic.  Her  invitation 
was  accepted ;  every  one  knew  Mrs.  Bethune — her  good 
dinners  were  proverbial. 

When  the  day  came  the  guests  arrived ;  she  had  invited 
a  few  others  to  meet  them,  and  all  went  charmingly.  The 
dinner  was  over,  the  dessert  on  the  table,  when  the  door  was 


THE   FANEUIL*.  53 

flung  wide  and  old  Mr.  Faneuil,  leaning  on  the  arm  of  his 
attendant,  entered  the  apartment.  All  made  room  for  him. 
lie  took  his  seat  at  the  foot  of  the  table,  and  told  the  guests 
he  was  very  happy  to  find  that  they  had  visited  his  house. 
Would  they  fill  their  glasses  and  allow  him  to  drink 
their  health  ?  After  a  time,  when  he  had  by  listening  found 
where  Washington  and  Lee  sat  (the  others  he  did  not  much 
regard),  he  turned  toward  Washington  and  said,  "  General 
Washington,  I  respect  your  character  greatly ;  you  act  from 
patriotic  motives;  I  have  not  a  word  to  object  to  your 
course."  But  turning  short  on  where  Lee  sat,  "  You,  General 
Lee,  are  fighting  with  a  rope  round  your  neck,"  etc.,  etc., 
expressing  very  plainly  that  he  looked  on  him  as  a  traitor 
to  king  and  country  !  The  whole  company  arose  from  the 
table,  and  when  they  were  taking  leave  General  Washington 
said,  "  What  does  this  mean,  Mrs.  Bethune  ?  "  "  Can  you 
not  see  what  it  means  ?  "  she  asked  ;  "  my  father  has  been 
blind  and  out  of  the  world  for  twenty  years,  and  he  is  now 
giving  you  the  ideas  in  which  he  was  educated.  It  is  an 
accident  that  he  found  out  there  was  company  here;  he 
never  leaves  his  room.  It  was  I  who  invited  you,  and  my 
sentiments  and  those  of  my  friends  M'hom  you  see  are  very 
different  from  my  father's.  I  beg  your  pardon  for  what  has 
happened,  and  regret  very  much  that  this  thing  has  occurred/ 
I  hope  you  and  your  friends  will  forget  it!"  Mrs.  Bethune 
was  a  very  intelligent  and  sensible  person  and  was  a  patriotic 
American  in  her  sentiments,  and  so  taught  her  children  as 
far  as  her  influence  went. 

This  General  Lee  so  denounced  was  the  one  who  had 
deserted  from  the  English  army,  and  the  old  man  Faneuil 
could  not  refrain  from  telling  him  his  opinion  of  such  ac- 
tion under  any  circmnstances  ! 

Note. — There  is  a  good  deal  of  silver  still  in  the  family  that  has  the 
Faneuil  coat  of  arms  on  it.  Dr.  Bethune  has  the  castors  once  used  by 
Peter  Faneuil.     Another  of  the  family  has  his  coffee-pot.     His  punch- 


54  THE  FANETJILS. 

bowl  is  in  the  Lovell  family,  given  to  them  by  Mrs.  Ann  Eethune  Lovell, 
who  married  James  Lovell,  their  father.  A  quantity  of  silver  so  engraved 
was  stolen  from  Mrs.  Bethune's  house  in  Brighton,  where  a  robbery  was 
committed.  The  coffee-pot  was  found  a  week  afterward  in  a  field  leading 
to  the  river,  where  the  thieves  dropped  it  in  getting  over  a  fence.  It  was  es- 
timated  that  $3,000  worth  was  taken  at  that  time.  A  man  was  afterward 
hanged  for  murder  who  confessed  the  robberry  of  the  Brighton  house. 
The  thieves  came  up  the  river  in  a  boat  and  took  the  silver  to  a  vessel  in 
the  harbor.     They  were  never  detected. 

Descendants  of  the  Faneuils. 

The  descendants  of  the  Faneuils  are  very  numerous.  The 
name  became  extinct  in  this  country  when  Benjamin  Fan- 
euil,  Jr.,  son  of  Benjamin  Faneuil  of  Rochelle,  France,  died, 
1786.  No  son  survived  him  ;  he  had  one  daughter,  Mary. 
This  Mary  Faneuil  married,  1754,  George  Bethune  and  had 
a  very  large  family.  For  her  children  who  had  families,  see 
"Descendants  of  the  Betuunes." 

There  are  also  descendants  from  Mary  Ann  Faneuil,  a 
daughter  of  Benjamin  Faneuil,  Sr.  She  married  Edward 
Jones.  Her  grandson,  Edward  I.  Davenport,  M.D.,  of  Bos- 
ton, was  much  respected. 

As  Faneuil  has  become  extinct  as  a  proper  name  the  custom 
prevails  of  giving  it  as  a  first  name.  Judge  Dunkin  of 
South  Carolina  was  called  Faneuil  Dunkin.  Faneuil  Hunt 
was  the  distinguished  lawyer  in  Charleston,  S.  C.  Faneuil 
Adams,  M.D.,  is  favorably  known  in  Massachusetts.  There  is 
Faneuil  Alston  in  Carolina,  and  there  was  a  Faneuil 
Huger  (he  died  young).  Further,  there  are  in  New  York 
Faneuil  D.  Weisse,  M.D.,  his  son,  Faneuil  Suydam  Weisse, 
and  his  nephew,  Faneuil  Dunkin  Stein. 

It  seems  to  be  a  fortunate  name  ;  it  certainly  rose  to  dis- 
tinction when  the  two  leading  lawyers  in  Charleston,  S.  C, 
were  Faneuil  Hunt  and  Faneuil  Dunkin.  Some  much- 
loved  individuals  of  the  name  have  passed  away  and  left  a 
very  tender  memory  behind  them.  It  will  be  a  favorite 
name  as  long  as  the  family  exists. 


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