Skip to main content

Full text of "Records of the family of Cassels and connexions"

See other formats 


TC9M 


,'    ■ 

■  . 

4 


* 


National  Library  of  Scotland 

*B000 140378* 


Lyon  Office 
Edinburgh 


/*     J^L 


*zy 


/S?2. 


-^<s<_£ 


& 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  fundingfrom 

National  Library  of  Scotland 


http://www.archive.org/details/recordsoffamilyoOOcass 


Becorojs 


of 


%\}t  tfanuty  of  Ca&scte  ano  Connexions!. 


Printed  by  Thomas  and  Archibald  Constable 

for 

ANDREW    ELLIOT 
17    PRINCES    STREET,    EDINBURGH. 


-TT 


RECORDS 


OF 


THE    FAMILY    OF    CASSELS 


AND   CONNEXIONS. 


SEVENTY-FIVE  COPIESElilN  TED    FOR     PRIVATE 

CIRCULATION   AMONG    RELATIVES. 

MDCCCLXX. 


TO   MY   VENERABLE   UNCEE 

ROBERT    CASSELS,    Esquire, 

MOFFAT, 

NOW  IN  THE   NINETIETH  YEAR   OF    HIS    AGE,  THE   ONLY  SURVIVOR  OF  A 
NUMEROUS    FAMILY,   THESE    PAGES    ARE    AFFECTIONATELY 
INSCRIBED  BY  HIS  ATTACHED  NEPHEW, 

ROBERT    CASSELS. 
Edinburgh,  2M1  October  1870. 


preface. 

I  HAVE  been  induced  to  publish  these  Records  of  our  family 
and  connexions,  which  were  chiefly  prepared  during  a  visit  to 
Scotland  in  the  winter  of  1867-8,  in  order  to  preserve  memorials 
which  would  otherwise  probably  perish  and  be  forgotten. 

There  is  nothing  of  great  importance  to  relate,  but  still  any 
information  which  tells  of  those  who  have  gone  before  us  cannot 
be  uninteresting. 

The  family,  though  ancient,  has  been  known  during  the  last 
two  centuries  and  a  half  chiefly  as  merchants,  shipowners,  and 
bankers;  but  in  the  history  of  almost  every  family,  however  humble, 
there  is  something  useful  to  be  learned,  and  I  am  in  hopes  the 
following  pages  may  not  be  without  value  to  those  younger  mem- 
bers of  our  family  who,  scattered  as  they  are  through  every  quarter 
of  the  globe,  could  in  no  other  way  acquire  information  regarding 
their  ancestors  and  connexions. 

As  many  of  those  of  '  nearest  kin '  have  been  separated,  and 
indeed  have  never  met  each  other,  I  have  given,  where  possible, 
very  full  particulars  of  the  present  position  of  several  members  of 
the  family. 


viii  preface. 

I  have  added  '  the  Royal  descent,'  from  which  those  derived 
from  Andrew  Cassels  and  Anne  Gibson  can  trace  in  a  clear 
and  unbroken  line  for  more  than  a  thousand  years  a  very  great 
ancient  Pedigree. 

I  have  also  given  at  some  length  the  history  of  my  namesake, 
Robert  Cassels,  a  victim  of  oppression  and  cruelty,  for  his 
supposed  participation  in  the  assassination  plot  in  the  reign  of 
King  William  III.,  an  episode  in  legal  despotism  which  contrasts 
most  painfully  with  the  present  state  of  law  and  liberty  in  Great 
Britain. 

It  has  been  a  pleasure  to  me  to  trace  out  our  descent,  and 
though  I  have  not  gone  so  minutely  into  it  as  I  could  have  wished, 
and  would  have  done,  had  I  been  able  to  spare  more  time  from 
other  absorbing  avocations,  yet  I  feel  happy  to  think  that  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  information  has  been  collected,  interesting  to 
relatives  now,  and  which  may,  in  future  years,  be  found  exceedingly 
useful. 

As  this  publication  is  only  for  private  circulation,  to  a  very 
limited  extent,  amongst  my  near  relatives,  I  do  not  think  any 
necessity  exists  for  apologizing  for  the  style  of  the  work. 

ROBERT  CASSELS. 

Edinburgh,  zWi  October  1S70. 


THE     FAMILY     OF     CASSELS. 

feij  flwHE  Family  of  CASSELS  is  believed  to  be  derived  from 
e^k     a  younger  son  of  one   of  the    early  Lords   Kennedy, 
a    very   powerful  and  ancient  family.     CASSILLIS  is  a 
title   in  the  Peerage    of  Scotland,   possessed    by    the 
Marquis  of  AlLSA. 

The  following  particulars  of  that  name  and  family  are 
taken  from  '  The  History  of  the  Counties  of  Ayr  and  Wigton, 
vol.  ii. — Carrick,'  by  James  Paterson.     Published  1864. 

In  the  '  History  of  the  County  of  Ayr,'  of  which  the  present 
issue  is  an  amended  reprint,  we  disposed  satisfactorily,  we  think, 
of  the  statement  first  made  by  Nisbet  in  his  Heraldry,  and 
re-echoed  in  the  '  Historical  Account  of  the  Noble  Family  of 
Kennedy,'  printed  for  private  circulation  in  1849,  that  the  KEN- 
NEDIES were  descended  from  the  De  Carricks,  changing  their 
name  to  KENNEDY,  from  Kean-na-ty,  head  of  the  clan.  This 
unworthy,  and  as  it  appears  to  us  unaccountable,  fancy,  may  now 
be  considered  as  wholly  set  aside. 

A 


^hc  Jutmtlu  of  (Cass els. 


CASSILIS  Downans.— The  Downans  are  five  beautiful  green 
little  hills,  about  half  a  mile  from  CASSILIS.  They  are  rendered 
famous  to  all  time  in  the  '  Halloween '  of  Burns. 

'  Upon  that  nicht,  when  fairies  licht, 

On  Cassilis  Downans  dance  ; 

Or  oure  the  leys,  in  splendid  maze, 

On  sprichtly  coursers  prance.' 

Amongst  the  woods,  in  the  beautiful  haugh  beneath,  are  seen 
the  turrets  of  CASSILIS  House,  one  of  the  oldest  baronial  residences 
in  the  county.  The  estate  of  CASSILIS  has  continued,  since  its  ac- 
quisition from  the  Montgomeries,  in  possession  of  the  noble  family 
of  Kennedy.  Cassilis  House  was  long  the  principal  seat  of  the 
Earls  of  Cassilis,  until  the  rebuilding  of  Colzean  Castle, 
in  the  parish  of  Kirkoswald,  towards  the  close  of  last  century, 
which  is  now  the  favourite  residence  of  the  MARQUIS  OF  AlLSA. 

That  the  noble  family  of  Kennedy  is  of  great  antiquity  in  Ayr- 
shire is  unquestionable. 

Chalmers  derives  them  from  the  Irish,  or  rather  the  Scoto-Irish  ; 
but  little  weight  is  to  be  attached  to  this  tradition,  as  all  who  spoke 
the  Erse,  or  Gaelic  language,  were  in  later  times  called  Irish.  It  is 
at  the  same  time  evident  that  the  Kennedies  were  not  of  Norman 
or  Saxon  origin,  but  of  the  unmixed  old  British  stock. 

That  the  Pictish,  or  old  British  language,  was  widely  prevalent 
in  Carrick  at  an  early  period,  is  evident  from  the  number  of  names 
of  places  beginning  with  Pen  or  Pin  ;  and  Glen-app  is  itself  a  pretty 
conspicuous  instance  of  the  fact.  Nisbet  supposed  the  etymology 
of  the  name  to  be  Kean-na-ty,  signifying,  in  Gaelic,  the  head  of  a 


^Lhc  Jfamiln  of  fllasscls. 


house  ;  but  this  fancy  is  set  aside  by  the  fact  that  KENNEDY  was 
a  patronymic  in  Carrick  prior  to  the  gift  of  Chiefship,  which  gave 
rise  to  it  (the  grant  of  Chiefship  by  Neil,  Earl  of  Carrick,  to 
Roland  de  Carrick,  before  1255). 

'  MARCOW  MacKennedy,'  says  Chalmers,  on  the  authority  of 
the  Melrose  Chartulary,  '  was  judge  under  the  EARL  OF  CARRICK 
during  the  reign  of  ALEXANDER  II.,'  which  reign  extended  from 
1 2 14  to  1249. 

In  1266,  according  to  the  Chamberlain  Rolls,  Fergus  Mac- 
Kennedy  acted  as  Attorney  for  the  Sheriff  of  Ayr.  An  early  notice 
of  the  name  occurs  in  a  charter,  by  NlCHOLAUS,  son  of  Duncan 
DE  Carrick,  to  the  Church  of  St.  Cuthbert  of  Maybole,  supposed 
to  be  dated  in  1250.  One  of  the  witnesses  is  Murthaw  MAC- 
Kenede.  Murthanco  Senescallo,  probably  the  same  person, 
occurs  as  a  witness  in  a  charter  by  Duncan,  Earl  of  Carrick, 
some  years  previously  (Cartulary  of  the  Nunnery  of  North 
Berwick). 

The  name  thus  seems  to  have  been  originally  MacKennedy, 
and  was,  it  is  believed,  derived  from  a  common  ancestor  of  the 
name  of  Kenneth. 

In  the  Cartulary  of  Glasgow,  Kennedy  is  spelled  Kenide, 
Kenyde,  approaching  nearly  to  the  MacKenede  of  the  North 
Berwick  Cartulary.  Wyntoun,  who  wrote  in  the  pure  vernacular, 
calls  Kenneth  MAlpine  Kyned  : — 

'  Quhen  Alpyne  thes  Kyng  wes  dede, 
He  left  a  son  was  called  Kyned.' 

If  Wyntoun   is  to  be  regarded  as  an  authority,  it  would  thus 


-tilu  JatnUu  of  Casscls. 


appear  that  KENNEDY,  KENEDE,  or  Kyned,  were  but  other  modes 
of  spelling  or  pronouncing  the  name  KENNETH.  There  is  a  tradi- 
tion, if  we  recollect  rightly,  that  one  Kenneth,  from  the  Western 
Isles,  was  the  founder  of  a  family  in  Carrick.  Be  this  as  it  may, 
the  name  is  certainly  of  long  standing  in  Ayrshire. 

Viewing,  as  we  thus  do,  the  alleged  descent  of  the  noble 
family  of  AlLSA  from  the  old  Earls  of  Carrick  as  extremely 
doubtful,  it  would  be  equally  difficult,  perhaps,  to  account  for  the 
Kennedies  being  found  in  all  the  principal  possessions  of  the  DE 
Carricks. 

The  question  of  patronymic  is  of  little  consequence — more  curi- 
ous than  important.  The  name  of  KENNEDY  is  apparently  of 
greater  antiquity  than  De  CARRICK,  and  quite  as  honourable,  save 
that  it  happened  not  to  be  ennobled  at  so  earl)'  a  period. 

John  de  Kennedy,  styled  in  later  charters  of  Dunure,  had  a 
charter  from  DAVID  II.,  dated  i8th  January  1357-8,  confirming 
him  in  all  the  lands,  tenements,  and  possessions  belonging  to  or 
acquired  by  him, 

'  Johanni  Kennedy'  had  also  a  charter  from  David  II.,  con- 
firming him  in  '  de  terra  de  Castlys,  in  vir,  de  are,  vendita  illi  per 
Marjoricam  de  Mungumry,  seniorem,  et  Marjoriam  de  Mungumry 
filiam  Johannis  de  Mungumry,'  etc.  etc.  This  charter  is  without 
date  or  witnesses  ;  but  is  supposed  to  have  been  granted  about 
1362. 

Sir  John  Kennedy  of  Dunure  married  Mary  de  Carrick, 
daughter  or  grand-daughter  of  Sir  Gilbert  de  Carrick,  who  had 
no  surviving   male  issue.     This  marriage  took  place  about    1350. 


^hc  Jfamiln  of  tassels. 


Here,  then,  we  have  the  true  source  of  the  very  intimate  connection 
between  the  Kennedies  and  De  Carricks. 

Sir  John  de  Kennedy  married  Mary  de  Carrick,  the  ■ 
heiress  of  Sir  Gilbert  de  Carrick,  and  assumed  the  arms 
and  position  of  the  De  Carricks. 

By  this  marriage  also,  from  the  connection  of  the  De  CARRICKS 
with  the  Royal  House  of  STEWART,  he  was  entitled  to  be  called 
by  ROBERT  II.,  '  delectus  consanguineus  noster.' 

We  have  thus,  we  think,  satisfactorily  disposed  of  the  question 
of  patronymic, — that  it  was  undoubtedly  Kennedy,  and  not  De 
Carrick. 

But  this  brings  us  to  another  question,  which  the  Historical 
ACCOUNT  does  not  by  any  means  set  at  rest — namely,  the  ques- 
tion of  Chiefship,  whether  IT  REMAINS  WITH  THE  HOUSE  of 
CASSILIS,  or  of  Bargany. 

Sir  Gilbert  Kennedy  of  Dunure,  eldest  son  of  John 
Kennedy,  married,  first,  Marion,  daughter  of  Sir  James  Sandilands 
of  Calder,  by  whom  he  had  three  sons,  Gilbert,  John,  and 
Roland  ;  and,  secondly,  Agnes  Maxwell,  daughter  of  Sir  John 
Maxwell  of  Pollok,  by  his  wife,  Isabel  Lindsay,  daughter  of  Sir  James 
Lindsay  of  Crawford,  by  the  Princess  Egidia,  sister  of  Robert  II. 

The  eldest  son  of  Sir  Gilbert  Kennedy  and  Agnes  Max- 
well was  James,  who  married  the  Princess  Mary,  daughter  of 
Robert  III.,  in  1403,  and  by  her  had  six  sons.  James  was  killed 
by  his  brother  GILBERT,  in  consequence  of  the  preference  shown  to 
the  second  family  (they  having  been  disinherited  to  make  way  for 
James). 


ulu  Jhtmtln  of  ("Titsscls. 


Regarding  the  history  of  the  elder  branch  of  Sir  Gilbert's  family 
(Gilbert,  John,  and  Roland),  there  seems  to  be  some  mystery. 
Gilbert  is  said  to  have  died  abroad,  whither  he  fled  after  the 
slaughter  of  his  half-brother  James,  without  issue.  John,  the 
second  son,  is  admitted  by  the  author  of  the  '  Historical  Account ' 
himself  to  have  been  the  first  of  the  Cove  family,  who,  he  adds, 
'  soon  became  extinct.'  But  this  was  not  the  fact,  for  it  came  down 
to  our  own  day  in  the  person  of  the  late  Primrose  William  Kennedy, 
Esq.  of  Drummellane. 

ROLAND,  the  third,  became  proprietor  of  Leffnal,  in  Galloway, 
about  four  miles  beyond  Stranraer.  It  would  thus  appear  that 
although  the  chief  patrimonial  estates,  offices,  and  leadership  of  the 
clan  were  conferred  by  royal  favour  on  James,  eldest  son  of  the 
second  marriage,  and  his  heirs-male,  the  elder  branch  were  not 
wholly  disinherited.  In  1408,  when  Gilbert  slew  his  half-brother 
James,  he  must  have  been  upwards  of  forty  years  of  age,  and  in  all 
likelihood  had  a  family.  Sir  Gilbert  Kennedy  died  about 
1440,  and  was  succeeded  by  GILBERT,  first  Lord  KENNEDY,  eldest 
surviving  son  of  JAMES  KENNEDY  and  the  Princess  Mary,  and 
grandson  of  Sir  Gilbert  Kennedy.  He  was  created  LORD 
KENNEDY  between  3d  August  1456  and  25th  March  1457.  He 
married  KATHARINE,  daughter  of  Herbert,  first  Lord  Maxwell  of 
Caerlaverock,  by  whom  he  had  six  sons  and  two  daughters. 

His  eldest  son  John,  who  succeeded  as  second  Lord 
Kennedy,  married,  first,  Elizabeth,  second  daughter  of  Alex- 
ander, first  Lord  Montgomerie,  by  whom  he  had  a  son  and 
daughter.     He  married,  secondly,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  George, 


^Ehc  Jfamiln  of  (tassels. 


first  Earl  of  Huntly,  and  relict  of  Nicol,  second  Earl  of  Errol,  and 
by  her  had  three  sons,  and  two  daughters,  Janet  and  Helen. 

Janet  was  Mistress  of  James  IV.,  and  usually  called  Lady 
Bothwell.  This  celebrated  beauty,  to  whom  the  King  was  so  much 
attached,  had  been  contracted  to  marry  Archibald  Douglas,  Earl 
of  Angus,  who  was  actually  imprisoned  for  attempting  to  prefer 
his  claim  to  her  hand. 

She  had,  by  James  IV.,  a  son,  James  Stewart,  created  Earl 
of  Murray,  1591,  who  married  Margaret,  daughter  of  Colin,  third 
Earl  of  Argyle,  by  whom  he  had  one  daughter,  Mar)',  married  to 
John,  eldest  son  of  John,  third  Earl  of  Buchan. 

HELEN  married  Adam  Boyd  of  Penkill. 

JOHN  Lord  Kennedy  is  said  in  Riddel's  Peerage  and 
Consistorial  Law  to  have  married,  thirdly,  Elizabeth  Kennedy, 
who  afterwards  married  William  Power.  He  died  about  1507,  and 
was  succeeded  by  DAVID,  first  Earl  of  CASSILLIS,  his  eldest  son 
and  heir.  He  was  created  Earl  OF  CASSILLIS  between  25th  July 
1509  and  7th  January  1510-11. 

He  was  a  Privy  Councillor  of  James  IV.,  and  was  killed  at  the 
battle  of  Flodden. 

He  married  first,  Agnes,  daughter  of  William  Lord  Borthvvick, 
by  whom  he  had  four  sons  and  three  daughters  ;  Lord  CASSILLIS 
married,  secondly,  Margaret,  daughter  of  Thomas,  Earl  of  Arran, 
and  niece  of  James  III.,  and  widow  of  Alexander,  fourth  Lord 
Forbes,  but  by  her  had  no  issue.  He  died  9th  September  15 13, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Gilbert,  second  Earl  of  Cassillis,  eldest 
son  and  heir.      He  was   Ambassador  to  England    1515-16,   and 


ulic  Jamilt)  of  QTitsscU. 


married  Isabella,  second  daughter  of  Archibald,  second  Earl  of 
Argyle,  by  whom  he  had  SEVEN  SONS  and  one  daughter.  He  was 
slain  at  Prestwick  about  Whitsunday  1527,  by  Hugh  Campbell  of 
Loudon,  Sheriff  of  Ayr,  and  was  succeeded  by  GILBERT,  third  EARL 
OF  Cassillis,  his  eldest  son  and  heir  born  15 15.  He  was  a  pupil 
of  the  celebrated  George  Buchanan,  who  had  a  high  esteem  for 
him,  and  with  whom  he  travelled  abroad  for  some  years  and 
returned  to  Scotland  in  May  1537.  He  was  at  the  rout  of  Solway, 
where  he  was  taken  prisoner  in  November  1542,  and  was  placed 
under  the  charge  of  Cranmer,  by  whom  he  was  converted  to  the 
Protestant  faith.  He  was  appointed  Lord  High  Treasurer  in 
1554,  and  was  one  of  the  eight  members  elected  by  Parliament  to 
attend  Queen  Mary's  marriage  with  Francis,  the  Dauphin  of  France. 
The  opposition  of  the  Scottish  deputies  to  give  the  Crown  Matri- 
monial to  the  Dauphin  gave  great  offence,  and  three  of  them  died 
at  Dieppe  in  one  night,  18th  November  1558,  among  whom  was 
the  Earl  of  Cassillis,  and  not  without  suspicion  of  poison.  He 
married  Margaret,  daughter  of  Alexander  Kennedy  of  Bargany,  by 
whom  he  had  three  sons  and  two  daughters.  He  was  succeeded 
by  Gilbert,  fourth  Earl  of  Cassillis,  eldest  son  and  heir.  On 
coming  of  age,  the  Earl  was  appointed  a  councillor  to  Queen  Mary  ; 
a  Gentleman  of  the  Bedchamber  to  Henry  II.  of  France,  10th  July 
1558-9  ;  appointed  Justiciary  of  Carrick  in  1565  ;  was  at  the  battle 
of  Langside  with  Queen  Mary,  for  which  he  was  forfeited  in  Parlia- 
ment, but  from  which  he  was  subsequently  reponed.  He  was 
afterwards  appointed  one  of  the  Privy  Council  to  the  King. 

It  was  this  Earl  who  was  guilty  of  roasting  the  Commendator 


ulu  Jamilp  of  Casscls. 


of  Crossraguel  in  '  the  black  vout '  of  Dunure.  On  the  ist  and  7th 
September  1570,  he  carried  Allan  Stewart,  the  Commendator,  to 
the  Castle  of  Dunure,  when  he  presented  to  him  for  signature 
various  deeds,  conveying  to  the  Earl  the  lands  belonging  to  the 
Abbacy,  upon  his  refusing  to  sign  which,  the  Earl  placed  him  over 
a  large  fire  in  one  of  the  vaults  of  Dunure  to  compel  him  to  do  so. 

He  married  Margaret,  only  daughter  of  John,  ninth  Lord 
Glammis.  By  this  lady,  who  afterwards  married  John,  first  Marquis 
of  Hamilton,  the  Earl  had  three  sons.  This  Earl  went  by  the 
name  of 'the  King  of  Carrick.'  He  died  in  December  1576,  and 
was  succeeded  by  John,  fifth  Earl  of  Cassillis,  eldest  son 
and  heir. 

In  a  curious  MS.  in  the  British  Museum,  containing  an  account 
of  the  Scots  nobility  in  the  reign  of  James  VI.,  this  is  stated  :  '  The 
ERLE  OF  CASSILIS,  called  Kanethy,  being  with  his  friends  of  the 
same  surname  upon  the  west  seas,  in  the  Countie  of  Carrick,  a 
stewardrie  and  parcel  of  the  shiredome  of  Ayre.  There  is  of  the 
same  name,  in  that  Countie,  and  descended  of  his  house,  sundrie 
lordis  and  gentlemen,  whereof  the  principall  is  the  Lord  Barganye 
and  Blairquhoy,  of  little  less  living  than  the  Erie  himself.  His 
chief  houses,  Be  CASSELLS  and  Dunnyre,  4  miles  from  the 
bridge  of  Doune.  The  people  are  mingled  in  speeches  of  Irish 
and  English,  not  far  distant  from  Carrickfergus  in  Ireland.  This 
mode  of  spelling  Kennedy  (Kanethy),  seems  favourable  to  the 
supposition  that  the  name  was  originally  Kenneth.' 

The  founder  of  the  Cassels  branch,  being  probably  driven 
from   Ayrshire  in  some  of  the  feuds  in  which  his  family  so  often 

B 


io  'ullte  Jamili)  of  (Eitssds. 

bore  a  leading  part,  settled  in  Linlithgowshire  or  counties  adjacent, 
and  changed  his  name  to  CASSILLIS,  the  name  of  his  ancestral  seat 
in  Ayrshire.  This  has  been  corrupted  in  its  spelling  to  CASSILLS, 
CASSILIS,  CASSILS,  CaSSELLS,  and  to  CASSELS,  as  it  is  now  generally 
spelt.  The  descent  cannot  now,  however,  be  traced  with  certainty 
much  further  back  than  the  parish  registers  extend,  which  are 
many  of  them  in  a  very  mutilated  and  defective  state. 

In  old  charters  and  State  documents  signed  by  the  early  Lords 
CASSILLIS,  the  name  is  frequently  spelt  Cassles,  CASSILS,  and 
Cassills.  For  many  generations  the  family  had  used  the  same 
arms  and  crest  as  those  borne  by  the  Marquis  of  Ailsa  ;  and  in 
1864,  WALTER  GlBSON  CASSELS,  of  Blackford  House,  Edinburgh, 
thought  it  desirable  to  strengthen  his  right  by  petitioning  the  Lord 
Lyon  King  of  Arms  for  permission  to  continue  to  use  these  arms, 
with  such  difference  and  as  '  nearly  approaching  to  the  aforesaid 
insignia  as  accordant  with  the  Laws  of  Arms.' 

The  Petition  was  as  follows  : — 

'  Unto  the  Right  Honourable  Thomas  Robert,  Earl  of  Kinnoull, 
Lord  Lyon  King  of  Arms  : 

'  The  Petition  of  WALTER  GlBSON  CASSELS,  Esquire,  formerly 
proprietor  of  the  lands  of  Muirside,  Kennedy's  Hill, 
Lochhead,  and  Standridge  (now  called  Greenknowe),  in 
the  county  of  Stirling,  late  Banker  in  Leith,  and  now 
residing  at  Blackford  House,  in  the  county  of  Mid 
Lothian  ; — 


%\tz  Jfamiip  of  (Jlasscls.  n 


1  Humbly  showeth, — That  your  Petitioner  is  the  eldest  surviving 

son  and  representative  of  the    second    marriage    of  the    deceased 

ANDREW    CASSELS,    Esquire,    Merchant    in    Leith,    with    ANNE, 

daughter  and  heiress  of  WALTER  Gibson,  Esquire  of  Greenknowe, 

in  the  county  of  Stirling,  which  Andrew  was  son  of  James  Cas- 

SELS,  Esquire,  a  landed  proprietor  in  the   county  of  Linlithgow,  by 

Hannah    Spears,    his    wife,    daughter  of  Robert  Spears,   Esquire : 

That  the  Petitioner's  family  were    for  many  generations    resident 

in    Borrowstouness  :  That  your  Petitioner  is  fifth  in  lineal  descent 

from  James    Cassillis,   born  in   the   reign   of  King   James  VI., 

who    was    believed   to    be    descended     from    the    ancient    family 

of  Kennedy,  Earls  of  Cassillis. 

'  That  the  Petitioner's  family  have  for  generations  borne  the  same 

arms  as  those  now  used  by  the  Marquis  of  Ailsa,  head  of  the 

family  of  Kennedy,  and  he  is  desirous  to  continue  to  use  arms  as 

nearly  approaching  to  the  aforesaid   insignia  as  accordant  with  the 

Laws  of  Arms. 

'  May  it  therefore  please  your  Lordship  to  grant  your  licence 

and  authority  to  the  Petitioner  and  his  descendants,  and  the 

other  descendants  of  his  said  father  and  mother,  to  bear  and 

use   such  ensigns   armorial   as   may  be   found   suitable,  and 

according   to  the  Laws  of  Arms,  or  to  do  otherwise  in  the 

premises   as   to   your    Lordship    may   seem    fit  ;    and   your 

Petitioner  will  ever  pray. 

(Signed)  '  WALTER  GIBSON  CASSELS.' 

'  Blackford  House, 
\\th  October  1864.' 


12  'gnu  Jamilj)  of  (Ihtsscls. 

The  Petition  was  granted  as  follows  : — 

'  To  all  and  sundry  whom  these  presents  do  or  may  concern,  We 
Thomas  Robert,  Earl  of  Kinnoull,  Lord  Lyon  King  of 
Arms,  send  greeting : 

'  Whereas  Walter  Gibson  Cassels,  Esquire,  formerly  of  Green- 
knowe  in  the  county  of  Stirling,  late  Banker  in  Leith,  and  now 
residing  at  Blackford  House,  in  the  county  of  Edinburgh,  hath,  by 
a  Petition  of  date  the  fourteenth  day  of  October  current,  repre- 
sented unto  us  that  he  is  the  eldest  surviving  son  and  represen- 
tative of  the  second  marriage  of  the  deceased  Andrew  Cassels, 
Merchant  in  Leith,  with  Anne,  daughter  and  heiress  of  Walter 
Gibson  of  Greenknowe,  in  the  county  of  Stirling,  which  Andrew 
was  son  of  James  Cassels,  a  landed  proprietor  in  the  county 
of  Linlithgowshire,  and  Hannah,  his  wife,  daughter  of  Robert 
Spears :  That  the  Petitioner's  family  were  for  many  generations 
resident  in  Borrowstouness  :  That  the  Petitioner  is  fifth  in  lineal 
descent  from  James  Cassillis,  born  in  the  reign  of  King  James  VI., 
who  was  believed  to  be  descended  from  the  ancient  family  of 
Kennedy,  Earls  of  Cassillis  :  That  the  Petitioner's  family  have  for 
generations  borne  the  same  arms  as  that  noble  family,  and  that  he  is 
desirous  to  continue  to  use  arms  as  nearly  approximating  to  the 
aforesaid  insignia  as  might  be  accordant  with  the  laws  of  arms :  And, 
whereas  the  said  Petitioner  hath  prayed  that  we  would  grant  our 
Licence  and  Authority  for  him  and  his  descendants,  and  the  other 
descendants  of  his  said  father  and  mother,  to  bear  and  use  such 
armorial  ensigns  as  are  indicated  in  the  said  Petition  :  Know  ye 


^hc  Jfamilg  of  QUxbiszIb.  13 

therefore  that  we  have  devised,  and  do  by  these  presents  assign, 
ratify,  and  confirm,  to  the  said  Walter  Gibson  Cassels,  Esquire, 
and  to  his  descendants,  and  to  the  other  descendants  of  his  said 
father  and  mother,  with  such  congruent  differences  as  may  be 
hereafter  matriculated  for  them,  the  following  ensigns  armorial, 
as  depicted  upon  the  margin  hereof,  and  matriculated  of  even  date 
with  these  presents  in  our  Public  Register  of  all  Arms  and 
Bearings  in  Scotland  ;  viz., — 

'  Argent,  a  chevron  Gules  between  two  cross  crosslets  fitchee  in 
chief,  and  a  key  fessways  wards  downwards  in  base  Sable. 
'  Above  the  Shield  is  placed  a  Helmet  befitting  his  degree,  with 
a  Mantling  Gules  doubled,  Argent,  and  on  a  wreath  of  his  Liveries 
is  set  for  Crest,  A  dolpliin  Naiant,  embossed  Or,  and  in  an  escrol 
above  the  same  this  motto  : — "  Avise  la  fin." 

'  In  testimony  whereof  these  presents  are  subscribed  by  George 

Burnett,  Esquire,  Advocate,  our  Depute,  and  the  seal  of  our  ofhee 

is    appended   hereunto,    at    Edinburgh,    the    twenty-ninth    day    of 

October,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  One  thousand  eight  hundred  and 

sixty-four. 

(Signed)        '  George  Burnett, 

Lyon  Depute.' 

The  surname  of  Cassillis,  Cassels,  or  the  various  modes  in 
which  it  is  written,  has  not  become  general  in  Scotland  ;  most  of 
those  families  now  existing  evidently  dating  from  about  the  six- 
teenth century. 

James  Cassillis,  born  in  1624,  and  his  wife,  Euphemia 
CASSILLIS,  born  in    1623,  as  is  learned  from  their  tombstone  in 


u 


Uhc  J:  ami  I  n  of  tassels. 


Borrowstouness  Churchyard,  very  probably  removed  to  Bo'ness 
about  the  year  1655. 

The  Parish  Register  of  Bo'ness  begins  in  1648,  and  appears  to 
have  been  carefully  and  regularly  kept.  The  name  of  Cassillis 
first  occurs  in  it  in  1656,  being  the  birth  of  Andrew,  son  to  James 
and  Euphane  CASSILLIS. 

The  marriage  of  JAMES  AND  EUPHEMIA  CASSILLIS  does  not 
appear  in  that  Register,  and  at  the  date  of  the  birth  of  her  son 
Andrew,  Euphane  or  Euphemia  Cassillis  would  be  thirty-three 
years  of  age.  From  1656  to  1668  seven  sons  were  born  to  James 
and  EUPHANE  CASSILLIS.  It  is  almost  certain,  therefore,  that 
James  and  Euphane  Cassillis  had  been  married  elsewhere  some 
years  previously  to  their  settling  at  Bo'ness,  and  that  other  children 
had  likewise  been  previously  born  to  them. 

The  absence  of  a  JAMES  in  the  list  of  births,  and  the  existence 
of  a  James  Cassillis  at  Bo'ness,  called  the  younger,  leaves 
scarcely  a  doubt  that  he  was  the  son  of  James  and  Euphane 
CASSILLIS,  born  before  they  removed  to  Bo'ness. 

Had  JAMES  CASSILLIS  and  his  wife  Euphemia  been  married 
when  they  were  respectively  twenty-four  and  twenty-five  years  of 
age,  they  might,  and  very  probably  had  several  children  born  to 
them  between  1648  and  1656, — a  period  of  eight  years.  There 
appears  to  have  been  a  number  of  the  family  of  CASSILLIS  resident 
at  Borrowstouness,  about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
At  that  period  it  became  a  place  of  importance.  It  is  stated  in  the 
Statistical  Account  of  Scotland — (see  Linlithgowshire) — that  '  Kin- 
neil  was  a    considerable   town    long   before   any    population    had 


<r*ir it c  Jranultj  of  Qtstsscls.  15 

collected  at  the  Ness.'  In  the  year  1661  there  'were  559  com- 
municable persons  in  the  parish  of  Kinneil,  the  greater  part  of 
whom  resided  in  the  town  of  Kinneil.  In  the  course  of  the  17th 
century,  Bo'ness  became  the  great  emporium  of  commerce  with 
Holland  and  the  Baltic' 

And  in  the  History  of  Linlithgowshire  by  Sir  Robert  Sibbald, 
M.D.,  published  in  1739,  he  says,  '  It  is  perhaps  one  of  the  best 
instances  of  the  advantages  of  trade  can  be  seen  in  this  country, 
the  flourishing  of  this  place  (Borrowstouness),  I  am  told  that  Sir 
Robert  Drummond  of  Meidop  (who  lived  after  the  Restoration  of 
King  Charles  the  Second)  declared  to  severalls  of  the  gentrie  his 
neighbours,  that  he  remembered  to  have  seen  only  one  house  where 
now  Borrowstouness  and  the  other  towns  now  continued  to  Carriden 
stand.  I  know  in  my  time  that  they  and  the  South  Ferrie  had 
some  2>6  ships  belonging  to  them,  tho'  in  all  that  tract  upon  the 
south  side  of  the  Firth  there  is  no  port  for  ships  to  lye  at,  but  at 
Blackness.  There  were  many  rich  men,  merchants  and  masters  of 
ships,  living  there,  and  the  cities  of  Glasco,  Stirling,  and  Linlithgow 
had  a  great  trade  from  there  with  Holland,  Bremen,  Hamburg. 
Queensburgh,  and  Dantzick,  and  furnished  all  the  west  country 
with  goods  they  imported  from  these  places,  and  were  loaded 
outwards  with  the  product  of  our  own  country.' 

All  these  families  of  CASSILLIS  were  evidently  related,  as  is  seen 
by  reference  to  the  Parish  Register,  where  the  various  witnesses  to 
births  of  the  CASSILLIS  are  frequently  of  the  same  name.  It  is 
found  that 

'George  Cassillis  and  his  spouse  Jean   Reid  had  issue — 


16  %ht  Jamils  of  Qhtsscls. 

I.  GEORGE,  born  4  May  1661,  baptized  12  May,  at  Bo'ness,  by 
Mr.  John  Wauch,  minister  there.  James  Cassillis  the  presentor 
of  the  said  child. 

'2.  JAMES,  born  16th  August  1663.' 

'John  Cassillis,  elder,  and  his  spouse  Janet  Vicar  had  issue — 

'  1.  Helen,  born  17  January  1669.  Witnesses,  James  Cassillis 
and  James  Hunter. 

'  2.  Janet,  born  1671. 

'  3.  GEORGE,  born  15  March  1675.' 

'James  CASSiLS,younger,and  Helen  Burn,  his  wife,  had  issue — 

'James,  born  20  September  1676.' 

'James  Cassils  (younger)  and  Barbara  Hunter,  both  in 
Borrowstounes  Parish,  by  warrant  from  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Edin- 
burgh, were  lawfully  married  at  Abercorn,  7  May  1686,  by  Mr. 
Robert  Gordon,  minister.     They  had  issue — 

'  1.  John,  born  upon  ye  17  and  baptised  vpon  ye  24  Feby. 
1687,  by  Mr.  Robert  Gordon,  minister  at  Abercorn. 

'  James  Cassils,  elder,  and  Andrew  Cassils,  witnesses. 

'  2.  Barbara,  born  20  July  1695.' 

'John  Cassillis  and  Joan  Robson,  his  spouse,  had  issue — 

'  Marion,  born  26  Sepr.  1694.' 

'  John  Cassils  and  Jean  Melville,  his  spouse,  had  issue— 

'  DAVID,  born  24,  and  baptised  26  May  1698.' 

'James  Cassels  and  Anne  Higgins,  his  wife,  had  issue — 
JOHN,  born  8  August  1707.' 

In  October  1696,  Androw  Cassells  and  James  Cassills, 
with  others,  petition  Parliament  about  building  a  bridge  across  the 


%kz  Jamily  of  (ftasscK  17 

Avon  : — '  Unto  his  Majesties  Commissioner,  and  the  Right  Honour- 
able Estate  of  Parliament,  the  humble  petition  of  the  town  of 
Borrowstouness  for  themselves,  and  others  tradeing  and  repairing 
from  the  West  of  Scotland  to  the  said  Toune.' 

And  the  prayer  of  the  Petition  sets  forth,  that — '  May  it  there- 
fore please  his  Grace,  his  Majesties  high  Commissioner,  and  Hon- 
ourable Estates  of  Parliament,  to  ordaine  a  Voluntar  Contribution 
through  the  Kingdom,  or  such  towns  as  will  have  the  benefite  of 
the  said  bridge  and  way,  viz.,  Falkirk,  Stirling,  Glasgow,  Ayr,  Irving, 
Dumbarton,  and  the  Paroshes  of  Airth,  Bothkenner,  and  the  land- 
ward Parosh  of  Falkirk  and  Carnwath.' 

John  Cassillis,  writer  in  Edinburgh,  appointed  Islay  Herald 
in  1667,  and  who  died  in  1676,  was  apparently  of  this  family  ;  and 
Robert  Cassels,  who  was  supposed  to  have  been  connected  with 
the  Assassination  Plot  in  the  reign  of  William  III.,  and  who  is  so 
harshly  noticed  by  Lord  Macaulay  in  his  History  of  England,  was 
no  doubt  of  the  same  stock.  The  following  account  of  his  sup- 
posed participation  in  that  conspiracy,  and  his  long  imprisonment 
in  Newgate,  is  taken  from  the  History  of  England,  and  the  State 
Trials  published  in  1766. 

Lord  Macaulay,  in  giving  an  account  of  the  plot  to  assassinate 
King  William  III.,  states  that  it  was  authorized  by  James  VII., 
and  says  of  the  parties  engaged  in  it  that  '  they  were  ordered  to 
depart  (from  France)  in  small  parties,  and  to  assign  different 
reasons  for  going.'  Some  were  ill  ;  some  were  weary  of  the  ser- 
vice. '  CASSELS,  one  of  the  most  noisy  and  profane  among  them, 
announced   that,  since   he   could   not   get   military   promotion,   he' 

C 


is  ^hc  J-aimln  of  Citssels. 

should  enter  at  the  Scotch  College,  and  study  for  a  learned  profes- 
sion.' '  Under  such  pretexts  about  twenty  picked  men  left  the 
palace  of  James,  made  their  way  by  Romney  Marsh  to  London, 
and  found  their  captain  (Sir  George  Barclay)  walking  in  the  dim 
lamplight  of  the  Piazza  with  the  handkerchief  hanging  from  his 
pocket  (the  signal  agreed  upon). 

'  One  of  these  men  was  Ambrose  Rookwood,  who  held  the  rank 
of  brigadier,  and  who  had  a  high  reputation  for  courage  and  honour. 

'  Another  was  Major  John  Bernardi,  an  adventurer  of  Genoese 
extraction,  whose  name  has  derived  a  melancholy  celebrity  from  a 
punishment  so  strangely  prolonged  that  it  at  length  shocked  a 
generation  which  could  not  remember  his  crime. 

'  While  these  things  were  passing  at  Kensington,  a  large  party 
of  the  assassins  was  revelling  at  a  Jacobite  tavern  in  Maiden  Lane.' 
Here  they  received  their  final  orders  for  the  morrow. 

' "  To-morrow,  or  never,"  said  King. 

' "  To-morrow,  boys,"  cried  CASSELS,  with  a  curse,  "  we  shall 
have  the  plunder  of  the  field."  .  .  . 

'  In  the  course  of  the  afternoon  it  was  known  that  the  guards 
had  been  doubled  at  the  Palace,  and  soon  after  nightfall  messen- 
gers from  the  Secretary  of  State's  office  were  hurrying  to  and  fro 
with  torches  through  the  streets  accompanied  by  files  of  musketeers. 

'  Before  the  dawn  of  Sunday  Charnock  was  in  custody.  A  little 
later,  Rookwood  and  Bernardi  were  found  in  bed  at  a  Jacobite 
alehouse  on  Tower  Hill.  Seventeen  more  traitors  were  seized  be- 
fore noon  ;  and  three  of  the  Blues  were  put  under  arrest. 

'  That  morning  a  Council  was  held  ;  and  as  soon  as  it  rose,  an 


%hz  Jfamilg  of  (Hasscls.  19 

express  was  sent  off  to  call  home  some  regiments  from  Flanders' 
(February  1696). 

The  foregoing  account,  like  many  of  Lord  Macaulay's  state- 
ments, is  most  probably  incorrect,  or  highly  coloured.  In  the 
account,  which  is  given  below,  of  the  incarceration  of  Robert 
Cassels  and  his  fellow-sufferers,  taken  from  vol.  x.  of  the  State 
Trials  (see  Appendix,  No.  10,  page  64,  published  1766),  it  will  be 
seen  that  they  were  committed  to  Newgate  merely  on  the  warrant 
of  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  that  they  were  not  charged  on  oath 
by  any  person  whatever  ;  and  further,  that  no  evidence  could  ever 
be  produced  against  them  to  convict  them  of  the  alleged  crime  for 
which  they  were  so  unjustly  detained  in  custody. 

'  The  Case,  with  the  proceedings  against  Major  John  Bernardi, 
Mr.  Counter,  Mr.  Blackburn,  Mr.  CASSELS,  Mr.  Chambers,  and  Mr. 
Meldrum,  on  account  of  the  Assassination  Plot  in  King  William's 
reign.' 

'  Note. — As  many  people  are  unacquainted  with  the  reasons 
why  those  persons,  suspected  of  being  concerned  in  the  Assassina- 
tion Plot,  lay  so  long  in  Newgate  without  be'ng  either  bailed,  tried, 
or  discharged  ;  this  account,  wrote  by  Major  Bernardi  (one  of  those 
taken  up  and  confined)  will  explain  the  cause  of  it.' 

The  account  given  by  Bernardi  is  very  lengthy,  but  the  follow- 
ing extracts  will  enable  the  reader  to  understand  the  case,  and 
bring  under  notice  the  extraordinary  treatment  and  hardships  suf- 
fered by  those  unfortunate  men,  and  the  despotic  conduct  of  the 
Government  of  that  period. 

'  Within  two  months  or  thereabouts  after  Bernardi's  arrival  in 


20  ^hc  Jfamilg  of  Casscls. 

town,  a  horrid  conspiracy  to  assassinate  and  murder  His  late 
Majesty  King  William  was  discovered,  and  many  proclamations 
came  forth,  offering  a  thousand  pounds'  reward  for  securing  each 
man  inserted  in  those  proclamations.  Several  were  taken  upon 
the  first,  and  more  were  apprehended  daily  upon  the  repeated  pro- 
clamations.' 

'  Captain  Charnock,  King,  and  Keys  were  taken  upon  the  first 
proclamation,  which  came  forth  on  or  about  the  22d  day  of  Feb- 
ruary ;  and  were  tried  and  convicted  of  high  treason,  March  n, 
1695-6,  and  all  three  executed  on  the  18th  of  the  same  month.' 

'  Bernardi  and  Rookwood  were  committed,  March  25,  1696, 
close  prisoners  to  Newgate,  loaded  with  heavy  irons,  and  put  into 
separate,  dismal,  dark,  and  stinking  apartments,  not  being  allowed 
to  speak  to  each  other  from  the  time  of  their  being  taken  out  of 
the  two  Compters.  Bernardi  did  never  see  Rookwood  afterwards, 
who  was  soon  after  tried  and  condemned,  and  was  executed  at 
Tyburn,  with  Cranburne  and  Lowick,  on  the  29th  day  of  April 
following.' 

'  The  nine  before-mentioned  being  executed,  there  still  re- 
mained many  close  prisoners  in  Newgate  upon  that  account ;  but 
evidence  being  wanted  to  convict  any  more  of  them,  the  Habeas 
Corpus  Act  was  suspended  for  nine  months,  to  prevent  them  from 
gaining  their  liberty  by  law,  and  this  was  done  with  a  view  of 
finding  out  evidence  against  them  within  that  time.' 

After  the  expiry  of  the  Act,  three  were  admitted  to  bail. 

'The  remaining  number  in  confinement  then  were  only  Bernardi, 
Captain  Counter,  Mr.  Cassels,  Mr.  Meldrum  and  Chambers ;  and 


%kz  Jitmiltj  of  (Easstls.  21 

they  being  locked  up  close  in  separate  dismal  parts  of  the  gaol, 
and  most  of  them  unknown  to  each  other,  could  neither  communi- 
cate or  do  any  thing  for  themselves  in  order  to  their  liberty,  nor 
could  they  know  what  had  been  done  for  others.  But  the  good 
success  of  those  before  mentioned  caused  their  friends  abroad 
officiously  to  enter  papers  for  them  at  the  second  sessions  after 
the  Habeas  Corpus  Act  came  in  force,  whereupon  they  were  all  of 
them  taken  out  of  their  close  holes,  and  were  carried  to  the  Old 
Bailey,  in  order  to.  be  tried  or  bailed.  Mr.  Constantine  Phipps 
(who  was  afterwards  Lord  Chancellor  of  Ireland)  was  appointed 
their  council  to  move  for  them,  and  asked  Bernardi  if  any  applica- 
tion had  been  made  to  the  Solicitor  of  the  Treasury.  Bernardi 
answered,  No  ;  alleging,  that  as  there  was  no  law  to  keep  them 
any  longer  confined,  their  friends  judged  it  needless  to  apply  to 
any  body  for  favour,  little  dreaming  that  an  Act  of  Parliament 
would  be  obtained  to  secure  and  continue  their  further  confinement, 
a  practice  never  known  or  heard  of  before.  As  soon  as  they  were 
produced  in  Court  in  order  to  be  tried  or  bailed,  the  Solicitor  of  the 
Treasury  stood  up  and  whispered  the  Judges  upon  the  Bench  ;  and 
though  that  Sessions,  being  a  Sessions  of  Gaol-Delivery,  could  not 
lawfully  be  determined  without  either  trying  or  bailing  these  State 
Prisoners,  the  Judges  being  obliged  bylaw  to  deliver  the  Gaol,  yet, 
upon  the  whispering  motion  of  the  Solicitor  of  the  Treasury,  the 
Judges  adjourned  the  Court  for  a  fortnight,  and  immediately  after 
a  Bill  was  brought  into  Parliament,  and  an  Act  passed  within  that 
time  to  confine  them  for  a  twelvemonth,  on  a  supposed  probability 
still  of  finding  out  some  evidence  against  them  in  that  time. 


22  ^kz  Jhtmib  of  (tassel*. 

'The  first  Act  expiring,  a  second  (9  William  III.  chap.  4)  was 
soon  passed  to  continue  them  in  prison  another  year,  unless,  as  in 
the  former  Act,  they  should  sooner  be  bailed  or  discharged  by  order 
of  Council,  signed  by  six  Privy  Councillors.  And  at  the  end 
thereof,  all  prospect  of  finding  out  any  evidence  against  them 
seeming  to  be  entirely  vanished,  a  third  Act  (10  and  11  Will.  III. 
chap.  13)  was  passed,  confining  them  during  the  pleasure  of  his 
late  Majesty  King  William. 

'  King  William  was  afterwards  applied  to  in  their  favour,  not 
long  before  his  death,  by  the  late  Earl  of  Burlington  ;  and  his 
Majesty  was  graciously  pleased  to  promise  his  Lordship  that  he 
would  deliver  them  in  a  short  time.  But  the  King's  illness  and  death 
following  soon  afterwards,  and  before  any  order  was  given  for  their 
discharge,  the  good  and  gracious  design  of  his  Majesty  for  the 
deliverance  of  these  unhappy  men  (if  he  really  intended  it)  was 
most  unfortunately  frustrated  and  prevented.  The  Act  for  their 
confinement,  by  the  demise  of  King  William,  being  determined, 
(as  they  were  advised)  they  entered  their  prayer  at  the  next 
sessions  to  be  tried  or  bailed,  but  were  opposed  by  the  Attorney- 
General,  and  neither  was  granted.  Afterwards  another  Act  of 
Parliament  (1  Anne,  sect.  1,  c.  29)  was  procured  to  be  passed,  con- 
fining them  during  the  pleasure  of  Queen  Anne.  Her  Majesty 
was  graciously  pleased  to  release  Captain  Counter,  the  first  named 
in  the  said  Acts  of  confinement.' 

'  By  the  demise  of  the  Queen  they  had  again  liberty,  by  virtue 
of  the  Habeas  Corpus  Act,  to  pray  for  their  trial  or  to  be  bailed, 
and  in  order  thereunto  they  entered  their  prayer  accordingly,  at 


%ht  Jhtmtly  of  Qtnsszls.  23 

the  first  Old-Bailey  Sessions,  and  were  by  that  Court  referred  to 
Michaelmas  Term  following.  They  retained  three  or  four  eminent 
Council  at  Law,  and  fee'd  them  to  move  and  plead  for  them. 
Seven  or  eight  motions  were  made  that  term,  at  different  times,  in 
their  behalf,  and  several  Rules  of  Court  were  obtained  at  great 
expense,  before  they  could  bring  the  then  Attorney  General,  Sir 
Edward  Northey,  to  appear  and  defend  their  motions. 

'At  last  the  then  Lord  Chief-Justice  Parker  told  Serjeant  Webb 
(one  of  the  Council  for  the  prisoners)  that  the  Court  consented  to 
their  being  brought  to  the  Bar  by  Habeas  Corpus  on  the  Monday 
following,  being  the  last  day  of  the  term,  in  order  to  admit  them  to 
bail,  bidding  the  Serjeant  in  the  meantime  to  direct  his  clients  to 
give  in  the  names  of  such  substantial  men  as  they  intended  to 
bring  into  Court  to  bail  them.  This  glimmering  favour  proved 
only  as  a  little  enlightening  before  death,  as  will  appear  by  the 
sequel.  The  prisoners  were  accordingly  brought  up  by  their 
keepers  from  Newgate  to  the  Court  of  King's  Bench,  the  last  day  of 
the  term,  when  the  Chief-Justice  before  named,  having  notice  of 
their  being  there,  was  pleased  to  ask  Serjeant  Webb,  their  Council, 
if  they  had  bail  ready  in  Court  ?  and  being  answered  in  the  affirma- 
tive, his  Lordship  was  pleased  to  reply,  that  wonders  were  to  be 
done  presently,  wonders  indeed,  and  such  as  were  never  heard  of 
before ! 

'  The  prisoners  were  called  and  brought  into  Court,  and  there- 
upon the  same  gentleman  made  an  harangue  against  them  of  above 
an  hour  long  ;  and  although  towards  the  end  of  his  very  bitter  and 
invective  speech  against  those  helpless  wretches,  who  were  obliged 


24  %\\t  Jamib  of  <&ixsszls>. 

to  receive  all  his  fire  and  huffs,  he  was  so  ingenuous  as  to  declare 
that  he  had  never  heard  of  any  evidence  charging  them  with  the 
crime  they  were  committed  for,  yet  he  was  pleased  also  to  declare, 
that  he  was  very  well  satisfied  of  their  guilt,  by  the  proceeding  of 
the  first  Parliament  against  them,  and  would  therefore  remand 
them  back  to  Newgate,  which  accordingly  he  did.  At  the  meeting 
of  the  next  Parliament  matters  were  so  ordered,  that  another  Act 
(i  George  I.  sect.  2,  c.  7)  was  prepared  and  procured  to  pass  both 
Houses  very  expeditiously,  to  continue  them  in  prison  during 
his  late  Majesty  King  George's  pleasure. 

'  Several  petitions  were  afterwards  delivered  to  his  late  Majesty 
King  George  in  the  name  and  behalf  of  these  wretches,  imploring 
his  sovereign  compassion,  and  setting  forth,  as  an  instance  of  his 
great  mercy  upon  another  occasion,  his  pardoning  many  con- 
demned for  actual  treason  against  his  Majesty's  person ;  whereas 
these  had  been  long  miserably  confined  as  Prisoners  of  State, 
purely  upon  bare  suspicion  only  of  being  concerned  in  a  con- 
spiracy against  a  deceased  Monarch,  of  which  the  least  proof 
could  never  be  made  out  against  them  ;  yet  their  petitions  were 
not  minded. 

'  By  the  demise  of  his  late  Majesty  King  George  the  First, 
which  happened  at  Hanover  on  or  about  the  nth  day  of  June 
1727,  Bernardi  and  his  two  fellow-sufferers,  being  all  the  survivors 
of  the  said  miserable  State-Monuments,  had  again  liberty  by 
law  to  pray  for  a  trial  or  to  be  admitted  to  bail  ;  whereupon 
Bernardi,  on  the  16th  day  of  June  1727,  moved  the  Court  of 
King's  Bench  by  his  Council  for  an  Habeas  Corpus  to  bring  him 


^Iu  Jhtmilt)  of  <&-Asszls.  25 


up  in  order  to  be  tried,  bailed,  or  discharged,  according  to  law  ; 
such  Council  at  the  same  time  apprising  the  Court,  that  Bernardi 
had,  so  long  ago  as  the  25th  day  of  March  1696,  been  committed 
to  Newgate  by  the  late  Duke  of  Shrewsbury,  then  Secretary  of 
State,  on  suspicion  of  being  concerned  in  a  horrid  conspiracy  to 
assassinate  his  late  Majesty  King  William  III.,  but  without  any 
proof,  there  not  being  so  much  as  the  oath  of  one  single  witness 
made  against  him,  nor  was  it  specified  in  his  commitment  that 
he  was  charged  upon  oath  ;  and  no  proof  at  any  time  afterwards 
ever  appearing  against  him,  to  induce  the  bringing  him  to  a  trial, 
several  Acts  of  Parliament  had  been  made  to  keep  him  in  prison, 
and  by  the  last  of  them  he  was  confined  during  the  pleasure 
of  his  said  late  Majesty  King  George  I.,  by  whose  decease 
Bernardi  was  become  entitled  to  his  liberty,  there  being  no  law 
then  in  force  to  detain  him  in  prison ;  and  the  Court  then  made 
a  rule  for  such  Habeas  Corpus  accordingly,  though  the  motion 
was  strongly  opposed  by  the  Attorney-General,  Sir  Philip  Yorke. 

'  The  prisoners  were,  however,  remanded  back  to  Newgate, 
and  a  Bill  was  soon  after  brought  into  Parliament,  and  speedily 
passed  into  an  Act  (1  George  II.  sect.  1.  c.  4),  to  continue  his 
imprisonment  with  his  other  two  fellow-sufferers,  BLACKBURN 
and  CASSELS,  during  his  present  Majesty's  pleasure.  The  follow- 
ing printed  case  was  delivered  to  all  the  Lords  and  Commons 
against  the  Bill,  while  the  same  was  under  the  consideration  of 
the  two  Houses,  viz., — 

'  "  The  most  sad  and  deplorable  case  of  ROBERT  BLACKBURN, 
John   Bernardi,  and  Robert  Cassels,  humbly  offered 

D 


20  ^Iu  Jumili)  of  Citsscls. 

against  the  Bill  now  depending  in  Parliament  for  continuing 
their  imprisonment,  after  a  confinement  worse  than  death 
by  them  already  undergone,  of  upwards  of  ONE-AND-THIRTY 
YEARS  in  Newgate. 
'  "  In  March  and  April  1696  they  were  committed.  The  crime 
they  were  charged  with  in  their  respective  commitments  was 
High  Treason,  in  conspiring  the  murder  and  assassination  of  his 
late  Majesty  King  William  III.,  but  without  proof,  there  being 
not  so  much  as  the  oath  of  one  single  witness  made  against  any 
of  them,  nor  is  it  specified  in  their  commitments  that  they  were 
charged  upon  oath :  That  no  proof  appearing  against  them 
whereby  to  bring  them  to  a  trial,  several  Acts  of  Parliament 
had  been  made  to  keep  them  in  prison,  the  last  of  which  left 
them  to  his  late  Majesty's  pleasure,  and  then  by  the  demise  of 
the  King  they  were  become  entitled  to  their  liberty  :  That  the 
persons  charged  with  this  most  horrid  and  detestable  crime  were 
originally  six,,  namely,  James  Counter,  Robert  Meldrum, 
James  Chambers,  Robert  Blackburn,  John  Bernardi,  and 
Robert  Cassels  :  Counter  was  set  at  liberty  by  Queen  Anne, 
and  Meldrum  and  Chambers  died  in  prison,  so  that  there 
were  then  remaining  only  the  last  three  of  these  miserable, 
wretched,  and  most  unfortunate  prisoners,  who  solemnly  dis- 
claim, and  from  their  hearts  ever  did  and  do  abhor  and  detest, 
the  said  villainous  crime  so  laid  to  their  charge  as  aforesaid  ;  and 
although  their  number  was  then  reduced  to  three  as  before 
mentioned,  yet  nevertheless  by  that  Bill  they  were  intended  to 
be  further  confined  :   That  they  were  reduced  to  extreme  miseries 


^hc  Jutmilu  of  Cassels. 


by  their  said  tedious  confinement  of  one-and-thirty  years  and 
upwards,  in  a  melancholy,  dismal,  and  loathsome  gaol,  and  by 
their  great  age,  infirmity,  and  poverty  ;  and  though  they  had  been 
confined  close  prisoners  of  State  in  Newgate  for  upwards  of  one- 
and-thirty  years  as  aforesaid,  yet  they  had  never  had  one  penny 
allowance  from  the  Government. 

' "  Wherefore,  and  in  regard  to  the  unprecedented  and  un- 
paralleled hardships  of  their  case,  it  was  humbly  hoped  the 
said  Bill  should  not  pass. 

'  Subscribed,        Robert  Blackburn. 
John  Bernardi. 

Robert  Cassels. 
'  "  Newgate,  July  $th,  1727." 

'  Copies  of  commitments  follow,  whereby  it  plainly  appears  that 
none  of  the  said  three  prisoners  were  committed  upon  oath. 

'These  are,  in  His  Majesty's  name,  to  authorize  and  require 
you  to  receive  into  your  custody  the  body  of Bernardi,  here- 
with sent  you  for  high  treason,  in  conspiring  the  assassination  and 
murder  of  the  King  ;  and  you  are  to  keep  him  safe  until  he  shall 
be  delivered  by  due  course  of  law,  and  for  so  doing  this  shall  be 
your  warrant.  — Given  at  the  Court  at  Whitehall  the  25th  of  March 
1696.                                                                    Shrewsbury.' 

'  To  the  Keeper  of  Newgate, 
or  his  Deputy.' 

'  (Vera  copia,  examinat.  per  James  Fell.) 

'  N.B. — The  commitments  of  Mr.  BLACKBURN  and  Cassels  are 
to  the  same  effect  with  Bernardi's.' 


28  %ht  Jamily  ot  QLxsszls. 

'  A  Copy  of  the  Keeper's  Certificate,  setting  forth  that  none 
of  the  said  three  prisoners  were  committed  upon  oath  ;  which 
Certificate  was  annexed  to  one  of  Bernardi's  Petitions  to  the 
King  :— 

'Whereas  James  Gunter,  alias  COUNTER,  alias  Rumsey, 
James  Chambers,  Robert  Meldrum,  Robert  Blackburn, 
Robert  Cassels,  and  John  Bernardi  were  committed  to  New- 
gate in  1696,  for  conspiring  to  assassinate  his  late  Majesty  King 
William  the  Third,  as  appears  by  copies  of  their  several  commit- 
ments, signed  by  James  Fell,  the  Keeper  of  Newgate,  and  by  his 
Head-Turnkey,  Bodenham  Rouse,  which  I  have  seen  and  examined : 
I  hereby  certify  that  none  of  the  before-named  persons  are  charged 
upon  any  oath  specified  in  the  said  copies  of  their  respective  com- 
mitments, except  the  above-said  Counter,  who  stands  charged 
in  his  commitment  for  the  said  crime,  upon  the  oath  of  one 
George  HARRIS,  Gent. — Given  under  my  hand  this  15th  day  of 

August  1727. 

'  Thomas  Allen.' 

ROBERT  Cassels  died  in  Newgate,  5th  September  1734,  after 
having  been  a  State  prisoner  thirty-eight  years.  And  Bernardi 
died  there  the  latter  end  of  September  1736,  in  the  eighty-second 
year  of  his  age.  No  further  information  can  now  be  obtained  re- 
garding the  incarceration  of  ROBERT  CASSELS,  as  it  will  be  seen 
by  the  following  letter  from  the  Governor  of  Newgate  that  all 
the  papers  and  records  of  that  prison  were  destroyed  by  fire  in 
1780:— 


'  Gaol  of  Newgate, 
l6t/i  day  of  January  1868. 
'  Sir, — I  regret  that  I  cannot  assist  you  in  any  way  as  to  the 
inquiries  respecting  the  persons  named  in  your  letter  of  the  nth 
inst.,  but  from  the  reports  I  gather  that  all  the  books,  documents, 
papers,  etc.,  were  destroyed  when  the  old  prison  was  attacked  and 
demolished  by  the  rioters  of  the  "Gordon  Riots"  in  1780. — I  am, 
Sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

(Signed)         '  E.  J.  Jonas, 
'  Robert  Cassels,  Esq.,  Governor.' 

Blackford  House,  Edinburgh.' 

I.  James  CASSILLIS  was  born  in  1624,  and  died  3d  December 
1699,  aged  seventy-five  years. 

He  married  EuPHAM  or  EUPIIEMIA  CASSILLIS  (who  was  pro- 
bably a  relative).  She  was  born  in  1623,  and  died  23d  March 
1702,  aged  seventy-nine  years. 

He  was  a  shipowner  in  Borrowstouness,  evidently  in  affluent 
circumstances,  judging  from  the  imposing  residence  he  occupied 
nearly  in  the  centre  of  the  town,  and  from  the  handsome  monu- 
ment erected  to  the  memory  of  himself  and  wife  in  the  churchyard 
of  the  parish. 

The  old  residence  of  the  family  still  stands  in  good  preserva- 
tion. It  is  a  large  roomy  stone  mansion,  finished  inside  with 
panelled  wainscoting.  The  fireplaces  are  of  great  size,  fitted  up 
all  round  with  ornamental  Dutch  glazed  tiles.  On  the  gable 
which  projects  into  the  street,  the  letters  I.  C.  and  E.  C.  are  carved, 
being  the  initial  letters  of  JAMES  and  Euphemia  CASSILLIS. 


30  ^he  Jitmiln  of  Cassds. 

Though  apparently  a  man  of  wealth  and  intelligence,  it  is  not 
so  satisfactory  to  state  that  in  1679  he  was  appointed  by  the 
Privy  Council  chairman  of  a  jury  for  the  trial  of  witches  in  the 
barony,  when  several  old  women  were  condemned  and  burned  for 
that  imaginary  crime. 

James  AND  Euphemia  CASSILLIS  had  the  following  children 
(see  Parish  Register  of  Bo'ness)  : — 

'  1.  Andrew  Cassills,  lawful  son  to  James  and  Effie 
CASSILLS,  was  born  on  ye  6  day,  and  baptized  on  ye  8  day  of 
September  1656,  at  Borrowstouness,  by  Mr.  John  Wauch,1 
minister.  PATRICK  CASSILLIS,  presentor  of  the  child  ;  and  Andrew 
Burnsyde  and  James  Hunter,  witnesses. 

'  2.  Thomas  Cassillis,  lawful  son  to  James  Cassillis,  and 
EFFIE  CASSILLIS,  his  spouse,  was  born  on  ye  19  July  1658,  and 
baptized  on  ye  25  yrof,  at  Bo'ness,  by  Mr.  John  Wauch,  minister 
yr.  PATRICK  CASSILLIS  presentor  of  the  child  ;  James  Grinton, 
and  Alexander  Drysdale,  witnesses.' 

He  married  Agnes  RUSSELL,  and  had  issue  as  follows  : — 

'  1.  Christina  was  baptized  12  October  1686.     Presented 
by  James  Cassils,  elder,  in  the  father's  absence. 
'2.  EuPHAM,  born  20  December  1694. 
'  3.  THOMAS,  born  2d,  and  baptized  15  July  1697. 
'4.  Margaret,  born  20  January  1699. 
'  3.  John  Cassillis,  lawful   son  to  James    Cassillis  and 
Eupham  Cassillis,  his  spouse,  was  born  on  ye  4  of  November 
1660,  and  baptized  on  ye  7th  of  November  1660,  at  Borrowstou- 

1  See  Note,  No.  1. 


Uhc  Jamilrt  of  &&&8zl&.  3i 

ness  by  Mr.  John  Wauch,  minister  yer.  William  Jamieson, 
Ardgowan,  James  Grinton,  witnesses. 

'  4.  John  Cassills,  lawful  son  to  James  Cassills  and  Eupham 
CASSILLS,  was  born  upon  ye  1st  of  April  1662,  and  was  baptized 
upon  ye  5  of  said  month.  Was  presented  by  William  Jamie- 
SON  in  his  father's  absence.  Witnesses,  John  Hamilton,  Laird 
of  Grange,  James  Grinton,  and  John  R . 

'  5.  John  Cassills,  son  to  James  and  Eupham  Cassills,  was 
born  upon  ye  23d  April,  and  baptized  upon  ye  2d  of  May  1664. 
Witnesses,  Andrew  Burnsyde  and  James  Glass.  William 
Jamieson  presenter  of  the  child. 

'  6.  Patrick  Cassills,  son  to  James  Cassills  and  Eupham 
Cassills,  was  baptized  on  ye  22d  of  August,  and  born  the  12th, 
1665. 

'  7.  Andrew  Cassills,  son  to  James  Cassills  and  Eupham 
Cassills,  his  spouse,  was  born  upon  ye  25  of  May  1668,  and 
baptized  upon  ye  31  May.  Witnesses,  ALEXANDER  DRYSDALE, 
James  Glass,  and  John  Short.  Presented  by  James  Hunter, 
in  absence  of  the  father.' 

II.  Andrew  Cassills,  son  of  James  and  Euphemia  Cassills, 

born,  as  before  mentioned,  25th  May  1668.  Was  a  shipowner  and 
merchant,  and  chief  Magistrate  of  Borrowstouness. 

He  married,  on  4th  February  1696,  'Hannah  Gib,1  daughter 
to  John  Gib  and  Anna  STEWART,  born  5th  March  1673,  and 
baptized     13th    yrof.        Witnesses,    ARCHIBALD    Stewart    and 

1  See  Note,  No.  2. 


32  ^Ite  Jiumlii  of  tassels. 


Andrew  Diston.'     She  is  said  to  have  been  of  the  honourable 
baronetical  family,  GlB  of  CARRIBBER. 

Andrew  Cassills  and  Hannah  Gib  had  the  following 
children,  viz., — 

1.  James  CASSELS,  born  17th  of  October,  and  baptized  6th 
November  1696. 

2.  John  CASSELS,  born  the  last  day  of  September,  and  baptized 
the  28th  of  October  1701. 

3.  HANNAH  CASSELS,  born  the  27th  of  May,  and  baptized  15th 
June  1703. 

III.  JAMES  CASSELS,  born,  as  before  mentioned,  17th  October 
1696,  died  13th  March  1760.  Was  a  successful  merchant  and 
shipowner  at  Bo'ness,  and  retired  from  business  at  an  early  age. 

During  the  Rebellion  in  1745-6,  a  number  of  dragoons  were 
quartered  in  his  house,  previous  to  the  battle  of  Falkirk.  His 
property  was  near  Linlithgow.  He  appears  to  have  been  the  first 
of  his  family  who  changed  the  spelling  of  his  name  to  CASSELS, 
which  mode  has  since  been  continued  by  his  descendants. 

He  married,1  first,  on  6th  March  1721,  HANNAH  Spiers  or 
Spears,  daughter  of  Robert  Spears  or  Spiers,  Esq.,  and  Mar- 
garet STEWART,  his  wife,  of  a  most  honourable  family,  connected 
by  marriage  with  the  families  of  FERGUSON  of  RAITH,  FAIRFAX 
of  the  Holmes,  Baronet,  Dalgliesh  of  Scotscraig,  Heriot 
of  RAMORNIE.  She  was  born  6th  December  1697,  baptized  12th 
June  1705,  and  died  5th  November  1733. 

1  See  Note,  No.  3. 


^Itc  Jfatnihj  of  Gtassels.  33 

James  Cassels  and  Hannah  Spiers  had  the  following 
children  : — 

1.  Margaret,  born  5th  September  1722,  died  when  seven 
weeks  old. 

2.  Hannah,  born  26th  October  1723,  died  in  September  1767. 
She  married  John  Thomson,  Esq.,  and  had  children,  who  died 
without  issue. 

3.  James,  born  2d  January  1726,  died  26th  January  1730. 

4.  ROBERT,  born  5th  March  1728.  He  was  lost  at  sea  in  the 
year  1750,  on  a  voyage  from  South  Carolina. 

5.  MARGARET,  born  30th  November  1729,  died  20th  Dec.  1729. 

6.  ANDREW,  born  12th  August  173 1,  baptized  17th,  died  at 
Leith,  27th  May  18 14. 

JAMES  CASSELS  married,  secondly,  on  13th  February  1735, 
Jean  Stevenson.  She  was  born  10th  March  1699,  and  died  in 
November  1756. 

Their  children  were  as  follows  : — 

1.  JAMES,  born  27th  January  1736,  died  1st  March  1798. 

2,  3.  Eupham  and  Jean,  twins,  born  4th  November  1737. 
Jean  died  in  1745,  and  Eupham  died  2d  July  1756. 

4.  Helen,  born  16th  December  1740,  died  20th  Dec.  1741. 

Colonel  JAMES  CASSELS  of  Flask,  in  the  county  of  Linlithgow, 
born,  as  before  stated,  27th  January  1736.  Married  Miss  Mann, 
an  American  lady,  and  had  an  only  child, 

John  Cassels,  who  married  Jane  Handy,  an  American  lady 
from  Rhode  Island.  He  died  about  the  year  1830,  leaving  three 
daughters,  viz., — 

E 


34  %)xz  Jfamiln  oi  <&xzzzls. 

i.  Anne,  died  unmarried. 

2.  Susan,  married  to  James  B.  Meredith,  Esq.,  Solicitor, 
London,  and  died  without  issue. 

3.  JANE,  died  unmarried. 

This  Branch  of  the  family  is  now  therefore  extinct. 

Walter  Gibson  Cassels  wrote  as  follows  regarding 
Colonel  Cassels  :  — '  My  father's  brother,  Colonel  James 
CASSELS,  went  to  America  a  young  man,  and  was  a  very  suc- 
cessful cultivator  and  planter  at  George  Town,  South  Carolina. 
He  took  the  side  of  his  native  country  at  the  Revolution  in 
America,  and  raised  and  commanded  a  cavalry  regiment  of 
Militia  during  the  war.  He  had  made  a  large  fortune,  and  also 
married  an  American  lady  of  a  good  estate.  At  the  end  of  the 
American  war  his  estates  were  confiscated,  but  as  his  only  son, 
JOHN  CASSELS,  was  a  minor,  his  mother's  property  was  saved 
to  him,  and  he  went  to  Carolina,  and  lived  for  many  years  on  his 
estate.  He  then  sold  it  for  about  £25,000  sterling,  and  came  to 
his  father's  property  in  Scotland,  a  place  called  Flask,  near 
Linlithgow,  which  afterwards  he  sold,  and  went  to  London,  where 
he  died  about  1830. 

'  Two  daughters  are  now  alive,  one  single,  and  one  married,  and 
they  enjoy  the  money  he  left,  which,  from  his  mode  of  living  and 
other  circumstances,  was  reduced  to  about  £16,000  sterling. 

'  Colonel  Cassels  died  about  the  year  1798,  in  my  father's 
house  in  Cassels  Place,  Leith. 

He  was  a  very  fine-looking  man,  quite  a  gentleman,  remark- 
ably well  informed,  and  a  good  linguist.     He  was  fond  of  abstract 


%ht  Jfatttilg  at  Glusszis.  35 

study,  and  a  reader  of  old  historical  books,  particularly  those 
written  in  Latin  and  French.  Though  rather  of  a  retiring  dispo- 
sition, he  was  a  very  entertaining  companion,  and  was  much 
admired  by  the  society  in  the  vicinity  of  his  small  estate.  When 
he  was  driven  from  his  property  in  Carolina,  he  obtained  a 
compensation  of  a  few  thousand  pounds  from  the  British  Govern- 
ment. If  he  had  joined  the  American  Standard,  I  have  reason  to 
think  his  property  at  this  day  would  have  been  worth  at  least  One 
hundred  thousand  pounds  sterling.  His  son  John  was  a  kind- 
hearted,  but  rather  eccentric  man,  and  was  an  amusing  companion. 
He  was  educated  for  the  Bar  along  with  my  brother  Andrew.' 

IV.  ANDREW  Cassels,  youngest  and  only  surviving  son  of 
James  Cassels  and  Hannah  Spiers,  born  12th  August  173 1,  at 
Borrowstouness, — married  twice.  Borrowstouness  was  a  place  of 
considerable  importance  between  the  years  1600  and  1700,  but 
after  the  latter  period  began  to  decline.  Leith  then  became  the 
principal  shipping  port  on  the  east  coast  of  Scotland,  to  which 
place  Andrew  Cassels  removed,  after  his  father's  death,  in  the 
year  1760,  where  he  was  an  extensive  shipowner  and  merchant,  and 
died  possessed  of  considerable  property.  He  purchased  a  large 
property  at  the  foot  of  Leith  Walk,  and  on  it  built  his  residence, 
and  the  terrace  of  houses  called  '  Cassels  Place  '  after  his  name. 

He  was  appointed  a  magistrate  of  Leith  in  1799.  And  chief 
magistrate  in  1800. 

He  was  religious,  and  exemplary  in  all  the  relations  of  life, 
amiable,  kind-hearted,  and  '  given  to  hospitality' 


30  nz  Jamilg  of  QLzssrts. 

He  was  frequently  consulted  by  the  Government  regarding 
matters  of  importance. 

In  the  Records  of  the  '  Leith  Thursday's  Club,'  the  following 
entries  appear  :  — 

'  5  February  1795. 
'  Amongst  absent  Members, 
'  Andrew  Cassels,     Advising  Mr.  Pit. 
'  John  Scougall,1  Do. 

'Absent,  12  February  1795, 

Andrew  Cassels,  ] 
, .   .      „  ,,      }  Advising  Mr.  Pit  how  to  man  ye  Navy. 

'John  Scougall,     ) 

'Absent,  19  February  1795, 
'  Andrew  Cassels, 


,  Dining  with  Pit  and  Dundas. 
j  ohn  Scougall, 

'  Absent,  27  February  1795, 
'  Andrew  Cassels, 


,  With  Pit  laying  on  Taxes. 
John  Scougall,     ) 

'  Absent,  5  March  1795, 
'  Andrew  Cassels, ' 


,  At  Court. 
John  Scougall, 

'Absent,  12  March  1795, 

'  Andrew  Cassels, ) 

.  T  ,      0  ,.      [  On  their  way  from  London.' 

John  Scougall,     ) 

1  See  Note,  No.  4. 


^lu  JFamilg  of  Casseb. 


W.  G.  CASSELS  wrote  on  2d  March  1841  as  follows  regarding 
his  father : — 

'  My  father  was  eighty-three  when  he  died,  and  the  day  he 
died,  he  had  walked  about  Edinburgh  and  Leith  during  the  day, 
dined  at  home,  and  died  going  down  to  take  a  walk  in  the  garden, 
27  May  1 8 14.' 

He  married,  first,  on  9th  February  1761,  Margaret  Ritchie, 
born  27th  July  1742.  She  died  23d  August  1764.  She 
was  an  heiress,  and  daughter  of  John  Ritchie,  Esq.,  of 
Borrowstouness.  Seven  generations  of  John  RlTCHlES  are 
said  to  have  been  born,  and  to  have  died,  in  the  same  house  at 
Borrowstouness. 

Andrew  Cassels  and  Margaret  Ritchie  had  the  following 

children  : — 

1.  CATHARINE,    born    29th    November    1761  ;     died    un- 
married. 

2.  James,  born  9th  April  1763,  died  14th  November  1822. 
He  was  a  physician  at  Lancaster,  England,  where  he  was 

much  respected. 

He  married,  12th  June  1S05,  Mary,  eldest  daughter  and 
co-heir  (with  her  sisters,  Elizabeth,  who  married  Richard 
Graves  Hodgson,  Esq.  of  Ashfield,  and  has  issue,  and 
Susannah,  who  is  unmarried)  of  the  Rev.  Francis  Hodgson,1 
perpetual  curate  of  Little  Bolton,  and  Head-Master  of  the 
Free  Grammar  School,  Bury,  Lancashire.  He  married 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Samuel  Holker,  Esq.  of  Top-o'-the- 
1  See  Note,  No.  5. 


38  %\\t  Jntmilrj  of  €<xsszl&. 

Hill,  Lancashire,  widow   of  Aaron  Manby,    Esquire.     Mrs. 
Cassels  died  29th  October  1844. 
3.  JOHN,  born  8th  August  1764. 

He  was  in  the  H.E.I.C.  service,  and  died,  unmarried,  in 
1783,  on  a  voyage  to  the  East  Indies  in  the  Bushbridge. 
Dr.  James  Cassels  and  his  wife,  Mary  Hodgson,  had  the 
following  children  : — 

1.  Andrew,  born  12th  March  1806,  vicar  of  the  parish  of 
Battley  in  Yorkshire,  England. 

He  married,  21st  January  1857,  HANNAH  CASSELS  ANDERSON, 
daughter  of  William  Anderson,  Esq.  of  Hallyards,  Peeblesshire, 
and  of  8  Regent  Terrace,  Edinburgh,  and  has  issue  as  follows  : — 

JANE  BROWN,  born  20th  November  1857. 

Charles  James  Hodgson,  18th  January  1859. 

John  Greenwood,  born  10th  August  i860. 

ANDREW,  born  21st  December  1S61,  died  23d  April  1863. 

William  Anderson,  born  26th  January  1864. 

Francis  Andrew,  born  5  th  April  1865. 

2.  Francis  Hodgson  Cassels,  M.D.,  bom  25th  March  1808, 
died  unmarried  9th  June  1868. 

3.  JOHN  CASSELS,  born  20th  August  1812,  died  February  1869, 
merchant  in  Oporto;  married  21st  October  1843,  ETHELINDA, 
born  13th  July  1821,  daughter  of  John  Cox,  Esquire,  Olivers, 
Rointwich,  Gloucestershire,  England,  and  has  issue  : — 

James,  born  3d  November  1844,  married  in   1867  Eliza- 
beth Jones. 

John  Wilberforce,  born  9th  March  1846. 


^he  Jamilg  of  <&&8&zl&.  39 

Walter  Ritchie,  born  18th  March  1848. 
Andrew  Roys,  born  28th  July  1849. 
Mary  Elizabeth,  born  7th  May  185 1. 
Herbert  Wynn,  born  25th  December  1852. 
ETHELINDA  WOODROW,  born  25th  July  1854. 
Margaret  Ritchie,  born  15th  May  1856. 
William  Wharton,  born  nth  March  1858. 
Francis  Kennedy,  born  3d  November  1859. 
Jessie  Gardiner,  born  26th  August  1861. 
Bertha  Chance,  born  28th  September  1863. 
Helen  Elizabeth,  born  23d  June  1865. 

4.  Susan   Cassels  married   her  cousin,  Andrew  Cassels 
Brown,  Esq.,  of  Liverpool,  22d  April  1840,  and  has  issue : — 

James  Cassels,  born  16th  January  1841,  clergyman  of 
the  Church  of  England. 

Hannah  Elizabeth,  born  19th  September  1842  ; 
married,  7th  September  1870,  to  Dr.  Rawdon,  surgeon, 
Liverpool. 

DAVID,  born  21st  February  1845,  Lieutenant,  Royal  Navy. 

Susannah  Hodgson,  born  28th  June  1848. 

MARY,  bom  15th  May  1851. 

5.  Elizabeth   Cassels,  born  29th   March    1817  ;   died,    un- 
married, 16th  October  1839. 

6.  James  Cassels,  died  in  infancy. 

7.  Walter  Cassels,  died  in  infancy. 

8.  Mary  Cassels,  died  in  infancy. 

9.  Anne  Cassels,  died  in  infancy. 


40  ^hc  Jitmilri  of  Cvtsscls. 

Andrew  Cassels  married,  secondly,  on  28th  January  1767,1 
Anne  Gibson,  born  nth  May  1741,  died  8th  June  181 1.  She 
was  daughter  and  heiress  of  Walter  Gibson,  Esq.  of  Greenknowe, 
Stirlingshire,  by  his  wife  Jean,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  John  Brown 
of  Abercorn. 

Andrew  Cassels  and  Anne  Gibson  had  the  following 
children  : — 

1.  Walter  Cassels,  born  25th  November  1767,  died  9th 
February  1768. 

2.  Jane  Cassels,  born  30th  December  1768,  died  20th  March 
i860,  aged  ninety-two. 

She  married  THOMAS  GlLLESPY,  Esq.  of  London.  They  had 
an  only  child,  Thomas,  a  merchant  in  London,  who  married  Martha 
Roebuck,  and  has  a  large  family. 

3.  Andrew  Cassels,  born  9th  September  1770,  died  7th 
January  1809.  He  took  his  degree  of  M.A.  at  Edinburgh  Uni- 
versity in  1792. 

He  was  educated  for  the  English  Bar,  and  was  a  man  of  great 
ability,  and  a  most  fascinating  companion.  He  was  an  intimate 
friend  of  Thomas  Erskine,  Lord  Chancellor  of  England,  by  whom 
he  was  offered  a  Judgeship  in  Canada,  which  he  declined.  He  was 
shortly  afterwards,  in  1807,  appointed  by  him  King's  Advocate  at 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  died  there,  Judge  of  the  Admiralty 
Court,  in  1809,  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-nine. 

The  following  letter  was  addressed  by  him  to  his  father,  after 
his  arrival  at  the  Cape  : — 

1  See  Note,  No.  6. 


%ht  Jfamihj  of  Casscls.  4i 

'  Cape  Town,  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
-id  December  1807. 

'  We  arrived  here  on  Wednesday,  the  2d  inst.,  after  a  very  tedi- 
ous passage — favourable,  indeed,  in  point  of  weather,  but  in  every 
other  respect  a  period  of  greater  inconvenience  to  me,  and  of  more 
severe  trial  than  I  can  easily  express. 

'  Had  I,  amidst  bad  accommodation,  bad  treatment,  and  defici- 
ency of  proper  stores,  enjoyed  my  health,  I  might  have  cared  less 
for  these  privations,  but  it  pleased  God  also  to  afflict  me  with 
repeated  and  dangerous  sickness.  I  was  first  attacked  on  the  1 5th 
September,  afterwards  on  the  29th,  and  at  two  subsequent  periods 
in  October  and  November,  with  violent  bowel  complaint,  threaten- 
ing immediate  inflammation  and  speedy  dissolution. 

'  I  shall  not  enlarge  upon  the  unfortunate  situation  of  being  in 
extreme  agony  for  sixty  hours  without  relief  from  the  most  power- 
ful medicines,  in  a  crowded  ship,  under  a  vertical  sun,  surrounded 
by  strangers,  and,  I  may  say,  without  a  hope  of  surviving. 

'  At  the  same  time  I  was  not  without  assistance.  The  weather 
permitting,  Captain  Woolcombe  sent  his  surgeon  on  board,  and  he 
and  Captain  Davies  came  themselves  to  see  me.  Dr.  Hussey  too, 
a  passenger  in  the  Alfred,  Inspecting  Physician  of  Hospitals  here, 
visited  me  with  the  utmost  kindness  and  attention,  and  in  addition  to 
what  I  had  myself,  was  supplied  by  General  Wetherall,  also  in  the 
Alfred  with  his  family,  with  several  useful  and  necessary  articles. 

'  It  would  ill  become  me,  however,  not  to  acknowledge  with  gra- 
titude, that  my  chief  consolation  and  support  were  in  the  fruits  of 
those  religious  impressions,  for  which  I  have  to  thank  you  and  my 

F 


42  %kz  Jhunilt)  of  (Eassels. 

mother.  Resignation  to  the  will  of  God,  and  trust  in  His  mercy, 
supported  my  sinking  spirits,  and  produced  a  composure  of  mind 
infinitely  greater  than  amidst  my  bodily  sufferings  I  could  have 
believed. 

'  I  cannot  help  adding  that  I  had  particular  satisfaction  in  per- 
using the  Psalms,  and  frequently  recalled  many  expressions  of  my 
good  old  grandmother,  whose  favourite  study  they  were.  Amongst 
many  others,  you  may  easily  see,  by  referring  to  them,  how  well 
the  88,  86,  JJ,  143,  25  were  adapted  to  my  situation.  I  am 
afraid  you  will  suspect  that  these  feelings  will  only  be  temporary, 
and  I  fear  it  myself ;  at  all  events,  in  the  day  of  affliction  I  have 
found  their  value,  and  if  it  please  God  to  prosper  my  undertakings, 
I  hope  I  shall  not  forget  them. 

'  I  need  not  say  that,  placed  for  a  time  at  least  in  this  remote 
corner  of  the  world,  every  morsel  of  intelligence  from  relations  and 
friends  in  Europe  is  received  with  the  greatest  avidity,  and  I  con- 
jure you  to  omit  no  opportunity  of  procuring  information  and 
sending  letters.  I  need  not  enumerate  all  my  relations  and  friends, 
who  have  my  affectionate  regards,  nor  can  they  expect  I  should 
write  to  them  separately. 

'  I  shall  only  add,  that  my  earnest  wish  is  once  more  to  see  you 
all  in  health  round  the  fireside,  the  comfort  and  value  of  which 
increase  in  my  mind  the  further  I  am  removed  from  it. 

'  My  mother  and  Harriet,  probably  your  chief  or  only  com- 
panions, now  know  all  I  would  express.' 

The  following  letter  was  dictated  by  him,  and  addressed  to  his 


^vEIic  Jfamilg  of  (Hasstls.  43 

brother-in-law,  Thomas  Gillespy,  Esq.,  of  London,  and  signed  by 
his  initials  A.  C. : — 

'  Cape  Town,  October  4,  1808. 

'  DEAR  Sir, — To  prevent  the  probability  of  false  or  unnecessary 
alarm,  I  have  requested  Oliver  shortly  to  state,  that  since  my  last 
I  have  been  reduced  to  the  lowest  possible  state,  without  even  the 
hope  of  recovering.  But  thank  God,  about  ten  days  ago,  after  being 
in  a  state  of  insensibility  thirty-six  hours,  a  favourable  crisis  took 
place,  much  to  the  astonishment  of  my  medical  attendants,  and  I  am 
now  once  more  blessed  with  a  fair  prospect  of  a  gradual  restoration. 

'All  other  particulars  of  my  situation  must  necessarily  be  deferred. 
I  may  just  say  that  I  have  every  reason  to  be  highly  gratified  with 
the  anxiety  and  attention  of  all  descriptions  of  persons,  and  with 
the  general  influence,  respectability,  and  importance  of  my  situa- 
tion. I  received  your  letter  of  the  8th  June,  by  a  prize  taken  by 
the  Travcis  Indiaman,  near  the  line,  called  the  Jenny  of  Hamburg, 
bound  from  Buenos  Ayres  to  Tonnengen,  sent  in  here  a  few 
days  ago,  valued  at  Thousand  pounds.  You  will  communicate 
the  real  state  of  my  health  to  my  several  friends. — Believe  me, 
yours  truly,  A.  C 

The  following  memorandum  was  added  by  his  brother,  W.  G. 

Cassels  : — 

'The  above  initials  were  written  by  my  brother  Andrew.  The 
hope  of  recovery  held  out  in  this  letter  was  unfortunately  dis- 
appointed, his  death  having  taken  place  on  the  7th  January  1809 

'  Walter  G.  Cassels.' 


44  %kz  Jhtmihj  of  (ftasscls. 

The  following  is  substance  of  part  of  a  speech  delivered  by  the 
Hon.  Andrew  Cassels,  King's  Advocate,  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
on  taking  the  chair  as  Deputy-Judge  of  the  Vice-Admiralty  Court, 
13th  July  1808:— 

'  Comparatively  speaking,  little  or  no  responsibility  was  attached 
to  my  official  situation  as  His  Majesty's  Advocate.  In  this  chair 
I  feel  myself  responsible  not  only  for  my  own  acts  and  decrees, 
but  for  the  acts  and  conduct  of  every  officer  of  the  Court,  as  far  as 
they  are  under  my  discretionary  direction  or  control.  I  feel 
myself  responsible  for  the  national  character,  for  the  dignity  and 
pre-eminence  of  an  English  tribunal,  and  for  the  honour  of  our 
most  gracious  Sovereign,  by  whose  royal  prerogative  this  Court  is 
specially  constituted,  and  from  whom  its  authority  is  immediately 
derived.  To  some  persons  these  remarks  may  appear  unnecessary. 
The  assumption  of  any  office  naturally  implies  a  knowledge  of 
its  relative  duties  and  obligations,  and  the  fixed  intention  of 
faithfully  observing  them.  In  the  present  case,  however,  I  feel 
that  my  introduction  into  office  ought  not  to  pass  over  in  silence. 

'  By  the  absence  of  the  learned  gentleman  who  presided  here, 
necessity,  I  may  say,  places  me  here  that  the  business  of  the 
Court  and  the  public  service  may  not  suffer  by  interruption  or 
delay.  From  the  official  situation  I  previously  held,  and,  indeed, 
from  the  publicity  of  the  fact,  it  would  be  affectation  in  me  to 
profess  ignorance,  that  serious  complaints,  and  severe  animadver- 
sions, well  or  ill  founded,  have  been  circulated  respecting  the 
proceedings  and  practice  of  this  Court.  It  is  not,  therefore,  to 
be  supposed,  that,  in  entering  upon  the  duties  of  this  important 


^hc  Jamily  at  (ftassels.  45 

office,  I  am  to  be  totally  indifferent  to  circumstances  so  materially 
affecting  its  character,  its  consequence,  and  its  utility. 

'  Without  possessing,  and  without  being  entitled  to  possess,  a 
considerable  share  of  public  confidence,  the  administration  of 
justice  must  always  be  unsatisfactory,  and  due  deference  to  the 
laws  is  not  to  be  expected.  I  shall  abstain  as  much  as  possible 
from  any  retrospective  view  of  the  subject. 

'  My  business  is,  by  the  removal  of  every  just  cause  of  com- 
plaint in  future,  to  insure  despatch,  regularity,  and  the  final 
settlement  of  all  contested  claims  upon  legal  and  liberal  principles. 
I  request  it  may  be  understood,  that,  to  silence  all  idle  and 
calumnious  animadversions  upon  the  practice  of  this  Court,  I  hold 
myself  answerable  for  the  correctness  of  its  proceedings,  so  far  as 
in  conformity  with  regular  course  of  business  they  are  brought  to 
my  knowledge. 

'  All  well-founded  complaints  shall  be  received  and  heard  with 
attention,  and  every  necessary  redress  afforded,  and  I  trust  that 
the  gentlemen  who  practise  in  the  Court  will  not  hesitate,  upon 
the  reasonable  request  of  their  clients,  to  make  such  applications 
as  may  from  time  to  time  appear  necessary  to  satisfy  and  promote 
the  ends  of  impartial  justice.  Let  it  be  remembered,  at  the  same 
time,  that  I  am  not  to  be  induced  upon  every  frivolous  pretence  to 
encourage  the  captious  objections  of  ignorance  and  obstinacy,  and 
from  any  mistaken  notion  of  unsubstantial  and  indiscriminate 
popularity  to  trifle  with  the  time  and  dignity  of  the  Court.  At 
the  same  time,  also,  I  entertain  no  ideas  of  acting  upon  any  capri- 
cious or  innovating  principle. 


46  ^hc  Jamily  of  (Hassds. 

'  My  duty,  as  well  as  that  of  others,  is  clearly  laid  down  for  me 
in  His  Majesty's  instructions,  in  the  well-considered  orders  and 
solemn  judgments  of  superior  tribunals,  and  in  the  several  Acts 
of  Parliament. 

'  Upon  these  authorities,  and  not  upon  my  own,  it  shall  be  my 
endeavour  to  act,  and  in  the  application  of  them,  while  I  sit  in  this 
chair,  I  utterly  disclaim  every  thought  and  every  wish  of  a  per- 
sonal nature. 

'  If  by  this  conduct  I  can  have  the  good  fortune  to  conciliate 
the  regard  and  esteem  of  others,  it  will  certainly  increase  my 
happiness ;  if  not,  I  shall  still  retain  the  paramount  consolation 
which  none  can  either  give  to  or  take  from  me,  the  approbation 
of  my  own  mind.' 

4.  HANNAH  CASSELS,  born  17th  March  1772  ;  died  at  Edin- 
burgh, 7th  March  1859.  She  married  DAVID  BROWN,  Esq.,  mer- 
chant, St.  Petersburg,  great-grandson  of  the  Rev.  JOHN  BROWN 
of  Abercorn,  grandfather  of  Anne  Gibson,  wife  of  Andrew 
Cassels,  Esq.  Tho  Browno,  by  the  mumeege  uf  DA¥iD -Drown 
(con  of  tho  Roy,  John  Brown)  with  Margaret  PiudocII,  represent  the 

ancient  <"i™''ly  ^f   T  WJageteaej   T   nrr1     Ti'ilryth     nn    hnir  rrnnrinnl     thoy 
f-^;„g  0^f.',-,,-+   ;n   tl-.^  prm-imntn   mnln  linn 

David  Brown  and  Hannah  Cassels  had  the  following 
children  : — 

1.  John,  died  unmarried. 

2.  Anne,  unmarried  1870. 

3.  HANNAH,  married  ALEXANDER  TWEEDIE,  M.D.,  Lon- 

don, and  has  issue — 


^Itc  Jamils  oi  Cassels. 


Alexander,  died  in  India  in  18 — ,  and  left  issue. 
David,  died  in  Australia  in  1864. 
Hannah,  married  the  Rev.  Mr.   Collins,  clergyman, 
Church  of  England,  London. 

4.  Andrew  Cassels,  merchant,  Liverpool,    dc  <  U  /  8~}/ 
He  married  his  cousin,  SUSAN  Cassels,  daughter  of  Dr. 

James  Cassels  of  Lancaster.     They  have  several  children 
(sec  Cassels). 

5.  Jane,  married  William  Anderson,  Esq.  of  Hallyards, 
Peeblesshire.  She  died  in  July  1850,  leaving  several  chil- 
dren. 

6.  David,  for  many  years  a  merchant  at  Corfu.  He 
married  Mary  Campbell,  and  died  at  Toronto,  Canada,  in 
1864,  leaving  an  only  daughter,  HANNAH. 

7.  Mary,  married,  in  1865,  Mr.  Brown  of  Ashley  Hall. 

8.  Henrietta  Sophia,  married  Robert  Christison, 
M.D.,  Professor  of  Materia  Medica,  Edinburgh  University, 
and  a  distinguished  writer  on  Poisons.  A  She  died  at  Edin- 
burgh, 9th  January  1849,  leaving  three  sons,  Alexander, 
M.D.,  David,  M.D.,  and  John,  W.S. 

9.  Jemima  Henrietta,  married  John  Riddle  Stodart, 
W.S.,  Edinburgh.  She  died  in  1865,  leaving  two  sons, 
Robert  Riddle  and  David  Riddle,  and  two  daughters, 
Hannah,  married  to  Professor  Lorimer,  Edinburgh,  and 
Henrietta. 

5.  Anne  Cassels,  born  9th  January  1774,  died  1st  November 
1774. 


48 


^Ite  Jamil"  of  (teseto. 


4^W 


) 


6.  Anne   Cassels,   born    15th    September    1775,   died   26th 
August  1854,  married  ALEXANDER  HOWDEN,  Esq.,  Leith. 

Their  children  are  as  follows  : — 

1.  ALEXANDER,  married  Miss  Gardner,  died  1866. 

2.  Andrew    Cassels,    W.S.,    Edinburgh,    married,    1st, 
Catharine  Robson  ;  2d,  Miss  Fulton. 

3.  James,    H.E.I.C.S.,    Major-General,    1855,    and    Lieu- 
tenant-General 1868. 

He   married    Margaret    Paterson    Heriot,   and    died    22d 

March  1869,  leaving  two  daughters. 
j~    3.  Anne,  died  without  issue. 
/    5,  AGNES,  married  Mr.  Mason,  architect. 
*>     £L  Jane,  married  Adam    Neill,  Esq.,  Haddington.      She 

died  in  1866. 

5.  John,  died . 

&     £.  Hannah,  married,  6th  November  1868,  the  Rev.  Mr. 

White,  Free  Church  Minister,  Haddington. 
fo  •$.  Charles. 

7.  Walter  Gibson  Cassels,  born  in  Leith,  3d  November 
1777,  who,  on  the  demise  of  his  maternal  grandfather,  inherited  the 
estate  of  Greenknowe,  in  Stirlingshire,  which  he  afterwards  sold  to 
his  cousin  and  brother-in-law,  David  Brown,  Esq. ;  married,  27th 
August  1802,  Janet  Scougall,1  born  5th  September  1782, 
daughter  of  JOHN  SCOUGALL,  Esq.,  an  eminent  merchant  in  Leith. 

She  died  at  Blackford  House,  Edinburgh,  on  25th  May  1855, 
after  a  short  illness,  in  the  seventy-third  year  of  her  age. 

1  See  Note,  No.  7. 


%\u  Jhtmihj  of  (ftasscl*.  49 

The  following  letter,  written  soon  after  her  death,  by  one  of 
her  sons  to  his  brother,  expresses  in  some  measure  the  feelings  of 
her  family  towards  one  so  amiable  and  affectionate  : — 

'  We  are  left  to  mourn  the  loss  of  the  very  best  of  mothers  ; 
the  most  anxious  for  the  spiritual  as  well  as  temporal  welfare 
of  her  children  ;  the  most  affectionate  ;  the  most  pious ;  one 
whose  whole  life  was  indeed  one  uninterrupted  course  of  duty  and 
affection.' 

Walter  Gibson  Cassels  was  for  many  years  Manager  of  the 
National  Bank  of  Scotland,  Leith,  and  afterwards  Manager  of  one 
of  the  English  Joint- Stock  Banks,  and  in  1836  he  was  appointed 
agent  in  London,  where  he  remained  several  years.  During  his 
residence  there  he  published  several  pamphlets  on  the  Currency 
Question,  and  gave  evidence  before  a  Committee  of  the  House  of 
Commons  regarding  the  state  of  Currency  and  Banking  in  Eng- 
land. After  his  return  to  Scotland,  he  took  an  active  part  in 
favour  of  the  Free  Church  at  the  Disruption  in  1843,  and  was 
appointed  an  elder  of  Free  St.  George's  Church,  Edinburgh,  in 
1853.  He  also  acted  as  Honorary  Secretary  to  the  Association 
for  Prevention  of  Sunday  Travelling  on  Railroads. 

In  a  note  at  page  383,  in  '  Memoirs  of  the  Life  of  Sir  Andrew 
Agnew  of  Lochnaw,  Bart.,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  M'Crie,  1850,' 
the  following  allusion  is  made  to  him: — '  Among  those  who  actively 
co-operated  with  Sir  Andrew  in  the  agitation  against  Sabbath 
railway  traffic,  we  have  great  pleasure  in  mentioning  the  names  of 
Mr.  Charles  Philp,  of  Leith,  Dr.  Smyttan,  Mr.  Makgill  Crichton,  Mr. 
James  Bridges,  Mr.  W.  G.  Cassels,  and  Mr.  James  Balfour,  junr.' 

G 


50  'TEhc  Jitmilu  of  <&zs>s>zls. 

He  was  appointed  a  magistrate  of  Leith  in  1812,  and  Chief 
Magistrate  in  181 3. 

He  took  an  active  part  in  politics,  and  was  a  strenuous  advo- 
cate for  Reform  in  Parliament  and  Free  Trade  measures. 

At  the  Leith  election  in  1857,  he  proposed  William  Miller, 
Esq.,  as  Member.  He  was  then  in  his  eightieth  year.  Mr.  Miller 
thus  alluded  to  him  : — '  I  have  a  great  regard  indeed  for  the  gentle- 
man who  did  me  the  honour  to  propose  me,  for  I  have  been  accus- 
tomed from  a  boy  to  look  up  to  him  with  affection  and  respect. 
He  has  well  repaid  my  respect  for  him  by  recommending  me  so 
highly  to  your  favour  this  day.' 

In  writing  of  himself  he  says,  26th  November  1861,  'Regard- 
ing my  health,  I  can  only  say  it  is  wonderfully  good.  At  church, 
on  my  birthday,  3d  November,  when  I  commenced  my  eighty-fifth 
year,  the  text  for  me  was  very  appropriate,  Gen.  xlvii.  ver.  29, 
"  The  time  drew  nigh  when  Israel  must  die."  I  hope  the  impres- 
sion on  my  mind  is  suitable,  and  I  hope  none  of  us  can  be  careless 
of  preparation  for  our  latter  end.  I  am  not  able  to  walk  with  ease 
above  a  mile  or  two,  but  I  eat  and  drink  and  sleep  well,  and  am 
contented.' 

On  20th  May  1863,  'You  would  see  by  the  papers  the  visit  of 
Lord  Palmerston  to  Edinburgh  and  Leith.  When  I  stood  near 
him,  there  was  the  oldest  and  the  youngest  freeman  of  Edinburgh 
together.  I  was  entered  on  the  books  in  May  1797,  and  his  Lord- 
ship in  April  1863.' 

And,  again,  23d  Nov.  1865,  '  It  is  needless  to  say  much  on  my 
state  of  health.     At  my  age  the  wonder  is  that  I  can  do  so  much.' 


%hz  Jhtmilg  oi  (JTasscU.  51 

He  died  at  Blackford  House,  Edinburgh,  loth  June  1868,  in 
the  91st  year  of  his  age. 

The  following  account  of  his  last  moments  is  from  the  pen 
of  a  near  relative,  who  was  with  him  when  he  died  : — 

'Blackford  House,  ii  June  1868. 

'  I  little  thought  that  my  first  letter  to  you  would  convey  the 
tidings  of  my  dear  father's  removal  from  this  to  be  with  his 
Saviour.  I  have  seen  for  some  weeks  a  great  falling  off  of 
strength  and  loss  of  appetite.  .  .  .  On  Tuesday  last  week  he 
said  he  would  like  to  see  Dr.  Goldie.  He  came  in  the  after- 
noon. He  found  nothing  materially  wrong,  but  said  his  pulse 
was  much  more  like  that  of  an  old  man  than  when  he  attended 
him  last,  and  that  the  heart  was  not  beating  quite  so  regularly 
as  he  could  wish,  but  there  was  no  cause  of  anxiety. 

'  On  the  Thursday,  all  the  Wylds  were  to  dine  with  us.  I  went 
to  town  at  half-past  ten,  and  soon  after  I  got  home,  my  father 
was  going  down-stairs  with  his  dressing-gown  over  his  arm,  when 
I  scolded  him  for  his  imprudence,  as  the  wind  was  cold.  Just 
as  he  got  to  his  dressing-room,  Dr.  Goldie  came  in,  and  went 
into  his  room. 

'  In  a  little  he  came  into  the  dining-room  shivering,  when  I 
gave  him  a  glass  of  port  wine.  Dr.  G.  left.  When  the  shiver- 
ing increased,  I  gave  him  a  tumbler  of  hot  whisky  and  water, 
got  a  hot  bottle  to  his  feet,  and  a  fire  lighted. 

'  In  an  hour  or  two  he  went  to  bed,  but  soon  became  quite 
comfortable,  and  enjoyed  seeing  them  all,  and  drank  part  of  a 
bottle  of  champagne. 


52  ^hc  Janttlg  of  <&zsszl&. 

'  Dr.  Christison  came  to  see  him  on  Friday  between  eleven 
and  twelve,  and  also  said  there  was  no  cause  for  anxiety,  excepting 
any  little  turn  he  might  take  at  his  advanced  age,  and  as  his 
appetite  was  good  to  keep  up  his  strength  with  wine. 

'  On  Saturday  he  had  smart  pain  below  the  shoulder  blade. 
I  put  on  mustard,  and  used  a  hot  iron  at  night,  which  relieved 
the  pain. 

'  On  Monday  evening  he  again  had  pain  a  little  lower,  so  I 
sent  for  Dr.  Goldie,  who  again  ordered  mustard.  He  then  said 
it  was  bronchitis. 

'  On  Tuesday  he  was  free  from  pain,  but  said,  "  We  couldn  't 
think  how  weak  he  felt." 

'  Dr.  Goldie  said  he  was  much  better. 

'  Robert  Wyld  and  Maggie  came,  and  he  was  so  well  and 
cheerful,  thanking  God  for  all  His  mercies,  that  they  went  to 
Mr.  Christie's,  Durie,  in  Fife,  yesterday  morning. 

'Early  yesterday  morning  I  was  so  sensible  of  increased 
weakness  and  low  pulse,  that  I  wrote  a  note  to  Dr.  Christison 
saying  so,  and  asking  him  to  come  as  soon  as  possible.  Dr. 
Goldie  came  at  eleven.  He  then  said  his  pulse  was  weak, 
and  he  would  like  that  Dr.  Christison  should  come.  I  said  I 
had  written,  but  I  told  Hugh  (the  servant-man)  to  take  the 
carriage  and  tell  Dr.  Christison  to  come  instantly.  Dr.  G.  said 
there  was  no  cause  for  immediate  alarm,  but  he  was  rather 
anxious.  My  father  took,  about  seven  o'clock,  an  egg  beat  up 
with  sherry  and  sugar,  and  afterwards  for  breakfast  ate  a  boiled 
egg  and  a  bit  of  toast  and  butter,  with  a  cup  of  coffee  ;  in  an  hour 


%hz  Jamilu  of  dtassels.  53 

a  glass  or  two  of  champagne,  then  some  very  strong  soup,  and 
after  that  sherry  with  sponge-cake. 

'  He  wished  to  rise,  and  got  up  a  little  before  three.  I  saw 
he  was  unable  to  get  into  bed,  and  I  could  not  lift  him.  I  called 
out  for  Hugh,  who  helped  me  to  lift  him  in.  He  placed  himself 
comfortably  on  his  pillow,  looked  at  me,  and  all  pulsation  stopped, 
he  closed  his  eyes,  and  fell  on  sleep  like  an  infant. 

'  He  laid  himself  exactly  as  he  now  lies,  cold  and  stiff,  but 
just  like  a  beautiful  bust.  When  up  he  wished  to  kneel,  but  I 
said,  "  Never  mind  the  posture,  He  cares  not  for  that."  I  left  the 
room  for  a  few  minutes,  and  when  I  went  in  he  was  praying  loud. 
He  said,  "  We  need  a  better  robe  than  earth  can  give."  "  Yes," 
I  said,  "  the  robe  of  Christ's  righteousness."     "  Yes,"  he  said,  "  the 

blood  of  Christ  cleanses  from  all  sin."     Dear ,  I  don't  sorrow, 

but  feel  such  cause  of  thankfulness  and  gratitude  for  God's  great 
kindness  in  sparing  him  all  suffering,  and  even  not  having  one 
twitch  in  dying.  It  was  indeed  a  falling  asleep.  Dr.  Christison 
just  came  as  the  spirit  had  taken  its  flight,  and  was  much  struck. 
I  just  walked  into  the  room  before  him.' 

The  following  letter  and  extract  from  the  minutes  of  the 
Scottish  Reformation  Society  were  sent  to  his  family  : — 

'  To  the  Representatives  of  '  London,  ith  July  1868. 

the  late  W.  G.  Cassels,  Esq., 
Blackford  House,  Edinburgh. 

'  Dear  Friends, — Will  you  allow  me  to  transmit  to  you  the 
enclosed  minute  of  my  Committee,  expressing  their  deep  sorrow 


54  %\\t  Jhtntthj  oi  <&asszls. 

and  regret  at  the  loss  of  dear  Mr.  Cassels.  I  esteemed  him  very 
much,  and  received  the  tidings  of  his  departure  with  heartfelt 
sorrow.  But  he  has  gone  to  our  blessed  Lord,  whom  he  served 
for  so  many  years.  I  pray  the  Lord  will  give  you  much  of  His 
gracious  Spirit,  and  enable  you  all  to  say,  "  He  is  my  strength,  and 
my  stay,  even  in  the  time  of  trial  and  trouble." — With  every 
Christian  regard,  believe  me  very  truly,' 

(Signed)         '  G.  R.  Badenoch.' 

'Edinburgh,  -jtk  July  1S68. 

'  Excerpt  from  Minutes  of  Acting  Committee  of  Scottish 
Reformation  Society,  held  at  Edinburgh  on  ist  July 
1868. 

'  The  Committee  have  to  record,  with  deep  sorrow,  the  death  of 
Mr.  W.  G.  Cassels,  one  of  their  number.  Mr.  Cassels  took  a  great 
interest  in  the  cause  which  this  Society  seeks  to  advance,  was  a 
regular  attender  upon  its  meetings,  and  very  devotedly  sought  to 
carry  out  the  measures  which  the  Committee  adopted.  His 
removal  from  the  midst  of  us  by  the  hand  of  God  in  these  days 
of  difficulty  and  trial  is  felt  as  a  very  great  loss.  "  Help,  Lord, 
for  the  godly  man  ceaseth,  and  the  faithful  fail  from  amongst  the 
children  of  men." 

'  Extracted  by        G.  R.  Badenoch, 

Secretary? 

He  was  about  the  middle  height ;  well  and  strongly  made, 
active   and    energetic ;  of    a   most   hospitable    disposition  ;    fond 


Wxt  Jamilt)  at  QL&bbzXb.  55 

of  society ;   abounding  in  anecdote  ;    a  good  linguist ;   and  well 
informed. 

Even  within  a  few  months  of  his  death  he  attended  public 
meetings  and  took  an  active  part  in  their  proceedings.  An 
admirable  portrait  and  excellent  likeness  of  him,  in  his  eighty- 
seventh  year,  was  painted  by  Norman  Macbeth  in  1864,  which  is 
now  in  the  possession  of  his  son  at  Holland  House. 


V.  Walter  Gibson  Cassels  and  Janet  Scougall  had  the 
following  children  : — 

1.  Jane  Todd  Cassels,  born  6th  July  1803  ;  was  married 
in  1834,  by  the  Rev.  Alexander  Christison,  to  John  Allan, 
Esq.,  M.D.,  H.E.I.C.S.  He  died  in  India  in  1836,  without 
issue. 

2.  Anne  Cassels,  born  17th  July  1805.     Unmarried  1870. 

3.  Andrew  Cassels,  born  13th  July  1807  ;  was  for  many 
years   manager   of    a   bank. in    England.      He   married    Ellen, 

daughter  of Jackson,    Esq.,  of  Knutsford,  England.     He  died 

10th  March  1840,  without  issue. 

4.  John  Scougall  Cassels,  bom  30th  May  1809.  Merchant 
at  Corfu,  and  afterwards  in  London.  He  died  at  Tunbridge  Wells, 
17th  July  1848,  unmarried. 

He  was  engaged  to  be  married  to  a  lady  of  fortune,  who 
attended  him  during  his  last  illness,  and  erected  a  monument  at 
Tunbridge  Wells  to  his  memory. 

His  father  wrote  as  follows  regarding  his  illness  and  death  : — 


56  ^Ihe  Jamilp  ot  Citssels. 


'8  July  1848. 

'  I  wrote  to  you  also  of  John's  severe  illness.  I  do  not  recollect 
if  I  mentioned  that  he  was  at  Tunbridge  Wells  for  change  of  air. 
He  got  rather  better,  but  had  a  relapse.  He  recruited  again,  and 
wrote  to  me  that  his  medical  attendant  thought  he  could  now  safely 
go  to  Scotland. 

'  I  accordingly  left  this  (Edinburgh)  on  17th  June,  and  reached 
Tunbridge  Wells  on  19th,  but  to  my  great  disappointment  he  had 
taken  a  very  unfavourable  turn,  and  I  found  him  so  ill  and  weak, 
that,  on  consulting  Dr.  Hargreaves,  I  found  it  impossible  to  remove 
him  on  the  21st,  the  day  the  steamship  was  to  sail.  I  put  off, 
thinking  he  might  go  on  the  24th,  but  the  night  before  we  had 
another  consultation,  and  Dr.  H.  would  not  say  it  was  safe  to 
move  him. 

'  He  certainly  was  sadly  reduced  and  weak,  and  a  mere  bag  of 
bones. 

'  His  throat,  which  is  the  chief  seat  of  disease,  was  very  painful, 
and  consequent  difficulty  of  swallowing,  and  constant  spitting  of  stuff 
mostly  from  the  throat,  but  probably  partly  from  the  breast.  It 
affected  his  ears,  and  shoulders,  and  even  his  sight,  and  he  walked 
the  short  distance  from  his  bedroom   quite  doubled  up.     He  is 

well  attended,  for  when  Miss  is  obliged  to  be  in  town,  an 

experienced  servant  is  left,  and  the  lady  of  the  house  is  a  most 
attentive  careful  woman.     .     .     . 

"...  I  really  began  to  lose  all  hope  of  recovery,  and  yet 
I  think  as  no  consumptive  tendencies  can  be  traced,  if  he  begins  to 
gather  strength,  he  may  soon  recover. 


^hc  JamUij  of  (HasseR  57 

'  Miss is    certainly   a   very  superior   young   woman,    and 

most  attentive.  She  seems  most  decidedly  attached  to  him,  and 
takes  every  kind  of  trouble  to  be  of  use  to  him.  She  came  down 
to  the  Wells  when  I  was  there,  and  I  accompanied  her  back  to 
London. 

'  I  got  John  out  only  once  in  a  small  pony  chair  for  an  hour, 
and  he  seemed  to  enjoy  it,  but  the  weather  has  been  unfavourable 
since.' 

'  lotk  July  1848. 

'  I  have  received  a  letter  from  John,  dated  the  6th.  He  still 
feels  very  weak,  and  expectoration  at  times  distressing,  but  more 
slight  lately.  He  now  swallows  liquids  with  ease  ;  a  good  deal  of 
perspiration  on  chest  and  head,  which  makes  it  very  necessary  to 
keep  from  cold.  The  weather  has  set  in  warm,  which  enables  him 
to  drive  out  for  an  hour. 

'  I  am  happy  to  say  his  illness  has  had  the  effect  of  causing 
serious  thoughts,  which,  I  trust,  may  have  a  permanent  effect  on 
him.' 

'Tunbridge  Wells,  z^th  July  1848. 

'  My  former  letters  will  have  prepared  you  to  hear  of  poor  John's 
death. 

'  I  received  a  letter  from  Dr.  Hargreaves  on  the  20th,  stating 
that  he  died  on  the  17th,  at  8  o'clock,  A.M.,  and  I  immediately 
left  home  and  reached  London  on  the  evening  of  the  21st,  too  late 
for  the  last  train  to  this.     I  got  here  at  ten  on  Saturday  22d. 

Miss ,  and  her  valuable  servant  had  paid  every   possible 

attention  to  him,  and  the  change  at  last  was  so  rapid,  that  they 

H 


58 


'Wht  Jhtmilt)  of  tassels. 


could  not  make  me  aware  of  immediate  danger.  It  is  consolatory 
to  know  that  he  was  sensible  of  his  situation,  and  resigned  to  the 
will  of  the  Almighty,  and  that  a  very  marked  change  had  taken 
place  in  his  way  of  thinking  on  serious  subjects.  During  the  week 
before  his  dissolution,  he  was  attended  by  a  clergyman,  and  partook 

of  the  Sacrament  twice  with  Miss ,  who  informs  me  he  was 

truly  penitent,  and  that  his  end  was  most  satisfactory,  both  from 
the  state  of  his  thoughts  and  the  calmness  at  death,  having  died 
without  a  struggle  or  even  a  groan.  I  was  very  much  consoled  by 
the  last  letter  I  received  from  him,  as  I  saw  he  was  fully  aware  of 
his  state,  and  his  thoughts  properly  directed  to  the  change  so  near 
at  hand.  But  in  the  latter  part  of  the  letter,  he  still  clung  to  hope 
of  recovery,  and  added  that  by-and-by  he  trusted  he  would  be  a 
man  again. 

'  I  have   found   Miss  as   well  as  I  could   hope,  and   her 

attachment,  and  consequent  kindness  and  attention  to  him,  have 
been  most  conspicuous.  She  is  much  to  be  pitied,  having  in  so 
short  a  time  lost  her  father,  her  trustee  who  took  charge  of  all  her 
money  matters,  and  John,  to  whom  she  must  have  been  most 
sincerely  attached.  The  funeral  took  place  yesterday  at  8  o'clock, 
A.M.,  that  early  hour  being  usual  here.' 

'  London,  26//*  July  1848. 

'  I  came  up  from  the  Wells  to-day,  and  I  am   in  time  to  leave 

by  the  steamship  this  evening.     It  is  consoling  to  think  all  was 

done  that  could  be  done  for  John.     When  sitting  with  his  medical 

attendant  to-day,  he  told   me  that  on   Sunday  evening,  before  he 


'Ihc  Jamihj  of  (Easscls.  59 

died,  Miss  — —  insisted  on  having  a  London  physician  sent  for, 
and  Dr.  Copland  was  telegraphed  for.  He  came  down,  and,  of 
course,  could  do  nothing.     His  fee  was  twenty-five  guineas. 

5.  Walter  Gibson  Cassels,  born  30th  March  181 1,  was 
Manager  of  the  London  and  County  Bank  at  Woolwich  for  several 
years. 

He  arrived  in  Canada  in  1845,  having  accepted  an  appoint- 
ment in  the  Bank  of  British  North  America,  and  was  shortly  after 
his  arrival  appointed  manager  of  the  Toronto  Branch  of  that 
establishment. 

In  1863  he  was  appointed  Manager  of  the  Gore  Bank,  Hamilton. 

On  leaving  Toronto,  a  service  of  plate  was  presented  to  him 
by  a  number  of  the  leading  merchants  of  that  city. 

In  November  1868  he  resigned  the  Managership  of  the  Gore 
Bank,  and  removed  to  Toronto,  where  he  joined  C.  J.  CAMPBELL, 
Esquire,  and  commenced  business  as  private  bankers  as  CAMP- 
BELL and  Cassels. 

He  was  married,  on  17th  June  1852,  at  St.  George's  Church, 
Toronto,  by  the  Rev.  Stephen  Lett,  LL.D.,  to  Adelaide  Vic- 
toria Smith,  youngest  daughter  of  Larratt  Smith,  Esq.,  of 
Southampton,  Hants,  England. 

Their  children  are — 

1.  ADELAIDE,  born  2d  June  1853,  died  2d  December  1855. 

2.  Walter  Allan,  born  29th  December  1854. 

3.  Adelaide  Isabel,  born  12th  May  1856. 

4.  Larratt  Godfrey,  born  1st  March  1858. 

5.  Mary  Violette,  born  17th  August  i860. 


eo  ^hc  Jamil}}  of  (Easscls. 

6.  JANET  SCOUGALL,  born  19th  January  1862. 

7.  Edith,  born  6th  February  1863. 

8.  Harriet.   9.  George  Cyril.    10.  Duncan  Sherman. 
6.  ROBERT  Cassels,1  of  Holland  House,  County  and  Province 

of  Quebec,  Canada,  born  at  Leith,  Scotland,  21st  February  1815. 
Entered  the  National  Bank  of  Scotland,  Leith,  in  1831,  and 
remained  there  till  1834,  when  he  joined  his  father's  bank  in 
England,  and  was  employed  opening  branches  in  England  and 
Wales.  Was  then  appointed  manager  at  Evesham,  in  Wor- 
cestershire, and  in  1836  was  named  secretary  to  his  father  in 
London,  where  he  remained  till  July  1837. 

Having  been  offered  an  appointment,  with  promise  of  promo- 
tion, in  the  Bank  of  British  North  America,  he  left  London  16th 
July  1837,  and  arrived  in  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  27th  August  1837. 

After  opening  that  branch,  he  remained  there  till  May  1838, 
when  he  was  appointed  manager  of  the  branch  at  Chatham, 
Miramichi,  New  Brunswick. 

In  May  1841  he  was  appointed  manager  of  the  branch  at 
Quebec,  where  he  remained  till  July  1855,  when  he  was  named 
Manager  of  the  Bank  of  British  North  America  at  Montreal. 
Before  leaving  Quebec,  a  service  of  plate,  of  the  value  of  £S°°, 
was  presented  to  him  by  his  friends  there. 

In  1 86 1,  at  the  request  of  the  Minister  of  Finance  and  Govern- 
ment of  Canada,  he  accepted  the  Chief  Cashiership  of  the  Bank 
of  Upper  Canada,  with  a  large  salary  and  an  engagement  for 
eight  years. 

1  See  Note,  No.  8. 


^Itc  Jamih)  of  tassels. 


61 


The  Bank  was  then  in  a  state  of  great  danger  and  difficulty  ; 
but  as  the  Government  of  Canada  was  deeply  interested  in  the 
Bank  as  their  fiscal  agent,  and  promised  to  give  the  new  Cashier 
ample  support  and  large  pecuniary  aid,  it  was  hoped  the  Bank 
might  be  restored  to  credit  and  standing. 

For  several  years  the  Bank  continued  gradually  to  recover, 
but  unfortunately  a  change  of  Government  took  place  in  Canada, 
and  the  Government  account,  which  was  of  great  value,  was 
removed  to  the  Bank  of  Montreal  in  January  1865,  the  members 
of  the  new  Ministry  not  considering  themselves  bound  by  the 
solemn  promises  of  their  predecessors. 

After  struggling  for  about  two  years  longer  with  various  and 
serious  difficulties,  the  Bank  finally  went  into  liquidation  in  No- 
vember 1866.  Five  trustees  were  appointed  to  wind  up  the  Bank, 
of  whom  Mr.  Cassels  was  one.  He  was  appointed  chairman  by 
his  co-trustees  but  resigned  office  in  July  1867.  In  1854  he  was 
appointed  President  of  the  St.  Andrew's  Society,  Quebec,  of  which 
he  is  a  life  member,  and  in  1865  he  was  elected  President  of 
the  St.  Andrew's  Society  of  Toronto.  He  has  filled  many  offices 
of  trust  and  importance,  has  been  a  Director  in  the  Gas  Companies 
of  Quebec,  Montreal,  and  Toronto.  Was  President  of  the  St. 
James'  Club,  Montreal,  and  was  a  Director  of  the  Grand  Trunk 
Railway  of  Canada  from  1863  to  1866. 

In  1863,  he  was  appointed  by  the  Mayor  and  Corporation  of 
the  city  of  Hamilton  to  negotiate  with  the  creditors  of  that  city 
in  England  and  Scotland.  His  mission  was  entirely  successful, 
the  city  having   been  relieved    from   serious  embarrassment,  by 


62  <lhe  Jhtmilti  of  dtasszls. 

concessions  liberally  granted  by  the  creditors,  and  finally  adjusted 
by  Act  of  the  Provincial  Parliament. 

He  was  appointed  Second  Lieutenant  in  the  First  Regi- 
ment of  Halifax  N.S.  Militia  in  1838 ;  Captain  of  Quebec 
Light  Infantry  Volunteers  in  1843  ;  Major  in  Montreal  Volun- 
teer Artillery  in  1857  ;  and  as  senior  major  in  same  corps 
was  allowed  by  the  Governor-General  to  retire  in  1862,  retaining 
his  rank. 

In  1866  he  was  appointed  a  trustee  of  the  University  of 
Queen's  College,  Kingston,  in  place  of  the  late  Honourable 
Archibald  M'Lean,  Chief-Justice  of  Upper  Canada. 

He  was  married  at  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  by  the  Rev.  John 
Scott,  on  7th  August  1838,  to  Mary  Gibbens  MacNab,1  born  at 
Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  29th  October  1820,  second  daughter  of  the 
Honourable  JAMES  MacNab,  Receiver-General  of  Nova  Scotia,  by 
his  wife,  Harriet  KlNG,  daughter  of  Henry  KING,  Esq.,  of 
Shelburn,  Nova  Scotia. 

Robert  Cassels  and  Mary  MacNab  had  the  following 
children  : — 

1.  James  MacNab  Cassels,  M.D.,  Chicago,  U.S.,  America; 
born  at  Chatham,  Miramichi,  New  Brunswick,  2d  August 
1839,  baptized  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Archibald.  Married,  29th 
October  i860,  Mary  Strang,  only  surviving  daughter 
of  the  late  John  Strang,  Esquire,  of  Quebec,  partner  in 
the  wealthy  mercantile  firm  of  Messrs.  Robertson,  Masson, 
Strang,  and  Co.  of  Glasgow,  Montreal,  and  Quebec. 
1  See  Note,  No.  9. 


%hz  Jamilg  ot  (Itasscls. 


63 


Their  children  are — 
Charles  Edmund,  born  4th  June  1862. 
Mary  Adelaide  Annie,  born  31st  March  1864. 
Alice  Margaret,  born  July  1867. 

2.  Walter  Gibson  Cassels,  born  at  Chatham,  Miramichi, 
New  Brunswick,  21st  April  1841  ;  baptized  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Archibald.  He  died  at  Cliff  Cottage,  Point  Levi,  near 
Quebec,  10th  September  1843. 

3.  Robert  Cassels,  born  in  Old  Bank  of  British  North 
America,  St.  Peter's  Street,  Quebec,  27th  April  1843 ; 
baptized  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cook. 

Studied  for  the  bar  in  the  office  of  George  O'Kill  Stuart, 
Esq.,  Quebec;  passed  as  advocate  in  1864,  and  became  an 
Upper  Canada  barrister  the  same  year.  Took  his  degree 
of  B.A.  at  M'Gill  University,  Montreal,  in  1866.  In  1868 
was  admitted  a  partner  in  the  law  firm  of  Messrs.  Dennistoun, 
Fairbairn,  and  Cassels,  of  Peterborough,  Ontario.  Married, 
on  Wednesday,  2d  June  1869,  at  St.  Paul's  Church,  King- 
ston, by  his  Lordship,  the  Bishop  of  Ontario,  to  Mary,  only 
daughter  of  the  Rev.  John  Mulock,  incumbent  of  that 
church,  and  has  issue, — John  Mulock,  born  2d  March  1870.   4^./  2-4*-  J 0^'  SP^/ 

4.  Walter  Gibson  Pringle  Cassels,  born  in  house 
No.  17  Esplanade,  Quebec,  14th  August  1845  ;  baptized  by 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Cook,  28th  December  1845.  Took  his  degree 
of  B.A.  at  the  University  of  Toronto  in  1865. 

Studied  for  the  bar  in  the  office  of  Messrs.  Blake, 
Kerr,  and  Wells,  Toronto,  and  passed  as  attorney  in  1869, 


64  ^oThc  Jamilri  of  Cassels. 

and  was  called  to  the  bar.  In  1870  was  admitted  a  partner 
in  the  law  firm  of  Messrs.  Blake,  Kerr,  and  Boyd,  Toronto, 
Ontario. 

5.  Allan  Cassels,  born  at  Greenknowe,  St.  Foy  Road, 
near  Quebec,  9th  March  1847;  baptized  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Cook,  28th  June  1847.  In  1864  he  gained  the  Governor- 
General's  Prize  at  the  Upper  Canada  College. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  proceedings  at  the 
annual  distribution  of  prizes  in  1864  : — 

'  The  Principal  then  proceeded  to  present  the  prizes  to  the 
successful  pupils,  and  in  doing  so  took  occasion  to  compliment 
Master  A.  CASSELS,  the  winner  of  the  "  Governor-General's 
Prize,"  on  the  great  proficiency  he  displayed.  No  pupil,  he 
said,  had  during  his  time  left  the  college  with  higher  honours, 
and  certainly  none  were  better  entitled  to  them.  He  felt 
convinced  that  if  he  continued  in  future  as  he  had  done  in 
the  past,  his  university  course  would  be  quite  as  brilliant  as 
his  college  course.  After  further  complimenting  Master 
CASSELS,  the  Principal  presented  the  prizes  as  follows,  saying 
a  few  words  of  congratulation  to  each  of  them,  and  compli- 
menting those  whom  he  deemed  most  deserving  of  it  : — 

'  Prize  List. 

'  1.  His     Excellency   the    Governor-General's 

Prize — A.  Cassels. 
'  2.  The  Classical — A.  Cassels. 
'  4.  The  Modern  Languages — A.  Cassels.' 


%hz  Jamiltj  of  Cass  els.  65 

In  1 868  he  took  his  degree  of  B.A.  at  the  University  of 
Toronto,  and  also  received  the  Gold  Medal,  being  the  highest 
distinction  offered  for  competition  in  the  department  of 
classics. 

The  following  extracts  are  taken  from  proceedings  at 
the  Annual  Convocation  of  the  University  of  Toronto  in 
186S:— 

*  Dr.  M'Caul  then  introduced  Mr.  A.  CASSELS,  B.A.,  gold 
medalist  in  classics,  who  read  his  prize  poem,  written  in 
Greek  iambics.  Dr.  M'Caul  rose  to  present  the  gold  medal 
in  classics  amid  great  applause. 

'  When  the  cheering  had  subsided,  he  said,  addressing  His 
Excellency  and  the  Chancellor,  that  he  had  the  pleasure  of 
presenting  Mr.  A.  CASSELS,  the  successful  candidate  for  the 
gold  medal,  the  highest  distinction  offered  for  competition  in 
the  department  of  classics. 

'  It  was  indeed  a  source  of  great  gratification  to  him  to 
state,  on  the  part  of  his  co-examiner  and  himself,  that  never 
had  this  distinction  been  more  fully  merited,  never  more 
nobly  won,  than  on  the  present  occasion.     (Cheers.) 

'  He  would  merely  add  to  this,  with  regard  to  Mr.  CASSELS, 
that  he  applied  himself  with  such  marked  diligence  and  suc- 
cess to  the  department  of  classics,  that  from  the  time  of  his 
matriculation  up  to  the  present,  when  he  obtained  his  degree, 
he  never  has  lost  the  proud  position  of  being  first  in  the  fore- 
most rank  of  honour.  (Cheers.)  And  now,  he  said  that  he 
wished  to  assure  Mr.  Cassels  that  he  went  forth  into  life  with 

1 


66 


^hc  Jhtmiln  of  <2Tvtsjscls. 


the  warmest  good  wishes  of  all  who  have  had  the  pleasure  of 
being  connected  with  him,  and  he  felt  that  the  good  feelings 
would  be  reciprocated.  He  had  heard  an  older  graduate 
lately  say  that  he  was  bound  to  the  college  by  a  sort  of  mag- 
netic attraction  ;  but  Mr.  Cassels,  in  going  forth  to  the  trials 
of  life,  would,  he  hoped,  as  the  needle  of  the  compass,  which 
always  pointed  in  one  direction,  always  look  back  with  affec- 
tion to  his  Alma  Mater. 

'  The  chairman  (Judge  Morrison)  stated  that  it  was  with 
sincere  pleasure  that  he  was  privileged  to  confer  on  Mr. 
CASSELS  the  gold  medal.  He  had  watched  his  career,  and 
if  his  after  life  would  be  anything  like  what  it  had  been  in 
the  University,  it  would  be  an  honour  to  the  University  and 
himself.' 

In  September  1868  he  entered  the  office  of  Thomas  Gait 
Esquire,  Q.C.,  as  a  student  at  law.   f-   «^    A**4c*~6ja   /xj>/ 

6.  John  Thomson  Cassels,  born  at  Greenknowe,  St.  Foy 
Road,  Quebec,  24th  April  1849,  baptized  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Cook,  28th  May  1849,  entered  the  mercantile  office  of  Messrs. 
Farnworth  and  Jardine,  Liverpool,  England,  in  July  1866. 

7.  Jessie  Cassels,  bom  at  Greenknowe,  St.  Foy  Road, 
Quebec,  28th  January  1851,  baptized  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cook, 
31st  March  1851. 

8.  Harriet  Cassels,  born  in  New  Bank  of  British  North 
America,  St.  Peter's  Street,  Quebec,  1st  July  1S52,  baptized 
by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cook,  19th  May  1853. 

9.  Hamilton   Cassels,  born   in    New   Bank  of  British 


^hc  Jitmilij  of  (JitssclB.  gt 

North  America,  St.  Peter's  Street,  Quebec,  2d  April  1854, 
baptized  at  Greenknowe  Cottage  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cook,  3d 
July  1854.  Entered,  as  student,  Morrin  College,  Quebec, 
November  1869. 

10.  Margaret  Black  Stuart  Cassels,  born  in  Bank 
of  British  North  America,  Great  St.  James  Street,  Montreal, 
25th  November  1855,  baptized  on  25th  July  1856,  at  Holland 
House,  Quebec,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cook. 

1 1.  Richard  Scougall  Cassels,  born  at  Holland  House, 
Quebec,  5th  October  1859,  baptized  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cook 
on  26th  December  1859. 

12.  Mary  Cassels,  born  at  Holland  House,  Quebec,  31st 
August  1 861,  baptized  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cook,  Sept.  1861. 

13.  Amy  Galt  Cassels,  born  at  Kearsney  House,  Toronto, 
8th  April  1S64,  baptized  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Barclay,  23d  June 
1S64. 

14.  LYTTLETON  CASSELS,  born  at  Kearsney  House, 
Toronto,  30th  August  1865,  baptized  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Barclay 
1st  January  1866,  died  at  Kearsney  House,  Toronto,  Friday, 
14th  September  1866. 

7.  Janet  Henrietta  Cassels,  born  21st  December  18 16, 
died  17th  March  18 18. 

8.  Margaret  CASSELS,  born  18th  November  18 19  ;  was  mar- 
ried by  the  Rev.  James  Lewis,  1st  November  1844,  to  Robert 
STODART  WYLD,  Esq.,  Writer  to  the  Signet,  Edinburgh,  eldest 
son  of  James  Wyld,  Esq.  of  Gilston,  Fifeshire,  and  has  issue — 

1.  JAMES  WYLD,  born  22d  September  1845. 


es  ^hc  Jamiltj  of  ((Tassels. 

2.  Walter  Gibson  Cassels  Wyld,  born  6th  February 

1847. 

3.  Jessie    Cassels  Wyld,  born   8th   September   1849  ; 
married,  in  1S69,  to  Harry  C.  Scott,  Esq.,  B.A.,  Montreal. 

4.  Robert  Stodart  Wyld,  born  12th  March  1855. 

5.  Marion  Alice  Wyld,  born  3d  May  1858. 

9.  Richard  Scougall  Cassels,  born  25th  September  1822  ; 

arrived  in  Canada  in  1842. 

In  185 1  was  appointed  Manager  of  the  Bank  of  Upper  Canada 
at  Ottawa,  where  he  remained  till  1858,  when  he  was  appointed 
Manager  of  the  same  Bank  in  Quebec. 

Before  leaving  Ottawa  he  was  presented  with  a  service  of  plate. 
In  1866,  the  Government  Offices  having  been  removed  to  Ottawa, 
he  was  again  appointed  Manager  there,  and  is  now  President  of  the 
Union  Forwarding  and  Railroad  Company,  Ottawa.  On  3d 
November  1851,  he  was  married  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cook  to  Jessie, 
second  daughter  of  John  Thomson,  Esq.  of  Westfield,  Quebec. 

Their  children  are — 

1.  Walter  Gibson,  born  at  Ottawa,  28th  September  1852. 

2.  John  Thomson,  born  at  Ottawa,  20th  July  1857. 

3.  Isabella,  born  at  Quebec,  18th  November  1859. 

4.  JESSIE,  born  at  Quebec,  2d  May  1862,  died  29th  August 
1862. 

5.  Richard  Scougall,  born  at  Quebec,  20th  September 
1863. 

6.  ROBERT,  born  at  Quebec,  2d  September  1865. 

7.  Andrew  Henry,  born  at  Ottawa,  October  1868. 


%\\t   JitmUl]    Of    <&-ASSZls.  69 

IO.  JANET  CASSELS,  born  7th  August  1827,  died  at  Corstor- 
phine  Cottage,  near  Edinburgh,  30th  September  1850,  aged  twenty- 
three  years. 

Her  father  wrote  as  follows  regarding  her  illness  and  death  : — 

'  Achenhard,  8t/i  July  1848. 

'  Since  I  wrote  we  remain  in  the  same  scattered  state,  but  I  am 
happy  to  say  Jessie  is  somewhat  better,  her  pulse  being  reduced, 
but  the  cough  still  remains.  If  she  could  get  quit  of  it,  we  would 
rejoice  at  the  prospect  of  complete  recovery. 

'  Your  mother  and  Jeanie  still  remain  with  her  at  Corstorphine.' 

'25^  July  1848. 

'  Our  anxiety  about  Jessie  is  not  much  lessened,  though,  thank 
God,  her  pulse  has  become  more  regular  and  slow,  and  the  feverish 
feeling  abated,  but  the  cough  still  remains,  and  every  care  as  neces- 
sary as  ever. 

'  Dr.  Christison  will  not  speak  out,  though  he  allowed  Mrs.  C. 
to  write  that  Jessie  is  decidedly  better.  Your  mother  got  a  hint 
from  Dr.  Henderson  (who  has  lodgings  for  his  family  at  Corstor- 
phine), that  it  will  not  do  to  risk  Jessie's  remaining  in  Scotland 
during  winter. 

'  If  this  be  also  Christison's  opinion,  I  fear  a  further  separation 
of  the  family  will  take  place.' 

'Achenhard,  20th  September  184S. 

'  I  am  happy  to  say  that  Jessie  has  been  gaining  ground  lately. 
Last  week,  when  I  was  at  Corstorphine,  she  was  in  excellent  spirits, 
and,  I  thought,  looking  well  and  stout. 


70 


l^he  Jfamilj)  of  (fczzszls. 


'  All  unfavourable  symptoms  have  left  except  the  cough,  and  a 
letter  from  her  since  gives  us  hopes  that  it  is  less  severe.  I  feel 
very  thankful  for  this  state  of  her  health,  and  do  not  cease  to  pray 
for  complete  recovery. 

'  The  health  and  welfare  of  my  family  is  almost  all  I  have  now 
to  care  for  in  this  world. 

'  It  is  sad  that  my  two  eldest  sons  should  have  gone  before  me. 

'  Referring  again  to  Jessie,  I  must  mention  that  she  is  always 
anxious  to  read  the  letters  from  America,  but  as  in  your  last  you 
use  the  word  consumption,  I  must  keep  it  back.  We  are  at  great 
pains  not  to  give  her  the  least  idea  that  such  a  thing  is  thought  of. 
I  hope  there  is  no  such  tendency,  though  some  of  the  symptoms 
were  alarming.  I  know  of  nothing  of  the  kind  in  any  of  our 
families.' 

'  Liverpool,  12th  October  1848. 

'  I  wrote  to  you  some  time  ago  of  our  intended  voyage  to  the 
Mediterranean  in  consequence  of  Jessie's  health.  We  are  all  now 
here,  in  Andrew  Cassels  Brown's  house,  and  expect  to  sail  to- 
morrow in  the  Nautilus  screw-steamer  for  Malta. 

'  Jessie  bore  the  journey  very  well,  and  is  really  in  good  spirits, 
and  looking  out  with  pleasure  to  the  voyage.' 

'  Villa  D'Apreda,  Piccola  Sienna, 
Sorrento,  near  Naples,  27//J  July  1849. 

'  On  looking  into  my  memoranda,  I  think  I  have  not  written  to 

you  since  25th  March,  now  four  months,  so  I  shall  make  this  a  sort 

of  journal  from  that  date    only  stating  the  present  progress  of 

Jessie's  health. 


^Iie  Jutmihi  of  Glitsscls. 


'  She  has  not  made  such  advances  to  strength  and  embonpoint 
since  warm  weather  came  on  as  she  did  during  the  mild  winter. 
Her  cough  remains  the  same,  and  more  tendency  to  paleness  and 
delicate  look,  and  yet  her  spirits  are  good  and  her  appetite  also. 
She  now  walks  little,  but  rides  regularly  every  evening.  She  evi- 
dently feels  the  heat,  and  a  warm  day  with  a  sirocco  wind  affects 
her.  Yet  on  the  whole  she  is  much  better,  and  I  trust  that  milder 
weather  will  greatly  restore  her.  I  am  disappointed  as  to  climate 
here.  It  may  be  much  colder  than  at  Malta,  but  too  hot  for  our 
purpose.  The  thermometer  in  our  drawing-room,  which,  as  usual,  is 
kept  as  shaded  as  possible,  has  been,  since  30th  June,  about  eighty, 
taken  at  9  A.M.,  and  we  have  had  it  at  eighty-five  and  eighty-six. 

'  We  took  possession  of  a  villa  at  Pieta  on  2d  April,  and  found 
it  very  comfortable.  We  began  to  think  of  how  we  were  to  pass 
the  summer,  for  every  one  agreed  that  we  could  not  stand  the  heat 
of  Malta.  At  first  we  thought  of  going  to  Gibraltar,  from  thence 
to  Lisbon  and  to  Madeira.  Afterwards  we  determined  to  go  to 
Naples  by  steamboat,  and  then  to  Sorrento,  as  a  cool  place  on  the 
sea.' 

'  Sorrento,  28  September  1849. 

'  I  have  the  most  distressing  account  to  give  of  poor  Jessie's 
case.  For  a  month  she  has  been  losing  ground,  and  for  the  last 
ten  or  twelve  days  declining  rapidly. 

'  During  the  whole  summer  she  has  lost  greatly  more  than 
she  gained  in  winter.  Her  cough  has  increased,  and  she  is  sadly 
reduced  in  size.  We  have  had  an  eminent  medical  man  from 
Naples  to  see  her,  and  yesterday  he  gave  a  decidedly  unfavourable 


^!u  J;  a  mi  In  of  (Eassels. 


opinion.  It  was  our  intention  to  leave  Naples  on  23d  October, 
and  to  reach  Malta  at  the  time  when  cool  weather  has  set  in  ; 
but  he  advised  us  to  go  by  the  steamer  of  the  3d,  as  he  could 
not  answer  for  her  being  able  to  be  removed  on  the  23d,  adding, 
that  more  or  less  heat  or  cold  was  immaterial  now,  and  also  saying, 
if  she  show  any  anxiety  to  go  to  Scotland,  not  to  object.  In 
other  words,  this  was,  all  hope  of  recovery  is  over. 

'  My  presence  of  mind  and  concealment  of  my  feelings  have 
never  left  me  till  now,  but  I  fear  I  must  give  way,  and  it  is  cruel 
to  show  it  before  her.  She  has  never  complained,  and  has  only 
said,  "  It  makes  me  sad  to  see  you  all  so  anxious  about  me."  It 
is  so  far  consolatory  that  she  has  suffered  no  pain,  and  even 
when  the  cough  appears  severe  to  us,  she  tells  me  she  has  not 
any  unpleasant  feeling  except  getting  quit  of  the  stuff.  The 
expectoration.  Dr.  Roskelly  says,  is  of  the  worst  description, 
and  he  considers  the  left  lung  is  gone.  Her  pulse  is  generally 
100,  and  has  been  120. 

'  During  last  night  she  complained  of  a  pain  in  her  left  side, 
and  mustard  was  applied.  To-day  she  is  quiet,  but  evidently 
reduced.  She  is  perfectly  calm  and  composed,  and  is  in  her 
present  situation  a  most  interesting  object.  I  would  say  she  is 
more  like  an  inhabitant  of  heaven  than  an  earthly  creature.  Her 
feelings  as  a  Christian  are  all  we  could  wish,  and  that  is  now 
our  only  consolation,  for  all  thought  of  this  world  and  its  enjoy- 
ments is  at  an  end.  Oh  what  an  important  thing  it  is  to  prepare 
for  the  great  change  whilst  we  are  in  health,  for  a  death-bed  is 
a  very  unfit  situation  to  trust  to.     Even  the  reluctance  to  advert 


^Ihc  Jamiln  of  (fTasscls.  73 


to  the  great  change  to  one  in  her  situation  is  a  hindrance,  as  we 
do  not  like  to  risk  agitation  to  a  feeble  frame,  and  even  in  our 
family  prayers  I  feel  that  my  voice  shakes  when  any  allusion 
to  death  occurs.' 

'  29//;  September  1 849. 
'  She  passed  rather  a  good  night,  but  has  been  very  sick  this 
morning.  She,  however,  rallied  after  breakfast.  We  have  got 
a  very  kind  offer  of  a  very  fine  pleasure  yacht  to  take  us  to 
Naples,  from  Lady  Batho,  who  is  living  here.  This  relieves  my 
mind  greatly  about  the  moving  her,  and  all  our  luggage  goes  in  a 
passage  boat,  which  leaves  us  without  any  annoyance  to  attend 
to  her.  A  lady  here,  Miss  Maitland,  of  the  Lauderdale  family, 
has  been  very  kind  and  attentive,  and  we  have  much  reason  to 
thank  Providence  for  the  assistance  received  when  among  strangers.' 

'  ysth  September  1 849. 
'  I  am  thankful  to  a  kind  Providence  to  be  able  to  say  Jessie 
has  had  a  comfortable  night,  and  is  apparently  stronger  and  lively 
to-day,  which  is  a  blessing  in  prospect  of  removing  to  Naples 
to-morrow.  The  weather  is  very  fine  and  cool,  the  thermometer 
at  9  A.M.  being  71.  She  was  making  great  progress  in  Italian, 
and  could  converse  on  any  common  subject.  She  beat  us  all 
in  acquiring  it.' 

'  Malta,  St/i  October  1849. 

'  I  am  delighted  to   say  we  are  safe  in  Malta.     We  passed  in 

the  yacht  to    Naples   in  two  and  a  half  hours,  were  comfortable 

at  the  hotel,  and  got  on  board  the  steamer   on  3d.     At  Messina 

she  got  aground,  and  we  were  detained  on  board  a  little  longer  by 

K 


74  %\it  Jamihj  of  Casstls. 

the  accident.  We  reached  this  at  10  P.M.  on  Friday,  and  landed 
on  Saturday  morning.  Jessie  has  stood  the  voyage  and  every 
removal  better  than  we  could  have  hoped.  Last  night  she  was 
really  comfortable,  and  was  sitting  up  in  bed  combing  her  hair. 
Dr.  Kalley's  opinion  is  not  so  bad  as  Dr.  Roskelly,  as  to  immediate 
danger,  but  he  does  not  deny  the  seriousness  of  the  situation, 
and  we  have  nothing  to  think  of  but  studying  her  comfort  as 
much  as  in  our  power. 

'  I  had  to  carry  poor  Jessie  in  my  arms  every  time  she  was 
moved.  She  cannot  walk  many  yards.  I  am  quite  amazed  that 
I  can  do  so  much  at  my  age,  and  it  is  really  providential  that  I  am 
as  well  and  active  as  I  have  been  for  ten  years.' 

'  io <th  October  1S49. 
'  I  am  much  pleased  to  say  that,  since  our  arrival,  Jessie  has 
improved  beyond  expression,  and  Dr.  Kalley  says  she  is  by  no  means 
so  ill  as  Dr.  Roskelly  thought  her.  This  is  very  encouraging,  and 
we  hope  she  may  be  comfortable  ;  but  the  disease  is  by  no  means 
removed,  and  all  we  can  do  is  to  attend  to  her  constantly.  We 
have  secured  the  house  at  Slienna,  and  hope  it  will  answer  well.' 

'Malta,  i\th  January  1850. 
'  I  wrote  you  of  the  sad  state  poor  Jessie  was  in,  and  we  at  that 
time  had  not  only  given  up  all  hope  of  ultimate  recovery,  but  were 
in  fear  of  immediate  danger.  I  am  now  convinced  that  she  was 
under  a  feverish  attack,  unconnected  with  the  disease  which  occa- 
sioned our  coming  from  home,  for  since  our  arrival  in   Malta  she 


^hc  Jmmiln  of  (llasscls.  75 

has  been  restored  to  a  state  of  health  perhaps  better  than  twelve 
months  ago. 

'  Jessie  is  ordered  to  ride  out  every  day,  but  is  often  disappointed, 
and  for  eight  days  was  not  able  to  go  out  at  all  for  constant  rain 
and  wind.  But  excepting  for  a  day  or  two  she  has  not  suffered 
from  it,  and  really  is  looking  better,  stouter,  in  good  spirits,  has  a 
good  appetite,  and  sleeps  well. 

'  Her  cough,  however,  is  very  constant  and  troublesome,  and  the 
expectoration  continues.  The  warm  weather  had  a  sad  effect  on 
her.  I  think  Jessie  is  fifty  pounds  heavier  now  than  when  we  left 
Italy.  We  cannot  be  enough  thankful  to  a  kind  Providence  for 
this  change,  but  I  am  fully  aware  that  we  have  much  cause  for 
anxiety,  and  though  we  are  to  return  during  summer  to  England 
or  Scotland,  it  will  be  serious  matter  of  consideration  what  is  to  be 
done  during  another  winter. 

'  I  shall  certainly  be  very  unwilling  to  leave  home  again,  but  I 
do  not  see  my  way,  and  if  I  am  under  the  necessity  of  going  abroad 
again,  I  shall  consider  it  as  a  last  adieu  to  my  native  country. 
However,  if  it  be  a  matter  of  duty,  I  must  not  make  objections. 

'  CORSTORPHINE  COTTAGE,  24/A  July  1 850. 

'We  left  Malta,  per  the  Peninsular  Company's  fine  steamer 
Pottinger,  having  changed  our  minds  about  the  Bosphorus,  from 
circumstances  not  worth  stating.  We  left  on  26th  May,  got  to 
Gibraltar  on  31st,  remained  a  few  hours,  and  reached  Southampton 
on  5th  June,  making  the  whole  passage  in  ten  days,  and  for  most 
part  of  it  the  sea  as  smooth  as  oil. 


76  ^IThc  J  a  mill}  of  (ftassels. 

'  I  am  happy  to  say,  during  the  journey,  Jessie  continued  fully 
as  well  as  when  we  left,  and  is  now  in  good  spirits,  and  enjoying 
her  exercise  every  day.  A  donkey  with  side  saddle  has  been 
bought  for  her,  and  the  rides  about  this  are  very  pleasant  and 
varied.  She  was  the  best  sailor  among  our  ladies,  and  really  enjoyed 
the  voyage.  We  cannot  be  too  thankful  for  her  present  comfort- 
able state,  but  the  cough  still  prevails,  and  she  is  very  thin  and 
easily  fatigued. 

'  Besides  sleeping  well  at  night,  she  takes  a  nap  every  day  after 
dinner,  dining  at  half-past  one. 

'  Dr.  Christison  was  here  yesterday,  and  did  not  order  any 
change  of  treatment,  only  as  she  complained  of  a  little  sickness  after 
exercise,  he  wrote  a  prescription  to  allay  it. 

'  I  went  to  Achenhard  to  see  that  all  was  in  good  order,  and 
unfortunately,  going  out  with  my  gun,  I  made  a  false  step  in  crossing 
a  ditch,  and  have  sprained  the  tendons  of  my  leg  severely.  I  was 
then  quite  alone,  and  remained  till  your  mother  came  out  and 
brought  me  here  in  a  carriage,  and  I  must  lay  my  account  with 
being  a  housekeeper  for  a  week  or  two.' 


'  CORSTORPHINE  COTTAGE,  id  September  1850. 
'  For  some  days  our  poor  sufferer  has  become  so  feeble  that  we 
have  almost  thought  every  hour  would  be  the  last.  Particularly  on 
Saturday,  31st  August,  she  was  very  low,  and  had  difficulty  in 
breathing.  On  Sabbath  she  rallied,  and  yesterday  and  last  night 
she  was  much  better,  and  I  may  even  say  stronger.     On  Saturday 


Ihc  Jitmilii  of  Casscls. 


1 1 


she  was  out  of  bed  and  dressed,  but  was  put  to  bed  in  the  after- 
noon. 

'  Dr.  Christison  has  ordered,  when  she  becomes  languid  and 
weak,  to  give  her  a  little  wine  and  water,  but  on  Sunday  he  frankly 
told  us  we  must  not  expect  her  to  rise  again  from  bed. 

'  She  is  very  collected,  and  patient,  perfectly  aware  of  her  state, 
resigned,  and  trusting  to  her  Saviour's  righteousness  for  acceptance 
with  her  Heavenly  Father.  She  has  spoken  of  all  her  relations 
and  friends,  and  been  so  collected  and  mindful  as  to  state  what 
little  remembrances  are  to  be  sent  to  each.  Robert  Wyld  and 
Mag  were  sent  for  on  Sunday,  and  they  have  remained  with  us. 
Yesterday  Jessie  begged  that  Frances  and  James  should  be  sent 
for,  and  they  came  last  night.  During  all  the  course  of  her  illness 
it  has  been  a  most  remarkable  circumstance  that  she  has  always 
been  quite  easy  and  composed,  and  slept  well  during  the  night. 
In  the  whole  of  her  illness  we  have  only  been  called  up  once  during 
the  night.  This  was  at  Naples,  when  she  was  so  ill  we  thought  we 
would  not  be  able  to  get  her  on  board  the  steamer  for  Malta,  but 
after  she  was  on  board  she  revived  wonderfully. 

'  She  is  very,  very  thin  and  reduced,  and  yet  at  times  she  turns 
with  ease  in  her  bed,  and  her  voice  is  still  clear  and  distinct. 
There  is  much  comfort  in  seeing  her  so  resigned  and  calm,  and  all 
her  remarks  and  conversation  are  very  appropriate,  and  suitable  to 
her  situation.  We  have  much  cause  for  thankfulness  to  a  kind 
Providence,  that  during  all  her  illness  she  has  never  suffered  much 
pain,  and  I  am  particularly  grateful  to  think  that  the  Almighty  has 
enabled  us  to  show  such  constant  care,  and  to  adopt  every  means 


7s  <HThc  Jamil"  of  Cass  els. 

that  could  be  thought  of  for  her  comfort ;  and  now  that  we  look  so 
soon  for  the  closing  scene,  we  are  surrounded  by  kind  sympathiz- 
ing friends,  and  by  every  solace  that  the  best  medical  advice  and 
real  religious  feeling  can  bestow  on  us.  It  is  hard  to  part  with  one 
so  dear,  and  difficult  to  say,  "  Thy  will  be  done."  But  I  know  my 
duty,  and  study  to  do  it.  When  all  is  over,  I  know  I  shall  say  so 
from  the  heart.  I  try  to  control  my  feelings,  but  I  too  often  give 
way,  not  that  I  regret  this,  excepting  that  it  may  grieve  her  to  see 
us  suffering. 

'  We  have  been  much  obliged  to  our  reverend  friend,  Mr.  Fair- 
bairn  of  Newhaven,  who  was  minister  at  Malta  when  we  arrived 
there,  and  knew  Jessie  well.  He  is  very  gentle  and  kind  in  his 
manner,  and  his  observations  and  conversations  with  her  have  been 
very  consolatory.  Send  this  letter  to  Walter,  and  let  Richard  read 
it.  They  occupy  much  of  her  thoughts,  as  well  as  you,  and  Mary 
and  the  children.  Her  prayers  have  been  very  frequent  and  fer- 
vent for  the  temporal,  and  especially  the  eternal,  interests  of  all. 
She  was  very  anxious  to  know  what  I  thought  of  her  brother 
John's  state  of  mind  at  the  time  of  his  death,  and  I  was  happy  to 
say  a  great  change  had  taken  place,  and  fortunately  his  last  letter 
had  been  kept,  in  which  he  expresses  his  firm  trust  in  God  through 
the  Saviour. 

'  I  read  it  to  her,  and  she  was  quite  comforted  by  its  contents. 

'  Four  o'clock. — Dr.  Christison  has  just  been  here,  and  confirms 
what  I  have  written  of  Jessie  having  rallied.  She  appears  stronger, 
and  her  pulse  is  more  active.  Her  voice  is  good,  and  she  is  alto- 
gether refreshed  and  comfortable.' 


%kz  Jatnilg  oi  GtasBcls. 


'  4//1  September  1850. 

'  I  am  most  happy  to  say  that  dear  Jessie  has  passed  a  very 
quiet  and  satisfactory  night.  Her  own  expression  is  that  she  has 
slept  like  an  infant. 

'  Dr.  Christison  does  not  now  think  she  is  in  such  immediate 
danger,  but  has  no  expectation  of  her  rising  again  from  her  bed. 
Our  kind  friend,  Mr.  Lewis,  came  yesterday  afternoon  to  see  her, 
and  she  was  very  much  pleased  with  his  interesting  conversation 
and  prayers. 

'  She  asks  us  often  to  sing  a  psalm  or  hymn,  and  seems  greatly 
soothed  with  music' 

'5///  September  1850. 

'  I  am  happy  to  say  Jessie  has  again  had  a  peaceful  night.  She 
complained  a  little  of  pain  in  her  ear,  I  suppose  from  lying  on  it  so 
much,  and  that  it  caused  deafness,  but  she  is  very  tranquil  and  col- 
lected. 

'  Dr.  Christison  now  says  he  is  astonished  at  her  renewed 
strength,  and  that  while  she  is  able  to  take  food  and  sleep,  she 
may  not  sink  for  some  time. 

'  We  are  very  quiet  to-day,  and  nobody  with  us  but  Janet 
(Mrs.  Willoughby).  Her  cough  is  still  very  frequent,  but  she  never 
says  it  gives  her  any  uneasiness. 

'  During  all  her  illness,  and  even  when  she  was  so  well  at  Malta, 
that  cough  never  left  her,  and  I  always  dreaded  it,  though  I  was 
flattered  with  the  hope  of  recovery  during  our  first  winter  at  Malta. 
She  has  been  spared  the  worst  symptoms  of  her  disease,  never 
having  had  spitting  of  blood  nor  perspirations. 


so  %hz  Jiimtln  of  ("Tassels. 

'  Cough  and  expectoration,  the  signs  of  internal  decay,  have 
always  shown  the  progress  of  her  illness.  Tell  Richard  how 
anxious  Jessie  is  about  him,  and  hopeful  that  her  case  may  be 
the  means  of  reminding  us  all  of  our  preparation  for  our  latter 
end.  Her  first  observation  this  morning  was,  "  I  am  now  passing 
through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  but  I  fear  no  evil,  for 
He  is  with  me. '" 

'  Corstorphine,  l^t/i  September  1850. 

'  I  am  happy  to  think  I  had  informed  you  of  dear  Jessie  having 
rallied  so  much.  She  continues  really  wonderfully  better,  and 
says  she  feels  stronger,  and  has  slept  well  and  taken  her  meals 
with  some  appetite.  Dr.  Christison  saw  her  two  days  ago,  and 
was  satisfied  she  was  stronger  ;  but  when  we  asked  him  if  it  would 
be  practicable  to  remove  her  to  Edinburgh,  as  we  fear  this  house 
may  become  cold  as  the  season  advances,  he  said  she  could  not 
be  moved  without  danger.' 

'  idth  September  1850. 

'  To-day  Jessie  is  wonderfully  easy  and  calm.  Friday  and 
Saturday  nights  she  coughed  much  and  was  rather  restless,  but 
during  the  day  she  appears  comfortable,  and  continues  to  take 
food  with  renewed  appetite.  But  she  is  very  very  thin  and  easily 
fatigued.  She  is  only  removed  to  a  sofa  at  the  side  of  her  bed, 
when  it  is  made.' 

'18//;  September  1850. 

'  Dr.  Christison  saw  Jessie  to-day,  and  thinks  there  is  no 
change  since  he  last  saw  her.  He  is  now,  I  think,  of  opinion  that 
we  may  go  to  Edinburgh.     I   have  my  own  fears  about  taking 


f&kz  Jmmilr)  .of  (Eassds.  si 

her  so  far,  but  Dr.  C.  will,  I  am  certain,  be  very  cautious.  To 
me  the  change  from  about  the  end  of  August  is  most  remarkable, 
for  she  really  speaks  with  a  good  voice,  takes  food  regularly 
sleeps  well,  and  turns  quickly  in  bed,  but  very  very  thin,  and 
occasionally  apparently  much  fatigued.  Her  conversation  is  very 
pleasant,  and  suited  to  her  situation,  and  her  religious  feelings 
quite  what  we  could  wish. 

'  The  Bible  is  the  only  book  she  never  tires  of,  and  she  has 
written  many  texts  for  recollection  at  times.  She  continues  very 
fond  of  our  singing  psalms  and  hymns,  and  is  delighted  when 
any  of  our  ministers  call.' 

'  lgt/i  September  1850. 
'  This  is  a  beautiful,  warm  day.  Jessie  has  had  a  good  night, 
and  really  lively.  I  am  more  and  more  surprised  at  the  rally 
she  has  made.  She  has  even  been  laughing  at  the  contents  of 
a  letter  she  got  this  morning,  and  said  to  me,  "  What  a  curious 
feeling  laughing  produces  in  me."  It  is  very  pleasant  to  see  her 
free  from  pain.  Even  the  tendency  to  deafness,  which  she  com- 
plained of,  has  left  her.' 

'  Corstorphine  Cottage,  3^  October  1850. 
'  It  pleased  our  heavenly  Father  to  take  our  dearest  Jessie  to 
himself  on  Monday,  at  5  o'clock  afternoon. 

'  For  two  or  three  days  and  nights  she  suffered  from  sickness, 
and  a  tendency  to  difficulty  of  breathing,  but  nothing  indicated 
so  near  an  approach  to  her  last  end.  A  respected  friend,  the 
Rev.   Mr.  Laing,  who  has  been  frequently  here,  called,  and  when 

L 


82  %hz  Jatnihj  of  Ohtssels. 

she  was  asked  if  she  could  see  him,  she  said,  "  I  will  tell  you  in 
a  few  minutes."  Just  after  saying  so,  we  were  all  sent  for  to  her 
room,  and  she  died  within  these  few  minutes. 

'  Our  prayers  that  she  might  not  suffer  bodily  pain  were  heard 
and  answered,  for  she  appeared  more  like  falling  into  a  sweet  sleep 
than  death. 

'  The  recollection  of  her  kind  and  patient  conduct,  and  gratitude 
for  all  the  attentions  paid  to  her,  is  very  pleasant  ;  but  our  great 
consolation  springs  from  the  knowledge  of  her  mind  being  so  well 
suited  to  her  situation,  her  constant  preparation  and  steadfast 
faith  in  her  eternal  salvation  through  the  righteousness  of  her 
blessed  Saviour.  A  very  short  time  before  her  death  she  wrote 
texts  of  Scripture  on  the  blank  leaves  of  her  Bible,  the  last  being 
on  26th  September, — "  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleanseth  us 
from  all  sin,"  and  "  Thanks  be  unto  God  for  his  unspeakable  gift." 

'  When  I  said  on  Monday  morning,  "  I  hope  you  have  rested 
well  during  the  night,"  she  answered,  "  God  will  give  me  rest."  God 
grant  that  this  lesson  may  have  a  good  effect  on  all  of  us,  and  that 
we  may  strive  like  her  to  die  the  death  of  the  righteous. 

'  Her  latter  end  was  truly  peace, — she  ever  spoke  with  most 
affectionate  kindness  of  all  of  you,  and  prayed  fervently  for  your 
temporal,  but  particularly  your  eternal  happiness. 

'  The  funeral  is  to  be  on  Monday  next,  in  our  family  burying- 
ground  in  South  Leith  Churchyard.  It  is  remarkable  that  any 
deaths  in  our  family  have  taken  place  at  a  distance,  and  the  ground 
has  not  been  opened  since  my  father  was  buried  in  18 14,  a  term  of 
thirty-six  years. 


^hc  Jamili)  of  (tassel*.  S3 

'  Robert  Wyld  and  Mag  have  been  often  here,  and  Jessie  derived 
much  comfort  also  from  the  kind  attentions  of  Janet  Willoughby, 
and  was  very  fond  of  hearing  her  sing  sacred  music.  She  frequently 
asked  us  to  sing  psalms  and  hymns,  and  even  composed  herself  an 
additional  verse  to  a  hymn  she  was  very  partial  to. 

.  'This  is  a  sad,  though  not  unexpected  termination  to  all  our 
wanderings  and  cares,  but  all  we  have  done  or  could  do  was  well 
bestowed  on  one  so  amiable  and  affectionate. 

'  We  have  good  likenesses  of  her,  but  a  cast  has  been  taken 
since  her  death  for  a  bust,  which,  I  hope,  will  be  successful,  and  if 
so,  we  can  have  copies. 

'  I  do  not  know  if  the  likeness  sent  to  Quebec  was  a  good  one. 
I  think  the  one  we  have  at  Achenhard,  in  the  group  with  her 
sisters,  is  the  best.' 

'  Blackford  House,  28//;  November  1851. 
'  We  have  put  up  a  monumental  stone  in  our  burying-ground  in 
South  Leith,  with  names,  birth  and  death,  of  my  father  and  mother 
and  dearest  Jessie.  Nothing  else  but  the  verses  from  the  Bible 
written  by  her  on  her  Bible  four  days  before  her  death,  and  now 
put  on  the  stone  on  which  the  large  one  rests.  I  think  these  were 
sent  to  you  formerly.' 

8.  WILLIAM    CasSELS,    born    9th    November    1779,   died,    un- 
married, 24th  March  1796. 

9.  ROBERT   CASSELS,  born  13th  October  1781.     Was  for  many 


84  ^hc  Jantilg  of  €asscls. 

years  British  Consul  at  Honfleur,  in  France.     Now  (1870)  residing 
at  Moffat,  Scotland. 

He  married  Jean,  daughter  of  John  Scougall,  Esq.,  of  Leith, 
sister  of  Mrs.  Walter  Gibson  Cassels.     She  was  born  5th  June  1788, 
and  died  at  Edinburgh,  14th  June  1867. 
Their  children  are — 

1.  Andrew  Cassels,  born  20th  December  181 1.  Partner  in 
the  eminent  firms  of  John  Peel  and  Company  of  Manchester, 
and  Peel,  Cassels,  and  Company  of  Bombay.  He  retired  from 
business  in  1868,  and  is  now  residing  in  London.  He  married, 
10th  November  1846,  Emma  CECILIA,  eldest  daughter  of  Colonel 
Watson,  Bombay  Artillery,  and  has  issue — 

1.  John  Andrew,  born  4th  August  1847;  B.A.  of  Trinity 
College,  Oxford  ;  now  (1870)  in  India. 

2.  Emma  Margaret,  born  26th  October  1848;  married, 
1st  October  1868,  to  Charles,  youngest  son  of  Thomas  Hunter, 
Esq.  of  Elm  Bank,  Whalley  Range,  Manchester. 

3.  May  Grace,  born  8th  February  1850. 

4.  AUGUSTA,  born  28th  February  1851. 

5.  Henry  Armitage,  born  28th  August  1852  ;  died  8th 
October  1858. 

6.  Lilian  Eleonora,  born  13th  May  1858. 

7.  Herbert  Wentworth,  born  9th  October  1859. 

8.  Violet  Mabel,  born  6th  December  1863. 

9.  Kenneth  Scougall,  born  5th  June  1869. 

2.  Jane  CASSELS,  born  12th  October  181 3,  died  20th  April  1823. 

3.  Robert  Cassels,  M.D.,  born  2d  October  1815,  died  26th 


<\Ehc  Jamihj  of  (Jtitsscls.  85 

November  1851,  at  Creech,  St.  Michaels,  Somerset,  aged  thirty-six 
years,  unmarried. 

4.  Margaret  Cassels,  born  13th  January  1818,  died  in  1866. 
She  married  the  Rev.  John  Pendrill,  of  the  Church  of  England. 
They  had  an  only  child,  a  daughter,  ELLA,  born   7th  October 

1838  ;  married,  in  1865,  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Woodyate,  of  the  Church 
of  England. 

5.  John  Cassels,  born  31st  October  1820.  Resided  many 
years  in  Bombay,  partner  in  the  firm  of  Peel,  Cassels,  and  Com- 
pany. Retired  from  business,  and  now  (1870)  residing  in  Bourne- 
mouth, England. 

Married,  20th  October  1858,  Mary  Gilmour,  eldest  daughter 
of  the  late  William  Ritchie,  Esq.  of  Middlcton  House,  Mid 
Lothian,  and  Lambs  Hill,  Lanarkshire. 

They  have  issue — 

1.  Jean  Mary,  born  1st  August  1859. 

2.  Alice  Margaret,  bom  21st  March  1861. 

3.  Maude  SCOUGALL,  born  13th  February  1863. 

4.  John  Kennedy,  born  23d  May  1864. 
4.  Gilbert  Robert,  born  4th  April  1S70. 

6.  Walter  Richard  Cassels,  born  4th  September  1826; 
resided  many  years  in  Bombay  as  partner  in  the  house  of  PEEL, 
CASSELS,  AND  COMPANY,  but  retired  from  business  in  1865  ;  and 
now  (1870)  residing  in  London. 

He  published  a  volume  of  poems  in  1850,  and  another  in  1855. 
He  was  a  member  of  Council  in  Bombay,  and  took  an  active 
part  in  the  debates  of  that  body. 


S6  ^hc  Jamiln  of  (ftussds. 

The  editor  of  the  Bombay  Gazette,  in  remarking  on  a  debate  in 
the  Legislative  Council  of  Bombay,  8th  September  1864,  remarks, 
'  On  the  other  side  were  Sir  William  Mansfield  and  The  Honour- 
able Walter  R.  Cassels,  men  known  not  only  throughout  India,  but  in 
England,  for  the  knowledge  and  ability  they  have  shown  in  discuss- 
ing the  most  important  questions  of  commercial  law  and  practice.' 

10.  Alexander  Cassels,  born  1st  November  1783  ;  was  in 
the  H.E.I.C.  sea  service,  and  died  of  a  stroke  of  the  sun,  at  Cal- 
cutta, in  181S. 

He  left  the  Company's  service  in  1814  to  take  command  of  the 
first  ship  which  sailed  from  Liverpool  after  the  opening  of  the  trade 
with  India.  Captain  Cassels  was  then  senior  officer,  or  next  in  rank 
to  commander,  in  the  Honourable  East  India  Company's  Service. 

In  Gore's  Directory — '  Annals  of  Liverpool ' — it  is  stated, — 
'  22d  May  18 14. — First  ship — the  "  Kingsmill,"  Cassells,  belonging 
to  Messrs.  Gladstone  and  Grant,  sailed  from  Liverpool  to  the  East 
Indies  on  opening  of  the  trade  with  India.' 

Gladstone  was  afterwards  made  a  baronet ;  Sir  John  was  father 
of  the  Right  Honourable  W.  E.  Gladstone,  Prime  Minister  of 
England. 

11.  Henrietta  Sophia  Cassels,  born  12th  June  1787; 
married,  in  1817,  Thomas  Kay,  Esq.,  merchant,  Antwerp.  He 
died  in  1841  leaving  issue  as  follows — (she  died  Monday,  4th 
July  1870,  aged  eighty-three)  : — 


%\u  Jfamilp  of  Mussels. 


87 


i.  Thomas,  died  at  Alexandria,  in  Egypt,  in  1847,  aged 
twenty-nine  years. 

2.  Anne,  married  Professor  Messieux  of  St.  Andrews.  He  died 
in  1859,  leaving  issue,  a  son,  who  was  drowned  at  sea,  and  three 
daughters. 

3.  David,  died  in  France,  in  18 — . 

4.  Alexander,  died  in  Australia,  in  1857. 

5.  Henry,  merchant  in  Alexandria.  Married,  20th  October 
1859,  Jane  Anne,  daughter  of  James  Edmonstone  Aytoun,  of 
Kirkcaldy,  and  cousin  of  the  late  Professor  Aytoun,  and  descended 
from  the  ancient  family  of  Aytoun  of  that  Ilk  and  Inchdarnie, — 
and  has  issue. 

6.  Harriet. 

7.  John. 

8.  Mary  Anne. 


APPENDIX. 


Note  No.  i  ,  Page  30. 

John  Wauch,  who  married  and  baptized  so  many  of  the 
Cassillis'  family,  was  the  first  minister  of  Borrovvstouness,  which 
was  united  to  Kinniel  in  1669.  He  suffered  in  the  persecutions 
which  commenced  in  1660,  having  been  denounced  in  1673,  and 
went  with  his  family  to  Ireland. 


Note  No.  2,  Page  31. 

Hannah  Gib's  ancestors  long  resided  in  Linlithgowshire. 

A  GlB  was  stirrup  man  to  James  IV.  at  the  battle  of  Flodden 
in  1 5 13,  where  he  was  severely  wounded. 

Robert  Gib  of  Carribber,  near  Linlithgow,  was  '  Familiar 
Servitor  '  to  James  V. 

In  the  Palace  of  Linlithgow,  where  James  V.  and  his  Queen 
lived  the  greater  part  of  their  time,  as  did  Robert  Gib  of  Car- 
ribber, there  is  a  recess  in  the  wall,  in  the  dining  hall,  called  '  Rob 
Gib's  chair '  to  this  day. 

In  1539  a  record  appears  in  a  notary's  protocol  book  at  Lin- 
lithgow in  which  he  is  styled,  '  ROBERTUS    Gyb   de  Ogilface,' 


^he  Jamilp  of  QTasscls.  89 

from  which  it  appears  he  owned  the  lands  of  Birkenshaw,  in  the 
barony  of  Ogilface. 

In  1 541,  ROBERT  Gyb  is  infeft  in  eight  bovates  of  the  lands 
of  KlNCAVEL. 

In  1539  he  received  a  grant  of  the  lands  and  Castle  of  CAR- 
ribber  from  the  King  (James  V.),  that  is,  the  King  gave  him  the 
money  to  buy  them,  for  he  was  constituted  heir  (Icgitimum  inditbi- 
tatum,  etc.)  of  Robert  Carribber  of  that  Ilk,  in  1 541.  The  original 
deed  is  dated  12th  January  1539,  when  Robert  Carribber  disponed 
the  '  Messuage  of  Carribber  to  Robert  Gib,'  whose  spouse  was 
Elizabeth  Schall  (more  probably  Schaw). 

The  money  given  to  Robert  Gib  by  James  V.  is  mentioned  in 
the  household  accounts  of  the  period. 

North  of  the  Main  Street  of  Linlithgow,  quite  close  to  the 
Palace,  were  two  tenements,  the  property  of  Patrick  Gib,  sup- 
posed to  have  been  one  of  the  sons  of  Robert  Gib  of  Carribber,  who 
became  a  burgess  of  the  town. 

James  Gib  of  Bo'ness  lived  here  and  possessed  property.  He 
was  a  brother  of  Robert  Gib  of  Carribber. 

There  was  another  brother,  named  John  or  Jhone,  witness  to 
a  document  of  James  V.  in   1540. — (Acts  of  Pari,  of  Scot.  vol.  ii. 

P-  36s-) 

'  In  1589,  James  Gyb,  son  of  the  late  David  Gyb  in  Bo'ness, 
was  sentenced  to  death,  which  was  commuted  to  banishment,  for 
wearing  pistols  within  the  Palace  of  Holyrood,  and  shooting  James 
Boyd  of  Kippis  through  the  right  foot,  and  wounding  him  with  a 
sword  in  the  right  hand.' — (See  Commissary  Court  Book  of  the 
County  of  Edinburgh.) 

John  Lithgow  the  traveller,  whose  curious  book  of  travels  was 
first  published  in  1632,  and  who  died  in  1640,  'when  in  France  saw 

M 


90  tf&hz  J  a  mill)  of  Qhtssels. 

an  acquaintance,  GEORGE  Gib,  of  Bo'ness,  who  had  been  pilot  of  an 
English  ship,  working,  chained  to  the  oar,  in  a  French  galley.  He 
set  to  work  to  obtain  his  liberation,  but  before  this  could  be 
accomplished,  GlB,  "  qui  avait  un  grand  cceur,  mourat  de  chagrin." ' 
— (See  the  rare  adventures  and  painful  peregrinations  of  nineteen 
long  years  Travayles  from  Scotland  to  the  most  famous  Kingdoms 
in  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa,  published  1632,  by  John  Lithgow.) 

Sir  John  Gibb,  of  Knock,  Fife,  son  of  Robert  Gib  of  Car- 
ribber,  was  Groom  of  the  Bedchamber  to  James  VI.,  and  went  to 
England  in  1603.  He  was  knighted  at  Theobalds  in  1624,  and 
died  in  1628. 

His  sons  were — 

1.  James  Gibb  of  Carribber,  who  died  without  issue. 

2.  Sir  Henry  Gibb,  Groom  of  the  Bedchamber  to  Henry 
Prince  of  Wales,  James  I.,  and  Charles  I.  ;  was  created  a  baronet 
of  Nova  Scotia,  7th  June  1634.  He  had  grants  of  Brading,  in 
the  Isle  of  Wight,  Brancepath,  in  the  county  of  Durham,  etc.  He 
married  ANNE,  daughter  of  Sir  Ralph  Gibbes  of  Hunington, 
Wiltshire,  and  had  two  daughters, — 

1.  Elizabeth,  married  Sir  Richard  Everard,  Bart.,  and  had 
issue. 

2.  FRANCES,  married  William  Glanville  of  Broad  Hinton, 
Wiltshire. 

John  Gibb,  of  Borrowstouness,  married  Anna  Stewart,  and 
had  two  daughters,  viz., — 

1.  Hannah,  born  5th  March  1673,  and  baptized  13th 
yrof;  witness  ARCHIBALD  Stewart  and  Andrew  Diston. 
Married  ANDREW  CASSILLS,  4th  February  1696. 

2.  Margaret,  born  13th  February  1677.  (Believed  to 
have  married  Robert  Spears, — see  next  page.)     The  witness 


^Iie  Jitmilt)  of  ("tassels.  91 

Archibald  Stewart  is  believed  to  have  been  the  father  of 
Anna  Stewart.  He  was  a  Covenanter.  He  was  put  to  the 
torture  by  order  of  Council  on  15th  November  1680,  and  a 
confession  of  his  being  at  Aird  Moss  was  extorted.  He  was 
hanged  at  the  Market  Cross  of  Edinburgh,  1st  December 
16S0. 


Note,  No.  3,  Page  32. 

Robert  Spiers  or  Spears,  Esquire,  of  Borrowstouness,  father 
of  Hannah  Spiers,  married  Margaret  Stewart.  He  died  in 
1736.  His  son,  the  Rev.  Robert  Spears,  born  26th  January 
1700,  baptized  12th  June  1705,  was  admitted  to  a  benefice  in  the 
Church  of  Scotland  on  3d  April  1728  ;  translated  from  the  parish 
of  Linlithgow,  and  inducted  into  the  parish  of  Burntisland  on  the 
15th  September  1743.  In  Burntisland  Churchyard  a  monument  is 
erected  to  his  memory,  bearing  the  following  inscription  : — '  To  the 
Memory  of  the  Rev.  ROBERT  SPEARS,  late  Minister  of  Burnt- 
island, who  died  15th  October  1778,  in  the  79th  year  of  his  age, 
and  51st  of  his  ministry,  of  whom  it  may  in  truth  be  said,  He  was 
a  servant  of  the  most  high  God,  who  showed  unto  men  the  way  of 
salvation  ;  also  to  the  Memory  of  Jean  Dalgleish,  his  spouse, 
who  died  10th  July  1768,  and  their  children  deceased, 

'William,  nth  March  1765,  aged  21. 

'  Cumberland,  21st  June  1766,  aged  20. 

'  Hannah,  12th  May  1770,  aged  30. 

'  Hannah  was  then  spouse  of  William  George  Fairfax, 
Captain  of  the  Royal  Navy,  whose  two  infant  children  ly  also  here 
interred.' 


92  %kt  Jfamilg  of  Glassda. 

A  monument  is  also  erected  to  the  memory  of  Captain  Fair- 
fax, who  was  created  a  Knight-Banneret,  and  Vice- Admiral  of  the 
Red. 

Sir  William  FAIRFAX  commanded  the  Venerable,  Lord  Dun- 
can's flag-ship,  in  the  memorable  battle  of  Camperdown,  on  nth 
October  1797,  and  was  the  bearer  of  Lord  Duncan's  despatches 
announcing  the  victory.  He  died  7th  November  181 3,  aged 
seventy-seven. 

The  present  (1869)  Sir  WILLIAM  FAIRFAX,  Baronet,  of 
Holmes,  is  his  grandson  by  a  second  marriage. 

The  REV.  Robert  Spiers'  son  was  minister  of  Kirkcaldy,  and 
married  the  niece  of  Mr.  Ferguson  of  Raith.  One  daughter  mar- 
ried the  Rev.  David  Swan,  minister  of  Leven,  the  father  of  the 
REV.  Mr.  SWAN,  minister  of  Abercromby.  Another  married 
MR.  DALGLIESH,  minister  of  Ferry-Port-on-Craig,  and  Laird  of 
Scotscraig,  and  had  an  only  child,  William,  who  married  Miss 
Ogilvie,  an  heiress  and  well  connected.  They  had  several  chil- 
dren.    The  eldest  son  sold  Scotscraig. 

There  were  three  daughters,  who  married  severally — 1st,  James 
Maitland  Herriot  of  Ramorny,  whose  father  was  the  Honour- 
able Lewis  Frederick  Maitland,  sixth  son  of  Charles, 
sixth  Earl  of  Lauderdale,  and  his  mother,  Margaret  Dick, 
heiress  of  Rankeillor,  heir  of  line  of  the  MAKGILLS  of  Rankeillor, 
the  Crightons,  Viscounts  of  Frendraught.  2d,  Mr.  Makgill  of 
Kembach,  of  a  good  family.  Her  son  is  the  present  Laird  of 
Kembach,  and  claims  the  title  of  Viscount  Oxfurd  as  heir-male. 
3d,  MAJOR  PLAYFAIR,  Provost  of  St.  Andrews. 


%hz  Jamilp  oi  Class els.  93 


Note,  No.  4,  7><?gr  36. 

JOHN  SCOUGALL,  mentioned  at  page  36,  was  father  of  Mrs. 
Walter  Gibson  Cassels  and  Mrs.  Robert  Cassels. 


Note,  No.  5,  Page  37. 

John  Crompton  of  Prestolee,  Lancashire,  a  descendant  of  the 
old  family  of  Crompton  of  Crompton  in  that  county,  married 
Catherine,  daughter  of  Allan  Halton  of  Farnworth,  descended  from 
the  family  of  Halton,  which  has  been  seated  at  Halton,  Lancashire, 
from  the  reign  of  Henry  II.  to  the  present  day. 

John  Crompton  of  Prestolee  married  Anne,  daughter  of  Ralph 
Assheton  of  Great  Lever,  another  very  eminent  Lancashire  family. 
She  was  his  cousin-german,  their  mothers  being  sisters,  and  had 
issue — 

1.  John  Crompton,  steward  of  the  Royal  Manor  of  Beverly, 
d.  s.  p. 

2.  Thomas  Crompton  of  Hounslow  Priory,  Middlesex,  Skerne 
Manor,  York,  and  Bennington  Park,  Herts,  Auditor  of  the  Ex- 
chequer, married  Mary,  daughter  of  Robert  Hodgson,  Auditor  of 
Exchequer  to  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  had — 

1.  Sir  Thomas  Crompton  of  Driffield,  married  Meriall, 
sister  of  Henry  Viscount  Falkland  ;  and  their  daughter, 
Catharine,  sole  heir,  married  Sir  Thomas  Lyttleton  of 
Frankley,  Bart.,  hence  Lord  Lyttleton. 

2.  Sir  John   Crompton  of  Skerne    Manor,    married    

sister  of  Sir  Herbert  Croft,  and  had  Sir  Robert,  married 
Catharine,  sister  of  Sir  John  Holland,  and  had  Catharine, 
who  died  1699,  unmarried. 


04  %hz  Jramilrj  of  dtasscls. 

3.  Robert  Crompton  of  Great  Driffield,  left  issue — Edward 
of  Leckenfield  ;  Mary,  married  Sir  William  Gee  ;  Sarah,  mar- 
ried Francis  Theobald  ;  Frances,  married  Sir  Robert  Ferme. 
3.  Richard  Crompton  of  Hacking  Hall,  died   1598.     His  son, 
John    Crompton   of  Hacking    Hall,    died    1614.      His    son,    Ellis 
Crompton  of  Hacking,  died   1632.      John  Crompton  died  before 
his  father.     John  Crompton  of  Hacking  married  Cecilia  Crompton, 
and  had  issue — 

1.  John  Crompton  of  Hacking  Hall,  d.  s.  p.  1703. 

2.  Ellis  Crompton  of  Hacking  Hall.  His  descendant  John 
sold  the  estate. 

3.  Joshua  Crompton  of  Old  Hall  married,  1679,  Susanna, 
daughter  and  heir  of  Richard  Nuthall  of  Galyurade.  He 
left  daughters  only,  from  whom  descend  George  Ormerod  of 
Tyldesley  and  Ledbury,  Hornby  Boughsedge  of  Foxghyll, 
George  Tomline  of  Riby,  M.P.,  etc. 

4.  Joseph  Crompton  of  Haugh  Hall,  left  issue. 

5.  Grace,  married  James  Fernyside,  Esq.,  and  had  issue — 

1.  Esther  Fernyside,  married  Peter  Baron  of  Redivals, 
Lancashire,  and  had  a  son,  Joseph  Baron,  married  Mary 
Hay,  and  they  had  issue — 

1.  Esther  Baron,  married  Samuel  Holker  of  Top- 
o'-the-Hill,  Lancashire,  descended  from  the  Lords 
Willoughby  of  Parham,  and  had  issue — 

1.  Samuel    Holker  of  Top-o'-the-Hill,   who 
had  a  son,  Samuel,  of  Top-o'-the-Hill. 

2.  Esther  Holker,  married  Samuel  Grundy, 
Esq.,  and  had  issue. 

3.  Mary    Holker,    married    William    Norris, 
Esq.,  d.  s.  p. 


%\\t  Jamiln  of  (Hitsscls. 


95 


4.  Elizabeth    Holker,    married,    1st,   Aaron 
Manby,  Esq. ;  2d,  Rev.  F.  Hodgson,  father  of 
Mrs.  James  Cassels. 
2.  Elizabeth   Fernyside,  married   Richard    Hard- 
man,  merchant,  Rochdale,  and  had  issue — 

1.  James  Hardman  of  Allerton  Hall,  Lanca- 
shire, married  Jane,  daughter  of  George  Leigh 
of  Outrington,  a  very  old  Cheshire  family. 
Their  son,  Hardman,  of  Allerton  Hall,  died  un- 
married. 

2.  John  Hardman,  M.P.  for  Liverpool,  1754, 
married  Miss  Cockshot,  d.  s.  p. 


Note,  No.  6,  Page  40. 

Anne  Gibson's  grandfather,  Dr.  John  Gibson,  physician  at 
Kelso,  was  born  at  Lauder  in  1666  or  1667,  and  died  14th  Septem- 
ber 1765,  aged  ninety-eight  or  ninety-nine  years.  He  was  a  re- 
markably handsome  man,  and  rode  a  journey  on  horseback  from 
Kelso  to  Edinburgh  when  he  was  ninety-seven  years  of  age.  He 
married  Catharine  Home,  daughter  of  George  Home,  of  the 
honourable  family  of  Bassendean.  She  survived  her  husband  ; 
and  died  above  100  years  old,  retaining  her  faculties  unimpaired  to 
to  the  last.  She  sung  a  song  in  company  when  100  years  of  age. 
They  had  eight  children,  four  sons  and  four  daughters  : — 

1.  Thomas,  was  bred  a  surgeon,  and  went  to  America. 

2.  GEORGE,  born  about  1706,  minister  of  Colinton,  1733  ;  mar- 
ried, October  1736,  Janet  Blackwood,  who  survived  him,  and 
died  1st  January  1746,  without  issue,  in  the  fortieth  year  of  his  age. 


96 


^Ihc  Jamiln  of  (tassels. 


3.  John,  Captain  in  the  4th  Regiment  of  Foot,  born  in  17^ 
married  MlSS  JANE  DONALDSON  of  Kinnairdie  House,  Banffshire. 
Her  mother  was  Elizabeth  Duff,  sister  of  William  First 
Earl  OF  Fife.  He  died  5th  August  1795,  at  Kelso,  aged  eighty 
years.  His  wife  died  long  before  him.  They  had  four  sons  and 
three  daughters,  viz., — 

John  Tucker,  surgeon  R.N.,  died . 

RYDER,  went  to  Jamaica,  and  was  last  heard  of  in  1802. 
James  Duff,  died  at  four  years  old. 

Thomas  went  to  India,  and  died  immediately  on  his  arrival 
there. 

Elizabeth  Home,  died  in  infancy. 

Catherine,  married  to  Mr.  Mills,  surgeon  at  Decca,  and 
afterwards  to  MR.  HUNTER,  merchant  there. 

Anne,  residing  in  Kelso,  widow  of  Archibald  Stuart, 
surgeon  there.  ARCHIBALD  STUART,  surgeon,  Kelso,  was  de- 
scended from  a  natural  son  of  James  Stuart,  Abbot  of  Kelso 
and  Melrose,  himself  illegitimate  son  of  King  James  V.  Had 
issue — 

JOHN,  surgeon,  Kelso,  married  Miss  Waldie,  of  the  family 
Waldie  of  Hendersyde  Park,  and  has  issue — 
Archibald. 
Jane. 

Catharine. 
Helen. 

MARGARET,   married    John    Robertson,   and    has    issue— 
Frances. 

4.  Walter,  surgeon,  Leith.  Laird  of  Greenknowe,  in  Stirling- 
shire, born  1717,  married  15th  August  1740,  and  died  nth  June 
1800,  aged  eighty-three. 


The  Jfamiln  of  (Easscls. 


5.  Isabella  Gibson,  married  Captain  Millar,  50th  Regi- 
ment. One  of  their  daughters,  KATHERINE,  married  GEORGE 
THOMSON,  clerk  to  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Manufactures,  well 
known  in  the  musical  world  as  editor  of  '  Scots  Songs.'  They 
had— 

Robert  Thomson,  Colonel,  Royal  Engineers. 

WILLIAM  THOMSON,  Deputy-Commissary  General,  1846,  mar- 
ried 1843,  Barbara  Madelina  Gordon,  daughter  of  William 
Sinclair  of  Freswich,  and  assumed  the  name  of  Sinclair  on 
her  succeeding  to  the  estate  of  Dunbeath,  in  the  county  of  Caith- 
ness, of  which  he  is  a  Deputy-Lieutenant. 

Georgina  Thomson,  married  George  Hogarth,  author  of  a 
'  History  of  Music,'  and  is  mother  of  Mrs.  Charles  Dickens. 

6.  ANNE,  died  unmarried. 

7.  Catherine,  died  unmarried. 

8.  SOPHIA,  married  Mr.  Handyside,  merchant,  Wooler. 

Dr.  Gibson's  ■  wife's  Pedigree  (Catharine  Home)  which  is  as 
follows,  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  in  Scotland,  being  illustrious  at 
a  period  preceding  the  Norman  Conquest  : — 

1.  TJRTHRED,  the  Saxon  Prince  of  Northumberland,  married 
Princess  ELGIVA,  daughter  of  Ethelred,  King  of  England.  They 
had  an  only  child, 

2.  ALGABLIA,  who  married  GOSPATRICK,  a  Saxon  nobleman, 
who  came  to  Scotland,  and  was  father  of 

3.  GOSPATRICK,  Earl  of  Dunbar  and  March,  who  was  father  of 
another 

4.  GOSPATRICK,  the  second  Earl,  whose  son, 

5    GOSPATRICK,  was  third  Earl.      His  second  son, 
6.  William,  received  as  his  patrimony  the  lands  of  Greenlaw, 
etc.     He  was  father  of 

N 


9S  <Oe  Jtamili)  of  Qhisscls. 

7.  WILLIAM,  who  married  for  his  second  wife  (his  first  having 
died  childless)  his  cousin  Ada,  daughter  of  Patrick  Earl  of 
Dunbar  and  March,  by  his  wife  Ada,  who  was  a  natural  daughter 
of  King  William  the  Lion.  She  brought  as  her  portion  the 
Barony  of  Home,  from  which  all  their  descendants  took  their 
name.     Their  son  and  heir  was — 

8.  William,  the  first  who  used  the  surname  of  Home.  His 
son  was, 

9.  Galfridus,  who  had  a  son, 

10.  Roger,  who  was  father  of 

1 1.  Sir  John,  whose  son, 

12.  Sir  Thomas  Home,  greatly  increased  his  fortune  by  his 
marriage  with  Nicola  PEPDIE,  heiress  of  Dunglass,  Fast  Castle, 
etc.  etc.     Their  son, 

13.  Sir  Alexander,  was  created  Lord  Home  in  1473.  He 
married  Mariota,  daughter  and  heiress  of  Landals  of  that  Ilk,  and 
by  her  had, 

14.  Alexander,  master  of  Home,  who  died  before  his  father, 
leaving  by  his  wife,  ELIZABETH  HEPBURN,  a  son  and  heir,  ALEX- 
ANDER, second  LORD  Home  (whose  male  descendants  became 
extinct  in  the  person  of  the  second  Earl  of  Home),  and  had  a 
second  son, 

15.  JOHN  Home  of  Whiterigs  and  Ersilton  ;  his  son, 

16.  Mungo  HOME  of  Coldingknows,  married  ELIZABETH, 
daughter  of  James,  Earl  OF  Buchan,  son  of  Sir  James  STEWART, 
called  the  Black  Knight  of  Lome,  the  handsomest  man  of  his  time, 
by  Jane  or  Joan,  Queen  Dowager  of  SCOTLAND,  who  was  great- 
grand-daughter  of  King  Edward  III. 

Their  son  and  heir, 

17.  Sir  John  Home  of  Coldingknows,  married    Margaret, 


^hc  Jitmiln  of  (Ease  els.  99 


daughter  of  Sir  Andrew  Kerr  of  Cessford  (ancestor  of  the  Duke 
of  ROXBURGHE).  Their  eldest  son  was  great-grandfather  of  the 
third  Earl  of  Home.  Their  second  died  unmarried.  Their  third 
was — 

1 8.  William  Home,  first  Laird  of  Bassendean,  who  married 
Mariotte  Pringle  of  the  Greenknowe  family,  a  younger  branch 
of  the  Stitchell  family. 

Their  son  and  heir, 

19.  George  Home,  second  Laird,  married  JEAN,  daughter  of 
James  Seton  or  SEYTOUNE  of  Tullibody,  the  representative  of  a 
very  old  Baronial  House.     Their  son  and  heir, 

20.  Alexander  Home,  third  Laird  of  Bassendean,  married 
Sibilla,  daughter  of  Sir  James  Broun  of  Colstoun,  chief  of  his 
name.     Their  son  and  heir, 

21.  GEORGE  Home,  fourth  Laird  of  Bassendean,  married 
Catherine,  eldest  daughter  of  Walter  Pringle  of  Greenknowe, 
a  famous  Covenanter,  second  son  of  Pringle  of  Stitchel. 

On  the  failure  of  this  family,  that  of  Bassendean  succeeded  to 
the  representation,  but  not  to  the  estate,  which  the  last  possessor, 
by  special  settlement,  left  to  Pringle  of  TORWOODLEE. 

George  Home  and  Catharine  Pringle  had  three  sons  and 
two  daughters,  and  their  descendants  are  now  numerous. 

The  present  (1869)  possessor  of  Bassendean  is  Major  John 
Hutchison  Ferguson  Home,  who  succeeded  his  uncle  John 
Home  Home  of  the  Grenadier  Guards,  who  died  a  Major-General 
in  i860,  and  Colonel  of  the  56th  Regiment  of  Foot,  son  of  Captain 
JOHN  HOME,  who  purchased  Bassendean  from  his  cousin. 

The  lineal  representative  of  the  family  is  the  REV.  WALTER 
HOME,  now  (1865)  minister  of  Polwarth.  The  eldest  daughter  of 
George  Home  and  Catherine  Pringle, 


ioo  %kt  Jhtmihj  of  (tassels. 

22.  Katharine,  married,  as  before  stated,  Dr.  John  Gibson. 

23.  Walter  Gibson,  Laird  of  Greenknowe  in  Stirlingshire, 
born  in  1717,  married,  15th  August  1740,  Jean  BROWN,  daughter 
of  the  Rev.  John  Brown  of  Abercorn.  She  was  born  about  the 
year  17 12,  and  died  the  same  year  as  her  husband,  viz.  in  1800, 
aged  about  eighty-eight  years. 

He  was  a  religious  and  most  exemplary  man,  and  an  elder 
of  South  Leith  Church  for  many  years.  He  died  nth  June  1800, 
aged  eighty- three  years. 

The  following  is  copy  of  a  paper  written  by  him  in  1762 
when  he  resigned  the  eldership  in  South  Leith  Parish  : — 

'  REASONS  for  demitting  the  exercise  of  eldership  in  South  Leith. 

'  When  I  consider  the  duty  incumbent  on  me  as  an  elder,  and 
view  the  abounding  immorality  of  this  place,  the  natural  conse- 
quence of  infidelity,  which  has  appeared  in  a  most  remarkable 
manner  in  the  choosing  a  minister  to  supply  the  present  vacancy 
in  this  congregation,  and  the  unnatural  opposition  that  the  Rev.  Mr. 
William  Aitken  has  discovered  towards  the  members  of  his  session 
in  the  discharge  of  their  duty,  I  'm  fully  persuaded  that  I  cannot 
longer  exercise  that  sacred  and  honourable  office  without  becoming 
partaker  with  him  and  others  in  their  sins. 

'  Therefore  I  hereby  demit  the  exercise  of  that  office  in  the  con- 
gregation of  South  Leith. 

(Signed)        '  Walter  Gibson.' 

'  Leith,  July  15,  1762.' 

Walter  Gibson  and  Jean  Brown  had  the  following  chil- 
dren : — 

1.  ANNE,  born  nth  May  1741,  died  in  1810,  aged  sixty-nine 
years.     She  married  Andrew  Cassels,  Esq.,  of  Leith. 


^hc  iiamili)  of  (llasscls. 


101 


2.  JOHN,  born  2d  August  1742,  died  at  Rome  unmarried,  aged 
about  twenty-two  years.  He  was  educated  for  the  medical  profes- 
sion. His  portrait,  painted  at  Rome,  is  now  (186S)  in  possession  of 
his  nephew,  Walter  Gibson  Cassels,  at  Blackford  House,  Edin- 
burgh. 

3.  GEORGE,  born  23d  August  1743,  died  young. 

4.  CATHARINE,  born  9th  September  1744,  died  young. 

5.  Elizabeth,  born  13th  June  1746,  died  young. 

6.  WALTER,  born  20th  August  1747,  died  young. 

7.  Jean,  born  19th  September  1748  ;  married  to  the  Rev.  Dr. 
William  Dalgleish,  minister  of  Peebles,  1773.  He  died  in  1807, 
about  seventy-eight  years  of  age.  She  survived  him  several  years, 
and  died  without  issue  in  18 19.  A  handsome  monument  has  been 
erected  to  Dr.  Dalgleish's  memory  in  Peebles  Churchyard. 

8.  HENRIETTA,  born  25th  January  1751,  died  young. 

9.  Catharine,  born  25th  July  1752,  died  young. 

10.  MARGARET,  born  22d  May  (N.  S.)  1754,  died  young. 
Jean  Brown's  father,  the  Rev.  John  Brown,  son  of  the  Rev. 

James  Brown,  minister  of  East  Calder,  a  younger  son  of  Brown  of 
Finmount,  Fifeshire,  was  inducted  minister  of  Abcrcorn  in  1700, 
and  died  in  April  1743.  He  married,  first,  MARGARET  HENDER- 
SON, of  Leaston.     Their  children  were  as  follows  : — 

I.  David  Brown,  who  married  Margaret  Russell,  whose 
son,  John  Brown,  married  Margaret  Watson,  whose  son, 
David  Brown,  married  Hannah  Cassels,  daughter  of  Andrew 
Cassels  and  Anne  Gibson. 

The  first  DAVID  BROWN'S  daughter,  J  LAN,  married  JOHN 
Fraser,  whose  daughter,  Jean  Fraser,  married  the  Rev.  Robert 
Walker  of  the  Canongate  Church,  Edinburgh,  son  of  the  Rev. 
Dr.  WALKER  of  the  High  Church,  Edinburgh,  and  their  daughter, 


102 


^EIu  Jhtmiln  of  Ghissds. 


Magdalen  Walker,  married  Richard  Scougall,  Esquire,  of 
Leith,  brother  of  Mrs.  Walter  and  Mrs.  Robert  Cassels. 

II.  Margaret  Brown,  who  married  the  Rev.  John  John- 
ston, minister  of  Arngask,  whose  son,  Dr.  David  Johnston, 
minister  of  North  Leith,  married  his  cousin,  ELIZABETH  TODD, 
daughter  of  John  Todd,  Esq.,  of  Leith,  sister  of  Jean  TODD,  who 
married  John  SCOUGALL,  Esq.,  Leith. 

Dr.  Johnston's  brother  Robert  married  Helen  Stevenson, 
and  their  daughter,  Margaret,  married  Professor  Alexander 
Ciiristison,  father  of  John  Christison,  Advocate,  Dr.  Robert 
CHRISTISON,  Professor,  Edinburgh  University,  and  Alexander 
CHRISTISON,  minister  of  Foulden. 


III.  Henrietta  Brown,  who  married  John  Todd,  Esq.,  of 
Leith.     Their  three  daughters  were — 

i.  Elizabeth  Todd,  who  married  the  Rev.  Dr.  David 
JOHNSTON,  of  North  Leith,  founder  of  the  Blind  Asylum,  Edin- 
burgh, and  Chaplain  in  Ordinary  to  the  King  (George  III.) 

The  following  extracts  regarding  The  Rev.  Dr.  David  John- 
ston, are  taken  from  Kay's  History  of  Edinburgh  Characters  : — 

'  It  may  be  said  of  this  excellent  man,  that  he  inherited  the 
virtues  of  the  clerical  character  by  descent.  His  father  was  minister 
of  Arngask  in  the  county  of  Fife,  and  his  maternal  grandfather,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  David  Williamson,  of  the  parish  of  St.  Cuthbert's, 
Edinburgh,  was  a  celebrated  clergyman  in  the  days  of  the  per- 
secution. 

'  Mr.  David  Johnston  was  born  in  1733.  He  was  ordained 
in  1759,  and  remained  minister  of  the  Parish  Church  of  Langton, 
in  Berwickshire,  about  6  years,  having  been  then  called  to  the  more 
important  charge  of  North  Leith.     Both  in  person  and  in  features 


%\\z  J  ami  hi  of  (tassels.  103 

Dr.  Johnston  was  exceedingly  handsome  ;  and  in  dress  and 
manners  he  was  a  thorough  gentleman  of  the  last  century. 

'  He  died  at  Leith  on  the  5th  July  1824,  in  the  91st  year  of  his 
age,  and  66th  of  his  ministry,  leaving  behind  him  one  daughter,  the 
only  survivor  of  a  large  family,  who  was  married  to  WILLIAM 
PENNEY,  Esq.,  of  Glasgow.' 

Dr.  Johnston's  daughter,  Elizabeth,  married  William 
PENNEY,  Esq.,  of  Glasgow,  father  of  WILLIAM  PENNEY,  Esq., 
Advocate,  Edinburgh,  now  (1858)  Lord  Kinloch,  and  Jean,  married 
to  Robert  McBriar,  Esq. 

In  an  admirable  work  by  Lord  KlNLOCH  (2d  Edition,  1861) 
entitled,  The  Circle  of  Christian  Doctrine,  a  work  which  should  be 
read  by  young  and  old,  there  is  the  following  graceful  allusion  to 
the  death  scene  of  a  venerable  man.  There  is  no  doubt  whatever, 
that  though  the  name  is  not  given,  he  alludes  to  his  venerable 
grandfather,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Johnston.  He  says, — '  I  knew  a  venerable 
man,  a  minister  of  God's  Word,  and  who  had  faithfully  served  Him 
in  the  Gospel  of  his  Son,  whose  life,  prolonged  to  ninety  years,  was 
spent  in  an  active  benevolence,  which  still  keeps  his  memory  in 
honour. 

'  With  the  soundest  evangelical  sentiments,  and  a  piety  diffused 
throughout  the  whole  of  life,  he  combined  a  warmth  of  kindliness, 
a  geniality  of  disposition,  which  won  the  affections  of  old  and  young 
alike.  His  activity  did  not  fail  him  till  a  short  period  before  his 
death,  and  his  time,  thereafter,  was  almost  wholly  engrossed  with 
his  Bible,  and  devout  meditation  over  it.  He  was  seized,  a  few 
years  before  he  died,  with  a  malady  which,  at  the  time,  was  thought 
to  be  mortal.  Those  who  surrounded  him  were  surprised  at  the 
absence,  in  one  so  eminently  religious,  of  the  expressions  which 
seemed  appropriate  to  the  occasion.     The  truth  was,  that  death 


io4  \TIic  Jainiltj  of  Otasscls. 

was  to  him  an  occurrence  so  continually  looked  for,  as,  when  it 
seemed  to  come,  not  to  produce  any  marked  emotion.  His  death, 
when  it  at  last  arrived,  fully  agreed  with  his  life.  He  felt  on  a 
sudden  what  appeared  to  him  his  Master's  call.  The  old  man 
went  to  his  knees  and  prayed, — he,  the  old  man  of  ninety,  prayed, — 
that  if  God  had  further  work  for  him  on  earth,  He  would  leave  him 
longer  here,  if  not,  that  He  would  take  him  to  Himself.  The 
answer  to  the  prayer  was  immediate.  Death  came  to  him  as  he 
knelt.  He  died  without  a  groan  or  sigh.  It  almost  seemed  as  if 
he  realized  the  transition  of  the  Ancient  Patriarch — he  was  not, 
for  God  took  him.' 

2.  Henrietta  Todd,  who  married  John  Parish,  Esq.,  of 
Hamburg,  whose  son  John  was  created  BARON  Seftenberg. 
Another  son  was  Richard,  of  Hamburg,  whose  son  George  has 
an  estate  at  Ogdensburg,  United  States  of  America.  There  were 
other  sons,  viz.,  David,  GEORGE,  and  CHARLES,  who  had  no  issue. 
John  Parish's  daughter,  Henrietta,  married  Hercules  Ross, 
Esq.  of  Rossie  Castle,  the  father  of  Captain  Horatio  Ross,  who 
sold  Rossie,  whose  sister  Henrietta  married  Mr.  Ellice  of  Mitcham 
House,  Surrey,  and  Eliza,  married  Oliphant  of  Condie.  Mr. 
Parish's  daughter,  Elizabeth,  married  John  CHARNOCK,  Esq., 
whose  daughter,  Cecilia,  married  Sir  D.  K.  Sandford. 

3.  Jean  Todd,  who  married  John  Scougall,  Esq.,  of  Leith, 
father  of  Mrs.  Walter  Cassels  and  Mrs.  Robert  Cassels. 

IV.  Jean  Brown,  born  1712,  who  married  Walter  Gibson, 
Esq.,  of  Greenknowe,  15th  August  1740,  whose  daughter,  Anne 
Gibson,  married  Andrew  Cassels,  Esq.,  Leith,  and  Jean  married 
the  Rev.  Dr.  DALGLIESH,  minister  of  Peebles,  who  died  without 
issue.     Walter  Gibson  and  Jean  Brown  had  ten  other  children, 


^hc  Juunilii  of  Citsscls.  105 

who  all  died  young.  MRS.  GlBSON  died  in  1800,  aged  eighty-eight 
years. 

The  Rev.  John  Brown  married,  2dly,  Eliza  Williamson. 
Their  children  were  as  follows  : — 

John,  George,  Joseph,  Robert,  William,  and  Charles, 
who  all  died  without  issue. 

JAMES,  who  married,  1st,  HELEN  DRUMMOND,  whose  daughter, 
Helen,  married  William  Somerville;  2dly,  he  married  Marion 
Tod  of  Kirklands,  whose  daughter,  MARY,  married  J.  Pattison, 
Esq.  ;  a  son,  ROBERT,  W.S.,  married  ISABELLA  ADAMS  ;  a  son, 
JAMES,  minister  of  Newbattle,  married  HELEN  ADAMS  ;  and  a 
daughter,  MARION,  married  JOHN  GRAY,  Esq.,  W.S.,  Edinburgh  ; 
and  Thomas,  who  married  John  Gray's  sister,  Euphan. 


Note,  No.  7,  Page  48. 

Janet  Scougall's  ancestors,  the  Showgals,  Scougals,  or 
ScouGALLS,  are  said  to  have  come  from  Saxony  in  the  fourteenth 
or  fifteenth  century,  and  to  have  settled  near  Bamborough,  in 
Northumberland.  It  is  more  probable,  however,  that  this  family  is 
of  Saxon  origin,  and  that  they  removed  from  England  after 
the  Conquest  by  William  the  Norman,  many  families  of  distinction 
having  settled  in  Scotland  at  that  period. 

In  Pitcairn's  Criminal  Tria/s,  it  is  stated  that,  '  on  9th  MARCH 
1 541,  JOHN  SHOWGAL  of  that  Ilk  got  a  remission  for  treasonably 
remaining  under  assurance  of  our  ancient  enemies,  the  English,  in 
time  of  war.'     Also  about  the   same  time,  '  the  young  Laird  of 

o 


106  ^hc  Jamilg  of  (toseis. 

Showgall  was  bound  over  to  keep  the  peace  with  Edmonstone  of 
that  Ilk.' 

Sir  Patrick  Scougall  is  designated  in  a  charter  to  Temple 
lands,  dated  20th  October  1560,  Knight  and  Commendator  of  the 
Order  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem  in  Scotland,  and  Master  of  Tor- 
phichen. — (See  vol.  ii.  p.  318,  Porter's  History  of  the  Knights  of 
Malta) 

The  picture  of  the  above-named  SIR  PATRICK  SCOUGALL  was 
sold  on  the  death  of  the  Lord  Torphichen,  in  i860;  it  had  been 
in  the  Preceptory  of  Torphichen.  It  was  purchased  by  John 
SCOUGALL,  Esq.,  of  Leith,  in  1863  or  1864,  and  at  his  death  in  1867 
was  bequeathed  by  him  to  Thomas  SCOUGALL,  Esq.,  No.  1  Ainslie 
Place,  Edinburgh,  his  only  brother. 

Sir  John  Scougall  of  Scougall,  in  East  Lothian,  was  a 
Master  in  Chancery,  and  was  knighted  by  King  James  the  Sixth. 
A  portrait  in  the  possession  of  his  descendant,  John  SCOUGALL, 
Esq.,  of  Leith  (1867),  represents  him  holding  a  diamond  ring 
in  his  hand,  said  to  have  been  presented  to  him  by  that  mon- 
arch, and  at  his  death  was  bequeathed  to  the  Scottish  National 
Gallery. 

Seacliff  House,  the  seat  of  Mr.  Laidlaw,  surmounts  the  crags  a 
little  north  of  a  ruin  called  OLD  SCOUGAL,  and  commands  singularly 
fine  sea  views.  It  is  near  the  village  of  Whitekirk,  about  six  or 
seven  miles  from  Dunbar. 

John  Scougal  of  Humbie,  son  of  Sir  John  Scougal  of  that 
Ilk,  and  brother  of  Patrick,  Bishop  of  Aberdeen,  was  nominated 
an  ordinary  Lord  of  Session,  17th  February  1661,  under  the  title 
of  Lord  Whytekirk,  and  at  the  sitting  down  of  the  Court  1st 
June  following,  was  appointed  by  their  Lordships  collector  of  the 
various  contributions  and  other  funds  out  of  which  the  salaries  of 


^hc  Jamil"  of  ("Tassels.  107 

the  Judges  were  then  paid.  He  was  also  appointed  a  member  of 
the  Commission  for  the  Planting  of  Kirks,  1661-3. 

His  Lordship  died  in  January  1672,  and  was  honoured  at  his 
interment,  on  the  7th  of  that  month,  by  the  attendance  of  the 
Judges,  accompanied  by  the  Advocates  and  Writers  in  mourning, 
and  having  their  maces  carried  before  them. 

James  Scougal  of  Whitehill,  Lord  Whitehill,  son  of 
John  Scougal,  Whytekirk,  entered  Advocate  8th  June  1687, 
and  was  admitted  without  trial,  having  presented  a  petition  to  the 
Lords,  representing  'that  he  had  served  seven  years  as  Commissar 
of  Aberdeen,  and  in  that  time  had  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  the 
municipal  and  civil  laws,  and  that  he  did  notsuppose  himself  qualified 
to  undergo  the  usual  trial,  yet  he  might  be  qualified  to  serve  as  an 
ordinary  Advocate.'  He  was  afterwards  appointed  one  of  the  Com- 
missaries of  Edinburgh  ;  nominated  an  ordinary  Lord  on  the  death 
of  Lord  Presmannen,  and  took  his  seat  9th  July  1696  by  the  title 
of  Lord  Whitehill.  He  died  23d  December  1702. — (See  Haig's 
Senators  of  the  College  of  Justice.) 

John  Scougal,  son  of  James  Scougal,  Lord  Whitehill, 

died  in  his  father's  lifetime,  as  it  appears  from  the  Retours  '  that 
on  13th  July  168 1  Patrick  Scougal  was  served  heir  of  his  father, 
John  of  Whytekirk.'  Also,  'on  17th  February  1683,  Margaret, 
daughter  of  JOHN  SCOUGAL,  Commissary  of  Aberdeen,  served  heir 
of  her  brother  PATRICK,'  who  died  unmarried  in  his  father's  lifetime. 
Also,  'on  10th  April  1691,  Margaret  Scougal  was  served  heir  of 
her  father,  John  SCOUGAL,  Commissary  of  Aberdeen,  in  the  lands 
of  Dreghorn,  in  Edinburghshire.' 

Margaret  SCOUGAL,  heiress  of  Whytekirk,  Dreghorn,  etc., 
married  William,  eldest  son  of  Sir  William  Bcnnet,  Baronet  of 
Grubbet,  in  Roxburghshire,  but  died  without  issue. 


108  ^lu  Jamilg  of  (tassels. 

In  Keith's  History  of  Scottish  Bishops,  he  states  that  '  PATRICK 
Scougal,  Pastor  of  Salton  in  East  Lothian,  and  son  to  Sir  JOHN 
SCOUGAL  of  that  Ilk,  was  next  preferred  to  the  see  of  Aberdeen,  to 
which  he  was  consecrated  on  Easter  day  1664.  He  was  a  man  of 
great  worth,  and  died,  much  esteemed,  on  1 6th  February  1682,  in 
the  75th  year  of  his  age.' 

Woodrow  in  his  Church  History  says,  'In  January  1664,  Mr. 
Alexander  Burnet  is  admitted  to  be  Archbishop  of  Glasgow, 
in  room  of  Mr.  Fairful  deceased  ;  and  Mr.  Scougal  is  his  suc- 
cessor at  Aberdeen,  who  is  reckoned  among  the  devoutest  of 
that  order.' 

The  Bishop  was  episcopally  ordained  to  the  parish  of  Darsie, 
by  Archbishop  Spottiswoode,  in  1636,  removed  to  Leuchars  in  1645, 
and  to  Salton  in  Haddingtonshire,  1658. 

The  character  of  Bishop  Scougal  is  ably  delineated  by  Bishop 
Burnet  as  a  pious,  worthy  man,  who  was  universally  esteemed  in  his 
diocese.  The  Professorship  of  Oriental  Languages  in  King's 
College,  Old  Aberdeen,  was  founded  about  1674,  at  the  request  of 
Bishop  Scougal. 

He  was  Chancellor  of  the  University. 

In  the  Public  Hall  of  the  College  there  are  portraits  of  the 
Bishop  and  his  son,  the  Rev.  Henry  Scougal,  A.M. 

There  is  a  monument  in  the  Cathedral  of  Old  Aberdeen 
erected  to  the  memory  of  the  Bishop  by  his  son  James  SCOUGAL, 
commissary  of  the  diocese,  which  bears  the  following  inscrip- 
tion : — 


'aChe  Jamily  of  (Ea&seLs.  109 

Hie 

in  Christo  requiescit  R.  P.  Patricius  Episcopus  Abcrdonensis  D. 

Joannis  Scougalli  de  eadem  filius  ;    Vir  omni  elogio  digitus 

utpote  pie  pacificus,  modeste  prudens,  erudite probitatis 

decits  et  exemplar,  nee  morose  gravis,  nee  superbe  doetus, 

agenis  dum  vivcrct praesens  asylum  ;  Basilicauo 

Sancti  Macharii,  Bibliothecam  Collegii  Regii  nee 

11011  Hospitium publicum  Veteris  Aberdouiae propensae 

Munificcntiae  indiciis  hand  supcrnendis  dictavit. 

Ad  Episcopalc  murtem  consccratus  die  Pasclialis  an 

1664     Eatis  ccssit  Feb.  16  annc  salutis  1682. 

Episcopatus  18,  actatis  vero  suae  75. — 

— Hoc  monumentum  quale  quale  piae  memoriae 

cliarissimi parentis  sacravit  Mr.  Jacobus  Scougall 

Commissarius  Diocccscos  Abcrdonensis. 

The  Rev.  Henry  Scotjgal,  A.M.,  son  of  Bishop  Scougal, 
wrote  the  celebrated  work  entitled  The  Life  of  God  in  the  Soul  of 
Man,  the  first  work  not  of  a  controversial  nature  published  in 
Scotland.  It  was  published  by  Bishop  Burnet  in  the  year  1691. 
He  was  well  known  by  his  theological  writings,  and  was  made  Pro- 
fessor of  Divinity  in  King's  College,  Old  Aberdeen,  as  soon  as  he 
had  completed  his  studies  at  the  University. 

He  was  born  in  1650,  and  died  in  1678,  at  the  early  age  of 
twenty-eight. 

In  the  preface  to  a  volume  of  his  writings  published  by  Cock- 
burn  in  the  year  1735,  it  is  said, — 

'  Besides  these  discourses  in  English  now  printed,  and  some 
essays,  written  when  he  was  very  young,  in  manuscript,  our 
author    has  left  behind    him  three  tracts  in  Latin,    viz.,    a    Short 


no  ^hc  ifamili)  of  Quisscls. 

System  of  Ethics  or  Moral  Philosophy  ;  a  Preservation  against  the 
Artifices  of  the  Romish  Missionaries  ;  and  of  the  Pastoral  Cure. 

'  This  last  contains  only  four  chapters  of  a  large  treatise  he 
designed  upon  that  subject  for  the  use  of  the  students  in  divinity 
and  candidates  for  holy  orders,  for  he  lived  not  to  finish  it,  the 
Great  Governor  of  the  world  having  in  His  wise  providence  thought 
fit  to  remove  him  early  from  his  post  here  to  give  him  the  reward 
of  his  good  and  faithful  service.  He  had  taught  philosophy  four 
years  before  he  entered  into  holy  orders,  after  which  he  was  one 
year  minister  of  a  country  parish,  and  four  years  Divinity  Professor 
in  King's  College  in  Aberdeen,  in  which  see  his  father,  Bishop 
Scougal,  sat  above  twenty  years  from  the  Restoration.  This  his 
son  was  born  about  the  end  of  June,  anno  1650,  and  died  on  the 
13th  of  the  same  month,  anno  1678,  having  scarce  completed  the 
28th  year  of  his  age.  But  being  made  perfect  in  a  short  time,  he 
fulfilled  a  long  time  ;  for  wisdom  is  the  grey  hair  unto  men,  and  an 
unspotted  life  is  old  age.' 

In  Pinkerton's  Biographical  History  of  Eminent  Scottish  Per- 
sons, he  says, — 

'  Henry  SCOUGAL,  Professor  of  Divinity  at  Aberdeen,  was  the 
son  of  Patrick  Scougal,  Bishop  of  Aberdeen,  1664-1682,  and  has 
the  merit  of  being  the  first  Scottish  author,  it  is  believed,  who 
wrote  a  book  of  practical  piety.  Ecclesiastical  disputes,  so  incon- 
sistent with  the  meek  spirit  of  Christianity,  had  first  prevailed  be- 
tween the  Catholics  and  Reformers,  then  between  the  Episcopals 
and  Presbyterians,  and  afterwards  between  the  Presbyterians  and 
Independents. 

'  Sermons  and  commentaries  on  Scripture  were  sometimes  inter- 
posed, but  the  chief  object,  the  practice  of  Christian  virtues,  was 
unaccountably  neglected  ;  Durham's  curious  work  on  Scandal  being 


%\it  Jfamihj  of  (Easscls.  m 

rather  a  discussion  of  ecclesiastical  discipline  and  polity,  and  a 
defence  of  the  Presbyterians  against  the  Independent  Jacobins  of 
the  day,  than  an  ethical  production. 

'  Of  Henry  Scougal  little  is  known.  It  is  said  that,  being  of 
an  amorous  complexion,  he  sometimes  loved  God  and  sometimes 
loved  women  ;  and  that,  having  unfortunately  become  enamoured 
of  a  married  lady  at  Aberdeen,  he  died  in  the  struggles  of  virtue 
and  passion.  But  he  had  grown  so  corpulent  in  his  retreat,  the 
steeple  of  the  Cathedral  Church  of  St.  Machar's  at  Old  Aberdeen, 
that  his  executors  were  forced  to  extract  the  body  through  a  win- 
dow. These  traditions  seem  rather  inconsistent,  as  love  is  gener- 
ally supposed  to  belong  rather  to  the  class  of  consumptions  than 
of  dropsies,  and  it  is  rare  that  the  amorous  swain  pines  away  into 
plenitude.  SCOUGAL'S  Life  of  God  in  the  Soul  of  Man  was 
published  by  Bishop  Burnet  in  1691,  8vo,  and  has  since  passed 
through  many  editions,  being  a  work  of  eminent  piety,  without 
enthusiasm,  and  written  in  a  clear  neat  style.' 

A  monument  erected  to  his  memory  in  the  Cathedral  of  Old 
Aberdeen  bears  the  following  inscription  : — 

Memoriae  Sacrum, 

Henricus  Scongall  Rcverendi  in  Christo  Patris 

Patricii  Episcopi  Aberdonensis  filius  ; 

Pliilosophiae  in  hoc  Academia  regia per  quodriennium  totidcmque 

Annis  ibidem  tlieologiae professor  ;  Ecclesiae  in  Auchterless 

Uno  A 11110  intcrstite  Pastor  Multa 

in  tarn  brevissime  curriculo  didicit  pracstitit  docunt , 

Coeli  avidus  et  coclo  maturus  obit  A  uno  Dom  ; 

MDCLXxvin  aetatis  suae  xxviii. 

Et  hie  escurias  Mortalitatis  posuit. 


112  %\u  Jamihj  of  (Easscls. 

From  the  Retours  it  appears  that  Sir  John  SCOUGAL  had 
other  sons  besides  Lord  Whytekirk  and  Bishop  Patrick,  the 
date  of  whose  births  may  probably  be  traced  by  referring  to  the 
register  of  the  parish  in  which  he  resided,  near  Dunbar  in  Had- 
dingtonshire. 

Under  date  25th  December  1641,  John,  son  of  John  Scougal, 
writer,  was  served  heir  of  his  brother  Alexander,  a  writer  in  a 
house  in  Edinburgh. 

And  about  1673  'David  SCOUGALL,  writer  in  Edinburgh,  is 
registered  as  lawfully  descended  of  the  family  of  Scougall  of  that 
Ilk,  Bears  Argent,  two  Greyhounds,  currant  fessways,  with  a  hunt- 
ing horn  in  chief  sable,  garnished  and  stained  gules,  all  within  a 
border  of  the  third.  Above  the  shield  ane  helmet  befitting  his 
degree,  mantled  gules  doubled  Argent.  Next  is  placed  on  ane 
latse  for  his  a  writer's  pen — and  for  his  motto  is  ane  escroll  above 
"Haec   Ornant." ' — (Registered  in  the   Lord    Lyon's  Office  about 

I673-) 

On  23d  July  1678,  Patrick,  Bishop  of  Aberdeen,  was  served  heir 
of  his  brother,  JOHN  SCOUGAL  of  Whytekirk,  in  the  barony  of 
Crossmichael  and  other  lands,  and  on  2d  July  1694,  James  SCOUGAL 
(afterwards  Lord  Whitehill),  Advocate  and  Commissary,  was  served 
heir  of  his  grand-daughter,  MARGARET  SCOUGAL,  spouse  of  William 
Bennett,  younger  of  Grubbet,  in  the  barony  of  Whytekirk,  etc. 

On  9th  January  1696,  JOHN  SCOUGAL  was  served  heir  of  his 
father,  JAMES,  writer  in  Edinburgh.  Pinkerton,  in  remarking  on 
Bishop  Scougal,  says,  '  His  contemporary  SCOUGAL,  the  painter, 
was  apparently  of  the  same  family.  Between  Jameson  and  Scougal 
there  seems  a  break  in  the  list  of  Scottish  Artists.  Scotland,  indeed, 
hardly  produced  a  Writer  or  Artist  during  the  Commonwealth  of 
England,  1649-60,  and  even  its  annals  of  that  period  are  obscure. 


^hc  JamUrj  of  (tassels.  113 

'  The  History  of  Scotland  under  the  Commonwealth,  illustrated 
from  original  papers,  would  form  a  curious  and  interesting  work.' 

In  his  account  of  George  Jameson  the  painter,  he  says, — 
'  The  elder  Scougal,  an  imitator  of  Lely  and  Carrudes,  appeared 
in  Charles  the  Second's  reign,  and  was  followed  by  De  Wyk 
or  De  Wit,  and  by  the  YOUNGER  SCOUGAL  ;'  and  in  the  introduc- 
tion :  '  The  elder  SCOUGAL,  who,  in  his  draperies,  imitated  the 
style  of  Sir  Peter  Lely,  had  a  great  repute  in  the  time  of  Charles 
II.,  and  portraits  of  his  hand  are  in  almost  every  family  in 
Scotland. 

'  For  some  years  after  the  Revolution  the  YOUNGER  SCOUGAL 
was  the  only  painter  in  Scotland,  and  had  a  very  great  run  of 
business  ;  this  brought  him  into  an  hasty  and  incorrect  manner.' 

The  younger  Scougal  here  alluded  to  was  John  SCOUGAL,  who 
painted  the  portrait  of  George  Heriot,  which  is  now  in  the  Council- 
room  of  the  Hospital,  Edinburgh.  In  the  account  of  Heriot's 
Hospital,  it  is  stated  that  '  the  picture  is  a  copy  by  Scougal,  from 
an  original  not  now  extant,'  and  in  the  records  of  the  Hospital  the 
following  entry  appears  relative  to  this  picture  : — 

'4th  April  1698. — The  Council  having  seen  an  old  picture  or 
draught  of  George  Heriot,  the  founder  of  the  Hospital,  and  consi- 
dering that  there  is  none  of  them  within  the  Hospital,  they  therefore 
ordain  the  Treasurer  to  cause  draw  a  new  draught  of  the  Founder's 
picture  at  length,  and  set  up  the  same  in  the  Council-room  of  the 
Hospital.'     This  John  SCOUGAL  died,  leaving  four  daughters. 

Mr.  Greig,  of  Edinburgh,  says  in  a  note,  dated  12th  March 
1845, — 'John  SCOUGAL  was  my  grandmother's  grandfather;  he 
was  the  same  relative  to  Mr.  Walter  Paton's  (of  Leith)  grandmother, 
Mrs.  Bell,  who  gave  the  book  of  sermons  (by  the  Rev.  Henry 
Scougal)  I  now  send  you  to  my  sister,  Mrs.  Wardlaw,  many  years 

P 


114  %ht  Jamil])  of  €ajss.cb. 

ago,  who  said  the  author  was  a  relation  of  hers.  She  says  there 
were  a  number  of  family  pictures  in  Mrs.  Bell's  house,  done  by  Mr. 
Scougal,  but  at  the  death  of  Mr.  Bell,  in  1809,  they  fell  into  the 
hands  of  his  grandsons,  Mr.  Andrew  Paton  Bell  and  Mr.  Walter 
Paton.' 

The  following  account  of  John  ScoUGAL's  residence  is  taken 
from  Memorials  of  Edinburgh  in  the  Olden  Time,  by  Dr.  Daniel 
Wilson,  vol.  ii.  p.  9  : — 

'  The  lowest  house  on  the  east  side  (Advocate's  Close),  directly 
opposite  to  that  of  the  Lord  Advocate,  was  the  residence  of  an 
artist  of  some  note  in  the  seventeenth  century.  It  has  been  pointed 
out  to  us  by  an  old  citizen  still  living  as  the  house  of  his  "  grand- 
mother's grandfather,"  the  celebrated  JOHN  SCOUGAL,  painter  of  the 
portrait  of  George  Heriot,  which  now  hangs  in  the  Council-room  of 
the  Hospital  ;  so  that  here  was  the  fashionable  lounge  of  the  dillet- 
tanti  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  the  resort  of  rank  and  beauty, 
careful  to  preserve  unbroken  the  links  of  the  old  line  of  family 
portraiture  ;  though  a  modern  fine  lady  would  be  seized  with  a 
nervous  fit  at  the  very  prospect  of  descending  the  slippery  abyss.' 

'  Note  to  above. — John  SCOUGAL,  younger  of  that  name,  was 
a  cousin  of  Patrick  SCOUGAL,  consecrated  Bishop  of  Aberdeen  in 
1664.  He  added  the  upper  story  to  the  old  land  in  Advocate's 
Close,  and  fitted  up  one  of  the  floors  as  a  picture  gallery.  Some  of 
his  finest  works  were  possessed  by  the  late  Andrew  Bell,  engraver, 
the  originator  of  the  Encyclopedia  Brilannica,  who  married  his 
grand-daughter.  SCOUGAL  died  at  Prestonpans,  about  the  year 
1730,  aged  eighty-five,  having  witnessed  a  series  of  as  remarkable 
political  changes  as  ever  occurred  during  a  single  lifetime. 

'  He  is  named  GEORGE  in  the  Weekly  Magazine  (vol.  xv.  p.  66) 
and  elsewhere,  but  this  appears  to  be  an  error,  as  several  of  his 


^hc  Jiuniln  of  (Hassels.  us 

descendants  were  named  after  him  John.'  Unfortunately  the 
registers  of  the  parish  of  Whitekirk,  in  which  the  lands  of  Scougall 
are  situated,  were  destroyed  by  fire  in  1760,  which  prevents  the 
dates  being  accurately  given. 

Richard  SCOUGALL,  born  in  17 10  (probably  in  the  parish  of 
Whitekirk),  died  1 8th  December  1776,  aged  sixty-six  years,  de- 
scended from  Sir  John  Scougall,  was  a  cousin  of  Mrs.  Bell,  wife 
of  Andrew  Bell,  the  celebrated  engraver,  whose  mother,  ANN 
Scougall,  a  near  relative  of  Bishop  Scougal,  married  Mr.  Wake, 
a  landed  proprietor  of  Northumberland. 

Mr.  Walter  Paton,  of  Leith,  grandson  of  Mrs.  Bell,  possesses 
several  portraits  of  the  SCOUGAL  family,  and  also  the  Bishop's 
table,  which  descended  to  him  from  Mrs.  Bell. 

RICHARD  SCOUGALL  was  an  extensive  merchant  and  shipowner 
in  Leith. 

In  the  Scots  Magazine  for  February  1749,  there  appears  the 
following  paragraph  : — 

'  About  the  same  time  (31st  January  1749)  were  lost  near  the 
same  place  (the  Oyster  Bank  on  the  coast  of  Holland)  the  ships 
of  Messrs.  Scougal,  of  Leith,  and  Young,  of  Kinghorn,  but  all  the 
people  were  saved.' 

He  married,  about  the  year  1742,  Margaret  Shepherd,  who 
was  born  in  17 1 7,  and  died  2d  February  1794,  aged  seventy-seven 
years.  She  was  the  daughter  of  a  gentleman  of  good  estate  in 
Dumfriesshire. 

Richard  Scougall  and  Margaret  Shepherd  had  the 
following  children  : — 

I.  John  SCOUGAL,  born  in  Leith  1743,  died  22d  March  1800, 
aged  fifty-seven  years.  He  married,  about  1769,  JEAN  Todd,  died 
about   181 1,  daughter  of  John    Todd,  Esq.,  Leith,  and  his  wife, 


no  <Whz  Jamilp  of  Glass  els. 

Henrietta  Brown,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  John  Brown,  minister 
of  Abercorn. 

John  SCOUGAL  was  an  eminent  merchant,  and  extensive  ship- 
owner in  Leith,  and  died  leaving  a  large  fortune. 

John  Scougal  and  Jean  Todd  had  the  following  children  : — 

i.  Henrietta,  died  young. 

2.  MARGARET,  born  1772,  married  J.  J.  Oddy,  Esq.  She  sur- 
vived her  husband  many  years,  and  died  at  Blackheath,  near 
London,  31st  January  1848,  aged  seventy-six  years.  They  had 
one  son,  Jepson,  and  three  daughters.  The  eldest,  Mary,  married 
COLONEL  Minyan,  of  the  H.E.I.C.S.,  and  has  issue.  The 
second,  Jane,  married  Mr.  Brough,  and  left  issue.  The  third, 
Charlotte,  married  Mr.  Wilkinson. 

3.  RICHARD,  born  in  1775,  married  MAGDALEN  WALKER, 
daughter  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Walker  of  the  Canongate  Church,  Edin- 
burgh. His  father  was  the  Rev.  Robert  Walker,  minister  of 
Straiton  ;  South  Leith,  1746;  High  Church,  Edinburgh,  1754; 
Moderator,  1771;  died  6th  April  1783,  in  his  sixty-seventh  year,  and 
forty-seventh  of  his  ministry  ;  married  MAGDALEN  DlCKSON,  who 
survived  him.  By  the  elegance,  neatness,  and  simplicity  of  com- 
position in  his  sermons,  and  by  the  grace  and  energy  of  his  delivery, 
he  rose  to  a  high  and  justly  acquired  reputation  as  an  evangelical 
preacher.  Four  volumes  of  Sermons  on  Practical  Subjects  by  him 
were  published. 

His  son  was  the  Rev.  Robert  Walker,  minister  of  Cramond, 
1776  ;  of  Canongate,  1784  ;  died  30th  June  1808  (the  father  of  Mrs. 
Richard  Scougall)  ;  Author  of  Sermons,  Edinburgh  1791,  8vo  ;  '  Ob- 
servations on  the  National  Character  of  the  Dutch,  and  the  Family 
Character  of  the  House  of  Orange,'  Edinburgh,  1794,  8vo  ;  'Psalms 
of  David  Methodized,'  Edinburgh,  1794;  'Kolf,"a  Dutch  Game.' 


^Iic  Jamily  of  (Stasscls.  117 

The  Rev.  William  Walker,  minister  of  the  Scotch  Church 
at  Rotterdam,  was  his  near  relative. 

Richard  SCOUGALL  died  at  Montreal,  Canada,  in  1841,  and 
his  wife,  Magdalen  Walker,  about  the  year  1S26  or  1827.  They 
had  four  sons  and  two  daughters,  viz., — 

JOHN,  died  in  Australia,  unmarried. 
Richard,  in  Australia,  married,  and  has  children. 
GEORGE,  died  in  Australia  in  1849,  unmarried. 
Walter,  in  the  Bank  of  British  North  America,  Quebec, 
married,  17th  May  i849,Georgiana  Henrietta  Hamilton, 
daughter  of  the   late  WILLIAM   HAMILTON,  of  Quebec,  and 
cousin   of  Robert   Hamilton,  Esq.,    of  Quebec,    and    George 
and  John  of  Hawkesbury  Mills,  and  has  issue. 

Margaret,  born  1809,  married  J.  B.  Scott,  Esq.,  Leith, 
and  died  12th  May  1856,  leaving  one  son  and  several 
daughters. 

JANET,  born  18 16,  married,  1st,  to  ROBERT  HENRY 
LlSTON,  Manager,  Bank  of  British  North  America,  Montreal, 
where  he  died  in  1841,  s.  p.  ;  2dly,  to  the  REV.  MARK 
Willoughby  of  Trinity  Church,  Montreal,  where  he  died 
in  1847,  s.  p.  ;  3dly,  she  married  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ainslie,  of  St. 
Andrews,  Scotland. 

4.  JOHN,  died  young. 

5.  Elizabeth,  married  John  Mowbray,  Esq.  of  Hartwood, 
W.S.  She  died  in  1804  or  1805,  leaving  a  son  and  daughter.  The 
son  died  without  issue.  The  daughter,  Jane,  married  Ellis  Brodie, 
Esq.,  Liverpool. 

6.  GEORGE,  born  about  1780,  died  21st  February  1858,  married 
Janet  Edington.  She  died  in  1809,  in  the  twenty-fourth  year  of 
her  age.     They  had  two  sons  and  a  daughter,  viz., — 


118  %hz  Jamih)  of  (tajsete. 

JOHN,  died,  unmarried,  24th  December  1867,  in  the  sixty- 
third  year  of  his  age. 

Thomas,  of  1  Ainslie  Place,  Edinburgh,  unmarried. 
JESSIE,  died,  unmarried,  19th  March  1869. 

7.  David,  died  young. 

8.  Janet,  born  5th  September  1782,  married  Walter  Gibson 
CASSELS,  Esq.,  Leith,  27th  August  1802,  and  died  at  Blackford 
House,  Edinburgh,  25th  May  1855. 

9.  Jane,  born  5th  June  1788,  married  Robert  Cassels,  Esq., 
Leith,  about  18 10,  and  died  at  Edinburgh,  24th  June  1867. 

II.  GEORGE  SCOUGALL,  merchant,  St.  Petersburg.  He  married 
a  German  lady,  and  died  leaving  two  sons  and  four  daughters  ; 
viz., — 

1.  The  REV.  Henry  SCOUGAL,  of  the  Church  of  England,  died 
in  18 — ,  leaving  seven  children. 

2.  Alexander,  drowned  in  Upper  Canada,  1848. 

3.  Eliza,  married  Lieutenant-Colonel  M'Bean,  Royal  Artillery, 
and  has  a  large  family.     She  died  in  1866. 

4.  Catharine,  died,  unmarried,  in  1848. 

5.  Mary  Anne,  resided  at  St.  Petersburg,  and  died  there. 

6.  Georgiana,  resided  at  St.  Petersburg,  and  died  there. 

III.  Elizabeth  Scougall,  married,  1st,  to  David  Ogilvie, 
of  a  good  family,  and  had  issue ;  2dly,  to  William  Howieson, 
Esq.,  W.S.,  Edinburgh,  who  died  1834,  and  left  W.  Howieson,  M.D., 
Edinburgh,  and  other  children.     She  died  in  1837. 

In  1867  a  memorial  window  to  the  Scougall  family  was  placed 
in  St.  James's  Episcopal  Church,  Leith,  by  JOHN  SCOUGALL,  Esq., 
eldest  son  of  the  late  GEORGE  SCOUGALL,  Esq.,  of  Leith,  who  died 
a  few  days  after  its  completion. 


%\xt  Jfamilg  ot  dtassel*.  no 

The  centre  of  the  window  is  occupied  by  a  figure  of  John  the 
Baptist,  surmounted  by  a  lamb  bearing  a  small  banneret  over  its 
left  shoulder.  Immediately  above  is  the  crest  of  the  Scougall 
family,  with  the  motto  'Tandem  Implebitur.'  On  the  left  side  are 
representations  in  the  upper  corner  of  the  Circumcision  of  the 
Baptist ;  and  in  the  under  corner  of  the  same  side  the  Baptism  of 
Christ.  To  the  right,  in  the  upper  corner,  is  a  design  representing 
John  preaching  in  the  wilderness  ;  and  in  the  under  corner,  Christ 
answering  the  disciples  sent  to  him  by  the  Baptist  while  in  prison. 
Underneath  these  figures,  and  running  along  the  whole- base  of  the 
window,  is  the  following  inscription: — 'Ad  Dei  gloriam  et  in 
memoriam  familiae  de  Scougall,  quae  per  quasdam  generationes 
apud  Leith  mercabatur,  hanc  fenestram  posuit  Johannes  Scougall. 
Anno  Dom.  1867.' 


Note,  No.  8,  Page  60. 

'  Holland  House! 

'  It  has  often  been  stated  that  the  chief  glory  of  Quebec  con- 
sisted in  being  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  magnificent  country- 
seats,  which  in  the  summer  season,  as  it  were,  encircle  the  brow  of 
the  old  city  like  a  chaplet  of  flowers.  .  .  .  Amongst  these  beauti- 
ful rural  retreats  few  are  better  known  than  Holland  Farm,  the 
family  mansion  of  Surveyor-General  Holland,  who  purchased  it 
about  the  year  1780.  Four  years  previously  it  had  been  the  head- 
quarters of  General  Montgomery,  who  chose  it  as  his  residence 
during  the  siege  of  Quebec.  This  fine  property,  running  back  as 
far  as  Mount  Hermon  Cemetery,  and  extending  from  the  St.  Louis 
or  Grand  Allee  Road,  opposite  Spencer  Wood,  down  to  the  St.  Foy 


120  ^hc  Jhrmily  of  €asscl0. 

Road,  which  it  crosses,  is  bounded  to  the  north  by  the  Cime  du  Cap 
or  St.  Foy  Heights.  For  those  who  may  be  curious  to  know  its 
original  extent  to  an  eighth  of  an  inch,  I  shall  quote  from  Major 
Holland's  title-deed,  wherein  it  is  stated  to  comprise  in  superficies, 
French  measure,  "  two  hundred  and  six  arpents,  one  perch,  seven 
feet,  eight  inches,  and  four-eights  of  an  inch,"  from  which  descrip- 
tion one  would  infer  the  Major  had  surveyed  his  domain  with  great 
minuteness,  or  that  he  must  have  been  considerably  of  a  stickler 
for  territorial  rights. 

'  Samuel  Holland  had  distinguished  himself  as  an  officer  under 
General  Wolfe  on  the  plains  of  Abraham, — lived  at  Holland  House 
many  years,  as  was  customary  in  those  days,  in  affluence,  and  at 
last  paid  the  common  debt  of  nature. 

'  The  Major,  after  having  provided'  for  his  wife,  Mary  Josephte 
Rolet,  bequeathed  his  property  to  Frederick  Brehm,  John  Frede- 
rick, Charlotte,  Susan,  and  George  Holland,  his  children. 

'  In  1817  Frederick  Brehm  Holland,  who  at  that  time  was  an 
Ordnance  storekeeper  at  Prince  Edward  Island,  sold  his  share  of 
the  farm  to  the  late  William  Wilson,  of  the  Customs  department. 
Ten  years  later,  John  Frederick  and  Charlotte  Holland,  also  dis- 
posed of  their  interest  in  this  land  to  Mr.  Wilson,  who  subsequently 
having  acquired  the  rights  of  another  heir,  viz.,  in  1835,  remained 
proprietor  of  Holland  Farm  until  1843,  when  the  property  by  pur- 
chase passed  over  to  George  O'Kill  Stuart,  Esquire,  of  Quebec. 
Mr.  Stuart  built  on  it  a  handsome  mansion,  now  known  as  Holland 
House  (the  original  Holland  House  stood  a  little  in  front  of  the 
present  mansion),  which  he  subsequently  sold  (in  February  1855)  to 
Robert  Cassels,  Esq.,  then  of  Quebec,  and  Manager  of  the  Bank  of 
British  North  America  ;  it  is  the  house  recently  leased  by  Colonel 
Lysons. 


%ht  Jut  milt)  of  GTasstle.  121 

'  Holland  Farm  has  been  gradually  dismembered.  The  pretty 
cottage  opposite  Spencer  Wood,  now  owned  by  Major  Campbell, 
is  built  on  Holland  Farm.  A  successful  gold-digger,  by  the  name 
of  St.  John,  purchased  last  year  (from  Robert  Cassels,  Esq.,  in  July 
1 86 1,  about  thirty  arpents)  a  large  tract  of  the  farm  fronting  the 
St.  Louis  Road,  with  Thornhill  as  its  north-eastern,  and  Mr. 
Stuart's  new  road  as  its  south-western  boundary.' — (From  Maple 
Leaves,  published  by  J.  M.  Le  Moine,  Esq.,  in  1863.) 


Note,  No.  9,  Page  62. 

In  the  New  Statistical  Accoitnt  of  Scotland  there  is  the  follow- 
ing notice  of  the  MacNab  family  : — 

'  Kinnell,  on  the  banks  of  the  Dochart,  was  long  the  residence  of 
MacNab  of  MacNab,  who  was  descended  from  the  Abbot  of 
Glendochart. 

'  A  manuscript  in  our  possession  gives  a  minute  account  of  this 
ancient  family. 

'  In  the  reign  of  David  I.,  it  states  that  they  were  called  M'Nab 
Eyre  or  Oighre,  the  son  and  heir  of  the  Abbot. 

'  The  Baron  of  MacNab  fought  with  Baliol  against  Bruce  at 
Dalree.  The  manuscript  quotes  several  ancient  charters.  One  is 
by  King  David  Bruce,  under  the  Great  Seal,  dated  1336,  "Gilberto 
M'Nab  et  haeredibus  suis  etc.  de  Bovain  in  dorminatur  de  Glen- 
dochart," etc. 

'  Another  is  by  King  James  III.  to  Finlao  M'Nab.  Another, 
date  1502,  is  Finlao  M'Nab  de  Bovain,'  etc.  'From  another  deed, 
confirmed  by  a  charter  under  the  Great  Seal  from  Queen  Mary, 
dated    27th   June    1553,    it   appears   the    Laird   of  M'Nab   mort- 

Q 


122  <ig\u  Jamiln  of  ([Tassels. 


gaged  a  great  part  of  his  lands  to  Colin  Campbell  de  Glenorchy,' 
etc. 

'  JOHN  MacNab  of  that  Ilk  suffered  much  for  his  adherence  to 
the  cause  of  Charles  I.  He  was  with  Montrose  at  Kilsyth,  and 
was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Worcester. 

'  This  ancient  family  intermarried  with  some  of  the  best  and 
oldest  houses  in  the  country.' 

PETER  MacNab,  born  in  Breadalbane,  Perthshire,  Scotland,  in 
1735,  died  3d  November  1799,  at  MacNab's  Island,  Halifax,  Nova 
Scotia,  aged  sixty-four  years,  was  descended  from  this  family. 

He  came  to  Nova  Scotia  in  the  year  1758,  and  was  married  to 
SUSANNAH  Khun,  2.5th  November  1763.  She  was  bom  in  1742, 
and  died  7th  May  1822,  aged  eighty  years. 

He  purchased  MacNab's  Island  in  the  harbour  of  Halifax  from 
the  Cornwallis  family  in  1783.  The  Honourable  Peter  Mac- 
Nab, son  of  the  above,  wrote  as  follows  in  1841  regarding  his 
mother's  family  : — 

'  My  mother's  family  came  from  Zurich,  in  Switzerland,  to 
Halifax  shortly  after  the  first  settlement  of  it  (about  1750),  when 
she  was  quite  a  child.  My  grandfathers  and  grandmothers  were 
all  dead  before  I  was  born.  I  have  not  got  the  exact  age  of  either 
my  father  or  my  mother  by  me,  but  will  ascertain  when  I  go  to 
town,  and  let  you  know.  I  was  appointed  to  the  Council  in  May 
1831. 

'  I  believe  I  have  given  you  all  the  information  in  my  power. 
I  may  add  that  I  was  married  the  8th  of  February  1792.' 

Peter  MacNab  and  Susannah  Khun  had  the  following 
children  : — 

1.  PETER,  born  about  the  year  1767,  succeeded  his  father  as 
proprietor  of  MacNab's  Island.     Was  appointed  a  Member  of  the 


uhe  Jamilg  of  (tassels. 


123 


old  Council  of  XII.  in  i83i,and  when  the  Council  was  re-modelled 
in  1840,  by  Lord  Sydenham,  then  Mr.  Poulett  Thomson,  he  was 
nominated  a  Legislative  Councillor.  He  married,  8th  February 
1792,  Joanna  Cullerton.  She  died  20th  May  1827,  aged  sixty- 
one  years. 

The  Honourable  Peter  MacNab  died  at  MacNab's  Island, 
1st  June  1847,  aged  eighty  years.  He  was  sent  to  Scotland  to  be 
educated,  under  the  guardianship  of  Francis  MacNab,  Laird  of 
MacNab,  and  his  brother,  Captain  Robert  MacNab,  of  Dundurn. 

2.  John,  was  a  captain  in  the  army.  He  married  Helen 
DAVIS,  and  died  in   1 840,  leaving  a  son,  JAMES,  and  a  daughter, 

Susan   Anne,  married  to  the  Honourable   Joseph    Howe, 

M.P.P.,  for  many  years  Provincial  Secretary  of  Nova  Scotia,  and 
now  (1869)  President  of  the  Council  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada. 

James,  married  Sarah  Currie,  and  has  issue,  three  sons  and 
seven  daughters. 

3.  ANNE,  married  Dr.  Gibbs,  R.N.  They  died  leaving  an  only 
son,  Thomas,  who  married  Miss  Blair  of  Truro,  Nova  Scotia,  and 
has  four  daughters. 

4.  SUSAN,  married  Mr.  Ross,  R.N.  They  died,  leaving  four 
sons  and  a  daughter. 

The  Honourable  Peter  MacNab  and  Joanna  Cullerton 
had  the  following  children  : — 

1.  James,  born  at  Macnab's  Island,  30th  November  1792.  d^J 

2  Peter,  married  twice — 1st,  Rhoda  Collins,  sister  of  the 
Honourable  Enos  Collins,  of  Halifax,  by  whom  he  had  an 
only  child,  PETER,  now  (1870)  in  Australia;  2d,  ANNIE  WADE,  of 
Digby,  by  whom  he  had  two  daughters ;  viz.,  Ellen  and  JOANNA. 
He  died  6th  October  1856,  aged  sixty-three. 

3.  ANNE,  married  LIEUTENANT  HUNTER,  64th  Regiment,  and 


/I  ft*.  /$?/ 


124  <llu  Jfamiljj  nf  GTasscLs. 

had  an  only  daughter,  Sarah,  married  to  Lewis  Jacobs  in  1846,  and 
died  the  same  year,  without  issue. 

4.  JOHN  Henry,  died  June  1817,  aged  eighteen  years. 

5.  SUSAN  Mary,  married  to  Robert  M.  Brown,  Esq.,  of  Halifax. 
She  died  in  1841,  and  he  a  few  years  afterwards,  leaving  five 
sons. 

6.  MARY  ANNE,  died  unmarried,  November  1855. 

7.  Sophia  Louisa,  unmarried,  1870. 

8.  Catharine  Elizabeth,  died,  unmarried,  at  Halifax,  8th 
January  1853. 

The  Honourable  James  MacNab,  eldest  son  of  the  Hon- 
ourable Peter  MacNab  and  Joanna  Cullerton,  born,  as 
before  stated,  on  30th  November  1792,  married,  9th  December 
1815,  Harriot  King,  born  at  Shelburn,  Nova  Scotia,  12th  April 
1792. 

The  Honourable  James  MacNab  was  appointed  an  Execu- 
tive Councillor  in  1840,  and  was  chosen  Member  for  the  City  of 
Halifax,  in  the  Provincial  Parliament  the  same  year,  which  he  con- 
tinued to  represent  till  1848. 

He  (along  with  the  Hon.  J.  B.  Uniacke  and  Hon.  Joseph  Howe) 
retired  from  the  Government  when  responsible  or  constitutional 
government  was  in  danger  of  being  destroyed  by  Lord  Falkland, 
then  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  Province.  He  remained  in 
opposition  several  years,  and  when  Lord  Falkland  was  removed, 
he  was  again  appointed  an  Executive  Councillor  in  1848. 

In  February  1848  he  was  nominated  a  Member  of  the  Legis- 
lative Council. 

In  June  1849  he  was  appointed  Receiver-General  of  Nova 
Scotia,  being  the  first  who  held  that  office. 

In  1855  he  was  appointed  Commissioner  of  Railroads,  and  again, 


'aEIic  Jraimh)  of  dasscls.  125 

in  1863,  Receiver-General,  which  office  he  held  till  the  Confedera- 
tion of  the  Provinces  in  1867.  He  was  then  appointed  Treasurer 
of  the  Province  of  Nova  Scotia,  which  office  he  resigned  the  same 
year,  retaining  his  seat  as  Member  of  the  Legislative  Council  of  that 
Province.  He  was  offered,  but  declined,  in  consequence  of  age 
and  infirmities,  the  appointment  as  one  of  the  Senators  of  the 
Dominion  of  Canada. 

In  October  1850  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  Commissioners 
of  Lighthouses  for  Nova  Scotia.  He  was  appointed  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  of  the  1st  Halifax  Regiment  of  Militia  in  1839,  and  was 
President  of  the  Highland  Society  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  also  Presi- 
dent of  the  Board  of  Agriculture.  He  has  been  a  Director  of  the 
Bank  of  British  North  America,  Halifax,  since  its  establishment  in 

1837. 

His  wife,  Harriot  King,  was  daughter  of  Henry  King  and 
Esther  Waldron. 

Henry  King  was  born  in  Boston,  United  States,  14th  April 
1739,  and  married  ESTHER  Waldron,  30th  October  1771.  He 
was  a  Loyalist,  and  after  the  Revolution  and  declaration  of  inde- 
pendence by  the  United  States  of  America,  emigrated  along  with 
many  others  to  Shelburn,  Nova  Scotia.  He  died  16th  May  1817, 
aged  seventy-eight. 

His  wife,  Esther  Waldron  (born  in  New  Hampshire,  May 
1754,  died  14th  October  1803),  was  descended  from  an  old  English 
family,  who  were  amongst  the  first  settlers  of  New  Hampshire. 

In  Blake's  Biographical  Dictionary,  3d  edition,  1840,  there  is  the 
following  account  of  ESTHER  Waldron's  ancestor  : — 

Major  Richard  Waldron,  born  about  1609,  came  from 
England  to  America  in  1635  ;  and  was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers 
of  Dover  in  New  Hampshire. 


126  ^lu  Jfamilu  of  (Hasscls. 

For  twenty-two  years  he  was  sent  as  representative  to  the 
General  Court  at  Boston,  and  for  several  years  was  Speaker  of  the 
House. 

In  1 68 1  he  succeeded  Cutt,  as  President.  He  was  also  chief 
Military  Officer  for  the  Colony. 

In  1676  he  received  orders  from  Boston  to  seize  all  the  Indians 
engaged  in  the  war.  This  he  did  by  stratagem,  and  not  by  an 
open  attack,  as  advised  by  his  under  officers. 

The  stratagem  was  this  :  about  400  of  the  Indians  were  invited 
to  his  house.  He  proposed  to  them  a  sham-fight.  They  readily 
acceded  to  the  proposition  ;  but  no  sooner  were  their  guns  dis- 
charged, than  they  were  all  made  prisoners.  Such  of  them  as  were 
deemed  friendly  were  released,  but  the  others  were  sent  to  Boston, 
and  were  hung  or  sold  as  slaves. 

This  act  of  treachery  was  not  forgotten  by  the  Indians  ;  the 
remembrance  of  it  was  treasured  up  with  their  characteristic  deter- 
mination to  obtain  revenge.  Thirteen  years  afterwards  they  were 
able  to  effect  their  purpose. 

They  did  it  in  the  following  manner  : — 

Two  squaws  were  sent  to  each  of  the  garrisoned  houses  in 
Dover  to  obtain  lodging.  Having  been  admitted,  in  the  middle 
of  the  night,  at  a  signal  from  without,  they  threw  open  the  doors  ; 
the  assailants  then  entered,  and  the  consequence  was,  that  the 
old  soldier,  the  chief  object  of  their  hatred,  was  made  prisoner, 
and  then  horribly  mangled,  and  killed,  at  the  age  of  eighty 
years. 

The  following  account  of  Major  Waldron's  death,  from  Ban- 
croft's History  of  the  United  States,  is  more  graphic  : — 

'  27th  June  1689. — In  the  east,  blood  was  first  shed  at  Cocheco, 
where,  thirteen  years  before,  an  unsuspecting  party  of  350  Indians 


%he  Jfsmilp  of  Qlasscls.  127 


had  been  taken  prisoners,  and  shipped  for  Boston,  to  be  sold  into 
foreign  slavery.  The  memory  of  the  treachery  was  indelible,  and 
the  Indian  emissaries  of  Castin  easily  excited  the  tribe  of  Penacook 
to  revenge.  On  the  evening  of  the  27th  of  June  1689,  two  squaws 
repaired  to  the  house  of  Richard  WALDRON,  and  the  octogenarian 
magistrate  bade  them  lodge  on  the  floor. 

'  At  night,  they  rise,  unbar  the  gates,  and  summon  their  com- 
panions, who  at  once  enter  every  apartment. 

'"What  now?  What  now  ?"  shouted  the  brave  old  man,  and 
seizing  his  sword,  he  defended  himself  till  he  fell  stunned  by  a  blow 
from  a  hatchet.  They  then  placed  him  in  a  chair  on  a  table  in  his 
own  hall. 

"  Judge  Indians  again  !  "  thus  they  mocked  him  ;  and,  making 
cruel  sport  of  their  debts  to  him  as  a  trader,  they  drew  gashes 
across  his  breast  and  each  one  cried,  "  Thus  I  cross  out  my 
account ! "  at  last,  the  mutilated  man  reeled  from  faintness,  and 
died  in  the  midst  of  tortures. 

'  The  Indians  burning  his  house,  and  others  that  stood  near  it, 
having  killed  three-and-twenty,  returned  to  the  wilderness  with 
twenty-nine  captives.' 

The  Honourable  James  MacNab  and  Harriot  King  had 

the  following  children  : — 

1.  Joanna,  born  16th  September  1816,  married,  27th  October 
1842,  Westcote  Whitchurch  Lewis  Lyttleton,  then  Lieu- 
tenant, afterwards  Captain, 64th  Regiment,  son  of  Captain  Lyttle- 
ton of  the  Worcester  family  of  Hagley  Park,  who  was  wounded  in 
the  Canadian  war,  and  afterwards  held  the  appointment  of  Judge 
Advocate  in  Tasmania. 

Their  children  are — 

William   Margrave,   born   at   Weedon,   Northampton- 


128  %ht  JfitmUi}  of  ditsscls. 

shire,  England,  8th  December  1843,  M.D.,  etc.  etc.,  of  New 
York,  London,  and  Edinburgh.     Went  to  Australia  in  1869. 

WESTCOTE  MacNab,  born  at  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  3d 
November  1846.     In  Tasmania  1870. 

GEORGE  WALDRON,  born  at  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  31st 
March  1850.  At  Sandhurst  1869.  Appointed  (1870)  to  an 
Ensigncy  in  the  28th  or  Gloucestershire  Regiment  of  the  line. 

2.  Peter,  born  29th  December  1817,  died  young. 

3.  John  Henry,  born  15th  November  1818.  Was  Provincial 
Aide-de-Camp  to  the  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Nova  Scotia  for 
many  years,  drowned  in  Halifax  harbour  by  the  upsetting  of  the 
yacht  Firefly,  28th  June  1859.  The  following  account  of  the 
accident  is  from  the  Halifax  Evening  Express,  29th  June  1859  : — 
'Melancholy  Accident. — With  feelings  of  deep  regret  we  are  called 
upon  to-day  to  notice  a  melancholy  and  fatal  occurrence  connected 
with  the  yacht  race  that  took  place  in  our  harbour.  One  of  the  boats 
in  the  race,  the  sloop  Firefly,  on  board  of  which  were  the  Hon.  Ernest 
Cochrane,  Lieutenant  of  H. M.S.  Indus,  two  midshipmen,  Mr.  Sands, 
Mr.  Johnstone,  Mr.  Hardinge  Stewart,  of  the  Purveyor's  Department, 
and  John  H.  MacNab,  Esq.,  of  this  city.  Shortly  after  the  boats 
started,  and  while  the  Firefly  was  lugging  the  eastern  shore,  a  squall 
struck  her,  throwing  her  over,  merely  allowing  those  on  board  time  to 
jump  over  the  windward  side.  Several  boats  immediately  started  to 
their  relief.  The  two  midshipmen,  who  could  swim  sufficiently  to 
keep  themselves  afloat,  were  rescued  by  Mr.  John  Wallace  and 
others  who  were  in  his  boat ;  Mr.  Stewart  by  Mr.  Fishwich  and 
Mr.  Chambers,  who  were  near  at  hand  in  a  whaler,  and  the  re- 
maining two,  Messrs.  Cochrane  and  MacNab,  were  taken  on  board  a 
boat  belonging  to  S.  A.  White,  Esq. 

'  Mr.   Stewart  was  immediately  conveyed  to  the  city,  and  the 


%\\t  Jfamilt)  of  dtftsszls.  129 

naval  officers,  with  Mr.  MacNab,  to  the  Flag  ship  ;  but  on  their 
arrival  there,  life  in  poor  MacNab  was  found  to  be  extinct.  Every 
exertion  was  made  by  Mr.  Domville,  of  the  ship,  and  other  medical 
men  who  were  in  attendance,  but  of  no  avail. 

'  Lieutenant  Cochrane,  who  is  said  to  be  an  excellent  swimmer, 
remained  by  the  side  of  his  lamented  friend  to  the  last,  and  not- 
withstanding all  his  exertions  in  supporting  him  while  he  remained 
in  the  water,  his  efforts  were  fruitless  to  save  him. 

'  The  truly  deplorable  fate  of  Mr.  MacNab  has  thrown  a  deep 
gloom  over  the  city,  for  he  was  known  and  beloved  by  all  ;  while 
there  was  no  person  perhaps  in  Halifax  whose  acquaintance  ex- 
tended over  so  large  a  circle  ;  his  buoyancy  of  spirit  and  his 
generosity  of  heart  made  him  a  welcome  guest  on  all  occasions 
and  in  all  places ;  and  the  tears  which  started  from  many  a  manly 
eye  on  the  sad  intelligence  of  his  sudden  and  shocking  death,  are 
convincing  proofs  of  the  high  place  he  occupied  in  the  affections  of 
his  fellow-townsmen.' 

Mr.  MacNab  was  eldest  son  of  the  Honourable  James 
MacNab. 

4.  Mary  Gibbens,  born  at  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  29th  October 
1820,  married,  7th  August  1838,  to  Robert  Cassels,  Esq. 

5.  ANNE  HUNTER,  born  6th  February  1823,  died  at  the  age  of 
fourteen. 

6.  LOUISA,  born  25th  August  1824,  died  at  the  age  of  fourteen. 

7.  JAMES,  born  13th  June  1827,  married,  10th  June  1856,  Sophia 
Collins  Freeman,  eldest  daughter  of  the  late  Snow  Parker  Freeman, 
Esq.,  Barrister,  of  Liverpool,  Nova  Scotia. 

8.  Harriet,  born  25th  January  1829,  married,  at  Halifax 
Nova  Scotia,  by  the  Rev.  W.  Bullock,  25th  January  1851,  to 
RODERICK  Hugonin,  Esq.,  Lieutenant  38th  Regiment,  second  son 

R 


130  ^he  Jamilg  of  <&&sg>zl%. 

of  Colonel  JAMES  JOHN  HUGONIN,  4th  Dragoons,  of  Nursted, 
Hampshire,  England,  and  nephew  of  Sir  Roderick  Murchison, 
Baronet. 

Their  children  are — 

James  John,  born  3d  November  185 1,  died  27th  February 
1852. 

Louisa,  born  nth  October  1853. 

Roderick,  born  25th  May  1855,  died  30th  June  1863. 

Mary  Cassels,  born  31st  December  1856. 

CHARLES  PANNEL,  born  10th  September  1858. 

Catharine  Annie,  born  16th  September  i860. 

Helen  Sophia,  born  nth  December  1866. 

Robert  Sinclair,  born  1868. 

Harriot  King,  born  1870. 

9.  Sophia  MlNNS,  born  19th  March  1S31,  died  young. 

10.  Peter,  born  nth  March  1835,  married,  1863,  Eliza,  only 
daughter  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Green.  She  died  in  1864,  leaving  an 
only  son,  John  ANSON  Stuart  MacNab,  born  1864. 

11.  LEWIS  GlBBENS,  born  24th  February  1837,  died  24th 
August  1845. 


^Iic  Jainih)  of  (JTasscls.  131 


ROYAL  DESCENT  FROM  ALFRED  THE  GREAT 
AND  WILLIAM  THE  CONQUEROR. 


Alfred  the  Great,  born  in  849,  fourth  son  of  King  Ethel- 
WULF.  'This  darling  of  England'  was  of  the  most  ancient 
and  illustrious  lineage.  He  married  ELSWITHA,  the  daughter 
of  a  British  nobleman,  and  succeeded  his  brother  Ethelred 
in  871.  He  died  November  901,  in  the  fifty-first  year  of  his 
age,  and  thirtieth  of  his  reign.  Two  sons  and  three  daughters 
survived  him.     He  was  succeeded  by  his  son, 

Edward  I.,  the  Elder,  in  901,  died  925.  He  was  a  man  of  great 
abilities,  but  more  warlike  than  peacelike  in  his  disposition. 
By  his  third  wife,  Edgiva,  he  had  two  sons,  Edmund  and 
Edred,  each  of  whom  reigned  after  ATHELSTAN. 

Edmund  I.,  the  Elder,  fifth  son  of  King  Edward  the  Elder,  suc- 
ceeded King  Athelstan  in  940,  died  26th  May  947.  '  He 
displayed  much  bravery  and  wisdom,'  was  stabbed  by  a  daring 
robber  named  Leolf  while  sitting  at  a  feast  with  all  his  nobles 
about  him,  when  he  was  only  twenty-four  years  old,  in  the 
year  947.  He  married  /Elfleda,  and  left  two  little  sons, 
EDWY  and  EDGAR,  but  they  were  so  young  that  his  brother 


132  %hz  Jamilij  of  Qtasscls. 

Edred  was  chosen  King  in  947,  died  23d  November  955. 
Edwy  or  Edwin,  eldest  son  of  King  Edmund  I.,  succeeded 
his  uncle  in  955.  He  died  1st  October  957  or  959,  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  brother, 

Edgar  the  Peaceable,  in  959,  died  975.  '  The  honour  and  delight 
of  the  English.'  He  was  succeeded  first  by  his  eldest  son, 
EDWARD  II.,  the  Martyr,  in  975,  by  EGELFLEDA,  surnamed 
the  Fair,  the  daughter  of  the  most  powerful  Duke  Ordmer. 
He  was  murdered  nth  March  978,  and  was  succeeded  by  his 
half-brother, 

Ethelred  II.,  in  978,  son  of  King  Edgar  by  ELFRIDA,  the 
beautiful  daughter  of  Ordgar.  He  abdicated  the  throne  in 
1012,  but  was  restored  in  1015,  and  died  23d  April  1016.  He 
married,  in  1002,  EMMA  or  ELFGIVA,  the  most  beautiful 
princess  in  Europe,  daughter  of  Richard  II.,  Duke  of  Nor- 
mandy, grandfather  of  WILLIAM  THE  CONQUEROR.  He  was 
succeeded  by  his  natural  son,  Edmund  Ironsides,  in  1016,  and 
by  his  son,  EDWARD  THE  CONFESSOR,  in  1043,  wno  died  5th 
January  1066.  EMMA,  Ethelred's  widow,  married  CANUTE 
THE  GREAT  in  1017,  and  died  in  1052.  KING  ETHELRED'S 
daughter, 

Princess  Elgiva  or  Elfgiva,  married  Urthred,  the  Saxon 
Prince  of  Northumberland.     Their  only  child, 

Algablia,  married  Earl  GOSPATRICK  or  COSPATRICK,  a  Saxon 
nobleman,  who,  according  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle, 
'  went  into  Scotland  with  all  the  best  men  '  after  the  Conquest 
in  1067.     Their  son, 

Gospatrick,  Earl  of  Dunbar  and  March,  was  father  of  another 

GOSPATRICK,  the  second  Earl,  whose  son, 

Gospatrick,  was  third  Earl.     His  second  son, 


%\u  Jamil])  of  CjijsscIs.  133 

William,  received  as  his  patrimony  the  lands  of  Greenlaw,  etc. 
etc.     He  was  father  of 

William,  who  married  for  his  second  wife  (his  first  having  died 
childless)  his  cousin,  Ada,  daughter  of  Patrick  Earl  of  Dunbar 
and  March,  by  his  wife,  Ada,  who  was  a  natural  daughter  of 
King  William  the  Lion  of  Scotland.  She  brought  as  her 
portion  the  Barony  of  Home,  from  which  all  their  descendants 
took  their  name.     Their  son  and  heir  was 

William,  the  first  who  used  the  surname  of  Home.     His  son  was 

Galfridus,  who  had  a  son, 

ROGER,  who  was  father  of 

Sir  John,  whose  son, 

SlR  THOMAS  HOME,  greatly  increased  his  fortune  by  his  marriage 
with  Nicola  Pepdie,  heiress  of  Dunglass,  Fast  Castle,  etc. 
Their  son, 

Sir  Alexander,  was  created  Lord  Home  in  1473.  He  married 
MARIOTA,  daughter  and  heiress  of  Landals  of  that  Ilk,  and 
by  her  had  ALEXANDER  MASTER  OF  HOME,  who  died  before 
his  father,  leaving  by  his  wife,  Elizabeth  Hepburn,  a  son 
and  heir,  ALEXANDER,  second  Lord  Home  (whose  male 
descendants  became  extinct  in  the  person  of  the  second  Earl 
of  Home),  and  a  second  son, 

John  Home,  of  Whitrigs  and  Ersilton,  Ambassador  to  England 
in  i49i,from  whom  descended,  sixth  in  succession,  JAMES,  who 
succeeded  as  third  EARL  OF  HOME.     His  son, 

MUNGO  HOME,  of  Coldingknows,  married  ELIZABETH,  daughter  of 
James  Stuart,  Earl  of  Buchan,  son  of  Sir  James  Stuart, 
called  the  Black  Knight  of  Lome,  by  Jane  or  Joan,  Queen- 
Dowager  of  Scotland,  and  mother  of  James  II.  of  Scotland 
and  granddaughter  of  King  Edward  III.  of  England. 


134  %\u  J;imih>  of  (Itassels. 

We  now  return  to  Jane  Beaufort's  descent  from  the  Norman 
Kings  of  England  : — 

William,  Duke  of  Normandy,  born  at  Falaise  in  1025,  surnamed 
The  Conqueror,  from  his  triumph  over  Harold  at  Hastings 
on  the  14th  October  1066,  was  crowned  King  of  England 
by  Aldred,  Archbishop  of  York,  at  Westminster  Abbey,  on 
25th  December  1066.  He  married  Maud  or  MATILDA, 
daughter  of  Baldwin  Count  of  Flanders.  He  died  9th 
September  1087.  He  had  four  sons  and  six  daughters,  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  third  son,  WILLIAM  RUFUS,  born  in  1060, 
who  was  shot  by  Sir  Walter  Tyrrel,  while  hunting  in  the  New 
Forest,  in  the  fortieth  year  of  his  age  and  thirteenth  of  his 
reign,  in  the  year  1 100.     He  was  succeeded  by  his  brother, 

HENRY  I.,  surnamed  Beauclerk,  born  1070,  crowned  5th  August 
1 100.  He  married,  nth  November  1 100,  Matilda  or  MAUD, 
daughter  of  MALCOLM  III.  of  Scotland  and  niece  of  Edgar 
Atheling,  the  last  of  the  Saxon  Princes  in  succession  to  the 
throne,  by  whom  he  had  issue,  a  son,  lost  at  sea  in  1120, 
and  a  daughter.  His  nephew,  Stephen,  succeeded  to  the 
throne  by  usurpation  in  1135.     Henry's  daughter, 

Matilda  or  Maud,  born  in  1 1 1 1,  was  betrothed  in  her  eighth  year 
to  the  Emperor  Henry  V.  of  Germany,  but  becoming  a  widow 
married,  2dly,  Geoffrey  Plantagenet,  Count  of  Anjou, 
and  had  (with  other  children) 

Henry  II.,  first  of  the  Plantagenets,  born  in  1133,  crowned  19th 
December  1154.  Married,  in  1151,  Eleanor  (the  divorced 
wife  of  Louis  VII.  of  France),  daughter  and  one  of  the  co- 
heiresses of  William  the  Fifth,  Duke  of  Aquitaine,  by  whom  he 
had  issue  five  sons  and  three  daughters.     He  died  6th  July 


^Ite  Jamiln  of  ("tassels.  135 


1 1 89,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Richard,  surnamed 
Cceur  de  Lion,  born  in  1157,  so  celebrated  as  a  soldier  of  the 
Cross.  He  married  Berengaria,  daughter  of  Sancho  King  of 
Navarre,  but  being  slain  by  an  arrow  from  the  castle  of 
Chalons,  on  6th  April  1199,  and  leaving  no  issue,  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  brother, 

John,  surnamed  Lackland,  born  in  1 166,  crowned  27th  May  1199. 
Married,  1st,  Isabel,  daughter  and  heiress  of  William  Earl  of 
Gloucester,  from  whom  he  was  divorced  upon  the  ground  of 
consanguinity,  her  grandfather,  Robert  Earl  of  Gloucester, 
having  been  an  illegitimate  son  of  King  Henry  I.  ;  and,  2dly, 
Isabella,  daughter  and  heiress  of  Aymer  Taillefer,  Count  of 
Angouleme,  by  whom  he  left  at  his  decease,  19th  October 
12 16,  two  sons  and  three  daughters.  King  John  was  succeeded 
by  his  eldest  son  as 

Henry  III.,  born  1st  October  1206,  crowned  28th  October  1216, 
married,  14th  January  1236,  ELEANOR,  second  daughter  and 
coheiress  of  Raymond  Berenger,  Count  of  Provence,  by  whom 
(who,  after  the  King's  demise,  took  the  veil  at  Ambresbury, 
in  Wiltshire)  he  left  at  his  decease,  on  16th  November  1272, 
two  sons,  viz.,  Edward,  his  successor,  Edmund,  surnamed 
CROUCHBACK,  born  16th  January  1245,  Earl  of  Lancaster, 
who,  by  his  second  wife,  BLANCHE,  Queen-Dowager  of  Navarre, 
and  daughter  of  Robert  Count  d'Artois,  he  had  Thomas, 
who  inherited  the  Earldom  of  Lancaster,  Henry,  in  the 
Earldom  of  Lancaster,  whose  son,  Henry,  created  Duke  of 
Lancaster,  died  in  1 360,  leaving  two  daughters  and  co-heiresses, 
of  whom,  Blanche  married  John  of  Gaunt,  son  of  King 
Edward  III.  Henry  the  Third's  daughter,  Margaret,  married 
Alexander  III.  of  Scotland. 


136  %hz  Jamiltj  of  (ftitsscls. 

Edward  I.,  surnamed  Longshanks,  eldest  son  of  King  Henry  III., 
born  in  i239,crowned  19th  August  1274,  married,  1st,  ELEANOR, 
daughter  of  Ferdinand  III.,  King  of  Castile,  by  whom  he  had 
his  successor,  EDWARD  PRINCE  OF  WALES,  and  seven  daughters. 
He  married,  2dly,  in  1299,  Margaret,  daughter  of  Philip  III., 
surnamed  the  Hardy  of  France,  by  whom  he  had  two  sons. 
He  was  succeeded  by  his  son, 

Edward  II.,  surnamed  by  Carnarvon,  born  25th  April  1284, 
crowned  23d  February  1 307-8,  married,  23d  January  1 307-8, 
Isabella,  daughter  of  Philip  the  Fair,  King  of  France.  He 
was  deposed  20th  or  21st  January  1327,  and  was  barbarously 
murdered  at  Berkely  Castle  in  1327.  He  was  succeeded  by 
his  son,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  as 

Edward  1 1 1.,  born  13th  November  13 12,  married,  in  1327,  Phillippa, 
daughter  of  William  Count  of  Holland  and  Hainault,  by 
whom,  who  died  1 5th  August  1 369,  he  had  issue,  Edward, 
surnamed  the  Black  Prince,  from  the  colour  of  his  armour,  born 
15th  June  1330.  This  gallant  soldier,  the  immortal  hero  of 
Crecy  and  Poictiers,  married,  in  1 361,  his  cousin  JOAN,  com- 
monly called  the  Fair  Maid  of  Kent,  daughter  and  heiress  of 
his  great  uncle  the  Earl  of  Kent,  by  whom  he  had  an  only 
surviving  son,  Richard,  who  succeeded  to  the  Crown  on  the 
death  of  his  grandfather.  The  Black  Prince  died  in  the  lifetime 
of  his  father,  8th  July  1376.  King  Edward  the  Third's 
third  son  was 

JOHN  OF  Gaunt,  Duke  of  Lancaster,  Earl  of  Richmond  ;  married, 
1st,  in  1359,  BLANCHE,  youngest  daughter  and  co-heiress  of 
Henry  Duke  of  Lancaster,  by  whom  he  had  Henry,  who  suc- 
ceeded to  the  Crown  as  fourth  of  that  name,  and  two  daughters. 
The  Duke  married,  2dly,  in  1 372,  Constance,  eldest  daughter  and 


<uEhc  Jfamils  of  (Jtasscls.  m 

co-heiress  of  Peter,  King  of  Castile  and  Leon,  by  whom  he  had 
an  only  daughter,  Katharine,  who  married  Henry  III.,  King 
of  Castile  and  Leon.  The  Prince  married,  3dly,  13th  January 
1396,  Katharine,  daughter  and  co-heir  of  Sir  Payne  Roet 
Knight,  a  native  of  Hainault  and  Guienne,  King  of  Arms,  and 
widow  of  Sir  Hugh  de  Swynford  (this  lady  had  been  gover- 
ness to  the  Duke's  daughters  by  his  first  wife),  by  whom  he 
had,  previously  to  his  marriage,  three  sons  and  a  daughter,  who 
were  legitimated  by  an  Act  of  Parliament  in  the  20th  of  Richard 
II.,  1396,  the  legitimation  having  been  preceded  by  a  similar 
Act  of  the  Pope.  (It  has  recently  been  discovered,  that  in  the 
original  patent  of  legitimacy  to  the  BEAU  FORTS,  which,  as  it 
was  ratified  by  Parliament,  Parliament  alone  could  alter,  the 
exception  of  inheritance  to  the  Crown  does  not  occur ;  the 
words,  '  excepta  dignitate  regali,'  being  inserted  only  by  the 
caution  of  Henry  IV.  in  his  confirmation  ten  years  afterwards.) 
These  children  were  JOHN  DE  BEAUFORT,  Henry  DE  BEAU- 
FORT, Thomas  de  Beaufort,  Joan  de  Beaufort.  Henry, 
the  second  son,  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Winchester  in 
1405.  He  was  the  celebrated  Cardinal  Beaufort,  Lord  Chan- 
cellor of  England.  Thomas,  the  youngest  son,  was  created 
Earl  of  Dorset  and  Duke  of  Exeter,  but  left  no  issue  at  his 
decease  in  1427.  Joan  was  married,  1st,  to  Sir  Robert  Ferrees 
of  Oversley  ;  2dly,  to  Ralph  Nevill,  the  first  Earl  of  West- 
moreland, and  died  in  1440. 
Sir  John  Beaufort,  eldest  son  of  John  of  Gaunt,  was  created 
Earl  of  Somerset  in  1396,  and,  in  two  years  afterwards,  Mar- 
quess of  Dorset  and  Somerset,  29th  September  1398,  of 
which  last  titles  he  was  afterwards  deprived.  In  1400,  was 
made  Lord   Chamberlain  of  England  for  life ;  Knight  of  the 

S 


138  %ht  Jamily  nf  Cassels. 

Garter,  and  Captain  of  Calais.  He  died  16th  March  1410,  and 
was  buried  in  Canterbury  Cathedral.  Which  John,  second  Earl 
of  Somerset  (Reginald  de  Mohun  had  been  created  Earl  of 
Somerset  in  1396,  and  the  title  had  become  extinct  the  same 
year),  married  MARGARET,  sister  and  co-heir  to  Edmund 
Holland,  Earl  of  Kent  (who  was  2dly,  married  to  Thomas, 
Duke  of  Clarence,  son  of  King  Henry  IV.),  and  by  her  had 
four  sons  and  two  daughters,  whereof  JOAN  or  Jane,  the  eldest, 
was  married,  1st,  to  J  AMES  I.  King  of  Scotland,  and  after  his 
death  to  Sir  James  Stuart,  called  the  Black  Knight  of  Lome, 
the  handsomest  man  of  his  time;  and  MARGARET  to  Thomas 
Courtney,  Earl  of  Devonshire.  The  four  sons  having  all  died 
without  legitimate  issue,  the  male  line  of  JOHN  OF  Gaunt 
terminated,  as  well  the  descendants  of  Catharine  Swynford,  as 
of  his  first  wife,  BLANCHE,  mother  of  Henry  IV.,  who  was  the 
only  other  wife  that  bore  him  any  male  issue.  His  Grace  the 
present  Duke  OF  BEAUFORT  is  descended  from  CHARLES, 
who  assumed  the  surname  of  SOMERSET,  being  the  illegitimate 
son  of  Henry  third  Duke  of  Somerset,  who  was  beheaded, 
3d  April  1463,  for  his  adherence  to  the  House  of  Lancaster. 

Sir  James  Stuart  and  Jane  Beaufort's  son, 

James,  was  created  Earl  of  Buchan,  and  his  daughter,  Elizabeth 
married,  as  before  stated, 

MUNGO  HOME,  of  Coldingknows.     Their  son  and  heir, 

Sir  John  Home  of  Coldingknows,  married  Margaret,  daughter 
of  Sir  Andrew  Kerr  of  Cessford  (ancestor  of  the  Duke  of 
Roxburghe).  Their  eldest  son  was  great-grandfather  of  the 
third  Earl  of  Home.  Their  second  died  unmarried  ;  their 
third  was 

William  Home,  first  Laird  of  Bassendean,  who  married  Mariotte 


%hz  Jamiltj  of  (EnsBcls.  139 

Pringle,  of  the  Greenknovve  family,  a  younger  branch  of  the 
Stitchel  family.     Their  son  and  heir, 

George  Home,  second  Laird,  married  Jean,  daughter  of  James 
SETON  or  Seytoune  of  Tullibody,  the  representative  of  a  very 
old  Baronial  House.     Their  son  and  heir, 

ALEXANDER  HOME,  third  Laird,  married  SlBILLA,  daughter  of 
Sir  James  BROUN  of  Colston,  chief  of  his  name.  Their  son 
and  heir, 

George  Home,  fourth  Laird  of  Bassendean,  married  Catharine, 
eldest  daughter  of  WALTER  PRINGLE  of  Greenknowe,  a  famous 
Covenanter,  second  son  of  Pringle  of  Stitchel.  On  the  failure 
of  this  family,  that  of  Bassendean  succeeded  to  the  representa- 
tion, but  not  to  the  estate,  which  the  last  possessor,  by  special 
settlement,  left  to  Pringle  of  Torwoodlee.  GEORGE  Home 
and  Catharine  Pringle  had  three  sons  and  two  daughters. 
The  present  possessor  (1869)  of  Bassendean  is  Major  John 
Hutchison  Fergusson  Home,  eldest  son  of  James  Fergus- 
son  of  Crosshill,  Ayrshire,  Principal  Clerk  of  Session,  and  of 
MARY  Home.  He  succeeded  his  uncle,  Major-General  JOHN  H. 
Home,  who  died  in  i860,  Colonel  56th  Regiment  of  Foot,  son 
of  Captain  John  HOME,  who  purchased  Bassendean  from  his 
cousin.  The  lineal  representative  of  the  family  is  the  Rev. 
Walter  Home,  minister  of  Polwarth. 

George  Home  and  Catharine  Pringle's  eldest  daughter, 
Katharine,  married  John  Gibson,  Esq.,  M.D.,  born  in  1666, 
or  1667,  and  died  14th  September  1765,  aged  ninety-eight  or 
ninety-nine  years.  Mrs.  Gibson  survived  her  husband,  and 
died  above  one  hundred  years  old.  They  had  four  sons  and 
four  daughters,  whereof  the  youngest, 

WALTER  GIBSON,  Esq.,  Laird  of  Greenknowe,   Stirlingshire,  born 


\ 


140 


^Lhz  Jit  mi  In  of  (ihtsscls. 


1717,  married,  15th  August  1740,  JEAN,  daughter  of  the  REV. 
John  Brown  of  Abercorn.  She  died  in  1800,  and  he  nth 
June  in  the  same  year,  aged  eighty-three.  Walter  GlBSON 
and  Jean  Brown  had  three  sons  and  seven  daughters,  who 
all  died  without  issue,  except  their  eldest  daughter,  ANNE 
Gibson,  born  nth  May  I74i,died  8th  June  iSu,aged  seventy 
years.  She  married,  2Sth  January  1767,  Andrew  CASSELS 
Esq.,  of  Leith. 


EDINBURGH  :    PRINTED  EY  THOMAS  AND  ARCHIBALD  CONSTABLE, 
PRINTERS  TO  THE  QUEEN,  AND  TO  THE  UNIVERSITY. 


> 


H 


«*> 


■  /,  • 

■  I 


I 


■ 


s> 


■ 


■ 


■ 


■'  ■ 


■ 


■ 
■ 


■ 


■  v  •' 

JmjLmnt'f 

-