VII - JOHN GRANT, YOUNGER OF FREUCHIE. 1475 - 1482.
[69] JOHN GRANT was the son and apparent heir of Sir Duncan Grant, first of Freuchie. But owing to his having predeceased his father without inheriting the family estates, his name does not frequently occur in the family muniments. Of his own personal history little is known beyond the fact that in published pedigrees of the family he is stated to have been a man of distinguished honour and integrity.The name of this young Laird of Freuchie first appears as a consenting party to the precept issued by Sir Duncan Grant for infefting James Douglas of Pittendreich in the lands of Sheriffston, Dated 25th September 1475, Vol. iii of this work, p. 32. Three years later, John Grant, as son and heir of Sir Duncan Grant, received from George, second Earl of Huntly, a charter of the lands of Fermestoun, in the sheriffdom of Aberdeen, with Kinrara, Gergask, and others in the shire of Inverness, in liferent for manrent service to the Earl Original Sasine, dated 8th September 1478, at Castle Grant. In the year 1479 John Grant acted with his father and others as an arbiter in the dispute between the Mackintoshes and Hugh Rose of Kilravock, which was finally decided by the Earl of Huntly at Inverness, as narrated in the previous memoir.
John Grant, younger of Freuchie, is traditionally said to have headed the Clan Grant in their march southward to the assistance of King James the Third in 1488, but he is proved to have died before that year Vol. iii of this work, p. 34. In a Chronicle of the Highlands compiled previous to the year 1542, he is said to have died at Kindrochat, in Mar, on 30th August 1482, and according to the same authority he was buried in the Cathedral Church of Moray Short Latin Chronicle relating to the Highlands, by James McGregor, Dean of Lismore.
The tradition, however, though at fault as to dates, may be true as to the fact of the march southward, which would account for John Grant's [70] death so far from home as Kindrochat, in Mar. In consequence of the declaration of war between Scotland and England in 1481, special messengers were authorised by Parliament in March 1481-2 to proceed to the furthest parts of the kingdom to summon the lieges from a distance before those nearer at hand were called Acts of Parliament, vol. ii. p. 139. The result of these measures was the assembling on the Boroughmuir of Edinburgh of one of the largest armies ever raised in Scotland, at the head of which King James the Thud placed himself, and a march was begun towards the Border. But the progress of the army was arrested at Lauder, where Robert Cochrane, the architect, and other royal favourites, were hanged by the Scottish nobles, and the king himself carried a virtual captive to Edinburgh. This took place some time during the month of July 1482, Tytler's History of Scotland, vol. iii p. 390, note. The nobles then disbanded the army, the separate portions of which, especially those who lived in the remoter districts, would at once make their way homewards. The men of Freuchie also, who, under their young chief, had answered the call of their sovereign, would again seek their native Morayshire, and the tradition in question, combined with the historical events of the time, gives much probability to the supposition that as they marched northward their leader sickened, and as they neared Kindrochat he sank and died. The fact, otherwise somewhat remarkable, that this young Laird did die there, so far away from his own Grant country, may thus be explained.
The name of the wife of John Grant, younger of Freuchie, has not been ascertained; but he left two sons -
1. John, who succeeded his grandfather as Laird of Freuchie.
2. William, who is named in a Royal remission, dated 13th February 1527, and is said to be the ancestor of the Grants of Blairfindy.
A third son, Patrick, is also assigned to John Grant, younger of Freuchie. He is stated to have been a twin brother of John Grant, second of Freuchie, and is claimed as the ancestor of the older family of the Grants of Ballindalloch, whose pedigree is given in this work.
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Volume 1 Chapter 7 |
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