Wedderburn book; a history of the Wedderburns in ... - waughfamily.ca

THE WEDDERBURN BOOK.
Introd. Jean Home, who married the Rev. John Tod of Ladykirk, and whose eldest
daughter, Margaret Tod, married John Foreman, and had a son, John
Foreman Home, who succeedfd to Wedderburn in 1820. His ultimate
successor was his daugliter, Jean Foreman (wife of Mr. David Milne), on
whose death in 187G the estates of Wedderburn, Billie, and Paxton passed
to her only son. Colonel David iliine-Home, who is the present representative
of the family.'
I much regret that the proved links between the Wedderburns in
the two counties, Berwick and Forfar, remain so few,
Connection of ^^^^ ^'"'t^ for t'le identity of their arms, which is now for
^'^^ ^^^^ *'''"® noticed, so slight. The position of the
^^fl'^rwic^'
and CO. Forfar. Wedderburns in Berwickshire was clearly at one time of
importance. We know but little of them, it is true, but
that little is enough to establish them as people of considerable position in
their time. Although, from the dissimilarity of his arms, it may not be
safe to claim Walter of the Rnqvian Hull as a member of the family, the
persons with whom John of Wedderburn and William of Wedderburn act
on the occa-sions on which they are named, and the occasions themselves,
show them to have been men of recognized position. It may be that there
is information about them lying hid in unsearched charter rooms, or in the
public records. I have made but little inquiry in this direction, beyond
an examination of the inventory of some of the writs belonging to the
present owner of Wedderburn, Colonel Milne-Home, which, unfortunately,
added nothing to my information. There still exists, however, a large
quantity of uninventoried and unexamined documents in his possession,
some of which might help to provide tlie necessary links, and I hope that
it may one day be possible to examine tliem in detail in order to see
* Through the femixle line only, fur the male
of the male lines of tlie attainted
representation
laird to the
had passed on the extinction
descendants of his brother
(if proved.
Francis Home of
Qnixwood, an advocate, wliose grancUon and great grandson successively claimed the Earldom of
Marchmont in llS'J-J-4.3. To auljstantiiite their claim they had not only to establijli their
descent, alxiut which there wa.s no iiueation, but to prove both the extinction in male line of
all the descendants of .Sir P.vtrick Home of Pohvarth, who died in l.'lOl-.'i, and also of George
the attainted laird of We^ldcrbuni. In both of these essentials they failed, it being shown
there were many descendants in male line of Sir Patrick whose lines might not be extinct, and
evidence being also given to shuw tliat George, the second son of the attainted laird, had
emigrated to America, and had two sous who were living in Virginia in 1801, facts since corroborated,
as in llurke's Laiidcil Otntrij George is described as of Culpeper, Virginia, where he
settled in 1723 and died in 1700, Imving married Elizabeth Procter. His descendants, it is
stated, are settled in Auu-rioa, so that the chief of the Homes of Wedderburn is now an
American su>ijcct. It Is, no uoubt. one of them who is named in a letter from William Wedderburn
in Alexandria (i«i.-t. p. .')13i to J.W., dated 23 April 1825, in which he writes. "There
is a Mr. Rol.ert Hume of this town states liimself to be heir to Wedderburn Castle" (J.W. 85-95).
Of this castle, situated not far from Ilunse. I have not got much account. It is a large building
in the Grecian style, with a .^riuaie tower in the centre of the fai;ade and two octagonal towers
at either end. The foll.iwiiig account of it, and of some of the incidents of which the property
has been the scene, is tiiken ir-'in a htnall wcjrk, entitled Bci"ivtck, the Borderx, and Land of Scott,
or the Tourists' Guule to the Vale •/ the Tireed and liners of the Borderland (p. 64) "
: The castle
and a considerable [xjrtion of the ciilaiie'l lands are surrounded by walls 10 feet high. These
'
walls, usuallv called Wfalheriiuni I)ykc)i,' enclosed the deer parka. In a park near the castle
there is a rude monument to the mciiinrj' of George Home, who was killed there in 1497, while
fighting with a party of Kn^-U-'h wb" had approachecl his house while the laird was sitting at dinner.
In 1517, during the niin'Tity i.f King James the V., a deed of atrocity was perpetrated on Sir
Anthony D'Arcy, al.-o den.nnniaH-il tlio I'hevalier de la Beauld, at Swallow Dean, a mile or two east
from Dunse. The Chcv.ilier, m i--rf.rming the duties of Loid Warden of the Marches, acting with
great severity, had incurrctl ilie di-plr.wurc of Sir David Home, the laird of Wedderburn. The
Warden, being wnr^tol b\e tl.e H'.oi^k. lle