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

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THE WEDDERBURN' BOOK.
Introd. IV. Robert VVedderburn of Dundee, who married Janet, daughter of
IV. Robert David Froster of Jlethven, one of whose sons, Robert, was
Sd^Jaue'i^ progenitor of the Wedderburns of Kingennie, Easter Powrie,
Froster. and that ilk, Blackness, Balindean, and Gosford.
The history of the first three of these families, so far a.s it is ascertained,
is dealt with in the first three chapters of part i. of this volume
that of the last and most important, occupies the fourth chapter of that
part, and the whole of part ii. (Kingennie, Easter Powrie, and Wedderburn),
part iii. (Blackness and Balindean, etc.), and part iv. (Gosford and Halkett
of Pitfirrane). The proof of the descents and other facts stated in these
parts, with coastant notes and references to authorities, is of
^t°r^Sctmn. necessity laboured and tedious, and I propose, therefore,
in this Introduction to treat the rest of this volume as an
authentic document, and to give the story of the family but little uninterrupted
by evidence or argument, leaving the reader to turn to the body of the work
for the method of proof, and for either a fuller statement of fact or the
verbatim quotation of a document. This Introduction, in fact, is intended
to be at once a guide to and a summary of the whole contents of the book.
I. James Wedderburn who married Janet Barry was no doubt a merchant
James at the i" Dundee, where he lived at the West Kirk Style, and
'^^'®' o^'^c^^ property in several of the streets
diedifis'if
or " gaits." The
date of his birth is not fixed, but was probably about 1450.
He was a burgess of Dundee, and was also for some years " custoinar " of
the burgh. In some early documents (1491) he is designed James of
Wedderburn, or Wedd'buni, an interesting fact, as showing that he came
from a place of his name, and thus indicating connection with the Berwickshire
family. He died in 1513-14, leaving by his wife Janet Barry, who
survived him, a family of five sons and at least one daughter, Elizabeth,
who married Robert Ferquhar, and was living in 1527. Of the sons the
two youngest were Henry, who n-.arried and was ultimately represented by
his two daughters, Janet and Margaret ; and Gilbert, who seems to have
been in various difBcultics, his lands and goods being escheated in 153S on
his conviction for heresy, and in 1-')4:J through his being at
An old feud. the horn for the slaughter of David RoUok, committed on old
feud and forethought felony, while in 1544 he is named both
as "remaining at home and absenting himself from the army," and as
guilty of the murder of George, another member of the Rollok family,
between whom and the Wedderburns there was evidently a family
feud, as four members of the latter name took part in the murder of David
Rollok, though only Gilbert Wedderburn is named in regard to that of
George. Perhaps it was in consequence of these matters that Gilbert, who
got remission for both his heresy and his violence, as well as for his absence
from the army, settled at Leith, where we fiii