George Marchbanks, "the Jacobite" - George Marchbanks ‘the Jacobite” was NOT the son of a George Marchbanks and Marion Douglass of Balbarbie House, Scotland.

This unsourced conjecture likely comes from an older edition of the Marjoribanks Family Journal, which stated “extensive research in Britain has failed to uncover his (George Marchbanks the Jacobite’s) origins. It seems quite likely that, on being taken prisoner, he deliberately concealed his family connections to avoid more severe punishment. The best hypothesis is that he may have been the son of George Marjoribanks, a junior member of the family of Marjoribanks of Balbardie and of that Ilk. Unfortunately, the relevant parish register is incomplete, and it has been impossible to verify this or any other hypothesis.” (source: Marjoribanks Family Journal, Edition 2, January 1994)

However, this hypothesis can easily be disproven. Several male descendants of George Marchbanks have had their y DNA tested, as have a number of male descendants of the “main” Marjoribanks family of Ratho, Balbardie etc.

Not only do these two groups have completely different haplotypes, they have different haplogroups. What this means is that the most recent common male ancestor of George Marchbanks and the well-known Scottish Majoribanks brood would have lived MORE THAN twelve thousand years ago. (source: www.familytreedna.com/groups/marjoribanks/dna-results)

In addition, according to the “Original List of Prisoners Captured at Preston and placed in Wigan Prison,” an official 1716 Jacobite record in the Royal Archives at Kew, London, George Marchbank's home parish was Teviotdale in Roxburghshire, 55 miles to the south of Edinburgh on the English border.

The referenced document also calls him a "Scottish Servant." This did not mean servant in the traditional sense, but rather a very young soldier who assisted the regular troops. This further suggests he was one of the younger rebels, so he was probably born around 1700.

George Marchbanks and the Ratho / Balbardie Majoribanks are both old Scottish families. As part of an endogamous population they were undoubtedly related to each other in many other ways. It’s even quite possible that George the Jacobite used his mother’s maiden name or close family connection to mask his identity post-Preston. But he was not a male Marjoribanks from the main line, including Balbardie. His parentage is currently unknown.

George Marchbanks, "the Jacobite" George Marchbanks Marion Douglas