1st wife of John Sutherland

The Scots Peerage names the wives of John Sutherland (d 1508) as 1) unknown 2) Fingole Calder 3) Catherine, who survived him.

John Sutherland, 8th Earl of Sutherland, son of John Sutherland, 7th Earl of Sutherland and Margaret Baillie, married his first wife in 1467. She died circa 1490, allegedly killed in a robbery just after a narrow escape from drowning while crossing the River Unes by ferry.

Identity

The Scots Peerage (1911) has no name for the first wife of John Sutherland, 8th Earl of Sutherland.

The Complete Peerage (1953) wrote her “identity is uncertain” and suggested that she could have been the daughter of Alexander, Lord of the Isles, 4th Earl; or of his son Celestine. Sutherland received a grant of the lands of Spinningdale and Pulrossie in 1467, which in 1464, had been granted and confirmed to Celestine, suggesting the lands may have been a marriage “tocher” (dowry) for his daughter.

Burke’s (2003) listed her as “Finvola” (see below).

Gordon, the early Sutherland historian (d 1656), called her “daughter of the Lord of the Isles, Earl of Ross”. There were two, the elder being Alexander MacDonald, 9th Lord of the Isles, 12th Earl of Ross (died 1449). If she was his daughter, she’d be Margaret MacDonald. The only other “Lord of the Isles, Earl of Ross” was Alexander’s son, John MacDonald, 13th Earl of Ross, Last Lord of the Isles. It is unclear whether he had daughters or not.

Fraser, the later Sutherland historian, suggested (1892) that she was of the family of Celestine Macdonald of Lochalsh, but it does not seem likely that she was Finvola Macdonald, as she married Kenneth MacKenzie in 1465 (and subsequently divorced). And there do not seem to be any other daughters to fit the bill; see his profile.

Family

From The Scots Peerage <link>

John, 8th Earl of Sutherland (son of John, 7th Earl of Sutherland) died 1508.

John, eighth Earl of Sutherland, who was the second, but eldest surviving, son of the seventh Earl, is first mentioned in the resignation made in his favour by his father on 22 February 1455-56. …

Sir Robert Gordon says this Earl married a daughter of the Lord of the Isles, Earl of Ross, though no proof is forthcoming. Sir Robert adds that this lady was nearly drowned while crossing the ferry at Unes, and was found in a state of weakness and slain by a robber. She must have been his first wife. His second wife was apparently Fingole (said to have been a daughter of William of Calder, Thane of Cawdor), widow of John Monro of Fowlis,[7] who died some time before April 1491. She must have been the mother of Alexander named below, as he had a brother, Mr. Robert Monro. In February 1497-98 there were preparations for a divorce between her and the Earl, which the Lords of Council referred to the Vicar-General of Caithness.[8] The Earl married a third time, as between 1509 and 1512 a Catherine, Countess of Sutherland, is credited with her terce from the earldom.[9]

The Earl had issue by first marriage:--

• 1. John Sutherland, 9th Earl of Sutherland; d unm after 13.06.1514.
• 2. Elizabeth Sutherland, afterwards Countess of Sutherland d. Sep 1535. m. (1500) Adam Gordon, Lord of Aboyne, 'Earl of Sutherland' (d 17.03.1537-8). Their successors became Earls of Sutherland.

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• [7] See Acta Dom. Conc., 92*.
• [8] Ibid., vii. f. 114.
• [9] Exch. Rolls, xiii. 268, 447.

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Burke's Peerage entry -

JOHN SUTHERLAND, 8th Earl of Sutherland, in whose favour his father resigned the Earldom 22 Feb 1455/6, but who was found incapable of managing his own affairs 1494; married 1st 1467 Finvola (allegedly killed in a robbery just after a narrow escape from drowning while crossing the River Unes by ferry), daughter or grand-daughter of Archibald/Celestine Macdonald (see BOSVILLE MACDONALD OF SLEAT, Bt), and had: …

“Genealogical history of the Earldom of Sutherland from its origin to the year 1630..”. With a continuation to the year 1651 by Gordon, Robert, Sir, Bart. (1813). Page 75

Unknown author, The Complete Peerage, by Cokayne, (1953) Vol. XII/1, p. 547, note h. http://www.familysearch.org/library/books/idurl/1/583084

References

• “Genealogical history of the Earldom of Sutherland from its origin to the year 1630. .. “ With a continuation to the year 1651 by Gordon, Robert, Sir, Bart. (1813). Page 75. <Archive.Org>
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Robert_Gordon,_1st_Baronet (1580-1656)
  • https://her.highland.gov.uk/monument/MHG11618 St. Carden's Chapel, Kirkton, Golspie. The parish of Golspie was originally named Kilmalie and had its church and burial ground at what is now Kirkton Farm. Sir Robert Gordon had church transferred to Golspie in 1619 when St. Andrew's became the parish church. … This cemetery contains the remains of many of the Earls of Sutherland, as signified by a plain stone placed in the old church wall, bearing the epitaph: "In hoc diruto coemeterio Sutherlandiae plurimorum comitum cinerea conquiescunt".
• “The Sutherland book.” by Fraser, William, Sir, 1816-1898. (1892). Page 67. <Archive.Org>
• Unknown author, The Complete Peerage, by Cokayne, (1953) Vol. XII/1, p. 547, notes. http://www.familysearch.org/library/books/idurl/1/583084
• The Scots Peerage, Vol. VIII, edited by Sir James Balfour Paul (1911), p. 334. <Archive.Org> “Sir Robert Gordon says this Earl married a daughter of Alexander Macdonald, Lord of the Isles, though no proof is forthcoming. Sir Robert adds that this lady was nearly drowned while crossing the ferry at Unes, and was found in a state of weakness and slain by a robber. She must have been his first wife. His second wife was apparently Fingole (said to have been a daughter of William of Oalder, Thane of Cawdor), widow of John Monro of Fowlis,2 who died some time before April 1491”
• “The peerage of Scotland: containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom.” By Robert Douglas, Esq. Page 663. <link> “XI. JOHN, eleventh earl, who got a char∣ter from king James III.* of the lands of Pol∣rossie, and others, Johanni comiti Sutherlandiae, &c. anno 1467. He married lady Margaret MacDonald, daughter of Alexander earl of Ross, and lord of the Isles,* by whom he had two sons, and one daughter. 1. John, his heir. 2. Alexander, who died unmarried. His daughter, lady Elizabeth, afterwards countess of Sutherland, carried on the line of this family, as will be shown hereafter. He died anno 1508, and was succeeded by his only surviving son, …” * Gordon's hist. p. 45.
• “The peerage of Scotland: containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom.” By Robert Douglas, Esq. Page 663. <link> “XI. JOHN, eleventh earl, who got a char∣ter from king James III.* of the lands of Pol∣rossie, and others, Johanni comiti Sutherlandiae, &c. anno 1467. He married lady Margaret MacDonald, daughter of Alexander earl of Ross, and lord of the Isles,* by whom he had two sons, and one daughter. 1. John, his heir. 2. Alexander, who died unmarried. His daughter, lady Elizabeth, afterwards countess of Sutherland, carried on the line of this family, as will be shown hereafter. He died anno 1508, and was succeeded by his only surviving son, …” * Gordon's hist. p. 45.
• https://www.stirnet.com/genie/data/british/mm4fz/murray01.php#link1
• The Peerage #11070 (2018) “Finvola Macdonald was the daughter of Celestine Macdonald of Lochalsh and Finvola Maclean” citing
  • BP2003 volume 3, page 3824. However -
• Jean and R.W. Munro, Acts of the Lords of the Isles: 1336-1493 (Scottish History Society, 1986), at page 244. <link> Finvola, daughter of Celestine of Lochalsh and granddaughter of Alexander of Islay, Earl of Ross, had papal dispensation granted in 1465 (no B42) to marry Kennacius Alexandri Kennaci.
• Burke's Landed Gentry of Great Britain The Kingdom of Scotland 19th Edition, Volume 1, 2001. 136
• https://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p1254.htm... (2005) lists Margaret MacDonald (d c 1490) with parents Alexander MacDonald (d 1449) & Elizabeth Seton. Cites:
  • [S11484] Unknown author, The Complete Peerage, by Cokayne, Vol. XII/1, p. 547, notes.
  • [S11587] The Scots Peerage, Vol. VIII, edited by Sir James Balfour Paul, p. 335-336. (Which doesn’t list name and parents for the wife of John Sutherland)
• https://ancestorium.com/tng/getperson.php?personID=I047158&tree=1 cites
  • "The Earls of Ross and Their Descendants" Compiled by Francis Nevile Reid, 1894. (Reprinted from "the Scottish Antiquart: or Northern Notes & Queries") Reprinted 1987 by Scotpress, Bruceton Mills, West Virginia (page 7) says Margaret Leslie who married Donald (Lord of the Isles) Macdonald had a daughter Margaret who married John 8th Earl of Sutherland, & that her only daughter was Elizabth who became Countess of Sutherland. (NB dates seem impossibly early).