Elizabeth Schaw of Sauchie

Not the same as Elizabeth Shaw, Countess of Crawford, and (probably) not the same as Elizabeth Gibb (Schaw).

This Elizabeth Schaw (sister of Sir Alexander Schaw of Sauchie) is said to have died in 1536:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gibb_(courtier)_

He [John Gib of Knock] was a son of Robert Gibb and Elizabeth Schaw. His mother is sometimes said to have been the Elizabeth Schaw who a mistress of James V of Scotland and mother of James Stewart, Commendator of Kelso, but she died in 1536. He was however a kinsman of the Master of Work, William Schaw and Elizabeth Schaw, Countess of Annandale.

Biography

Elizabeth, daughter of Laird James Shaw of Sauchie and Greenock and his lady wife Alison Home of Polwarth, was a mistress to James V of Scotland. She was supposedly the first of his many mistresses, and bore his first son James Stewart ca 1529 / before 1532, “a son was born [see Treasurer's Accounts, April 2, 1532]. .[1][2]

Elizabeth's association with the royal household after 1528 was useful for the Shaw family. This association provided contacts for other family members that allowed them to prosper. In her own small way, Elizabeth facilitated the family fortunes through her connection to the Scottish court.

Children by James V:

James Stewart (c. 1531–57), son of Elizabeth Shaw, Commendator of Kelso and Melrose.

Origins

Alexander Schaw of Sauchie and Greenock had at least two siblings.

https://chriswestancestryblog.wordpress.com/2018/02/10/the-shaws-of...

His sister Elizabeth had an illegitimate son, James Stewart, with James V of Scotland in about 1529 when the king was 17 years old. He was thus the elder half-brother of Mary, Queen of Scots. He became Commendator of Kelso and Montrose and died in 1557 without issue.

Supporting data

https://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/SCOTLAND.htm#JamesVdied1542B

JAMES of Scotland, son of JAMES IV King of Scotland & his wife Margaret Tudor (Linlithgow palace, Fife 15 Apr 1512-Falkland Castle 14 Dec 1542). Duke of Rothesay from birth. He succeeded his father 9 Sep 1513 as JAMES V King of Scotland. Crowned 21 Sep 1513 at the Chapel Royal, Stirling Castle.

Mistress (1): ELIZABETH Shaw of Sauchie.

King James V had one illegitimate son by Mistress (1):

• 4. JAMES Stewart ([1529]-1557). Abbot of Kelso and Melrose.

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Dubious connection

31. Gibb, George Duncan. The Life and Times of Robert Gib, Lord of Carribber, Familiar Servitor and Master of the Stables to King James V. of Scotland. 1874, London: Longmans, Green, and Co. ("By Sir George Duncan Gibb, Bart. of Falkland and of Carribber, M.A., M.D., LL.D".) Volume 1 Page 218.

Robert Gib married Elizabeth Schaw, a beautiful woman of rank and influence, of great accomplishments and rare graces, who had previously borne King James a son, known as the Lord James, who grew up and was made by his father Abbot of Kelso and Melrose, and who died in 1558. His mother must have been married to Robert Gib some time between 1532 and 1535, because we find the following entry in the Treasurer's Accounts :

”April 2, 1532. Item, to Henry Kemp, quhilkis he debursit for the King’s sone, gotten upon Elizabeth Schaw, and his nurse’s expense, xx lib.”

and It is just possible that the child’s mother looked after him until he became two or three years old, and when he was provided for, she then married Robert Gib. That he was early cared for is shown by the fact that he had a charter on October 8, 1534, of the estates forfeited by the Earl of Angus, and as he grew up he became a pupil of George Buchanan, the scholar and the poet. As related by Bishop Leslie, all the illegitimate sons of the King, being but infants, were nominated to the Abbeys of Holyroodhouse and Priories of St. Andrews, Melrose, and Coldinghame. This was upon the principle, as facetiously remarked by James Paterson in his Life of James V., of our modern cradle admirals and colonels in great families.

References

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_V_of_Scotland James Stewart (c. 1531[68]–57), son of Elizabeth Shaw. Commendator of Kelso and Melrose.
• https://archive.org/details/anent1884/page/117/mode/1up
• https://www.stirnet.com/genie/data/british/ss4as/shaw01.php shows her later married to Henry Lindsay, 13th Earl of Crawford (d before 16.01.1623) (aka 'Henry Charteris of Caraldston') however the dates known make it seem unlikely
• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Shaw-5044 shows footnote 6, died 1590, no source
• https://chriswestancestryblog.wordpress.com/2018/02/10/the-shaws-of...
• “Life and Times of Robert Gib, lord of Carriber.”PDF page 223, page 183, page 184