John Murray of Falahill, “The Outlaw”

JOHN MURRAY OF FALAHILL

Sometime Sheriff of Selkirk

Evidence from the National Records of Scotland

                   1

9 February 1489-90: REX concessit familiari suo JOHANNI MURRAY, filio et heredi apparenti Patricii Murray de Fawlahyll, et heredibus ejus, — terras de Grevistoun, vic. Peblis . . . . . RMS 1424-1513: charter number 1927

                   2

5 November 1497: REX concessit familiari armigoro suo JOHANNI MURRA do Fallohill, et heredibus ejus, — terras de Cranston-Riidale, cum manerie, superioritato, tenentibus, &c., earundem, vic. Edinburgh . . . . . RMS 1424-1513: charter number 2379

                   3

17 September 1502: REX concessit familiari servitori suo JOHANNI MURRAY, filio et heredi apparenti Jobannis M. de Fawlohill, beredibus ejus et assignatis, — terras de Battis, Haddirle, le Kingiscroft, una cum omnibus terris infra burgum de Selkirk que pertinebant Ric. Kene de Haddirle, et regi pro 80 libris appreciate et dicto Jobanni vendite fuerunt. RMS 1424-1513: charter number 2674

Note: John Murray of Falahill, younger, married Margaret Hepburn, but it would appear that they had no children, for the lands of Falahill passed to his brother James, and James's son Patrick.

                   2

30 November 1509: Charter under the Great Seal of Scotland by which James IV, King of Scots, confirms that he has given the lands of Pelehill in the sheriffdom of Selkirk, together with the office of Sheriff of Selkirk, to Johanni Murray de Fawlohill. RMS: 3388

                   4

15 October 1510: REX ad feodifirmam dimisit PATRICIO MURRAY, filio quondam Joh. M. de Faulohill, — terras de Braidmedowis, in dominio foreste de Ettrik, vic. Selkirk, . . . . . RMS 1424-1513: charter number 3506

                   3

24 March 1540-41: Charter under the Great Seal of Scotland by which James V, King of Scots, confirms possession of the lands of Pelehill in the sheriffdom of Selkirk to Patricii Murray de Fallowhill. This land was given to Patricii Murray by his father, not named, who had received it from Patrick's deceased grandfather, Johanni Murray de Fallowhill. The charter in favour of Patrick's grandfather is dated 30 November 1509. RMS: 2318

Printed Evidence

1. Registrum Magni Sigilli Regum Scotorum. The Register of the Great Seal of Scotland, A.D. 1424-1513 . Edited by James Balfour Paul, Advocate, FSA. Scot.(H.M. General Register House, Edinburgh, 1882), 1153 pp. including indexes and Errata
2. Registrum Magni Sigilli Regum Scotorum. The register of the Great seal of Scotland, A.D. 1513-1546. Edited by James Balfour Paul, Advocate, FSA. Scot., and John Maitland Thomson, MA., Advocate. (HM. General Register House, Edinburgh, 1883), 1067 pp. including indexes and Errata

Genealogy

1. The Scots Peerage etc. Edited by Sir James Balfour Paul. Volume III (David Douglas, Edinburgh, 1906), pp. 498-524 for the family of Murray, Lord Elibank
2. The Heraldry of the Murrays etc. By G. Harvey Johnston (W. and A. K. Johnston, Edinburgh, MCMX), p. 67 et seq. for Murray of Falahill
3. Stirnet: Murray 07
4. Stirnet: Murray 08
5. MURRAY, JOHN (d. 1510), laird of Falahill Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 39. Murray, John (d.1510) by Thomas Finlayson Henderson
6. “The Outlaw Murray”
7. “Murray's of Cockpool” By Thomas Murray July 13, 2003 at 03:17:17. “See The Oxford Book of Ballads: 1910; Arthur Quiller-Couch, ed. (1863–1944), 84., “The Outlaw Murray”.) “The ballad refers to John Murray of Falahill, progenitor of the Murray’s of Philiphaugh. Once thought to be fictional, it is now believed to have been based on a historical event. “The incident of the Outlaw Murray refusing homage to the King, but finally giving way on being installed as Sheriff of Ettrick Forest, has long been considered by many to be merely picturesque legend perpetuated by the well known ballad.“However, eminent Scottish authorities now accept it as an historical fact. ...”
8. “ 84. The Outlaw Murray”
9. “ William Chambers. A history of Peeblesshire” online. (page 42 of 49). “His grandfather was John Murray, who in 1462 became Herdkeeper to the Queen of James II. in Ettrick Forest ; thereafter, he was appointed Gustos of Newark, and acquired Philiphaugh and the Forest steadings of Harehead, Hangingshaw, and Lewingshope. He appears to have attained to the position of superintendent of the royal forests keeping the castles and houses in repair, furnishing the necessary wood, and sometimes sending such furnishings to Edinburgh Castle ; in short, he was royal factor. ... “
10. Americans of Royal Descent: A Collection of Genealogies of American Families ... By Charles Henry Browning. GoogleBooks

Namesakes

Fala (April 7, 1940 – April 5, 1952), a Scottish Terrier, was the dog of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. “ His original name was Big Boy; Roosevelt renamed him Murray the Outlaw of Falahill after John Murray of Falahill, a famous Scottish ancestor. This was later shortened to "Fala".[3]

Biographical Summary

"(276) John Murray of Falahill, killed 1510. He married Jonet Forrester, and had:

• James (No. 277 below).
• William, supposed ancestor of Murray of Romanno (No. 308 below).

ARMS on Seal, 1503. - Three stars in chief, and a hunting horn stringed in base (Macdonald's Scottish Seals). (The hunting horn is derived from the Forresters' Arms). [Plate V., fig. 4.]"

Other References

• SOURCE: The heraldry of the Murrays: with notes on all the males of the family, descriptions of the arms, plates and pedigrees, by G. Harvey Johnston, 1910, page 68, paragraph 276
• http://www.stirnet.com/genie/data/british/mm4fz/murray07.php
• Reprinted from - The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, Volume 1. By Sir Walter Scott of Abbotsford, Bart. Robert Cadell, Edinburgh: Houlston & Stoneman, London. MDCCCXLIX. THE SANG of THE OUTLAW MURRAY. Page 369.
• Listen to the song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QNWTbBzCp8