Sir Alexander Gibson, 1st Lord Durie

Biographical Summary

"GIBSON, Sir ALEXANDER, Lord Durie (d. 1644), Scottish judge, was son of George Gibson of Goldingstones, a clerk of session (d. 1590?), by his wife Mary Airth, of the ancient family of Airth of that ilk in Stirlingshire. Thomas Gibson (1488–1513), member of an old family in Fife, had two sons, George and William [see Gibson, William, fl. 1540, lord of session]. George, the elder son of Thomas, was grandfather of George, father of Sir Alexander and of Archibald, who was bred to the church...

...Alexander graduated M.A. at the university of Edinburgh, August 1588. On 14 Dec. 1594 he was admitted third clerk of session. James VI was present at his admission, and promised to reward the first and second clerks for their consent. On 10 July 1621 he was appointed a lord of session, when he took the title of Lord Durie, his clerkship being conferred on his son Alexander, to be held conjointly with himself. He is described in many charters as ‘Alexander Gibson de Durie, Miles’ before December 1628. In that year, according to Douglas, he was created a baronet of Nova Scotia, but does not appear to have actually assumed the dignity. In 1633 he was named a commissioner for reviewing the laws and collecting the local customs of the country. In 1640 he was elected a member of the committee of estates, and on 13 Nov. 1641 his appointment as judge was continued under a new commission to the court. While the office of president of the College of Justice continued elective, Durie was twice chosen head of the court, namely for the summer session on 1 June 1642, and for the winter session of 1643 (Brunton and Haig, Senators of the College of Justice, p. 264). He died at his house of Durie 10 June 1644, having from 11 July 1621, the day after his elevation to the bench, to 16 July 1642 preserved notes of the more important decisions. They are the earliest digested collection of decisions in the Scottish law, and are often referred to as ‘Lord Durie's Practicks.’ They were published (with his portrait prefixed) by his grandson, Sir Alexander Gibson (d. 1693), folio, Edinburgh, 1690. Durie married, 14 Jan. 1596, Margaret, the eldest daughter of Sir Thomas Craig of Riccarton, by whom he had three sons, Sir Alexander of Durie (d. 1656), Sir John of Pentland, and George of Balhousise. William Forbes, in the preface to his ‘Journal of the Session’ (1714), says that Durie ‘was a man of a penetrating wit and clear judgment, polished and improved by much study and exercise.’ He was constantly studying the civil law, as appears from the preface to Sir Thomas Craig's ‘Jus Feudale,’ and his abilities are further proved, according to Forbes, by his own book, by his frequent election to the vice-presidency of the court of session, to which no one else was appointed in his time, and by a story of his being kidnapped by a suitor, the Earl of Traquair, who thought him unfavourable in a cause before the court, and kept him for three months in a dark room in the country, when, the cause being decided, he was returned to the place where he had been seized. This story forms the subject of Scott's ballad of ‘Christie's Will’ [see Armstrong, William, 1602?–1658?] in the ‘Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border.’ Patrick Fraser Tytler, in the appendix to his ‘Life of Sir Thomas Craig,’ mentions another version of the kidnapping of Durie in 1604, when he was only a clerk of session. Mr. Tytler thinks this was another and different incident."

SOURCE: 'Gibson, Alexander (d.1644) (DNB00)', Wikisource, The Free Library, 14 September 2011, 19:10 UTC, <http://en.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Gibson,_Alexander_(d.164...> [accessed 1 September 2012]

Other References

• Complete baronetage; Cokayne, George E. (George Edward); 1900; Vol. II; page 347
• “Dal-Mac” By James MacVeigh . Page 296. GoogleBooks “Sir Alexander, Lord Durie, purchased the lands of that name, anciently belonging to the family of Durie of that ilk, and had a charter of the same in 1614. He married Margaret, daughter of Sir Thomas Craig of Riccarton, lord advocate of Scotland, and, with 3 daughters, had 3 sons, Alexander, 2d baronet, Sir John Gibson of Pentland, who carried on the line of the family, and George, of Balhouffie. ...”
• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Apr 7 2017, 6:48:19 UTC
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Gibson,_Lord_Durie_II

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http://haygenealogy.com/hay/gibson.html

Lord Alexander Gibson (1571-1644) (SIC) Second son of George, chartered Fifth Baron, First Lord Durie in 1621, First Lord Baronet in 1628, and Lord Clerk Register. He married Lady Margaret Craig (1575-?) The daughter of Lord Thomas Craig of Riccarton, (1538-?), Lord Advocate, and early Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh. Lord Thomas was an eminent lawyer, Member of Parliament, and Judge of the High Court of Scotland, under King Charles II.

1. Alexander II Gibson (1598-6/1656) Knighted in 1621, he was appointed Clerk of Session in 1628, Clerk of Parliament in 1632, Second Lord Baronet, and Lord of Session in 1646.

2.??? John Gibson I (1601-1694), a successful shipping merchant and heir to family fortune, left most of it behind when he and Rebecca emigrated to Cambridge in Massachusetts. (????)

3. George Gibson (1604-1669) served as Lord of Parliament and ultimately received most of the family fortune and the Barony, then passed them on to his many descendants. (ref.).

4. Elizabeth Gibson (~1606-?)

5. Helen Gibson (~1609-?)

6. Margaret Gibson (~1610-?)

7. Jean Gibson (1613-1676) married George Preston 1612 - 1659 of Craigmillar, Scotland, they were 8th great grandparents of animator and film producer, Walt Disney.

Alexander II's son John II, Third Lord Baronet, sat in the last Parliament of Scotland and the first Scottish Parliament of Charles II. John II's son Alexander III's, Fourth Lord Baronet, died without issue passing the Barony to his uncle George.(ref.) (ref.) (ref.) (ref.) (ref.) If John would have remained in Scotland he would have received the Barony and most of the family fortune. (ref.) (ref.) (ref.) (ref.)

GEDCOM Note

1 _UPD 1 NOV 2017 14:07:23 GMT -0600 2 ADDR 3 ADR1 Perthshire, Scotland

GEDCOM Note

!baronetage apparently in error; !#218-v

!baronetage apparently in error; !#218-v2-p347;

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!#506> England & Wales Visitation Notes-

!#506> England & Wales Visitation Notes-v5-p185ped, (FHL 942 D23hn); !IGI: MARR/SS> Mloth (GIBSOUNE) /by extraction; !KIN> only son;

GEDCOM Note

Life Sketch

"Lord Durie" of Session - not a Baron, apparently NOT created a Baronet Lord Alexander Gibson 1571-1644 Second son of George, of Goldingstones, Clerk of Sessoin. m. Margaret Craig daughter of Sir Thomas Craig of Riccarton, b.c 1537, Lord Advocate, and early Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh.

The following is fantasy!

["In July of 1690, William Gibson, leader of Clan Durie, was with King William III of England during the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland, against James 2nd, the dethroned King of England. His gallantry in the battle caused King William, known as William of Orange, to make him a Lord and gave him a castle and grant in Yorkshire, England. He was appointed Lord Clerk Register and awarded the title of Lord Durie, the name his descendants maintain to this day."] William "Lord Durie" was the grandson of William b. 1576. [The early Gibsons as loyal followers of John Knox, played a significant part in the Protestant Reformation in Scotland, the establishment of the Church of Scotland and the worldwide Presbyterian Church, especially after 1560.] (ref.) (ref.) A Famous descendant of Alexander is Sir Alexander Gibson 1926-1995, conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and founder of the Scottish Opera, Well known descendants of William are James Gibson-Craig with his son William Gibson-Craig, both having served high positions in the Scottish Parliament. A descendant of Thomas is Thomas Milner Gibson, 1806-1884, a member of the British Parliament. Many Canadian Gibsons also descended from this branch migrating to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. There is no direct link but Alexander "Boss" Gibson (1819-August 14, 1913) probably connects to this branch. Primogeniture assured Alexander II of the family fortune, John would have inherited everything in 1656 if he would have remained in Scotland.

Alexander II b. 1598 d. June 1656 Knighted in 1621, he was appointed Clerk of Session in 1628, Clerk of Parliament in 1632, Second Lord Baronet, and Lord of Session in 1646. John I b. 1601 d. 1694 John became a successful shipping merchant and emigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1632. He married Rebecca Thompson shortly after arriving. George b. 1604 d. 1669 George served as Lord of Parliament and ultimately received the Barony and most of the family fortune, then passed them on to his many descendants. (ref.). Elizabeth b. abt. 1606 Alexander II's son John II, Third Lord Baronet, sat in the last Parliament of Scotland and the first Scottish Parliament of Charles II. Helen b. abt. 1609 John II's son Alexander III, Fourth Lord Baronet, died without issue passing the Barony to his uncle George.(ref.) (ref.) (ref.) (ref.) (ref.) Margaret b. abt. 1611 If John would have remained in Scotland he would have received the Barony and most of the family fortune. (ref.) (ref.) (ref.) (ref.) Jean b. 1613 d. 1676 Jean married George Preston 1612 - 1659 of Craigmillar, Scotland, they were 8th great grandparents of animator and film producer, Walt Disney.