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STIRLING, a
surname derived from the town of that name, and supposed to be a
contraction of Striveling, that is, a place of strife or contention. The
name is most probably of Celtic origin. Barbour has it written Strewelyn;
Wyntoun, Strevelyn, Strivelyne, and Stryvelyne; Bellenden, Strivelyne,
also Striveline, Striveling, Strevelyne, and Strevelyng. In English
deeds of the reigns of Edward I., II., and III., it appears most
commonly as Stryvelyn, sometimes Estrivelin. In the translation of
Froissart, it is in the form of Estruleyn, and by a strange misnomer, of
Esturmelyne. In ancient times, the fortress of Stirling formed a sort of
boundary to the possessions of different hostile tribes, and the
conjecture that it derived its name from being the object of frequent
contention, is not without considerable plausibility. Stryveling, it has
been said, “which was the ancient name of the plain, signifieth ‘the
hill,’ or ‘rock of strife,’ to which the monkish writers seem to allude,
when they give it the Latin name of Mons Dolorum.” In Irish and Gaelic,
strith undoubtedly signifies strife, while linn in the Irish denotes a
straight or narrow entrance, as if referring to the position of this
rock, between which and the river there is only a narrow passage.
Macpherson remarks that “that tract of country between the firths of
Forth and Clyde has been, through all antiquity, famous for battles and
rencounters between the different nations who were possessed of North
and South Britain. Stirling, a town situated there, derives its name
from that very circumstance. It is a corruption of the Gaelic name
Strila, the hill or rock of contention.” In the Appendix to Nimmo’s
History of Stirlingshire (edition 1817), the old name of Stirling is
given as Strigh-lagh, meaning ‘strife of the archery.’ It is afterwards
explained that the word Strile, the ancient name of Stirling, is derived
from Strigh, ‘strife,’ and lagh, ‘bending the bow.’ “It could not,” it
is added, “be law, the Scoto-Saxon for ‘hill,’ without violating one of
the few canons of etymology.”
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STIRLING, Earl of, a
title in the peerage of Scotland, which, with the secondary title of
Viscount Canada, was conferred, 14th June 1633, on Sir William
Alexander, an eminent poet and statesman. He had previously, on 4th
September 1630, been created Viscount Stirling and Lord Alexander of
Tullibodie. For an account of the earls of Stirling, see ALEXANDER. When
the descendants of Alexander M’Alaster – who, on settling at Menstrie,
Clackmannanshire, first took the surname of Alexander – became numerous,
the family, for the sake of distinction, were divided into five separate
branches, all bearing the original arms and motto; but the four younger
and subordinate branches were then marked off from the eldest, and from
each other, by different and distinctive crests. As a matter of course,
the eldest branch retained, as being the most honourable, the original
crest of the family, viz., a bear sitting up erect – a distinction of
which they were exceedingly proud, and which became a matter of envy and
jealousy to the other branches; because it denoted the eldership and
superiority over them. From this eldest branch the earls of Stirling
derived their descent, and therefore “a Bear, sejant, erect, proper,” is
their authorized and recorded crest; and it was their excessive pride in
their possession of this, which forms the subject of that severe satire
of Sir Walter Scott, in his romance of Waverley, where he so
conspicuously and ludicrously parades this favourite crest of the earls
of Stirling as “the Great Bear of the Barons of Bradwardine.”
On the death, without
issue, of Henry, 5th earl of Stirling, in 1739, the male descendants of
the 1st earl became extinct, and the earldom has since remained dormant;
but the honours not being granted to him and the heirs male of his body,
but, by the patent of 1643, “To himself and his heirs male for ever,
bearing the name and arms of Alexander,” the title was claimed and
assumed by Major-general Alexander, of the Unites States service, as the
next heir, he being the only male descendant remaining of John Alexander
of Gogar, the 2d son of Andrew Alexander, grandfather of the first earl.
He was served heir male in 1759, and presented a petition to the king,
which was referred to the House of Lords in 1760. But the Committee of
Privileges in 1762 resolved that he should not possess the title until
he had established it by course of law. The revolutionary war breaking
out, he returned to America, and having joined the republican forces,
and commanding a division, was taken prisoner at Long Island, and never
returned to England to prosecute his claim. He died at Albany, near New
York, in 1793, leaving two daughters, but no son. On his death the male
descendants of John, the 2d brother of the father of the 1st earl,
became extinct, and the representation has devolved into the line of
James, the 3d brother of Alexander, father of the 1st earl, and is
claimed by Arthur Alexander of Maryville, in the county of Galway,
Ireland. Colonel Sir James Edward Alexander of Westerton, descended from
the family of Alexander of Menstrie, ancestor of the noble family of
Stirling, may also be able to establish a claim to this title.
Alexander Humphrys,
calling himself Alexander, claimed the title, as descended in the female
line from a son of John Alexander of Gartmore, the 4th son of the 1st
earl, but it was proved by the officers of the crown that John Alexander
of Gartmore had no son, and that Gartmore descended to his daughter,
because there was no male heir, and at the trial of Alexander Humphrys
in the high court of justiciary at Edinburgh, for forgery, in 1839, it
was proved that the pretended charter of Nova Damus, granting the
honours to the heirs female of the last earl, was a manifest forgery.
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The principal family of
the name of Stirling is considered to be that of Stirling of Keir,
Perthshire. It is of great antiquity, and supposed to be descended from
Walter de Strivilin, witness in a charter of Prince Henry, son of David
I., of the grant of the church of Sprouston, by John, bishop of Glasgow.
Robert de Strivilin is frequently a witness in charters of King William
the Lion, and in those of Alexander II. Robert and Walter Strivilin are
witnesses. In the reign of the latter monarch, Thomas de Strivelin was
chancellor of Scotland. In the transumpt of a charter of Alexander III.,
the thirteenth year of his reign, to Richard de Moravia, brother of
Gilbert, bishop of Caithness, of the lands of Cowbin, one of the
witnesses is Thomas de Strivilin, cancellarius. (See Nisbet’s Heraldry,
vol. i. p. 410.) In the Ragman Roll are several barons of the name of
Strivilin, who swore fealty to Edward I. in 1292, 1296, and 1297, viz.,
1. Johannes de Strivilin, miles, of Glenesk. Sir John Stirling of
Glenesk had a daughter, his sole heiress, who, in the reign of David
II., married Sir Alexander Lindsay, second son of David dominus de
Crauford, and carried the estate of Glenesk into that family. 2.
Alisandre de Strivelyne del conte de Lanerk, the head of the family of
Stirling of Calder, near Glasgow, which in the reign of James V.
terminated in an heiress, who, in 1535, married James Stirling of Keir.
3. Johannes de Striviling de Moravia, also designed Johannes de
Strivelyn de Murriff. 4. Johannes de Striviling de Carse, Stirlingshire.
Sir John Stirling of Carse favoured the cause of Edward Baliol, and,
according to Dugdale, was summoned to attend the English parliament as a
peer of England. His daughter and sole heiress, Marjory, married John
Menteith, son of Sir Walter Menteith of Rusky, and brought him the
estate of Carse. 5. William de Strivelyn. Under this name it is stated
that the Stirlings of Calder “seem to be the root of all the other
Stirlings, and from whom all the rest of the Stirlings in the western
parts of Scotland are descended.”
On the extinction of the
male line of Glenesk, the Stirlings branched off into two principal
families, the Stirlings of Keir and the Stirlings of Calder. The direct
line of the latter became extinct in the 16th century, though many of
its branches still exist, and the estate of Calder became by marriage
the property of the house of Keir. Andrew Stirling, the last laird of
Calder, had an only child, Janet, whose ward and marriage James V.
bestowed upon Sir James Stirling of Keir, by gift under the great seal,
dated July 22, 1529. In a confirmation of the marriage contract to the
archbishop of Glasgow in 1532, the young lady is called “spouse Jacobi
Stirling.” She, however, eloped from him, but he retained possession of
the estate, and transmitted it to his descendants.
In the reign of James
VI., the proprietor of Keir was Sir Archibald Stirling, who had charge
of the young Prince Henry at Stirling castle. On the 7th May 1603, after
James’ departure for London, the queen went to Stirling to obtain
possession of the prince, but the countess of Mar and her son and the
laird of Keir would not allow the prince to go with her.
In the reigns of Charles
I. and II. Sir George Stirling of Keir was a staunch royalist, and
fought under Montrose. On June 11, 1641, he was apprehended with
Montrose himself and Lord Napier, and committed to the castle of
Edinburgh, They were released in Nov. of the same year. In 1644 he was
again arrested. Sir George married Lady Elizabeth Napier, daughter of
the first Lord Napier, and niece of the great Montrose.
William Stirling, Esq. of
Keir, the representative of that ancient family, the only son of
Archibald Stirling, Esq. of Keir, by Elizabeth, his wife, daughter of
Sir John Maxwell, bart. Of Pollok, was born at Kenmure, near Glasgow,
March 8, 1818, and graduated at Trinity college, Cambridge. Having
visited Palestine, on his return in 1846, he printed for private
circulation, a small volume entitled ‘Songs of the Holy Land.’ They were
afterwards published with considerable additions in an 8vo volume, in
1848. He afterwards turned his attention particularly to the language
and history of the Spanish peninsula, and in 1848, he produced a work of
much research and learning, in 3 vols. 8vo, called ‘The Annals of the
Artists of Spain.’ In 1852 he published ‘The Cloister Life of Charles
V.’ While preparing for the latter work, he visited the convent of Yuste,
the place to which “the contentious monarch” retired. At the general
election of 1852 Mr. Stirling was elected M.P. for the county of Perth,
and in 1855 published the Life of Velasquez, the famous Spanish painter.
In October 1857, he was appointed one of a commission to inquire into
the expediency of uniting the two universities of Aberdeen. In April
1861, the degree of doctor of laws was conferred upon him by the
university of Edinburgh.
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The Stirlings of
Kippendavie, Perthshire, and Carden, Stirlingshire, are cadets of the
Keir family. The ancestor of the Kippendavie branch was Archibald
Stirling, son of Archibald Stirling of Keir, to whom his father gave the
lands of Kippendavie by charter, dated Aug. 5, 1594.
John Stirling of
Kippendavie married Mary, 2d daughter of William Graham, Esq. of Airth
Castle, and had a son, Patrick, who married in 1810, Catherine Georgina,
2d daughter of John Wedderburn, Esq. of Spring Garden, Jamaica. He died
March 30, 1860, leaving 2 sons and 1 daughter.
The elder son, John
Stirling, Esq. of Kippendavie, J.P., born Aug. 19, 1811, married Aug. 8,
1839, Catherine Mary, only child of Rev. John Wellings by Mary
Wedderburn, his wife; issue, 3 sons and 1 daughter.
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The Stirlings of Ardoch
in Strathallan, also a branch of the house of Keir, possessed a
baronetcy of Nova Scotia, conferred 2d May 1666, but this family merged,
by marriage, in that of Moray of Abercairnie, the heiress being the
eldest daughter of Sir William Stirling, baronet of Ardoch.
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The family of Stirling of
Glorat, Stirlingshire, are said to be descended from the Stirlings of
Calder. The first of the family was Sir John Stirling, armour-bearer to
King James I. of Scotland, comptroller of the royal household, governor
of Dumbarton castle, and sheriff of Dumbarton. He was knighted in 1430,
on the baptism of the twin princes. He obtained the lands of Glorat in
dowry with his wife, the daughter of the laird of Galbraith.
His son, William Stirling
of Glorat, was also governor of Dumbarton castle and sheriff of
Dumbarton. IN 1525, John, earl of Lennox, gave a grant of the lands of
Park of Inchinnan, Renfrewshire, to William Stirling of Glorat, and
Margaret Houston, his spouse. This William Stirling of Glorat is also
said to have been governor of Dumbarton castle, and sheriff of
Dumbartonshire.
His eldest son, George
Stirling of Glorat, is likewise said to have been governor of Dumbarton
Castle and sheriff of the county. It is likely, says Playfair, in a
note, that he held the office of lieutenant-governor, from the earl of
Lennox; and we are told that, in 1544, when there was a plan in
contemplation, for annexing the Scottish crown to England, for which
purpose the earl of Lennox reached Dumbarton Castle and signified to his
lieutenant his desire of promoting the design, the latter refused his
aid, and compelled him to leave the castle. For his fidelity he obtained
an addition to his arms, consisting in a hand supporting a crown. A
younger son, Andrew Stirling of Portnellan, obtained the Inchinnan lands
in patrimony. His lineal heir was John Stirling of Law.
William Stirling’s son,
also William Stirling of Glorat, was governor of Dumbarton Castle, by a
grant of James V., under the privy seal. He was also, probably from
consanguinity, appointed sole tutor and curator of the minor earl of
Lennox, and Baillie of his regalities of Lennox and Glasgow.
His great-grandson, Sir
Mungo Stirling of Glorat, knight, a staunch adherent of Charles I., was
succeeded by his son, Sir George, who, in 1666, was created a bart. Of
Nova Scotia. The Glorat family were granted an honourable additament to
their arms for their loyalty to Charles I. and II.
Sir George’s son and
heir, Sir Mungo, 2d bart., died in 1712.
His son, Sir James, 2d
baronet, dying without issue, was succeeded by his cousin, Sir
Alexander, 4th baronet. The son of John Stirling, Esq., by Elizabeth,
eldest daughter and co-heir of Sir Alexander Home of Renton, he was born
in 1715, and married Mary Willis of Rochester. He died in 1791.
His son, Sir John, 5th
baronet, married Miss Folsome of Stratford, North America, and had a
large family.
His eldest son, Sir
Samuel, 6th baronet, was admitted advocate in 1808. He married in 1843,
Mary Anne, only daughter of Major Robert Berrie, E.I.C.S., and died,
without issue, May 2, 1858.
His nephew, Sir Samuel
Home Stirling, son of Captain George Stirling, 9th regiment, then became
7th baronet. Born Jan. 28, 1830, he married, in Oct. 1854, Mary Margaret
Thornton, youngest daughter of Colonel Thomas Stirling Begbie, 44th
regiment, and had Mary Eleanor, and another daughter. He died Sept. 19,
1861.
His brother, Sir Charles
Elphinstone Fleming Stirling, born in 1832, succeeded as 8th baronet.
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The Stirlings of Faskine,
Lanarkshire, are said to derive their descent from Henry, third son of
David, earl of Huntingdon, brother of King William the Lion. Having been
born in the town of Stirling, he assumed that name for his surname. They
are lineally descended from Walter Stirling of Balquharage,
Stirlingshire, a collateral branch of the Stirlings of Calder, and
great-grandfather of John Stirling, lord-provost of Glasgow, born in
1640, died in 1709. His grandson, Sir Walter Stirling of Faskine,
captain R.N., born 18th May 1718, commanded the Saltash sloop under
Viscount Keppel, in his expedition to Goree in 1758, and served with
Lord Rodney in the West Indies. He was knighted on bringing home the
dispatches announcing the capture of St. Eustatia from the Dutch in
1781. Subsequently appointed commodore and commander-in-chief at the
Nore, on George III. reviewing the ships under his command, his majesty
offered to make him a baronet, but he declined it. He died 24th November
1786, and with a daughter, Anne, had two sons, Walter and Charles, the
latter vice-admiral of the white. The elder son, Walter, born 24th June
1758, was created a baronet of the United Kingdom, 15th December 1800.
He was M.P. first for Gatton and afterwards for St. Ives, Cornwall, and
in 1804 high-sheriff for Kent. On his death, Aug. 26, 1832, his son, Sir
Walter George Stirling, became 2d baronet. Born March 15, 1802, he
married in 1835, Lady Caroline Frances Byng, daughter of the first earl
of Strafford, issue, 2 sons and 2 daughters.
Anne, daughter of Sir
Walter Stirling, knight, married her cousin, Andrew Stirling, Esq. of
Drumpellier, Lanarkshire, with issue. Their fifth son, Rear-admiral Sir
James Stirling, born in 1791, entered the navy at an early age. He
commanded the Brazen in the war with America in 1812, obtained post rank
in 1818, and became a vice-admiral in 1861. He was for ten years
governor of Western Australia, and was knighted in 1833, on his return
from establishing that colony. A junior lord of the admiralty in 1852,
and subsequently commander-in-chief on the China station.
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A baronetcy of the United
Kingdom was conferred, 17th July 1792, on James Stirling, lord-provost
of Edinburgh, to mark the royal approbation of his conduct during the
riots in that city the same year. He was the son of Alexander Stirling,
cloth merchant in Edinburgh, and in early life went to the West Indies,
as clerk to Mr. Stirling of Keir, an extensive and opulent planter. In a
short time, through the influence of his employer, he was appointed
secretary to Sir Charles Dalling, governor of Jamaica. Having
accumulated a considerable sum of money, he returned to Edinburgh, and
became a partner in the banking house of Mansfield, Ramsay, &c. He
married Miss Mansfield, daughter of the principal partner, and acquired
the estate of Larbert, Stirlingshire. He died 17th February 1805. He had
three sons and two daughters, Janet, Lady Livingstone of Westquarter,
and Joan. The two youngest sons died in infancy. The eldest son, Sir
Gilbert Stirling, succeeded a second baronet, being at that time a
lieutenant in the Coldstream guards. On his death in 1843, the baronetcy
became extinct.
The Stirlings of Keir and their Family
Papers
By William Fraser |
