Early Life
According to
Adair History & Genealogy1,
Robert Adair was a younger son of the House of
FitzGerald. He apparently fought a duel with the White Knight at the town of
Adair (on the Desmond Estate in Limerick, Ireland). After he killed his opponent he fled to Scotland under the name of Robert FitzGerald de Adair (Adair being the Anglicisation of Athdara, the place in Limerick where he fought the duel). On landing in Galloway, he re-styled himself Robert Adair.
His wife,
Arabella Campbell, was apparently from the Dukes of Argyle
1.
Burke's
Landed Gentry (Adair of Bellegrove)
2 makes Robert the son of Thomas, the 6th Earl of Desmond, but this latter was too young to be Robert's father. Indeed, Robert may have died before Thomas 6th Earl was born. Instead, another more likely candidate might be Gerald FitzMaurice. This latter was the 3rd Earl of Desmond and is a better candidate for the father of Robert, both because the dates are more likely, and because it explains why Robert should have been styled FitzGerald. The Earls of Desmond can be further followed in Burke's
Extinct Peerages3. I note, for what little it's worth, that the
Wikipedia page for Gerald, 3rd Earl of Desmond has Robert FitzGerald de Adair listed as a son.
Footnotes
[1]
Adair History & Genealogy, J Barnett Adair, 1924, Los Angeles
[2] e.g. New 1st Edition, 1847; 3rd Edition, 1858
[3] e.g. New Edition, 1866, page 204
[4] For more on them, see
The Scots Peerage, Vol. 1 (1904), page 318+
Bef 1367 - 