Early Life
Alexander was the eldest son and heir of
Sir John Montgomerie of Adrossan. His mother was either (according to
TCP1 and
GH3)
Margaret Maxwell, daughter of
Sir Robert Maxwell, or
Agnes MacDonald of the Isles (according to
TSP2).
BP4 mentions both women without clarifying which was the mother of Alexander. As elsewhere in this tree, I follow
TSP when there is a conflict.
Career
TSP2:
Referred to as son and heir of his father in the charter of the lands of Giffen on 9 March 1413, already cited. He succeeded some time between February 1427 and November 1429, and he and his brother-in-law
Robert Cunningham of Kilmaurs were appointed joint keepers of Kintyre and Knapdale, with the custody of Castle 'Soon' or
Castle Swein, on 10 August 1430. On 30 November 1437 he was included in a commission for concluding a truce with England, and in the following March, on the signing of a truce for nine years, he received a silver-gilt covered cup from
King Henry VI., in addition to his expenses paid by the Scottish Exchequer. In 1443-44 he was again a commissioner for prolonging the truce, and he was created a Lord of Parliament as
Lord Montgomerie in the following year, or before 3 July 1445.
Between 1442 and 1444 he was keeper of
Brodick Castle, and he also acted as Bailie of the barony of Kilbride. He was frequently commissioned as envoy to England or conservator of truces between 1449 and 1460, and he received various grants of lands from the Crown. He granted a charter of the lands of Sannox in Arran to his second son George on 7 October 1469, 4 and died apparently in the following year.
Alexander married
Margaret Boyd, second daughter of
Sir Thomas Boyd of Kilmarnock and had:
- Alexander, his heir but who died vita patris (the Lordship passed through this Alexander's son, also called Alexander, to Hugh, great-grandson of Alexander this subject of this page)
- George
- Thomas
- Margaret who married John Stewart
- Elizabeth who married John, second Lord Kennedy
- Agnes, who may have married William Cunningham
Death
Alexander died c. 1470.
Other
TCP1:
s. and h. of Sir John M. of the same [Adrossan] by Margaret, da. of Sir Robert Maxwell, of Caerlaverock; suc. his father between 1425 and 1430; was several times (1438-1460) employed in negotiations with England; was PC to King James I and II and was er. a Peer of Parl. as Lord Montgomerie before 31 Jan 1448/9. He m. Margaret, sister of Robert, 1st Lord Boyd, 2d da. of Sir Thomas Boyd, of Kilmarnock. He d. soon after June 1461.
Footnotes
[1] The Complete Peerage, GE Cokayne, 1st Edition, Volume 5 (L-M), London (1893); page 350
[2] The Scots Peerage by Sir James Balfour Paul, Volume 3 (1906); Eglinton, Montgomerie, Earl of, pages 421-465
[3] Genealogical History and Pedigree of the Family of Montgomery, Thomas Harrison Montgomery, Philadelphia (1863); page 51
[4] Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 99th Edition, London (1949); Eglinton & Winton, p684
- Abt 1470