Early Life
Thomas Kelso's parentage is unclear:
Kelso of Kelsoland1 gives his parents as Henry Kelso and Marion Mure. Both
History of Ayr2 and
Burke's Landed Gentry5 report his father's name as Thomas. All sources agree that his grandfather was John, 10th Lord of Kelsoland (d. 1513) who married a daughter of William Stewart of Fennock. I will follow the latter two sources and make Thomas the son of
Thomas Kelso of
Kelsoland, born around 1515 (was served heir to his brother Robert in 1536, so must have been born before 1518. By extrapolation from descendants, some time between 1508 and 1518 seems most likely, centring on 1515).
Career
From
Kelso of Kelsoland1:
Thomas, Lord Kelso, who served heir to his brother Robert in the Lordship and Barony of Kelsoland in 1536, had charters from James V, to Largs, Gogoside, Hoddesdale and Blackmosse. He married his cousin Isabel, daughter of Lord Livingston, and
"was a man of most energetic character and a zealous adherent to the cause of the Reformed Church". His name repeatedly occurs in the history of those times, with that of the Earl of Glencairn, Lord Boyd and Lord Ochiltree, who were active supporters of the
Reformed Church. He is referred to in the
"Rowallane Memorandum"4 as the Ayrshire Baron, who after the Regent, Mary of Guise had said
"Promises ought not to be urged upon princes unless they can conveniently fill them", boldly
5 addressed her as follows:
"We know, madam, that this is the device of the Bishops who now stand beside you; we avow to God we shall make a day of it. They oppress us and our poor tenants to feed themselves, they trouble our ministers and seek to undo them and us and we will not suffer it longer". At the conclusion of this audacious speech, the historian tells us
"The Barons, who had hitherto stood uncovered, put on their helmets with a general air of defiance".
Kelsoland was in or about Largs on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire.
Family
There is contradiction around who Thomas married;
Kelso of Kelsoland (quoted above) indicates he married Isabel Livingston, whereas
History of Ayr4 and
Burke's Landed Gentry3 instead both suggest that Thomas married a daughter of Frazer of Knock. It's possible he married both women. In any case, lacking any clear evidence either way, I leave his wife's name as unknown, but list his children as follows
- Giles, who married Hugh Crawfurd of Cloverhill
- Mary, who was Maid of Honor to Queen Mary and afterwards became the second wife of Lord John Flemyng
- Archibald who succeeded him and married Margaret Stewart, daughter of James Stewart of Ardgowan in Renfrewshire
- Thomas, killed in the streets of Irvine in the feud between the Eglintoun and Boyd families
Death
Thomas died in 1573.
Footnotes
[1]
Kelso of Kelsoland, Clarence E Kelso & Wilber M Kelso, page 11
[2]
History of the County of Ayr, James Paterson, Edinburgh (1852)
[3]
A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland, enjoying Territorial Possessions or High Official Rank, but uninvested with Heritable Honours, by John Burke; London (1835); Kelso of Kelsoland, Vol. 2, page 535
[4] I am not entirely certain what this document is; it might be
The Historie and Descent of the House of Rowallane but I can't find the words quoted above
[5] There may be some fancification here: a quick search suggests that it may not have been a Kelso that said this. For instance,
this source attributes it to Chalmers of Catgirth.
Abt 1515 - 1573 (~ 58 years)