Clan Forsyth

Clan Forsyth
Fearsithe

Crest: A griffin sergeant Azure, armed and membered Sable, crowned Or
Motto Instaurator ruinae (A repairer of ruin)
Profile
Region Lowlands
Chief
Alistair Forsyth of that Ilk
Chief of the Name and Arms of Forsyth
Seat Ethie Castle
Historic seat Forsyth Castle
Inchnoch Castle

Clan Forsyth (Scottish Gaelic: Clann Fearsithe) is a Scottish clan.[1]

History

Origins of the clan

The history of the Clan Forsyth dates back to before the twelfth century and as is usually the case with families who date back this far, the derivation of the family's surname is uncertain.[1] If the name is of Celtic origin, then it may derive from Fearsithe, which is Scottish Gaelic for man of peace.[1] However there is a tradition that gives a Norman origin from Forsach, who was amongst the Norsemen who settled on lands on the River Dordogne in Aquitaine, France.[1] The Viscomte de Fronsoc accompanied Eleanor of Provence to marry Henry III of England in London and from 1236 to 1246 lived at the English court.[1] This family are believed to have obtained lands in Northumberland and from there moved to the Scottish Borders.[1]

Wars of Scottish Independence

In 1296 William de Fersith appears on the Ragman Rolls submitting to Edward I of England.[1] Sometime after 1306, Osbert, the son of Robert de Forsyth, received a grant for the lands of Sauchie in Stirlingshire from Robert the Bruce.[1] During the Wars of Scottish Independence Osbert distinguished himself at the Battle of Bannockburn and received confirmation of the realm of his lands under the great seal in 1320.[1]

Stirling Castle, from the "King's Knot" gardens below the Castle Hill

In 1368 Osbert's son was appointed as the king's macer and as constable of Stirling Castle.[1] Fersith the clerk received a royal pension of one hundred pounds from Robert II of Scotland.[1] Many prominent burgesses and civic dignitaries bore the name and the family became settled around Stirling.[1]

14th 15th and 16th centuries

Sometime before 1488, David Forsyth of Dykes acquired his lands in Lanarkshire.[1] He specifically claimed the de Fronsocs as his ancestors and his seal bore heraldry similar to their arms.[1] Forsyth Castle which was at Dykes was demolished in 1828.[1] A branch of the clan moved from Dykes to Inchnoch Castle in Monkland and their descendants spread throughout Glasgow and Ayrshire.[1]

William Forsyth had been baillie of Edinburgh in around 1365 and his son, William, moved to St Andrews in 1423 where he subsequently acquired the barony of Nydie.[1] Alexander the fourth Baron of Nydie died at the Battle of Flodden in 1513.[1] His grandson, James, married Elizabeth Leslie who was a granddaughter of the Earl of Rothes and a great-granddaughter of James III of Scotland.[1] The Forsyths fortunes were tied to their extremely powerful relatives and they acquired lands near the royal Falkland Palace.[1] John Forsyth was appointed the king's macer in 1538 and later Falkland Pursuivant.[1] The present chiefs of Clan Forsyth are descended from the Falkland Forsyths.[1]

17th, 18th and 19th centuries

Another branch of the Clan Forsyth settled near Monymusk and William Forsyth represented Forres in the Parliament of 1621.[1] Alexander John Forsyth was a pioneer in the development of modern firearms.[1] In the eighteenth century his work led to the replacement of the flintlock with the percussion lock.[1]

William Forsyth (b.1737), was a distinguished horticulturalist who went to London to study botanical gardens in Chelsea.[1] He was appointed Chief Superintendent of the royal Kensington Gardens and St James's Palace in 1784.[1]

Peter Taylor Forsyth (b.1848) was Principal of Hackney Theological College and in 1909 published his most influential wor, The Person and Place of Jesus Christ.[1]

Clan chief

When, in 1672, Charles II instituted a public register of the clans the then chief of Clan Forsyth refused to attend. The clan was subsequently stripped of its recognition and the chief lost his legal title. This situation continued for the next 300 years until St. Andrews Day 1978 when Lord Lyon, King of Arms, accepted the claim of Alistair Forsyth, the Baron of Ethie, to become Chief of the Forsyth clan.

Alistair Forsyth resides in a French chateau having set up a Highland cattle ranch in Western Australia.[2]

Clan Castles

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Way, George and Squire, Romily. Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs). Published in 1994. Pages 140 - 141.
  2. ↑ Clan Forsyth Society - Clan Chief clanforsyth.org.nz. Retrieved 21 September 2013.

External links

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