Clan Arbuthnott
| Clan Arbuthnott | |||
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Seat | Arbuthnott House | ||
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Scottish Tartans World Register #204 | | |
| Scottish Register of Tartans entry | Clan Arbuthnott | |
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Clan Arbuthnott is a Lowland Scottish clan.[1]
History
Origin of name
The name Arbuthnott is of territorial origin from the lands of the same name in the county of Kincardineshire.[1] Early documents refer to these lands as Aberbothenoth which has been translated as the mouth of the stream below the noble house.[1] The Arbuthnott lands have been in the hands of the same noble family for more than twenty-four generations including the present Viscount of Arbuthnott.[1]
Origins of the clan
Hugh, who may have been from the Clan Swinton family, may have acquired the lands of Arbuthnott through his marriage to Margaret Olifard, heiress of Arbuthnott, sister of Osbert Olifard, who was known as "The Crusader" who was killed in the First Crusade during the reign of William the Lion.[1] Another Hugh, styled "Le Blond", possibly for his fair hair, was Laird of Arbuthnott in about 1282.[1] This Hugh appears in a charter in the same year bestowing lands upon the Monastery of Arbroath for the safety of his soul.[1] The first of the clan to be described in a charter as dominus ejusdem (of that ilk) was Phillip de Arbuthnott.[1]
Murder of John Melville of Glenbervie
The son of Phillip de Arbuthnott was Hugh Arbuthnott of that ilk who was implicated in the murder of John Melville of Glenbervie who was the sheriff of the Mearns in 1420.
16th century
James Arbuthnott of Arbuthnott had a Crown Charter of the feudal barony of Arbuthnott on 29 January 1507. He had married, by contract dated 31 August 1507, Jean, daughter of Sir
James VI wrote to some of his lairds on 30 August 1589, asking them to send food, "fat beef, mutton on foot, wild fowls and venison", to be delivered to Walter Naish Master of the Royal Larder in Edinburgh for the
17th and 18th centuries
Sir Robert Arbuthnott, the direct descendant of the Laird of Arbuthnott who had been involved in the murder of sheriff Melville, was elevated in the peerage as Viscount of Arbuthnott and Baron Inverbervie by Charles I of England.[1]
Dr John Arbuthnot, who claimed kinship with the clan chief's family, was a distinguished physician and political humorist who was educated at the University of Aberdeen.[1] In 1705, he had the fortune of being at Epsom races when Prince George of Denmark, husband of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, was taken ill.[1] Dr Arbuthnot was rushed to his side; the Prince recovered, and Arbuthnot was appointed a royal physician.[1] Over time he became a confidant to the queen and friends to a great many of the leading figures of his time.[1] Dr Samuel Johnson once remarked that he was 'a man of great comprehension, skilful in his profession, versed in the sciences, acquainted with ancient literature and able to animate his mass of knowledge by a bright and active imagination'.[1] Dr John Arbuthnott died in 1779.[1]
Modern times from 19th Century
George Arbuthnot, 1st of Elderslie (son of Robert Arbuthnot, 2nd of Haddo-Rattray and younger brother of Sir William Arbuthnot, 1st Baronet of Edinburgh)[4] emigrated to India and joined Indian firm Lautour & Co, which was the origin of the banking business that came to bear his surname first in India and then later in London: Arbuthnot & Co.[5] After having established a Trusted Name and gathering Deposits from at least 6000 creditors the Firm engaged in speculation through its London correspondent P. Macfadyen & Co operated by Arbuthnot's partner Patrick Macfadyen, whose firm was effectively Arbuthnot's London branch. The Indian bank crashed spectacularly in 1906. It was reported in the Hindu newspaper that "the consequences of this sudden and disastrous failure mean the ruin of many hundreds of families in southern India". At the time Arbuthnot & Co was the most popular bank in Madras.[6][7] There is a small lane of about 100 meters abutting into the Beach Road of Chennai (then Madras) called Arbuthnot Lane. The successor bank in London continues under the name 'Arbuthnot Latham'.
The present Viscount of Arbuthnott and chief of Clan Arbuthnott succeeded to the position on his father's death in 2012.
Clan chief
The current chief of Clan Arbuthnott is Keith Arbuthnott, 17th Viscount of Arbuthnott, Lord Inverbervie and Chief of the Name and Arms of Arbuthnott.[8]
Clan symbolism
Members of Clan Arbuthnott can show their allegiance to the clan by wearing a
Clan members may also wear a
Clan Arbuthnott today
- Approximate numbers in various countries: UK 350; USA 1,150; Canada 220; Australia and New Zealand 190; South Africa 85; Ireland 120 (depending on whom one includes)[11]
- Ancestral lands: Arbuthnott House and surrounding estate of around 3,000 acres (12 km²) remains the seat of the family today.[12]
Clan Arbuthnott in Fiction
- An account of the origin of the name and clan is found in Nigel Tranter's novel, Tapestry of the Boar.
Notes
- ^ ISBN 0-00-470547-5.
- ISBN 0-8063-1609-8.
- ^ Robert Vans Agnew, Correspondence of Sir Patrick Waus, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1887), p. 439: HMC 8th Report: Arbuthnott (London, 1881), p. 302.
- ^ p.331: Memories of the Arbuthnots of Kncardineshire and Aberdeenshire, by Ada Jane Evelyn Arbuthnot (1920)
- ^ p.357: Memories of the Arbuthnots of Kncardineshire and Aberdeenshire, by Ada Jane Evelyn Arbuthnot (1920)
- ^ The Crash of Arbuthnot & Co Archived 21 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine (article by The Arbuthnot Family Association)
- ^ The Fall of Arbuthnot & Co, by Rangaswamy Srinivasan PhD (East West Books (Madras) Pvt. Ltd., 2005) (Madras
- ^ ARBUTHNOTT, CHIEF OF ARBUTHNOTT Retrieved 10 September 2007
- ^ Way; Squire (2000), p. 42.
- ^ Arbuthnott Clan Tartan WR204 Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 10 September 2007
- ^ per Arbuthnott Family genealogist at www.arbuthnott.com – are wives of male Arbuthnotts included? husbands of female Arbuthnotts? children of female Arbuthnotts? those who adopted/rejected the name?
- ^ Country Life interview, March 2007
