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Boyd /
Gillim / Reid
Family
Scotland
to USA
Gillim descent from Robert 4th Lord Boyd
While handling grandma's
estate about five years ago, we came across two sketches which were carefully wrapped in tissue paper, placed in an
envelope noting "take special care of these" and then placed in the
family bible. The sketches were of Robert, 4th Lord Boyd and William, the 4th and Last
Earl of Kilmarnock. We knew that the Gillim's were of Scotch heritage,
but other than the Reid's (grandma's maiden name) coming from Glasgow, we
weren't exactly sure of the relationships to the Scots. Our
curiosity got the better of us so we started researching the family history. We
knew that the Boyd's must have played an important role in this, otherwise,
grandma wouldn't have cherished these sketches.
William Boyd 4th Earl of Kilmarnock
We were fortunate in the
fact that another ancestor of ours, Robert Reid had
already done extensive research back in 1900. We took what he had
completed,
used the many, many resources available on the Internet today, contacted
several genealogical societies, and eventually, hooked up with Richard
G. Boyd,
who has been a tremendous help researching our Scottish ancestors.
To make a long (4 years worth of research) story short:
We do descend from
Robert, 4th Lord Boyd (1517-1590) who in 1535 married his
cousin, Margaret (the daughter of Sir George Colquohoun and Margaret
Boyd,
the sister of Robert's father). Robert succeeded his father, 3rd Lord
Boyd, who died in 1550. Robert was indeed a noble man of great parts, as
his accounts show, possessing all of the talents and qualities of his
ancestors that truly rendered the name of Boyd illustrious.
Robert Lord Boyd
It appears that in
addition to feuding with the Mure's, the Boyd's had an ongoing feud with the Montgomery's. In 1484, when he was just 16
years old, James, 2nd Lord Boyd (daughter of Princess Mary and Thomas, Earl of
Arran), was slain by Hugh Montgomery* Avenging his cousin's death, the
3rd Lord Boyd slew Patrick Montgomery in 1523 and then Neil Montgomery in 1545.
Robert, the 4th Lord Boyd, however, attempted to put an end to the
ongoing feud. In 1563, the same year in which their children were born,
Robert, 4th Lord Boyd and Hugh Montgomery, Earl of Eglinton entered into a mutual
bond of defense hoping to end their long standing feud. It's interesting to
note that their respective children, also born in 1563, were later married
when they were both just 14 (Robert's daughter, Egidia [Giles] and Hugh Montgomery, 4th Earl of Eglinton were married in 1576). Perhaps pledging
their children to one another was part of the deal--who knows. The 4th Lord Boyd's signature appears on the 1560 Treaty of Berwick
between Elizabeth I and the Scottish reformers whereby Elizabeth of England
agreed to send soldiers to Scotland to help drive out the French.
In 1561, Robert, 4th Lord
Boyd signed the Book of Discipline of John Knox,
which was the first Reformed confession to be written in English. It was
adopted in 1560 by the Scottish Parliament affirming that the "true
Kirk" is
distinguished by the true preaching of the word, the right
administration of
the sacraments, and the maintenance of discipline. Robert fought for Queen Mary at the Battle of Langside in 1568 and was
later sent by her to talk with Queen Elizabeth about the rebellious subjects
in Scotland. He was even provost of Glasgow from 1574 to 1577. In 1578 and again in 1586, he was one of the Commissioners appointed by
James VI (who was now ruling since Mary Queen of Scots had abdicated and
was imprisoned) to form a treaty with England.
By his marriage to his
cousin Margaret Colquohoun, the sole heiress of her
father, Sir George Colquohoun of Glens, the estates of Glens, Bedlay,
Benheth, Stablegreen, all of Glasgow, and many other lands passed to the
Boyds. Both Robert and Margaret are buried in Metropolitan Church of
Glasgow.
The Gillim line continues
through Robert and Margaret's grandson, Sir Thomas
Boyd of Bedlay (third son of Thomas, 5th Lord Boyd) who was born in
1574.
On 10-22-1603 in Ayr, he married Grizel Cunnningham, the daughter of
Jean
Blair and Alexander Cunningham, who was slain in the great feud between
the
Cunninghams and the Montgomery's. Their daughter, Lady Margaret,
married
Robert Reid, of Braehead Castleton in 1650. It's also interesting
to point
out that their other daughter, Lady Agnes, married Sir/Rev. William
Wallace
of Failfuird in about 1652. This Wallace line later married into
the Dunlop
family from which the Reid family also descends.
Robert Reid and his
brother, James, both fought at both the battles of
Drumclog and Bothwell Bridge The swords used by the Reid brothers still
remain in the family; one is in England and the other is in the US.
After
the defeat at Bothwell Bridge, James was forced to flee to Ireland
forfeiting all of his property. (In Ireland, James compiled a number of
genealogies of the KER/KERRs, as was credited with "introducing
Dissenters"
into Ireland.) Robert Reid, however, was allowed to remain in
Scotland,
because he was married to Lady Margaret Boyd of Bonshaw, a member of one
of
the most prominent families in Scotland at that time.
This is where the Reid
name becomes prominent in our line of heritage. It's
interesting to note that whichever "path" we chose to explore
in our
genealogical research, the Boyd name kept popping up. Not only do we
descend
from Alexander, son of 1st Lord Boyd, but we also descend from his
sister,
Elizabeth Boyd, daughter of 1st Lord Boyd. She married Archibald
"Bell the
Cat" Douglas. Their daughter, Lady Mary married Cuthbert
Cunningham, who's
daughter Ellen married Alexander Dunlop. It was much later in the
late
1700s that a Dunlop married into the Reid family, who married into the
Gillim Family.
Also, on our
American side of the family, we have the Boyd ancestors
(Ireland to PA) who married into the Coopers and Rowans. It's said
that
many of these Irish Boyds who emigrated to the States are descendants of
Sir
Thomas Boyd, who was one of the first "undertakers" sent to
settle the
Ulster-Scot area and to preserve the faith of the crown. He was said to
be
one of the first Boyd's in Ireland and was given 1,500 acres in the
Strabane
Barony in county Tyrone. Petition
of Ulstermen, 1718
Given the vast number of
Boyd's that we ran across during our research and
given how they intertwined with the other families from which we
descend, we
can now see why grandma was most proud of her Boyd sketches and her Boyd
heritage!
* This was the closest
the Boyds were to come to the Scottish throne.
I believe it was a plot by some of Scotland's most
powerful families.
James Boyd had Royal blood. The Montgomeries and other
families
certainly didn't want a Boyd sitting on the throne!
RG Boyd
Susan
Gillim
NOTE:
Use this data as a finding tool, just as you would any other secondary
source. When you find the name of an ancestor listed, confirm the facts
in original sources.
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NOTES
TO RESEARCHERS
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