Stirling peerage
(15) Page 5
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INTRODUCTION. 5
Not SO, however, the next individual in the field
— Mr Humphrys. He modestly lays claim, not only
to the Earldom of Stirling, but also to the whole terri--
tory in Canada, besides the Scotish estates pertaining
to the rebel general Alexander, by the title of Lord Stirling. You
may, fi-om g-ood authority, inform the public, that he is not in the least
related to the late Earl of that name. Some years ago, this person
attempted to impose himself on government as the nighest akin to that
nobleman, and wanted to assume the title ; but being unable to produce
any credentials, his petition was thrown out. That title has been extinct
ever since the death of Sir William Alexander,* created Earl of Stirling,
who died in the year 1641, a man of great learning and abilities, and
famous for his poetry. His corpse was deposited in a leaden coffin, in
the family aisle, in the church of Stirling, above ground, and remained
entire till within these thirty years. Being much involved in debt at his
death, and his descendants very poor, they never thought of making
good their title to that dignity, till a very considerable time thereafter;
but the mansion-house, or church, which stood upon the banks of the
river Devon, near Stirling, in which the records of the family descent
were deposited, being swept away by a rapid current of the river after
an uncommon fall of rain, rendered it impossible for the nearest akin to
the family to make good his claim to the title. Several branches of this
family still live at a village called Mainstry, on the above river, about
three miles from Stirling in Scotland, the oldest of which is the fourth
in descent from the earl, and is a reputable farmer, and known by all the
old people about that part of the country to be the real and nearest
descendant of the Earl of Stirling.'f
" The American earl (whose right to the title, notwithstanding the
judgment of the House of Peers, seems to have been well founded)
claimed, as representing the first lord, a large tract of land, which he
advertised for sale. Upon this coming to the knowledge of Francis
Bernard, Esq. Governor of the province of Massachusetts, he issued the
following proclamation : —
" ' Whereas the Earl of Stirling hath published advertisements for the
sale of a large tract of land, situated on the east side of Penobscot river,
and for leasing another large tract in the eastern parts of this province,
extending from St Croix to Pemaquid, to which he has laid claim by
virtue of a grant made in the year 1633 to William Alexander, first
Earl of Stirling, by the council established at Plymouth.
" ' And whereas by a state of the title of this province, to the country
between the rivers Kenebec and St Croix, prepared by a committee of
the General Court, and printed in 1763, by order of the said Court, it
appears that the persons claiming under the said Earl of Stirling, have
no right or title whatever to the said country, or any part thereof ; and
it is asserted in behalf of the province of Massachusetts Bay, hath a clear
and undoubted right and equitable title to the soil and jurisdiction of the
said country, and every part thereof, under such restrictions and limita-
tions as are expressed in the province charter.
• Mistake.
t He might have been the nearest heir-male, but he could not have been a descendant in the
male line of the first earl.
Not SO, however, the next individual in the field
— Mr Humphrys. He modestly lays claim, not only
to the Earldom of Stirling, but also to the whole terri--
tory in Canada, besides the Scotish estates pertaining
to the rebel general Alexander, by the title of Lord Stirling. You
may, fi-om g-ood authority, inform the public, that he is not in the least
related to the late Earl of that name. Some years ago, this person
attempted to impose himself on government as the nighest akin to that
nobleman, and wanted to assume the title ; but being unable to produce
any credentials, his petition was thrown out. That title has been extinct
ever since the death of Sir William Alexander,* created Earl of Stirling,
who died in the year 1641, a man of great learning and abilities, and
famous for his poetry. His corpse was deposited in a leaden coffin, in
the family aisle, in the church of Stirling, above ground, and remained
entire till within these thirty years. Being much involved in debt at his
death, and his descendants very poor, they never thought of making
good their title to that dignity, till a very considerable time thereafter;
but the mansion-house, or church, which stood upon the banks of the
river Devon, near Stirling, in which the records of the family descent
were deposited, being swept away by a rapid current of the river after
an uncommon fall of rain, rendered it impossible for the nearest akin to
the family to make good his claim to the title. Several branches of this
family still live at a village called Mainstry, on the above river, about
three miles from Stirling in Scotland, the oldest of which is the fourth
in descent from the earl, and is a reputable farmer, and known by all the
old people about that part of the country to be the real and nearest
descendant of the Earl of Stirling.'f
" The American earl (whose right to the title, notwithstanding the
judgment of the House of Peers, seems to have been well founded)
claimed, as representing the first lord, a large tract of land, which he
advertised for sale. Upon this coming to the knowledge of Francis
Bernard, Esq. Governor of the province of Massachusetts, he issued the
following proclamation : —
" ' Whereas the Earl of Stirling hath published advertisements for the
sale of a large tract of land, situated on the east side of Penobscot river,
and for leasing another large tract in the eastern parts of this province,
extending from St Croix to Pemaquid, to which he has laid claim by
virtue of a grant made in the year 1633 to William Alexander, first
Earl of Stirling, by the council established at Plymouth.
" ' And whereas by a state of the title of this province, to the country
between the rivers Kenebec and St Croix, prepared by a committee of
the General Court, and printed in 1763, by order of the said Court, it
appears that the persons claiming under the said Earl of Stirling, have
no right or title whatever to the said country, or any part thereof ; and
it is asserted in behalf of the province of Massachusetts Bay, hath a clear
and undoubted right and equitable title to the soil and jurisdiction of the
said country, and every part thereof, under such restrictions and limita-
tions as are expressed in the province charter.
• Mistake.
t He might have been the nearest heir-male, but he could not have been a descendant in the
male line of the first earl.
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Histories of Scottish families > Stirling peerage > (15) Page 5 |
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Description | A selection of almost 400 printed items relating to the history of Scottish families, mostly dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Includes memoirs, genealogies and clan histories, with a few produced by emigrant families. The earliest family history goes back to AD 916. |
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