Ayrshire > Volume 2

136 HISTORY OF AYRSHIRE
three hundred years. He maintained a town house in
Edinburgh, and seems to have attended the Court of
St. James's more often than was at all common for
Scottish country gentlemen at that period.
Just about the time when John Boyle succeeded
his father, the Ulster " plantation " scheme began to
be vigorously prosecuted, and among those who crossed
over to take up the forfeited lands were some of the
Ballikewin Boyles, who settled in Donegal on lands
which had been granted to Sir John Cunningham of
Crawfield, in the parish of Beith (son of Sir James
Cunningham of Glengarnock), who had married Jean
Boyle, daughter of the third Laird of Ballikewin. These
emigrants in course of time disappeared from the records
of the family, but Ballikewin remained with their
relatives till 1721, when it was acquired by John, Lord
Boyle, and thus fell to the main line. In 1611 John
Bo3^1e of Kelburn married Agnes Maxwell, daughter of
the then deceased Sir John Maxwell of Nether Pollock,
Knight. Her tocher was 9000 merks. The contract of
marriage passed with consent of Sir John Maxwell of
Nether Pollock, Knight, her brother. It was expressly
arranged before the marriage that if he should predecease
her without issue, and she should therefore be entitled
to succeed him in any of his lands, she was to renounce
them, with consent of her husband, in favour of Sir
John's male heir ; and this she, and her daughter
Grizel, the only child of the marriage, did, nearly forty
years afterwards.
There are many interesting details, specifically of a
family character, in the Kelburn records of this period
which are not of general historical interest. The laird,
as has been said, was not without his financial troubles.
These, however, were materially relieved by the marriage
of his only child, Grizel, to David Boyle, the eldest son
of James Boyle of Halkishirst (now Halkshill), near
Largs, who was kinsman to Kelburn ; his descent from
John Boyle first of Ballikewin is proved clearly. This
David was a prudent and a careful man, with a great