Rutherfurds of that Ilk, and their cadets

XXV111
in the printed account of the family, 1 in which he is
called Thomas, to have had, like his contemporary
and cousin " Stout Hunthill," nine sons to assist him
in the exploits which made him famous and feared
on both sides of the border. 2 It appears, however,
by an MS. history of the Ruthirfurds, written about
1 700, that he was aided, not by his sons, but by his
" six brethren," one of whom was John of the Tofts,
described as a man of prodigious strength and
valour, with six fingers on each hand, and six toes
on each foot. Philip, tutor of Edgerston, and Gil-
bert of " The Aicks," are mentioned as two others.
Philip was appointed tutor for his nephew Thomas,
which is sufficient confirmation of the correctness of
this statement. Richard, the Gude Edderstane, was
at the fight of the Red Swyre in 1575, and lived for
more than twenty years afterwards. He married
Jean Elliot, sister of the chief of the Elliots, and his
son Thomas, called " The Black Laird," from his
swarthy complexion, married his kinswoman of the
same name, 2 daughter of William Elliot of Larriston,
by his wife Mary, daughter of Sir Walter Scott of
Buccleuch, and his wife the Lady Margaret Douglas,
daughter of the Earl of Angus.
John Ruthirfurd of Edgerston, grandson of
the Black Laird, was a gallant soldier and
1 Burke's Landed Gentry, page 1391, edit. 1879.
" It has, however, been stated that this Jean was the daughter of
Robert Elliot of Redheuch, who married in 1589 the daughter of
Sir Thomas Carleton of Carleton Hall, Cumberland. Jean's
brother, Robert of Redheuch, married Lady Jean Stewart,
daughter of the above-named Lady Margaret Douglas, by her
second husband, Francis, Earl of Bothwell. The able antiquarian
Mr. Eiddell-Carre of Cavers-Carre, in his " Border Memories," has
adopted this version, and it is verified by the copy of an old
funeral escutcheon preserved in the Lyon Office. Be this as it
may, the idea that the Black Laird married both the Jean Elliots,
first the aunt and then the niece, and led his sons to the Red
Swyre, is erroneous. The date of his service as heir to his father,
Richard, is 15th March 1605.