In this, the sixth of a series of articles on the McAuslands of Caldenoch, we will examine Patrick McAuslane of Coldynocht, possible 18th Baron of Caldenoch.

Patrick McAuslane of Coldynocht, possible 18th Baron of Caldenoch, flourished from 10th December 1535 to 20 February 1543

From 1535 onwards, we once again find records mentioning the McAusland Barons of Caldenocht.

Patrick McAuslane of Coldynocht, possible 18th Baron of Caldenoch first appears in the historical record in 1595:

On 10 December 1535 there is a charter in which mention is made of Patrick McAuslane of Coldynocht. (Fraser: Chiefs of Colquhoun).

In 1536, Patrick McCaslane of Caldanacht and his brother Donald were named as followers of the Earl of Argyll. (Black: Surnames of Scotland).

According to The chiefs of Colquhoun and their country; by Fraser, William, Sir, 1816-1898, “Mr. Adam Colquhoun of Blairvaddoch sold to Patrick M’Causlane of Caldenocht, and Marjory Colquhoun, his spouse, an annual rent of ten merks Scots, from the lands of Letterwald-mor ; and on 20th February 1543 they granted him letters of reversion, engaging, on his payment of one hundred merks Scots, to renounce this annual rent in his favour.“

Although it is clear from charters that Patrick McAuslane of Coldynocht was married to a Marjory Colquhoun, she has yet to be unambiguously identified. It seems likely that Marjory was the daughter of Sir John Colquhoun, 13th of Luss & 11th of Colquhoun and his wife Lady Elizabeth Stewart.

According to Brian Anton’s excellent Genealogy of the Calhoun Family: “My guess is that Marjory Colquhoun was Adam’s half-sister of that name.  Marjory (likely born in the early 1490s) married Sir Duncan Campbell, who died in 1536 (Fraser vol. 1, p. 93).  Fraser does not state what happened to Marjory after that, but she could well have remarried to Patrick McCausland of Caldenoch.  Marjory would have been in her forties when they married, so she may or may not have been the mother of his children.  I suspect she was a second wife.”

This does indeed sound plausible. However, although Fraser does not mention any subsequent marriages, this Marjory Colquhoun does appear on thepeerage.com site, using an entry from Burke’s Peerage. It does not cite any marriage to Patrick McAuslane, but does have two additional marriages for her:
“Marjory Colquhoun is the daughter of Sir John Colquhoun of Luss and Lady Elizabeth Stewart.
She married, firstly, Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy, son of Sir Colin Campbell, 3rd of Glenorchy and Lady Marjory Stewart.
She married, secondly, John Maxwell, 1st of Dargavel, son of Patrick Maxwell, 3rd of Newark, before 7 January 1549/50.1
She married, thirdly, Patrick Fleming before 19 June 1556.”
……..
Citations
[S37] Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke’s Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke’s Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003.”

As with any secondary source such as Buchanan of Auchmar, thepeerage.com and Burke’s are extremely useful references, but are not always 100% reliable sources. The above entry regarding two additional marriages for Marjory Colquhoun is worth investigating further. We know that our Marjory Colquhoun was the spouse of Patrick McCauslane of Caldenocht on 20 February 1543, whereas according to Burke the daughter of Sir John Colquhoun of Luss and Lady Elizabeth Stewart remarried to John Maxwell, 1st of Dargavel in January 1549/50 (and subsequently to Patrick Fleming before 19 June 1556).

It is quite possible that Marjory Colquhoun was married three, or even four times, as this was not unknown in those days when rich and landed women could be abducted and married by force – Mary, Queen of Scots third marriage being perhaps the best known example of this.

If Marjory Colquhoun of Luss was indeed Patrick McCauslane of Caldenocht’s wife, it seems possible that he died before January 1549/50. Whether she was his first or second wife, we continue to believe that she was, as in our tree above, the mother of Patrick, possible 19th Baron. He was mentioned in the 1599 Deed of renunciation by Patrick McAwslane of CALDENACHE in favour of Sir Alexander Colquhoun of Luss of his claim to 2/3 of Stronmaleroch, Parish of Rosneath, Barony of Luss, in return for payment by Sir Alexander of 200 merks. ((Colquhoun of Luss Estate papers, deed (box 7)). She also remains our favoured candidate as the grandmother of John McCaslane of CALDENOTH (20th Baron by our reckoning), whose property was among the list of places despoiled in the so-called Glen Finlas Raid of December 1602. (Fraser; Chiefs of Colquhoun).

However, the alternative theory, that Marjory was not the ancestor of the last Barons, as proposed in Genealogy of the Calhoun Family, cannot be excluded and should continue to be considered as a possibility.

Next Article in the Series

In the next article we will look at Patrick McAwslane of Caldenache, possible 19th Baron of Caldenoch and possible Most Recent Common Ancestor of the R-A9015 haplogroup, to which many McAuslands belong.