Blog
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Wardhill Estate Records Project
As you may know, the Leslie Global Diaspora Foundation is a research-preservation-publication and information sharing organization intended to benefit Leslies worldwide. The Foundation has investigated the location of numerous important Leslie documents. In keeping with our mission, The next significant project will be the digitizing and preservation of perhaps hundreds of Leslie documents related to…
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Leslies in Aberdeenshire Part 11: Conclusion
Now we find ourselves near the end of this wonderful account of lives and history of the Leslies of the Garioch. In the early 1700’s, while Presbyterian Kirks became the center of religious life there continued to be Catholic or Romanist families in the area. In the Garioch. Consequently, only two Leslie families were Romanists…
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The Leslies in Aberdeenshire Part 10: The Counts Leslie
Walter was the second son of John Leslie, the 10th Baron of Balquhain, by his third wife. Walter entered the Austrian army (Bohemia) and by 1632 he held the rank of major in a body of soldiers made up of Scottish and Irish musketeers under Colonel Gordon. This was the army of King Ferdinand II’s…
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Leslies of Aberdeenshire: Part 9: Troubles in the Garioch
Information Source: Inverurie and the Earldom of the Garioch by Rev. John Davidson, D.D. (1878). Available at: https://archive.org/details/inverurieearldom00davi The Solemn League and Covenant was first signed on the first day of March 1638 on tables erected in the churchyard of the Greyfriars in Edinburgh. Commissioners or Apostles of the Covenant were then sent out across…
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Leslies in Aberdeenshire Part 8: Before the Civil War
The lands of the Abbey of Lindores were secularized by King James and the sale of the lands created many new lairdships. One of these was the lands of Badifurrow, with the Leslies of Kincraigie of Tough becoming the first lairds of Badifurrow. (Note: Tough is an area near Alford.) According to the author, Patrick…
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Leslies in Aberdeenshire Part 7: Early and Mid-1600’s
In 1562 after the General Assembly of the Reformed Church met, a celebration was held at the Chapel of the Garioch with Queen Mary present. In 1600, the King James VI and I turned vicarages of Lindores into parishes. Later in 1602, the King gave John Leslie, son of William Leslie of Balquhain, the defender…
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Queen Mary’s Visit to Balquhain
This is just a short post, but I wanted to keep the Leslies in our mind as some of us attend the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games. When Queen Mary was in France, a Leslie was in the party to negotiate her marriage to the Dauphin of France. In 1561, Mary returned to Scotland, Dr. John…
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Leslies in Aberdeenshire Part 5: Emergence of Branches of the Leslie Family
After the Battle of Harlaw, the branches of the Leslies family tree began to emerge. The Rothes branch was one of the earliest, along with the Kincraigie, Wardes, New Leslie, and Pitcaple. These branches were identified by the lands they held. There were four family branches from Sir William 4th Baron of Balquhain Sir William…
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The Leslies in Aberdeenshire Part 4: The Barons of Balquhain
The Barons of Balquhain The Balquhain family of Leslie dates back to the 14th century when Sir George Leslie, the first Baron of Balquhain, got a grant from his father, Norman de Leslie. The grant was confirmed by King David II by a charter in 1340 for his services during the reign of Robert I…
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The Leslies in Aberdeenshire Part 3: Before the War for Independence
According to the author Rev. Davidson, Norman de Leslie, the son of Norino, was the first to adopt the name Leslie. Norman married Elizabeth Leith of Edingerack. King Alexander III gifted him the lands of Fythkill, which is now the Leslie in Fife. In 1296 Balliol rebelled against the Edward I, King of England. At…
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The Battle of Inverurie in 1308
As I am reading and taking notes from the book Inverurie and the Earldom of the Garioch, I found a short section about this battle which is also known as the Battle of Barra or the Battle of Old Meldrum. This battle occurred as part of a civil war between Scottish leaders and preceded the…
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The Leslies in Aberdeenshire Part 2: Constables of Inverurie
This is a multi-part series based on the book Inverurie and the Earldom of the Garioch by The Rev. John Davidson, D.D. (1878) with focus on sections recounting the history of the Leslies of the area. We now find ourselves reading about Malcolm, son of Bartolf, as the first Constable of Inverurie, whose son, also…
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The Leslies in Aberdeenshire Part 1: Bartolf
The Leslie Story Begins This is a multi-part series based on the book Inverurie and the Earldom of the Garioch by The Rev. John Davidson, D.D. (1878) with focus on sections recounting the history of the Leslies of the area. There have been inhabitants of the Aberdeenshire area going back before the Pictish times. The…
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Scottish Government’s Scottish Connections (Diaspora) Work
Qualitative Research for the Scottish Government’s Scottish Connection (Diaspora) Work. Leith, Murray Stewart & Sim, Duncan (2022). University of the West of Scotland. Retrieved on online on November 2023 from https://www.gov.scot/publications/literature-review-scottish-governments-scottish-connections-diaspora-work-2/documents/ This is a report commissioned by the Scottish Government concerning the characteristics of a successful diaspora policy. The diaspora is not a single event,…
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Scotland Travel Consultant
Announcement A Scotland travel consultant Amy Tomlins of AToms Tours will be at the 2024 Grandfather Mountain Highland Games Scotland is a country with millions of people spread throughout the world with roots leading back to Scotland. These people of the diaspora frequently travel to Scotland to connect with the country and culture of the…