Category: Leslie History
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A Leslie “By Any Other Name”
One of the Foundation’s directors sent me a link to a blog posting on Leslie history. I thought the information would be of interest to Leslies, so here is the link to the blog. The Leslies: Just one Duke of Rothes but many generals in Scotland, Russia and Austria by Jonathan Spangler posted June 23,… Read more
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The Fetternear Banner
Recently, the Foundation has been doing some research on Fetternear the Bishop’s Palace and the Leslie connection in Aberdeenshire. This article on the Fetternear Banner was located online and helps fill in some of the Leslie history related to the Leslies of Wardhill Estate. The article published in St Moluag’s Coracle, a Scottish Catholic magazine,… Read more
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Discovered Documents
Leslies of Among the hundreds of pages scanned and archived at the Wardhill Estate, we found a book of special interest to Leslies of Australia and New Zealand (Antipodes). The book “Leslies In the Antipodes” was written in 1998 by Jillian A. Burcher. The book was self-published and includes information about the Leslies of Warthill,… Read more
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The 2025 Leslie Heritage Tour
Tuesday Evening The tour began on Tuesday evening with a “meet and greet” and dinner with anyone who wished to go to the pub near the host hotel. Wednesday At 9 am, the 12 members of the tour group departed Edinburgh on the bus with Amy Tomlins, the tour consultant, and traveled north to Dunkeld.… Read more
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The Scottish Diaspora: Reflections
It has been a few weeks since the course on the Scottish Diaspora ended. The last online discussion was a time for students to offer suggestions and reflections on what we have learned. I would recommend this course to any person who is interested in how the economic, social, and political history of Scotland shaped… Read more
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The Battle of Guilford Courthouse and Alexander Leslie
On Saturday March 15, 2025, a group of Revolutionary War reenactors took to the field and marked the anniversary of the Battle of Guilford Court House in Greensboro, NC. The events of the day start with tour of both the British and Patriot Militia and Continental Army encampments near the Guilford National Military Park. This… Read more
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St. Ninian’s Roman Catholic Church
St. Ninian’s Roman Catholic Church While writing the 10-part blog series based on the book Inverurie and the Earldom of the Garioch, there was reference to a church on the Fetternear Estate in Aberdeenshire. Further research revealed that there is a church ruin, St. Ninian’s Roman Catholic Church, located there. The church ruins are not… Read more
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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… Read more
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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… Read more
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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… Read more
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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… Read more
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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… Read more
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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… Read more
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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… Read more