Isobel (Boyd) Campbell (aft. 1568 - aft. 1652)

Born after 1568 in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland

Ancestors

Wife of John Blair — married 5 Jul 1589 in Scotland

Wife of Dugald (Campbell) Campbell of Auchinbreck 1st Bt — married before 1613 in Scotland

Descendants

Died after 1652 at about age 84 in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland [uncertain]

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Biography

Isobel (Boyd) Campbell was born in Scotland.

Daughter of Thomas Boyd, 6th Lord Boyd of Kilmarnock and his wife Margaret Campbell, daughter of Sir Matthew Campbell of Loudoun, who appears as Lord Boyd's wife in 1658.^[1][2]

She first married John Blair, younger of that Ilk.^[3][4][5]

Their marriage contract was dated 5 July 1589.^[1][6] John Blair, younger of that Ilk, died in January 1604. Their children were:^[4][7]

1. Grizel (Blair) Maxwell, m. John Maxwell of Pollock (no issue)
2. Isobel Blair, named in her father's testament dative in 1604, no other information
3. Anna (Blair) Porterfield, m. Alexander Porterfield of Porterfield - ancestors of the Hamiltons of Holmhead and the Craufurds of Auchenames
4. Margaret (Blair) Crawfurd, m. John Crawfurd of Kilbirny - ancestors of the later Earls of Crawfurd

Secondly, before 1613, she married Sir Dougal (or Dugald) Campbell of Auchinbreck.^[1]

Children of her second marriage are delineated in the Disputed Origins and Marriages section.

In 1641, Isobel was accused of practicing witchcraft in 1607 and 1608, by Sir Francis Hamilton of Silvertonhill.^[1] Jamie Reid-Baxter provides a detailed account of the charges and asserts that accusations were largely based on a failed marriage contract between them from 1607 and failures in his financial matters. Based on the meritless claims and the fact that Isobel was of higher status in Scottish society, his pleas went largely unheard until his death in 1645.^[8]

Isobel survived her second husband, for she is mentioned in a bond of 1652 as relict (widow) of Sir Dugald. The bond in question is listed in the "Index of Blair Muniments" prepared by the Miss C. M. Blair of Blair for Her Majesty's General Register House in Edinburgh, Catalog No. GD 167, Box 14, Bundle 2, being dated to 1652 and described as "Bond of Isobel Boyd, relict of Sir Dougall Campbell of Auchnbreck, Kt., as principal, and John Blair of that Ilk, etc., as cautioners, to John Boyd, writer in Edinburgh, for 1,000 merks." Isobel thus died sometime after that 1652 bond.

Disputed Origins and Marriages

Lundy, Darryl Roger (compiler) regarding Isabella Boyd said Isobel was a daughter of unknown Boyd, Bishop of Argyll, citing Mosley, Charles, ed. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage. 107th ed, vol 1. 2003, p. 666. Wilmington, Delaware, USA: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd. Lundy notwithstanding, The Scots Peerage cites primary sources that prove Isobel was a daughter of Thomas Boyd, 6th Lord Boyd of Kilmarnock and his wife, Margaret Campbell, daughter of Sir Matthew Campbell of Loudon.^[1]

Of note also is that Lundy did not list her first marriage to John Blair, younger of that Ilk, only her marriage to Sir Dugald Campbell, and indexes those children thusly:

1. Grizel / Isabel (Campbell) Stuart, m. Sir James Stuart of Ardmaleish, 1st Baronet of Bute (d. 1662), had issue
2. Archibald Campbell (d. c. 1630), no issue
3. Anne (Campbell) Campbell - m. John Campbell 4th of Lochnell, had issue
4. Mary (Campbell) Chalmers m. John Chalmers (apparently no issue listed in Burke's Peerage)
5. Marion (Campbell) Maxwell, m. Sir Patrick Maxwell of Newark, had issue

The above references regarding the first marriage are conclusive, as are the mentions of her father, though some references erroneously name him as 5th Lord Boyd of Kilmarnock instead of 6th. Both of her marriages are described in The Scots Peerage.^[1]

This section is mainly provided as an acknowledgment that differences in the sourcing appear.

Research Notes

Early writers on the Blair family disagree on the list of children of Isobel Boyd and John Blair, but the list is definitively settled by the Jan. 1604 testament dative and inventory of Isobel's late husband John Blair, younger of that Ilk, which lists only their four daughters Grizel, Isobel, Agnes, and Margaret as surviving children. John testament dative and inventory is found in the Glasgow Commissariot records, recorded in Jan. 1604. In his history of Ayrshire, James Paterson, p.415, quotes from John's testament, saying in a footnote, "John Blair, younger of that Ilk, died in 1604, in the month of January. The 'Inventar' of his 'guidis and geir' was made and given up 'be Issobell boyd, his relict, in name and behalf of Grissell, Issobell, Agnes, and Margaret Blairis, dochteris laull. to the defunct".

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5} Paul, James Balfour. "The Scots Peerage : founded on Wood's ed. of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland; containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom", Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1908, Vol. V, Archive.org, p. 167
2. ↑ Heygate, Archibald. Protocol Book 1604-1609. Glasgow City Archives, Mitchell Library, ref. B10/1/10. As cited in Reid-Baxter, Jamie. The Apocalyptic Muse of Francis Hamilton of Silvertonhill (c.1585-1645). Journal of the Northern Renaissance (JNR). Issue 4. 2012. Natio Scota.
3. ↑ Burke, John Bernard. Royal Descents and of Founders Kin. Pedigree VIII: James Maxwell Graham, Esq. 1858, p. i. London: Harrison, Bookseller to the Queen.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Crawfurd, George and Robertson, George. A General Description of the Shire of Renfrew: Including an Account of the Noble and Ancient Families... To which is Added, a Genealogical History of the Royal House of Stewart, and of the Several Noble and Illustrious Families of that Name, from the Year 1034 to the Year 1710. 1818, p. 63. Paisley: J Neilson.
5. ↑ Robertson, George . A genealogical account of the principal families in Ayrshire, more particulary [sic in Cunninghame]. Vol I. 1823, p. 85. Irvine: Cunninghame Press, Printed by E MacQuistan.
6. ↑ Blair, William Campbell. Corrected Lineage of the Blair of Blair Line in Scotland. Blair Family Magazine. Volume XXVIII, No. 3. Fall 2010. online archives, Blair Family - Blair DNA Project 4.
7. ↑ Note that the Crawfurd and Robertson (1818) text lists no other children of the marriage of Isabel Boyd and John Blair (the Bryce who is mentioned on p. 85 is clearly John Blair's brother). Note that the Blair (2010) article shows that John Blair and Isobel Boyd did NOT have a son Brice Blair: "The return of the jury on 10 Apr 1610 that the next heir male was Brice Blair the next brother is conclusive proof that John Blair younger of that Ilk died 1604 without male issue [C22/4.371v]." Even if John and Isobel had an underage son, by law the retour would have found that underage son to be the next heir male of that Ilk. Finally, John's testament dative (will) and inventory lists only four daughters as the living heirs of John Blair, younger of that Ilk, no sons. This conclusively rules out any sons of John surviving him.
8. ↑ Reid-Baxter, Jamie. Journal of the Northern Renaissance. Issue 4. 2012. Natio Scota. "The Apocalyptic Muse of Francis Hamilton of Silvertonhill (c.1585-1645)." Citing Supplementary Parliamentary Papers. 131. 1641: Petition by the laird of Silvertonhill; 131a. 1641: Paper relating to trial of Dame Isabell Boyd for witchcraft.

• Paterson, James. History of the County of Ayr, With a Genealogical Account of the Families of Ayrshire (1852), Vol. 1, p.415 -- https://books.google.com/books?id=BvEHAAAAQAAJ&q=Blair+of+that+Ilk#v=snippet&q=Blair%20of%20that%20Ilk&f=false

• Blair of Blair, C. M. (Miss). Index of Blair Muniments at Her Majesty's General Register House, Catalog No. GD 167, Box 14, Bundle 2.