Margaret (Dunbar) Dunbar of Marche (abt. 1280)

Born about 1280 in Dunbar, Scotland

Descendants

Biography

Margaret (Dunbar) Dunbar of Marche is a member of Clan Dunbar.

Margaret was previously attached as a spouse of William Douglas, 1st earl of Douglas. That relationship is currently not supported by any reliable sources, and he has been removed as her husband until sources are found supporting such a relationship. Please see research notes below.

Research Notes

• Scots Peerage notes that other genealogist have assigned three wives: "Hume of Godscroft and others have assigned three wives to this Earl of Douglas: first, Margaret, or Agnes, Dunbar,2 who is said to be the mother of James, second Earl of Douglas, and of Archibald Douglas, Lord of Galloway; second, Margaret of Mar ; and third, Margaret Stewart, Countess of Mar and Angus. But his only wife was Margaret of Mar, daughter of Donald, and sister of Thomas, Earl of Mar. Douglas and she were married, so far as can be ascertained, in 1357, 3 and she survived him, marrying, as her second husband, before July 1388, Sir John Swinton of Swinton, and dying in 1390."^[1] That the editors then that there was only one wife that can be ascertained simply means, according to the definition of the word 'ascertained' that there is good evidence for only one of the three and some uncertainty remains for the others as far as these editors are concerned. This does not mean that the others wives did not exist nor that one cannot be confident that those other two wives existed rather simply that one cannot be certain. The editors then use this 'less than certain' rule to cast doubt on the wife of Alexander Montgomerie. ^[2]

• The passage cited above correctly states that as far as can be ascertained William Douglas married Margaret of Mar in 1357. ^[1] It specifically lists her as his only wife, and states that he predeceased her. Footnote #2 on the referenced page (p. 153) indicates that earlier historians who listed a Margaret (or Agnes) Dunbar as being married to William Douglas probably mistook her for Agnes Dunbar, sister of George, earl of Dunbar, who married in 1372 Sir James Douglas of Dalkeith. Until actual evidence can be found linking a Margaret Dunbar to William Douglas, 1st earl of Douglas, their profiles are being disconnected. Stevens-17832 14:49, 27 December 2023 (UTC)

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), vol. 3, p. 153.
2. ↑ Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), vol. 3, p. 427.