TWEEDSMUIR PARISH HISTORY.

Origin of the Tweedies.

There is a wonderful legend where a warrior left for the crusades and when he came home after some years to find his young wife in possession of a sturdy son.  Her simple explanation was that as she wandered one day by the River Tweed, its radiant god (water nymph) came out of its depth, came by force her lover.   The child was given the name of Tweedie.(1).

Unfortunately for the truth of this story the name is derived from the lands of Tweedie in the parish of Stonehuse Lanarkshire.  Finlay de Twydn of Lanarkshire appears in The Ragman Roll of 1296. (2)(3).  Roger son of Finlay of Twydyn, had a charter of the house and lands of Drumelzier c1320 and possessed lands and the barony for fully three hundred years.(3).

The above Roger Tweedie married  the daughter of Sir William Fraser of Drumelzier(7).   William was the grandson of Adam Fraser of Drumelzier.   See Fraser Family tree on Fraser of Oliver page and chart below.  The "Tweedie Book" (4) has a different slant on the pedigree of the above William.   This was an early marriage between the Frasers and the Tweedies and probably accounts for how the Tweedies obtained Oliver Castle a previous Fraser holding.

 

It is evident that the Frasers were resident in Drumelzier c14th century and that they owned Drumelzier Castle before the Tweedies (5).    However, Oliver came to the Hays of Yester in 1312 (6) on the marriage of Mary Fraser - the co-heiress of Sir Simon Fraser of Oliver, The Patriot, to Gilbert Hay. 

The Tweedie family extended south into what is now Tweedsmuir Parish taking over the lands of Oliver c1489 and also Fruid in 1525 with the marriage of James Tweedie of Drumelzieer and Katherine Fraser heiress of Fruid.

For more pages on The Tweedie family go to the Tweedsmuir Parish History home page and scroll down to the Tweedie section.    

For a more extensive view of the Tweedie family origins indeed of the family in general see Michael Forbes Tweedie's excellent book (4).  Also J.W. Buchan's History of Peeblesshire has a good family tree(1) 

References.

1)   Buchan, J W, Paton, Rev H;  History of Peeblesshire, Jackson Wylie, Glasgow, 1927.  Vol iii p352 and p424 for Family Tree.

2)  Bains, Joseph;  Calendar of Documents Relating to Scotland, Vol 1 1272-1307 - Ragman Roll, Doc No 238 

3) Black, George F; The Surnames of Scotland, Birlinn, Edinburgh, 1999. p784.

4) Tweedie, Michael Forbes; The History of the Tweedie or Tweedy Family, A record of Scottish Lowland Life and Character, W.P. Griffiths, London, 1902.  p9 

5) Chalmers, George; Caledonia: or an Account Historical and Topographic, of North Britain, London, 1810.  Vol 2 p918.

6)The Topographical, Statistical, and Historical Gazateer of Scotland, Fullerton and Co, Glasgow, 1842. Vol 2 p492. 

7)  Fraser, Marjory, Flora; Clan Fraser A History, Scottish Cultural Press, Dalkeith, 2009. Family Tree p36.

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