{27} James V Descents for Col. Charles M.T. Western (1855-1913)

Western coat of arms
[Sable, a chevron between two crescents in chief
and a trefoil slipped in base, or]

Having looked at the ancestry of Maud Murray-Aynsley in my two previous blogposts, the next two will focus on the ancestry of her husband Col. Charles Maximilian Thomas Western, Royal Field Artillery (1855-1913). He descends from James V of Scotland, through Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney, one of that monarch's several illegitimate sons. Col. Western's father, also named Charles Maximilian Thomas Western, served as Surveyor General of the Post Office, first stationed in Edinburgh, where, at age 26, he met the 15-year-old Harriet Balfour, from a gentry family seated in the Orkney Islands, the youngest child of her widowed mother. They married, and had four children. Col. Wilson was their second child and eldest son, born in 1855 in Bath, the year following his father's appointment there as Postmaster. Col. Western's military career is best summed up by his obituary:
"Col. Western passed out of the Royal Military Academy and obtained his commission as Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery Jan. 28, 1875, becoming Captain Jan. 1, 1884. He served during the Burmese Expedition, 1888-89, as Adjutant, Royal Artillery (medal with clasp). On April 1, 1889, he was appointed a District Staff Officer, 2nd Class, Madras, and on March 16, 1892, he was promoted to Major. On Jan. 25, 1893, he became a Deputy Assistant Adjutant General holding this post until March 31, 1894. On Oct. 23, 1899, he was appointed Assistant Military Secretary and Aide-de-Camp to Lieut.-Gen. Sir George Wolseley, commanding at Madras, and on Nov. 14, 1900, he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel, but he continued to hold the post until Oct. 11, 1903. He was given the brevet of Colonel May 3, 1905, and on Nov. 14 he was placed on half-pay, while on Dec. 30 following he retired. Col. Western had been Secretary of the Berkshire Territorial Force Association since its inception in 1908” [The Army and Navy Gazette, September 13, 1913].

Col. Western, his first wife, and their children on p. 458 of Ruvigny's 1903 Tudor volume

Col. CHARLES MAXIMILIAN THOMAS WESTERN of The Coppice, Finchampstead, Berkshire, Colonel Royal Field Artillery 1805-13, b. 2 Sept. 1855 Bath, Somersetshire; d. (on a fishing trip) 1 Sept. 1913 Trondheim, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway, bur. 11 Sept. 1913 St Mary Catholic Churchyard, East Hendred, Oxfordshire, est son of Charles Maximilian Thomas Western of Bath (1824-1894, descended from Edward III) and Harriet Balfour (1835-1915, descended from James V - see Generation A10 below); m. 1st 24 Dec. 1881 Bangalore, Karnataka, India, MAUD MURRAY-AYNSLEY, b. 18 Mar. 1860 Bangalore, bap. there 13 June 1860; d. 3 Mar. 1898 Jalandhar, Punjab, India, bur. there 5 Mar. 1898, 3rd dau. of Maj-Gen. Herbert Murray-Aynsley of North Kensington (1826-1887, descended from Henry VII) and Emily Elizabeth Hand (1829-1894), and had issue, two sons and one daughter; m. 2nd 23 Sept. 1902 Church of Our Lady of the Assumption & St Gregory, Warwick Street, Soho, London, AGNES MARY EYSTON, b. 13 Aug. 1870 Hendred House, East Hendred, bap. 14 Aug. 1870 St Mary Catholic Church, East Hendred; d.s.p. there 5 Jan. 1961, bur. St Mary Catholic Churchyard, East Hendred, dau. of Charles John Eyston of Hendred House (1817-1883, descended from Edward III) and Agnes Mary Blount (1834-1918, descended from Charles II).

Issue of Col. Charles Maximilian Thomas and Maud (Murray-Aynsley) Western:

1) Maj. CHARLES MAXIMILIAN THOMAS WESTERN of North Richmond, New South Wales, Australia, Major Indian Army, b. 15 Dec. 1882 Sialkot, Punjab, India; d. 25 Feb. 1947 Windsor District Hospital, New South Wales; m. 22 Sept. 1911 Bombay, India, his first cousin, MAUD ALICE NORTON, b. 28 Aug. 1883 Trowbridge, Wiltshire; d. 4 Mar. 1946 NSW Masonic Hospital, Ashfield, New South Wales, er. dau. of Lt-Col. Gilbert Frederick Allan Norton of Barrackpore (1855-1902) and Alice Elizabeth Murray-Aynsley (1863-1896, descended from Henry VII), and had issue, one son and three daughters.

Headstone of Lt-Col. Charles E.M. Western &
2nd wife Marjorie (née Hoyne Fox)
[Image from findaagrave.com]

2) Lt-Col. CHARLES EDWARD MURRAY WESTERN of Exmouth, Devon, 37th Lancers, b. 22 Mar. 1885 Bombay, bap. there 13 May 1885; d. 7 Sept. 1965 Exmouth, bur. St John in the Wilderness Churchyard, Exmouth; m. 1st 5 May 1917 Jullundur, Bengal (divorce by 1928), as her 1st husband[*1], ELLEN MARY DONALD, b. 1898; d. 18 Jan. 1945 Bristol, Gloucestershire, dau. of Duncan Donald, and had issue, two sons; m. 2nd 1 Oct. 1936 Exeter, Devon, MARJORIE (HOYNE FOX) GREGORY, b. 22 Mar. 1888 Boscombe, Hampshire; d. 25 Nov. 1978 Caroline Nursing Home, Exmouth, bur. St John in the Wilderness Churchyard, Exmouth, widow of Maj. Alfred John Reginald Gregory (1883-1918), and dau. of Henry Hoyne Fox, civil engineer (c.1856-1926) and Alice Louise Elizabeth Hannah.

3) (MAUD HARRIET) ATHOLE WESTERN, b. 29 Dec. 1886 Notting Hill, London, bap. 13 Feb. 1887 St Mark Church, Notting Hill; d. unm. 30 Jan. 1976 New South Wales, Australia, bur. Woronora Cemetery and Crematorium, Sutherland, New South Wales, Australia.

[*1] Ellen (née Donald) Western m. 2nd, Lt-Col. Harold Lithgow Watkis of Clifton, Gloucestershire (1891-1966), and had further issue, two daughters.

1st Earl of Orkney - see
Generation 1

Through his mother, Colonel Western has two 11-generation double-illegitimate lines of descent from James V.

James V had 2 sons A1 & B1 (see below)
A1) Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney, illegit. (1533-1593) = Janet Robertson (possibly descended from Edward III)[*2], and had
A2) James Stewart, 1st Laird of Graemsay, illegit. (c.1560-1629) m. Helen Monteith, and had
A3) Margaret Stewart (d. by 1626) m. her first cousin Francis Mudie, 3rd Laird of Melsetter (see B3 below), and had
A4) BARBARA MUDIE, b. c.1605; d. unknown; m. (settlement 12 Nov.) 1623 PATRICK BALFOUR of Pharay, Orkney Islands, b. c.1595; d. 1664, son and heir of Michael Balfour of Garth and Pharay (c.1555-1619) and Margaret Sinclair, and had

Balfour of Trenabie coat of arms

A5) GEORGE BALFOUR of Pharay, b. c.1632; d. 1706; m. 2nd 4 Apr. 1678 MARY MACKENZIE, dau. of Rt Rev. Murdoch Mackenzie, Bishop of Orkney (c.1600-1688) and Margaret Macaulay, and had
A6) JOHN BALFOUR, 1st of Trenabie House, Westray, Orkney Islands, b. c.1680; d. 3 Jan. 1742; m. (settlement 19 July) 1722, ELIZABETH TRAILL, dau. of Thomas Traill, 1st of Tirlet and Elspeth Traill, and had
A7) WILLIAM BALFOUR, 2nd of Trenabie House, b. 1719; d. 25 Oct. 1786 Edinburgh; m. 9 Feb. 1744 ELIZABETH COVINGTRIE, b. c.1725; d. 29 June 1796, dau. of Rev. Thomas Covingtrie of Newark and Elizabeth Loutit, and had

M.I. of Capt. William Balfour & his 2nd wife
- see Generation A9

A8) Col. THOMAS BALFOUR of Cliffdale House, Shapinsay, Orkney Islands, b. 3 Feb. 1752 Trenabie House, bap. 4 Feb. 1752 Westray Parish Church; d. 9 Aug. 1799 Bath, Somersetshire, bur. 11 Aug. 1799 St James Church, Bath; m. 18 Sept. 1775 St James Church, Westminster, FRANCES LIGONIER, b. 1742; d. 23 Feb. 1813 Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, illegit. dau. of Col. Francis Augustus Ligonier (1683-1746) and Anne Freeman, and had

A9) Capt. WILLIAM BALFOUR, 4th of Trenabie House, Captain Royal Navy 1840-46, b. 8 Dec. 1781 Orkney Islands, Scotland; d. 10 Feb. 1846 Edinburgh, bur. St John Episcopal Churchyard, Edinburgh; m. 2nd 27 Jan. 1823 Edinburgh, MARY MARGARET BAIKIE, b. 15 Feb. 1795; d. 3 Feb. 1869 Edinburgh, bur. St John Episcopal Churchyard, Edinburgh, dau. of Andrew Baikie of Kirkwall and Isabella Traill, and had
A10) HARRIET BALFOUR, b. Cliffdale House, Shapinsay, Orkney, Scotland, bap. there 1 Aug. 1835; d. 15 July 1915 Bath, bur. Perrymead Catholic Cemetery, Bath; m. 13 Oct. 1850 St John Church, Edinburgh, Scotland, CHARLES MAXIMILIAN THOMAS WESTERN, Postmaster of Bath 1854-?, b. 14 Feb. 1824 South Mimms; d. 15 Oct. 1894 Sanremo, Liguria, Italy (1824-1894, descended from Edward III), and had
A11) Col. CHARLES MAXIMILIAN THOMAS WESTERN of Finchampstead (1855-1913 - see details above)

[*2] The mother of the Earl of Orkney's illegitimate (and favourite) son James Stewart of Graemsay is said to have been Janet, daughter of "Alexander Robertson of Strowan". It is chronologically impossible for her to have been the daughter of Alexander Robertson, 9th Laird of Struan, who died in 1506. She was probably the daughter of his son (by his second wife Lady Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of the 1st Earl of Atholl, a descendant of Edward III) Alexander Robertson, 1st of Faskally, who died by 1557, and had a thrice-married daughter Janet Robertson. [And thank you to John Higgins for pointing out in his comment below that the Clan MacFarlane database, following Stirnet, has chronologically erred in the placement of this thrice-married Janet Robertson.] Certainly further evidence is needed to make this identity of Orkney's mistress anything stronger than mere conjecture.

Mudie of Melsetter coat of arms
[Azure, a chevron ermine between three
pheons argent; in chief, a hunting horn, or]

B1) John Stewart, 1st Lord Darnley, illegit. (c.1532-1563), had a dau[*3]
B2) Christian Stewart (d. aft.1611) m. Adam Mudie, 2nd Laird of Melsetter (c.1550-by 1603), and had
B3) Francis Mudie, 3rd Laird of Melsetter (d. by 1644) m. 1) his first cousin Margaret Stewart (see A3 above)

[*3] Ruvigny (yes, that Ruvigny) surmises in his 1906 The Moodie Book on p. 15 that Christian Stewart, mother of Francis Mudie, was an illegitimate daughter of Robert, 1st Earl of Orkney. Genealogist and longtime SocGenMed participant John Brandon, in a well-detailed post in June 2016, deconstructs Ruvigny's placement of Christian, and argues convincingly for her as the known Christian Stewart, daughter of Orkney's half-brother John Stewart, Lord Darnley, who was a rocker in the nursery of the infant King James VI in 1567. I agree with John Brandon's observation that the chronology of this position strongly suggests that Christian's birth preceded the 1562 marriage of Lord John Stewart to Jean Hepburn, and so Christian was Lord John's illegitimate daughter. I've adjusted Christian Stewart's parentage accordingly in my database.

The next post will cover the lines of descent from Edward III for Colonel Western's father.

Cheers,                                ------Brad