The Spaldings of Ashintully, Perthshire, Scotland

The Spalding family highlighted here lived in Perthshire, Scotland, for several hundred years before 1745, and dispersed to Germany, Sweden, Jamacia, Georgia, Liverpool and elsewhere. The castle of Ashintully was the clan center in Perthshire.

Spalding highlights and lowlights

In 1318, Peter Spalding helped followers of Robert the Bruce enter and sieze the town of Berwick from the English. He was English and a burgess of the town, but he was married to a cousin of Sir Robert Keith, Marshall of Scotland. He was granted lands by Bruce on 1 May 1319 in Ballourthy and Petmethy in Forfarshire (now Angus), together with the Keepership of the Royal Forest of Kilgerry. He also received a flag with a gate upon it, having a portcullis half raised, and the motto "Nobile Servitium".

Around 1060, King Malcolm III "Canmore", who killed Macbeth in 1057, built Whitefield Castle in Strathardle as a hunting lodge. Over 500 years later, in 1576, Colonel David Spalding led members of his clan to fight in Flanders for the King of Spain. After 7 years, with the resulting plunder, he built Ashintully Castle, 1 km to the southeast of Whitefield Castle, which served as a model.

In 1615, David "Deas" Spalding started the first regular Highlands market place: "Michael Mass Fair". In Gaelic he was called "Daidh Deas" (line over "e" in Deas). Deas, as here used, requires half-a-dozen English words to give the full meaning - ever, or very restless, ready, brave, wise, etc. Deas means south, and is a relic of Druid sun-worship. Everything if south or sunwards was perfect.

But 200 years later, another David Spalding, also Laird of Ashintully, was remembered much more harshly. "He condemned and executed many most unrighteously, particularly a man of the name of Duncan, who was drowned in a sack in what is still called 'Duncan's Pool.'"

During the early 1700's, the family followed the Jacobite cause, lost its lands, and dispersed. Over the years, offshoots of the original Spaldings of Berwick migrated to Aberdeen, Perthshire, Edinburgh, Germany, Sweden, Jamaica, Liverpool, and Georgia. At least three books have been written about them, by the branches in Germany, Liverpool and Georgia. The Aberdeen branch might be related to the well-known historical society the "Spalding Club" established in 1839. Ashintully Castle, now a 3000-acre sheep ranch and Bed&Breakfast, has been visited by Spaldings from these places and more.

Following the stories of these people, and the times in which they lived, is fascinating, and makes history come alive. Just think. Until the mid 1700's there were no roads or wheeled vehicles of any kind in this part of the highlands, and Gaelic was spoken universally.

[To be added: accomplishments of Thomas Spalding of Sapelo, Thomas Spalding Wylly his grandson in gold rush times, Drs Robert and Hinton Spalding in Jamaica, etc.]

Geography

The action takes place in Strathardle, a valley at the beginning of the Scottish Highlands in Perth county, which is part of the Tayside district. The "District of Atholl" seems to be a smaller area also containing Strathardle. It is a beautiful area consisting of rolling hills separated by glacial valleys. These are the foothills of the Grampian Mountains. The most popular skiing in Scotland is at the top of nearby Glenshee.

Find Dundee on a map, between Edinburgh and Aberdeen on the east coast. 27 km NW is Blairgowrie, and twice as far is Pitlochry. 18 km NW of Blairgowrie is the village of Kirkmichael. 2.5 km NE of Kirkmichael is Ashintully Castle, 120 m higher at an altitude of 340 m. The ordinance survey grid references are NO 10125 61264. It is marked on both the Ordinance Survey Landranger map (1:50,000), sheet 43 "Braemar & Blair Atholl" and the 1:25,000 Pathfinder map, sheet 295 "Upper Glen Shee". Get also Landranger Sheet 53 "Blairgowrie" and Pathfinder sheet 310 "Bridge of Cally". The pathfinder maps include lots more names of small landholdings which come up all the time.

Kirkmichael is lat 56 degrees 44 minutes North, lon 3 deg 30 min West.

I've made a small attempt at a gazetteer of Strathardle: a detailed list of places mentioned in "Strathardle, Its History and Its People" and their map coordinates.

Timeline

• 1286 to 1390 Wars of Independence against England
• 1319-05-01 Robert the Bruce rewards Peter Spalding, for help capturing the town of Berwick, with lands in Forfarshire.
• 1456 David Spalding sat in Parliament of Scotland for Burgh of Dundee
• 1545 George Wishart and John Knox begin spreading Protestantism in Scotland
• 1560 First Reformation Parliament, First Book of Discipline
• 1562 Reformation reaches Strathardle, eviction of Priest John Hammill
• 1576 Colonel David Spalding fights in Flanders for King of Spain for 7 years
• 1583 Colonel David Spalding, Laird of Ashintully, builds Ashintully Castle with the plunder from Flanders
• 1583 New Laird of Ashintully: Andrew Spalding, son of David
• 1587 Execution of Mary Queen of Scots
• 1603 James VI of Scotland becomes James I, King of England
• 1607-11-30 Laird Andrew Spalding died
• 1607 New Laird of Ashintully: David Deas Spalding son of Andrew
• 1609-06-22 Testament of "Andro Spalding of Essintullie"
• 1615 David Deas Spalding granted rights to organize Michaelmas market by James VI
• 1638 National Covenant: Protestant, anti-Catholic; pro King but anti-bishop
• 1641 Laird David died in Dunstaffnage Castle
• 1641 New Laird of Ashintully: William Spalding 2nd cousin of David
• 1644 Campaign of Earl of Montrose, James Graham against Covenanters, Argyll, Campbells
• 1649-08-04 Records on "Rentall of the County of Perth, by Act of ... Parliament"
• 1650 First parish records of birth, death, etc. are recorded.
• 1651 Rev. Francis Piersone, parish minister of Kirkmichael, forms Presbytery (?) Marries daughter of Andrew "Madadh Brae" Spalding at some point
• 1651 Cromwellian occupation of Scotland
• 1661 Laird William Spalding died
• 1661 New Laird of Ashintully: Andrew "Madadh Brae" Spalding, son of William
• 1675 Birthbrief by Charles II indicates they are "lesser barons" (no "baron" title)
• 1681 Act of Parliament for Andrew Spalding - the "mains of Ashintully"
• 1689 Crown offered to Protestants William and Mary, but opposed in Highlands
• 1689 James Graham "Bonnie Dundee" leads Jacobite Rebellion, wins at Killiecrankie, and dies
• 1705-01 Laird Andrew Spalding died
• 1705 New Laird of Ashintully: David Spalding son of Andrew
• 1707 Parliamentary Union with England
• 1715 Jacobite Rebellion led by Earl of Mar, defeated at Sheriffmuir
• 1744 Laird David Spalding died
• 1745 Jacobite Rebellion - Bonnie Prince Charlie, defeated at Culloden in 1746
• 1777 First road, bridge, connects Strathardle with Blairgowrie and the lowlands
• 1947 Aton family, 3 daughters, sold Ashintully to family of current owners?

Genealogy

When I'm finished cross-checking the genealogy in my computer (containing a few hundred entries now) I'll provide a GEDCOM file and an HTML version of it here.

Sources

I have a copy of these

• F.J.S and M.S, Notes and Traditions Concerning the Family of Spalding (PDF with attempt at OCR) 1914, Henry Young & Sons, Liverpool. 250 pages.
• A. G. Reid "Strathardle - Its History and its People", 2nd Edition, Blairgowrie Printers 1986, 1992
• E Merton Coulter's "Thomas Spalding of Sapelo" Louisana State University Press, Univ, LA 1940
• Lovell, Caroline Couper, "The Golden Isles of Georgia", 1939, Little, Brown and Company, Boston. 300 p.
• Vanstory, Burnette, "Georgia's Land of the Golden Isles", Revised Ed. 1970, University of Georgia Press, Athens. 225 p.
• Sasines of Perth, Edinburgh, & general register:

  RS 52/22 pp 395v-396v   C044361 1740-10-21 James Spalding - missing last page 
  RS 52/23 pp 276r-277r   C044361 1743-05-09 John Spalding 
  RS 52/23 pp 344v-345v   C044388 1743-11-29 Thomas Bisset of Glenilbert <= Thomas Spalding 
  RS 27/135 pp 175r-177r  C044401 1749-03-21 James Spalding of Bonnymills 
  RS 27/143 pp 346r-351f  C044401 1754-05-18 James Spalding of Bonnymilns 
  RS 27/144 pp 259v       C044401 1754-09-26 Ann Learmonth, relict of Thomas Spalding of Leith Mill 
  RS 27/155 pp 328r-337v  C044401 1760-03-04 James Spalding of Bonnytoun Milns 
  RS 27/201 pp 215v-221r  C044401 1772-10-20 James Spalding, merchant in Georgia 
   
  get: RS 27/17 pp 473-? 1719-01-16 John Spalding - mentions Thomas Spalding 
  

• Wylly, Thomas Spalding, "Westward Ho - in '49": Memoirs of Captain Thomas S. Wylly. Pacific Historian 22(Spring 1978): 71-96; (Summer 1978): 120-144; (Fall 1978): 274-297; (Winter 1978): 327-352. -- A fascinating gold rush memoir by my great-great-grandfather, a descendant of these Spaldings, scanned in by my mom!

Internet sources on Spaldings

• Spalding Memorial - an ambitious project to update and publish information based on a 1300 page/15000 name book first published in 1872.
• The Spalding Family of Monroe Michigan (was ncbi) - Andrew Spalding born in Perthshire, Scotland in 1790 and Isabella Morris, born April 1803, married September 25, 1824 in Bendochy, Scotland. They immigrated to the US in 1843. It shouldn't be too hard to find a link from Andrew to the other Spaldings discussed here.
• Spalding and Dawson Families - Lots of information about some Spaldings in Great Britain, Maryland, Kentucky, who may or may not be related. Thomas Spalding was born in Fornham All Saints Parish, County Suffolk, England, around 1640. He came to Maryland about 1657/1658.

General Internet sources

• Tay Valley Family History Society - good WWW pages, publications, etc! The Society is based at its Research Centre, 179 Princes Street, Dundee DD4 6DQ http://www.sol.co.uk/t/tayvalleyfhs/
• Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet (Cyndi Howells) http://www.oz.net/~cyndihow/sites.htm

Other useful references

• C. Fergusson, "Sketches of Strathardle": Lectures of Charles Ferguson to the Gaelic Society, 1889-1900 at Inverness, transcripts held by the Blairgowrie library
• Privy Council records of some sort on disciplinary measures.
• Register of Alyth
• Register of Deeds, Durie (e.g. vol 229 heritable Bond 30 may 1750)
• Register of Edinburgh Academy (and/or University?)
• "Records of Invercauld"
• Maps: 1st Ordinance Survey map of 1867
• William Owen, "Highland place-names", Great Glen Publications, Invermoriston, Inverness-shire
• Major-General Stewart, "Sketches of the Highlanders", vol i, p 70.
• John Prebble, "The Lion in the North - One Thousand Years of Scotland's History", Penguin, 1981 edition.
• Andrew Fisher, "A Traveller's History of Scotland", 1994
• Indexes to the "Service of Heirs in Scotland".
• Duke of Athole, "Families of Tullybardine and Atholl"
• Lachlan Rattray, Mansuscripts.
• Stodart, "Scottish Arms"
• "Jacobite correspondence of the Atholl family, during the Rebellion, MDCCXLV-VI" (1745-46)
• "Old Law Paper, Edinburgh. First Division, Feb 15, 1814" Ashintully estate dispute
• Major ?T. D.? Robertson-Reid "A Short History of Clan Robertson"
• Liddell, Colin Pitlochhry - Heritage of Highland District"(?)
• McDonald - "History of Blairbowrie", 1899.
• Marshall, "Historic Scenes of Perthshire"
• Scottish Statistical Accounts, 1791 (the first)
• Ghost of Mause (Fiction?)
• Living in Atholl : A Social History of the Estates, 1685-1785
• Rights of Way - a guide to the law in Scotland published by The Scottish Rights of Way Society Ltd, 1 Luton Place, Edinburgh, EH8 9PH. ISBN: 0 9502811 31.
• Journal of Roman Archaeology, volume 4 (1991), p 315..Lawrence Keppie

  	      Roman Britain beyond Hadrian's Wall: some recent research
  	      ----review of----
  	      W. S. HANSON, Agricola and the conquest of the north;
  	      G. S. MAXWELL, A battle lost: Romans and Caledonians at Mons
  	      Graupius;
  	      G. S. MAXWELL, The Romans in Scotland;
  	      S. S. FRERE and J. J. WILKES, Strageath, excavations
  	      within the Roman fort, 1973-86.
  	

Mormon library in Salt Lake:

• Eduard Spalding in German "Spaldings in Scotland, Sweden & Germany", 1898, 88p? 0282490
• Charles Spalding "Some memoranda in relation to Thomas Spalding of Sapelo" 35 p ms. 1878 0184501 item 14
• Bible records 1772-1904 40 p. Sara Leake Spalding et al. 0203240
• Johnstone & Spalding Families of Eastern Scotland. Film area 0924442 item 2

Listed by Amazon.com:

• Monumental inscriptions (pre-1855) in North Perthshire John Fowler Mitchell (Hard to Find)
• Perthshire in history and legend Archie McKerracher (Hard to Find)
• (perthshire book??), Leah Leneman / Hardcover / Published 1986 Our Price: $30.00

Help, Feedback

Please let me know of any corrections, additions, or other good sources!

If you can read handwritten sasines from Edinburgh in the 1700's (see the list above), I'm willing to pay for transcriptions!