Janet Stewart, Lady Earlshall.

I am often asked if I have happened upon evidence which proves the parentage and ancestry of Janet Stewart, second wife of Sir Alexander Bruce, 1st of Earlshall. The answer to this is “yes”; in an entry in the Register of Acts & Decreets on 10 February 1569, Janet’s only apparent son, Sir William Bruce, 2nd of Earlshall, is styled “eldest son and heir to the deceased Janet Stewart, daughter of the deceased John Stewart of Craigiehall.”

The John Stewart of Craigiehall in question was the son and successor to the founder of that stirpes, also a John Stewart, who had acquired Craigiehall, near Edinburgh, upon his marriage to Margaret, daughter and heir of Sir John de Monfode of Craigiehall.

Genealogical accounts covering both the Bruces of Earlshall and the Stewarts of Craigiehall are included within the Red Book of Scotland.

Above: Earlshall Castle