Anne Crawford-Lindsay, Duchess of Rothes (1 September 1631 – 1 July 1689), was the daughter of John Lindsay, 1st Earl of Lindsay, 17th Earl of Crawford, lord high

treasurer of Scotland The Treasurer was a senior post in the pre-Act of Union 1707, Union government of Scotland, the Privy Council of Scotland. Lord Treasurer The full title of the post was ''Lord High Treasurer, Comptroller, Collector-General and Treasurer of the Ne ...

and Lady Margaret Hamilton.

Marriage

She married John Leslie, who was the 7th

Earl of Rothes Earl of Rothes (pronounced "''Roth''-is") is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1458 for George Leslie, 1st Lord Leslie. He had already been created Lord Leslie in 1445, also in the Peerage of Scotland. His grandson, the thir ...

and 1st

Duke of Rothes Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranked ...

, and had two daughters: *

Margaret Leslie, 8th Countess of Rothes Margaret Leslie was born sometime before 1660. She was the daughter of the previous earl (and also Duke) of Rothes, John Leslie, who was the 7th Earl and 1st Duke of Rothes. On 8 October 1674, she married her cousin Charles Hamilton, 5th Earl ...

(d. 20 August 1700), married

Charles Hamilton, 5th Earl of Haddington Charles Hamilton, 5th Earl of Haddington (1650 – May 1685), was a Scottish nobleman. Life Known as Lord Binning from birth, he was born in 1650, the only son to survive infancy of John Hamilton, 4th Earl of Haddington, and Lady Christian Linds ...

(c. 1650 – 1685), and had issue. * Lady Christian Leslie, married firstly

James Graham, 3rd Marquess of Montrose Duke of Montrose (named for Montrose, Angus) is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Scotland. The title was created anew in 1707, for James Graham, 4th Marquess of Montrose, great-grandson of famed James Graham, 1st Marquess ...

(1657–1684), and had issue, and secondly Sir John Bruce (before 1671 – 19 March 1710). Anne was a devout

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

, and was well known in her day to have had allegiances with the

Covenanter Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from ''Covenan ...

s. She would regularly attend field preaching meetings, known as

conventicle A conventicle originally signified no more than an assembly, and was frequently used by ancient writers for a church. At a semantic level ''conventicle'' is only a good Latinized synonym of the Greek word church, and points to Jesus' promise in M ...

s, and on many occasions would invite Covenanters to

Leslie House Leslie House in Leslie, Fife was the largest and earliest Restoration house in Fife, Scotland. The building was gutted in a 2009 fire. Several of the buildings are listed. Sir Robert Spencer Nairn acquired the house in 1919 and in 1952, donated ...

Leslie Leslie may refer to: * Leslie (name), a name and list of people with the given name or surname, including fictional characters Families * Clan Leslie, a Scottish clan with the motto "grip fast" * Leslie (Russian nobility), a Russian noble family ...

as her guests. Her husband, however, believed strongly in restoring the

episcopacy A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. Serving faithfully under Charles II's government, he was naturally opposed to the Covenanters, but for the sake of his wife he generally tolerated them. If he would see any of them at Leslie House, he would remark to Anne, "My lady, I would advise you to keep your chickens in about, else I may pick up some of them." On one occasion, a warrant moved Rothes to conduct a search for any preachers hiding on his estate, and he remarked to his wife, "My hawks will be out tonight, my lady, so you had better take care of your blackbirds!" As a warning, Anne would signal the Covenanters hiding on their estate by placing a white sheet on one of the trees on a hill just behind Leslie House, which could be seen at quite a distance. The Covenanters would also seek the duchess to exert her influence over her husband and the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

, interceding on their behalf in order to lessen the severity of the punishments that would have been carried out by the officials of the day (one of the most notable repressers being

Archbishop Sharp James Sharp, or Sharpe, (4 May 1618 – 3 May 1679) was a minister in the Church of Scotland, or kirk, who served as Archbishop of St Andrews from 1661 to 1679. His support for Episcopalianism, or governance by bishops, brought him into conflict ...

, who was a distant kinsman of the duke of Rothes and on occasion was a guest at Leslie House).

References

*James Anderson (1857), ''The Ladies of the Covenant: Memoirs of Distinguished Scottish Female Characters'' (Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2007).

External links

Clan Leslie Trust
1689 deaths 1631 births {{Scotland-duke-stub