William Graham, 5th Earl of Menteith ( – c. 1578), was a 16th-century Scottish nobleman. 5th Earl william signature

Biography

William Graham was given the gift of his own ward and marriage in 1565, following the death of his father John Graham, 4th Earl of Menteith. This suggests that he was under the

age of majority The age of majority is the threshold of legal adulthood as recognized or declared in law. It is the moment when minors cease to be considered such and assume legal control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thus terminating the contr ...

at the time of his father's death. Even though he was not yet of age, he was known and acknowledged as the

Earl of Menteith The Mormaer or Earl of Menteith was the ruler of the province of Menteith in the Middle Ages. The first mormaer is usually regarded as Gille Críst (or Gilchrist), simply because he is the earliest on record. The title was held in a continuous ...

despite the crown holding the earldom. He officially received the earldom from the crown in November 1571, and so it is likely that he was probably born around November 1555. He married Margaret Douglas and had two sons and a daughter: * John Graham, who succeeded to the earldom; * George Graham; and * Helen Graham. About ten days before his death, William Graham allegedly left a will that his son John should remain in the charge of George Buchanan, his brother in law. In February 1588 his widow Margaret Douglas, Countess of Menteith was imprisoned in her house of Kelwood. Her opponents claimed she had given them a charter or lease for the house.David Masson, ''Register of the Privy Council of Scotland: 1585-1592'', vol. 4 (Edinburgh, 1881), p. 263.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Menteith, William Graham, 5th Earl of Earls or mormaers of Menteith 16th-century Scottish peers