Anna Balfour (died 1649) was a Scottish aristocrat who compiled a recipe book and, with her daughters, a manuscript of lute songs.

Family

She was a daughter of

Robert Balfour, 2nd Lord Balfour of Burleigh Robert Balfour, 2nd Lord Balfour of Burleigh (died 18 August 1663) was a Scottish military commander. Balfour was son of Sir Robert Arnot of Fernie, chamberlain of Fife. He married Margaret, daughter of Michael Balfour of Burleigh and Margaret, ...

(born Robert Arnot), and his wife Margaret, a daughter of Michael Balfour, 1st Lord Balfour of Burleigh.

Marriage

She married

David Wemyss, 2nd Earl of Wemyss David Wemyss, 2nd Earl of Wemyss (6 September 1610July 1679) was an army officer. He was the only son of John Wemyss, 1st Earl of Wemyss and Jean Gray (d. 1640), daughter of Lord Gray. As Lord Elcho, a title he held between 1633 and 1649, he com ...

(1610-1679) in January 1627. At first, according to a marriage contract, they were to live with his father at

Wemyss Castle Wemyss Castle (pronounced eems is situated in Wemyss on the sea cliffs between the villages of East Wemyss and West Wemyss in Fife, Scotland. Wemyss Castle is considered to be a multi-period building, and today's castle includes many elements ...

or at a house known as the Chapel of Wemyss. In 1634 Anna Balfour had two gentlewomen companions and two maids called "quins". A "quine" was a Scottish word for a serving woman. They had a herb garden at the Chapel of Wemyss. David Wemyss was known as the Master of Wemyss. When his father became

Earl of Wemyss Earl of Wemyss ( ) is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created in 1633. The Scottish Wemyss family had possessed the lands of Wemyss in Fife since the 12th century. Since 1823 the earldom has been held with the Earldom of March, created i ...

he was called "Lord Elcho". Anna Balfour, Lady Elcho compiled a book of medical and culinary recipes which was continued by her daughter, Jean, Countess of Sutherland. Her daughter wrote, "This book was my mothers in w ih are many Receits wch shee had from the most famous Phisitians that lived in her tyme".

Children

During her pregnancies she consulted an Edinburgh physician, David Arnot, who gave her

talisman A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...

s of a stone and a belt. She wrote that the stone was for "the weimen in traveill". Stones used as amulets may have been eagle stone geodes. Her children included: * Jean Wemyss (1629-1715), who married (1) on 26 April 1649, at Wemyss Castle,

Archibald Douglas, 1st Earl of Ormond Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus, 1st Earl of Ormond (1609–1655) was the eldest son of William Douglas, 1st Marquis of Douglas, from whom he obtained the courtesy title of Earl of Angus.Vian in the DNB spells the title Earl of Ormonde. Lee in ...

(2), George Gordon, 15th Earl of Sutherland. * Margaret Wemyss (1630-1648), who was involved with her sister and mother in compiling a manuscript of lute music now known as the "Wemyss manuscript".

Death

Anna Balfour, Lady Elcho died on 10 November 1649.

Legacy

Both the recipe book and the music manuscript are now held by the National Library of Scotland.Rosemary O'Day, ''Women's Agency in Early Modern Britain and the American Colonies'' (Routledge, 2014), p. 403.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balfour, Anna 17th-century Scottish women People from Fife 1649 deaths