John Ross, 1st Lord Ross of Halkhead (died 1501) was a Scottish nobleman.

Origins

The Rosses of Halkhead were not, so far as is known, related to the Earls of Ross or the

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

family of Ross of Balnagown.

Robert II of Scotland Robert II (2 March 1316 – 19 April 1390) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scots from 1371 to his death in 1390. The son of Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, and Marjorie Bruce, Marjorie, daughter of King Robert the Bruce, h ...

(while still Earl of Strathearn) granted Halkhead, or Hawkhead, in

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Renfrewshire is located in the west central Lowlands. It borders East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire, and lies on the southern ba ...

, to John Ross in 1367. The subject of this article was son and heir of his direct descendant, Sir John Ross, heritable Constable of Renfrew Castle.''The Complete Peerage'' (Volume XI, 1949), ''Ross, or Ross of Halkhead''

Career

On 25 February 1448/9, in the presence of James II at

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

, Ross was one of three Scottish champions in a tournament against three

Burgundians The Burgundians were an early Germanic peoples, Germanic tribe or group of tribes. They appeared east in the middle Rhine region in the third century AD, and were later moved west into the Roman Empire, in Roman Gaul, Gaul. In the first and seco ...

, in which he is said to have fought Simon De Lalain to a draw.John Robert Ross, ''The Great Clan Ross'' (Canada, 1972) Ross was knighted in 1450 and on 17 January 1450/1 had a charter of the lands of Tarbert in Ayrshire and Auchinbak in Renfrewshire. Between 1463 and 1468 he was Keeper of

Blackness Castle Blackness Castle is a 15th-century fortress, near the village of Blackness, Falkirk, Blackness, Scotland, on the south shore of the Firth of Forth. It was built, probably on the site of an earlier fort, by George Crichton, 1st Earl of Caithness ...

. He was appointed Sheriff of

Linlithgow Linlithgow ( ; ; ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a historic route between Edi ...

before 1468 and again (for life) on 9 March 1472/3. On 24 August 1473 he was granted a safe-conduct in his capacity as Ambassador to England and by 31 May 1499 had been created Lord Ross of Halkhead.Sir James Balfour Paul,

The Scots Peerage ''The Scots Peerage'' is a nine-volume book series of the Scottish nobility compiled and edited by Sir James Balfour Paul, published in Edinburgh from 1904 to 1914. The full title is ''The Scots Peerage: Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Rober ...

, Volume VII He died between 12 December 1500 and 16 October 1501.

Family

Ross married first Marjory, daughter of John Mure of Caldwell, and secondly (after 1491) Marion, daughter of Sir William Baillie of Lamington and widow of

Lord Somerville Lord Somerville is a title in the Peerage of Scotland which is subject to a number of ambiguities. The date of creation is not known with certainty but it was probably created about 1435 for Thomas Somerville, Justiciar of Scotia, Justiciar of ...

. His second marriage ended in divorce. By his first wife, he had a son and heir, Robert, who married Agnes Melville (daughter of Thomas Melville of Melville) but pre-deceased him. Lord Ross was accordingly succeeded by his grandson,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

. Lord Ross also had a daughter, Giles, who married (contract dated 3 March 1480) James, son of Sir John Auchinleck.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, John 1501 deaths Nobility from Renfrewshire History of Renfrewshire 1 Peers created by James IV