Thomas Kennedy of Culzean

Thomas Kennedy of Culzean (died 1602) was a Scottish landowner involved in a feud and a murder victim.[1]

Background

He was a son of Margaret Kennedy, Countess of Cassilis and Gilbert Kennedy, 3rd Earl of Cassilis. Thomas Kennedy married Elizabeth McGill, after she divorced Robert Logan of Restalrig. He became a gentleman of the privy chamber of James VI of Scotland in October 1580,[2] and was knighted at the coronation of Anne of Denmark in May 1590.[3]

Feud

He was involved in a feud between Cassilis and Bargany Kennedy families. Kennedy was the Tutor of Cassilis, administrator of the estates of his nephew, John Kennedy, 5th Earl of Cassilis.[4] In a battle between these factions, in December 1601, the Earl's men fatally wounded the Laird of Bargany who was returning home from Ayr. Bargany's younger brother, Thomas Kennedy of Drummurchie, murdered Thomas Kennedy at Saint Leonard's Chapel near Ayr on 11 May 1602. The body was taken to Greenan Castle and later buried at Maybole. Culzean's son-in-law, James Mure of Auchindrayne, was executed for the murder.[5]

Portrait

A portrait of Thomas Kennedy dated 1592 giving his age as 43, attributed to the Edinburgh-based artist Adrian Vanson, is displayed by the National Trust for Scotland at Culzean Castle. The painting has his arms and a motto "AVISE A LA FIN".[6]

References
  1. A Chronicle of the Kings of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1830), p. 165.
  2. William Boyd, Calendar of State Papers Scotland: 1574-1581, vol. 5 (Edinburgh, 1907), p. 531.
  3. Calendar State Papers Scotland: 1589-1593, vol. 10 (Edinburgh, 1936), pp. 300-1.
  4. Register of the Privy Council, vol. 5 (Edinburgh, 1882), p. 441, 442-3.
  5. Keith Brown, 'A House Divided: Family and Feud in Carrick', The Scottish Historical Review, vol. 75, no. 200, Part 2 (October 1996), pp. 168-196: Robert Pitcairn, Historical and genealogical account of the principal families of the name of Kennedy (Edinburgh, 1830), pp. 41–59
  6. Duncan Thomson, Painting in Scotland (Edinburgh, 1975), p. 27.
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