Patrick, sixth Lord Oliphant, was styled Master of Oliphant from his father's death to that of the fifth Lord. Peter Oliphant of Turin was served tutor at law to him and his brother John, 19 July 1603. He is first heard of in 1610 as having assaulted a servant of Lord Forbes; and in later years he was involved in several broils, including the quarrel with his predecessor, already referred to, and the slaughter of David Toschach younger of Monzievaird in 1618. In 1623, and again in 1634 after his succession, he was appointed a Justice of Peace for Perthshire. His predecessors, brought him into collision with the ecclesiastical authorities; he was arraigned by the Presbytery of Perth in 1626, and after many evasions at length harried into confomity early in 1630, he was served heir-male in general of his grandfather, the fourth Lord, 7 May 1633; but he does not appear to have had any interest in any of the estates except a farm called Pitnappie, a fragment of the Newtyle property, which he sold to Oliphant of Gask in 1658. As early as January 1631 the dispute between him and the heir of line was engaging the attention of the King and Privy Council, and on 10 July 1631 a royal letter commands the King's Advocate to inform himself of the subject. The case came before the Lords of Session, who, on 11 July 1633, the King having made resignation of the dignity in favour of the heir-male, had thereby barred the claim of the heir of line; but that, no regrant having followed, the title remained in the King's hand, to be disposed of at his pleasure. This is one of the recognised leading cases of Scottish Peerage law. Meanwhile the heir-male had on 2 June previous obtained a new patent (not sealed till the day after the Court's decision), creating him and the heirs-male of his body Lords Oliphant 'post datam presentium tantum.' These last words seem to have been understood as depriving him of the original Oliphant precedence (which was afterwards assigned to the husband of the heir of line), but not constituting his Peerage a mere new creation of 1633 - in the Union Roll and elsewhere Lord Oliphant is ranked three places only below Lord Mordington. In April 1639 Oliphant was one of eleven who attended Huntlie in his negotiations with Montrose, and in 1641 his name is on a list of 'delinquents'; but he does not seem to have taken any active part in the civil wars. In 1652 he 'declined' into the open profession of Catholicism, and was formally excommunicated in 1654. He died between 16 Jun 1668 and 16 Octoer 1674.
Lord Oliphant's first wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Patrick Cheyne of Esslemont, relict of Peter Hay of Megginch, who died in 1616. For 'compacting' this marriage the minister of Kilspindie was censured by the Synod of Fife, 25 April 1620. They had a charter of the barony of Drumkilbo in 1624, confirmed under the Great Seal 17 March 1626. She died before 1634. Issue only daughter:-
1) Lilias, married (contract dated 19 February 1634) to Laurence (afterwards Sir Laurence) Oliphant of Gask and had issue. She died January 1669.
He (the Lord Oliphant) married secondly, Margaret, only daughter of Gilbert Menzies of Pitfoddels, and relict of James Gordon, grandson of the first and father by her of the second Baronet of Lesmoir. By her Lord Oliphant had one daughter: -
2) Margaret, born in 1638 or 1639, married, first (contract dated 9 June 1655), to Francis Menzies of Balgownie, who died in April 1663; secondly, before 19 July 1664, to Richard Irvine of Cairnfield, son of John Irvine of Artamford. She appears in lists of Aberdeen papists in 1658, 1661 and 1663; a son of her second marriage, Alexander Irvine, was admitted a student of Douay College 8 December 1681, being then aged 15.
His (the Lord Oliphant) third Wife was Mary, third daughter of James Crichton of Frendraught. This marriage took place late in 1643 or early in 1644. They had from ther brother, the first Viscount Frendraught, the lands of Pittendreich and others in Banffshire, erected by a Great Seal charter into the barony of Oliphant 2 November 1646. She survived him, and was alive 31 March 1676. Issue:
3) Charles, seventh Lord Oliphant.
4) Laurence, who married his cousin Magdalen Crichton, daughter of James, first Viscount Frendraught. He was probably the person who was appointed lieutenant in the Scots Guards 19 Jun 1688. He died s.p. in December of the same year. His widow died 1 April 1738.
5) William, ninth Lord Oliphant.
6) Francis, lieutenant (with the rank of captain) in the Scots Guards; commission dated 29 May 1696, renewed 1702. He died in September 1708. He married, in St. Botolph's, Aldgate, in November 1689, Mary Reddall of Riddell; in the License, dated 19 of that month, she is styled daughter of Jane Reddall, widow, and his age is given as about twenty-eight, hers as about seventeen. She survived him but appears to have died in or before 1712.
1) William, who being left and orphan, was in 1712 taken in and employed 'in too servile a capacity' by Aeneas Oliphant of Balgonie, W.S., a son of the Condie family. Later in the same year he was taken up by James Oliphant of Gask, who placed him under the charge of John Coldstream, school-master of Fowlis, with whom he remained till Lammas 1714. Thereafter he was sent to Kirkcaldy to serve his apprenticeship to the owners of the ship Elizabeth of that place, to whom he had been indentured in May preceding. He must have died before 1721.
2) Francis, of whom below as tenth Lord Oliphant.
3) Mary, named with her brothers in her fathers testament. Of her nothing further is known, unless she was the 'Miss Oliphant, niece to the Right Hon. Lord Oliphant of North Britain, 'who died at Barnet in Middlesex (sic) 28 January 1738-39.
7) Elizabeth, married to Walter Stewart of Outlaw, second son of Thomas Stewart of Ryland, who granted her, as his spouse, a liferent charter on 7 December 1666. They had a Great Seal charter of the barony of Outlaw to themselves in liferent and two sons successivvly in fee, 11 November 1692.
8) Anna, mentioned along with her brothers in their father's disposition of 16 June 1668.
This Lord Oliphant had probably several natural children; his name was associated with cases of scandal before the kirk-session of Perth in 1633 and 1637, and before that of Montrose in 1643. One natural son, Andrew, is alluded to by James Oliphant of Gask 1721. |
