Latham/Luytjes/Adams/Balas/Meriwether:Information about Malcolm Wallace
Malcolm Wallace (b. Abt. 1249)
Notes for Malcolm Wallace:
Malcolm received from his father, Adam, vast estates in and around Ayr and Elderlie, because it was the custom in those days that a faithful elder son should become his father's successor. It is said that the estates of Elderlie are in possession of the Wallace descendants to this day (1961) or nearly 5 centuries later. [Note from JW: The term "vast" above is a bit exaggerated, indicating it was probably written by a person living in a small apt. in NYC. Malcolm was considered a "small landowner" by the Encyclopaedia Britannica.]
Malcom, later, was given the title of Knighthood because he so fearlessly championed the cause of Scottish Independence. It will be remembered at the time that the people of Scotland were under control of England and were in dire distress because of English Oppression.
Immediately upon receiving the Honor of Knighthood, he changed the spelling of the name to "Wallace". His family was the first to have the name that has come down through the centuries to the present days.
In noting the difference in ages between the first two sons (22 years), it suggests that perhaps daughters were born to their parents, but as was the customs, not recorded.
[Note: I believe that Malcolm was not the eldest, but the second son and was in Elderslie (called Ellerslie back then)-not Elderlie]
"In the latter months of 1291, an English knight called Fenwick murdered Sir Malcolm Wallace at Loudoun Hill, because of his unwillingness to yield to King Edward I's authority." This preceded William Wallace's rebellion against Edward I and his cronies, and certainly added to William's ill-feelings toward the English. The "murder" mentioned was really an ambush type of skirmish. I believe that Fenwick was one of the early English killed by William in 1296/7.
Children of Malcolm Wallace and Margaret Crawford are:
- William Wallace, Sir, b. Abt. 1272, Elderslie, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, d. 1305.
- John Wallace, Laird Of Elderslie, b. Abt. 1277.