the house of Annandale of Scotland. An illusion is made in McRee's "Life and Correspondence of James Iredell," to the dormant claim to the Marquisite of Annandale, as existing in the Johnston family of North Carolina--nor is this claim a myth.
From a work on genealogy, reliable and valuable, (the Peerage of Scotland, containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom from their origin to the present generation, by Sir Robert Douglas, in quarto, 1813,) I extract the following:
"George, third Marquis of Annandale, died April 29th, 1792. He left an estate of £415,000. It is understood that the title devolved on James, (third Earl of Hopetown,) who, however, did not assume the title but took the name of Johnstone in addition to that of Hope. It has not been determined whether the title of the Marquis of Annandale has become extinct, or devolves on the heir male general of the family, or who is such heir male general.
"The motto of the family is 'Nunquam non paratus.'--Vol. I., 77.
"The Johnstones were a race of brave and warlike men, of great power and authority on the borders."--Vol. I., 70.
From Family Romance; or, Episodes in the Domestic Annals of the Aristocracy of Great Britain. A work by Sir Bernard Burke, author of the Peerage, &c., fourth edition: London, 1876:
"Margaret, Lady Ogilvy, (wife of David, Lord Ogilvy and daughter of Sir James Johnstone,) Third Baronet of Westerhall and Dame Barbara Murray, was one of the keenest supporters of the unfortunate Prince Charles Edward, when he raised his standard in Scotland in 1744.
"When the fortunes of Charles approached its close, Lord Ogilvy was unwilling to continue his support, and as the only way of securing her husband's attendance at the battle of Culloden, Lady Ogilvy rode herself with him at the head of the clan to the battle field, she was beautiful and graceful, and an admirable rider. At the close of the day, her husband rode breathless up to her, and told her 'the battle was lost.' He escaped to France, where he entered the army, and attained the high rank of Lieutenant-General under Napoleon. Lady Ogilvy was taken prisoner, tried, convicted, and sentenced to be executed in Edinburgh. She made her escape, by a fearless stratagem, to France, where she joined her husband; there she died at the early age of thirty-three. She left one son, David, who died without issue, and one daughter who married Sir John Wedderburn, heir of the House of Airlie.
"She had several talented, distinguished and fortunate brothers. Her second brother, William, married Miss Pulteney, daughter of Daniel Pulteney, sole heiress of the Earl of Bath. In consequence of succeeding to her immense fortune Mr. Johnstone assumed the name of Pulteney. He became Fifth Baronet and claimant of the Marquisate of Annandale on the death of his eldest brother. Her only daughter was created Countess of Bath, died without issue. Her vast estates were inherited by her maternal relatives; the Duke of Cleveland, and Sir Richard Sutton; Sir William Johnstone Pulteney, heir in the Westerhall estate, the American possessions, and the claimant to the Marquisate of Annandale is Sir Frederick, the Eighth Baronet, great grand son of the third son of Sir James and Dame Barbara.
"Sir James's fourth son, John, went to India, made a fortune, and returned home, where he purchased large estates in his native country. Alva, in the County of Clackmannan, and the Hanging Show, in the County of Selkirk. The family of Mr. Johnstone's only son are numerous and prosperous." Many of them emigrated to America; pp. 168 to 173.
Some members of this family were engaged in our late internicine war, and fell in battle.
Although it is unquestionable as stated by Whitman in his work on "American Genealogy," that any given family in our country, claiming to be descended from any distinguished English family of the same name is doubtful, and such claims should be severely scrutinized; yet enough has been shown from the English authorities of unquestioned reliability, that the claim of the Johnston family in North Carolina to the title of the Marquisate of Annandale of Scotland has some
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