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[Leslie Tartans and Insignia]
[Leslie Septs]
[Historical Leslie Properties]
[Leslies From Ireland]
[St. Bartholomew's Day]
[The Clan System]
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A Brief History
of Clan Leslie
...as told by Alexander Leslie Klieforth,
Commissioner (1978-98) and Clan Historian. |
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| All Leslies are descended from the same Scottish Clan and Great
Family, one of the very oldest. Tradition says it began in 1069 A.D.
when the Saxon claimant to the throne of England was defeated by William
the Conqueror and fled to Scotland. Edward the Atheling, as he was
called, arrived there with his mother, a Hungarian Princess, and his two
sisters. They were cordially received by the king, Malcolm III
Canmore. A year later the king married Margaret, one of the sisters, who
became a great queen of Scotland and a saint of the Christian Church.
Her Chamberlain, Bartholomew, a Hungarian nobleman, had much impressed
King Malcolm who made him Commander of Edinburgh Castle. Bartholomew
married Beatrix, the King's sister in 1070 and thus the family and Clan
of Leslie was founded. Bartholomew was granted lands at Leslie in the
district of the Garioch, near Aberdeen, originally known as the lands of
Lesslyn. It is from Lesslyn that the Clan eventually took its name. The
present Leslie Castle, built near site of the first primitive
stronghold, recently was completely restored by architect David C.
Leslie. |
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| Bartholomew's son Malcolm was knighted by King David and had the
Leslie lands confirmed to him by royal charter, the oldest personal land
charter in Aberdeenshire. Malcolm's grandson, Sir Norman, was the first
to have the family name recorded in a charter. He was one of the
magnates of Scotland who sat in the parliament called by King Robert the
Bruce in 1314. Sir Norman's son Andrew, the 6th Lord Leslie, was one of
the great barons of Scotland who in 1320 signed the Declaration of
Arbroath, a call to freedom. With Andrew's sons begins the spread of the
family through several branches. The original line died out with
Andrew's grandson David, but son Walter became the Earl of Ross, son
John the progenitor of the Earls of Rothes, and son George the first
Baron of Balquhain. |
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| The third line, Leslie-Rothes, became the senior line with George
who was created the first Earl of Rothes around 1457. George, 4th Earl
of Rothes, had a significant diplomatic role in the reign of James V;
Andrew, 5th Earl, was of importance to Mary, Queen of Scots and King
James VI; John, 6th Earl, was a leader of the Scottish opposition to
King Charles I and a champion of the National Covenant of 1638; John,
7th Earl, became General of the Army of Scotland during the reign of
Charles II, Lord High Chancellor, and was created a duke. Subsequent
Earls had high military and civil positions and became hereditary
Representative Peers of Scotland in parliament until 1965 and the 20th
Earl of Rothes, when this system was abolished. Ian, the present and
21st Earl of Rothes, Chief of Clan Leslie, as a hereditary peer was
entitled to attend the House of Lords until this hereditary right was
abolished in 1999. |
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| The fourth line, the Leslies of Balquhain, became the largest and
most prolific. Except for those very few directly related to the Rothes,
just about all Leslies today are descended from the Balquhain, in
particular via the Third Baron, Andrew. The Balquhain Leslies for
centuries played important, often colorful part in Scottish and other
history. From Andrew were descended a host of families, among them the
Earls of Leven, Lords Newark, the Leslies of Pitcaple, Kininvie, Iden
and Cults; in Ireland the Leslies of Kincraigie, Glaslough and Tarbert;
the Lords Leslie in Russia, Counts Leslie in France and in the Holy
Roman Empire. From these and other branches, many Leslies descended, who
spread from Scotland all over the world. Many came to the United States
and Canada, starting in the 18th century, mainly in the 19th. Leslies
had transferred, in the 17th century, from Scotland to Ireland and a
majority of those who came to the United States were descended from
those who had gone to Ireland first. |
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| Individual Leslies over the centuries gained fame as soldiers,
participating in the military of Scotland, the United Kingdom, Sweden,
Denmark, Germany, Poland, Russia, Austria, and the United States. The
Leslies delivered many distinguished men of the cloth, such as John
Leslie, Bishop of Ross, Counselor to Mary Queen of the Scots, and a
later John Leslie, the famous royalist "Fighting Bishop" of Clogher in
Ireland. Leslies gained notable success in the worlds of intellect and
the arts, among them Sir Harald, jurist, created Lord Birsay; Sir John,
physicist; Charles Robert, painter; Henry David, composer; Edith,
educator; Mary Isobel, Lionel, and Eliza, writers; Peter, geologist;
Thomas Edward, economist; Donald, sinologist; Ada, actress; Sir Sean,
historian. There are over 1200 works by Leslies of various professions
in the U.S. Library of Congress in Washington D.C. |
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| The Clan Leslie Society was founded in 1978. Ian, the 21st Earl of Rothes,
appointed the Honorable Alexander Leslie Klieforth, an American
Diplomat, as his Commissioner in the United States of America with
authority to setup and organize a Clan Society. The CLS was then
founded, members recruited and its constitution and by-laws which govern
the Society approved. They were ratified in 1980 in Charleston, SC, USA,
which also elected the Society's first Chieftain and slate of officers.
CLS International Gatherings are held biennially in various locations. |
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