'Butter1'Index links to: Lead / Letter
Families covered: Butter (Buttar) of Gormack (Gormock), Butter of Killiemulin, Butter of Pitlochry

                               
This family's name was sometimes spelt 'Buttar' but we generally keep to Butter not least in deference to the family reported in BLG1952. The name may have derived from the Gaelic 'bothar' which means a cattle road. The family has been reported as having held land around Fascally, near Pitlochry in Perthshire, since the 12th century.
William Butter or Buttar of Gormack & Tullyneadies (a 1390)
1. ?? Butter presumed intermediary generation
  A. Patrick Butter of Gormack or Gormock (a 1460, d by 1487?)
  i. Robert Butter of Gormack
  m. Egidia Chalmer (dau of John Chalmer or Chalmers of Drumlochy)
a. Henry Butter of Gormack
  The two sites we have seen which dealt best with this family - the PerthshireHeritage site mentioned below (which reported on a book by Gordon MacGregor) plus another site (on homegages.tesco.net) which is no longer online - disagreed with each other at this point. The Tesco site showed Henry as father of Patrick (dsp before 11.1535) plus (by Janet Gordon) an unnamed son who was father of the John who married Beatrix Gordon. We follow GMcG not least because the (3rd) husband of Janet Gordon is identified by TSP (Gray) as Patrick Butter, not Henry.
(1) Patrick Butter of Gormack (d by 28.09.1530)
  m1. ??
  (A) (John??) Butter not named by GMcG
  (i) John Butter of Gormack - continued below
  m. Beatrix Gordon (dau of Adam Gordon, Earl of Sutherland (not 'of Huntly'))
  The Tesco site shows the following Elizabeth as dau of John Butter of Gormack by Beatrix Gordon, and notes that she died in 1590 in Inchmartine. That she was daughter of John of Gormock and married as shown here is supported by TSP (Erroll). However, we suspect that this Elizabeth has been confused with another Elizabeth, her niece.
  (ii) Elizabeth Butter
  m1. John Hay of Muchalls (d 05.1579)
  m2. Hugh Maxwell of Tealing
  m2. (1507-8) Janet Gordon (dau of George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly, widow of Lord Lindsay then Lord Gray, m4. James Halkerston)
  (2) David Butter
  (3) daughter possibly of this generation
  m. Sir James Gordon, 1st of Letterfourie (a 1513, Admiral, brother of Janet)

 

 

John Butter of Gormack - continued above
m. Beatrix Gordon (dau of Adam Gordon, Earl of Sutherland (not 'of Huntly'))
1. Archibald Butter of Gormack
  This line comes wholly from the PerthshireHeritage site.
  A. Patrick Butter of Gormack (d before 11.02.1636)
  m. Marjory Hay (bpt 14.11.1568, dau of Peter Hay of Megginch)
  i. John Butter (dvp by 05.1624)
m. Sybilla Ogilvy
  a. Patrick Butter of Gormack (d before 03.1675)
  m. (20.01.1638) Agnes Blair (dau of Sir Thomas Blair of Balthayock)
  (1) John Butter of Gormack & Ardgaith (bpt 26.12.1648, d before 01.1706)
m. Jean Falconer (dau of ?? Falconer of Glenfarquhar) @@@@REDO LINK
  (A) Patrick Butter of Gormack (bpt 11.08.1681, d by 03.1726)
  m. (28.07.1708) Helen Hope (dau of Thomas Hope, Lord Rankeillour)
  (i) John Butter of Gormack (b 15.05.1709, d 1777)
  (a) Agnes Butter
  m. (31.12.1787) John Halkerston in Edinburgh
  (b) Helen Butter
  (ii)+ other issue - Thomas (bpt 02.10.1710), Alexander (bpt 02.01.1712), Archibald (bpt 13.03.1726)
  (B)+ other issue - David (bpt 24.06.1688), Anna (bpt 28.01.1678, d young), Anna (bpt 27.02.1682), Agnes (bpt 13.08.1684)
  p. Bessie Pairie
  (F) James Butter (bpt 25.05.1673)
  (2) Margaret Butter
  m1. (26.02.1674) Walter Cochrane
  m2. (22.09.1702) John Blair, 8th of Balthayock (bpt 23.01.1658)
  (3) Elizabeth Butter
  m. (14.11.1686) John Williamson of Barnhill
  (4)+ other issue - Margaret (bpt 01.02.1650), Jean (bpt 19.11.1658/28.04.1659?)
  b. Andrew Butter (baillie in Perth) had issue
  ii. Archibald Butter of Magdalens
  a. George Butter of Clashbennie
  m. (29.04.1655) Mary Hay (dau of Sir Patrick Hay, 1st of Pitfour, m2. William Hamilton)
  (1) Thomas Butter (d 15.12.1683, town clerk of Perth)
  iii.+ other issue - George, James, William of Ardgaith & Pitcullen (dsp before 23.09.1651)
2. Patrick Butter of Caillie
  m. (mcrt 11.09.15770 Isabella Rossy (dau of David Rossy of that ilk)
3. Thomas Butter of Kilmavoulin or Killivoulin or Killimulin or Killiemulin
  This line comes initially from the PerthshireHeritage site.
  m. Margaret Stewart
  A. Patrick Butter
  B. John Butter
  m. Margaret Fergusson
i. John Butter
  m. _ McConick or McCormack (of family of Ardgn?)
  a. Thomas Butter of Killiemulin (a 1650)
  (1) John Butter (d 02.1694)
  m. Elspet Robertsone
  (A) Alexander Butter
  Unfortunately, the data we recorded from the Tesco site ended at this point.
  b. John Butter, 1st of Pitlochry (a 1600)
  m. Janet Bryson
(1) John Butter of Pitlochry
  m. (1626) Jean Steuart (dau of Sir James Steuart by Elizabeth Rollo)
  (A) John Butter
  (B) Archibald Butter
Unfortunately, the data we recorded from the Tesco site ended at this point. However, Archibald (but not his elder brother John) was referred to a later page. We presume that this was the Archibald who is the first mentioned by BLG1952 which shows him as married to ...
  m1/2. Jean Balneaves (dau of Henry Balneaves)
  (i) Henry Butter 'of Pitlochrie'
  m. Katherine Hay (dau of Peter Hay of Leys & Randerston)
  (a) Archibald Butter 'of Faskally' (b 1768, d 1805, Lt. Colonel) had issue
  m. (1803) Vere Menzies (d 01.1847, dau of Sir Robert Menzies of Menzies, Bart)
  This Archibald may also have been married to ...
  m2/1. Margaret Steuart (dau of Alexander Steuart)
4. William Butter
5. Margaret Butter
  m. Andrew Blair of Ardblair
6. Elizabeth Butter (d 05.1590)
  See the note above about the Elizabeth, possibly aunt of this Elizabeth, who appears sometimes to have been confused with this Elizabeth. The Tesco site shows her as daughter of John Butter by _ McConick/McCormack of the Killiemulin line, which is wrong.
  m1. (1553) Patrick Stewart of Sticks & Ballechin
  m2. (after 06.1582) Patrick Ogilvy of Inchmartine (d before 24.05.1623)

Main source(s):
(1) various web sites, in particular www.PerthshireHeritage.co.uk (which site has since been superseded by RedBookScot but that site appears not to cover this family) plus another site (once shown within http://homepages.tesco.net)
(2) For later Butter of Pitlochry : BLG1952 (Butter of Pitlochry)
Back to top of page