Agnes Melville of that Ilk

Biography

The Melvilles, Earls of Melville, and the Leslies, Earls of Leven. Memoirs. (Correspondence. - Charters.) [With plates, including portraits and facsimiles, and genealogical tables.] by Fraser, William, Sir, 1816-1898. Page 21. Archive.Org

Agnes Melville, daughter and heiress of Thomas Melville, remained a ward of the Crown until Whitsunday 1471, when she entered into full possession of the barony of Melville, being retoured heir to her father on 23d April of that year. 3 She also received infeftment of the lands of Greiston, in Peeblesshire, about 1473. 4 She married Robert Ross, son of Sir John Ross of Halkhead, and shortly after acquiring her estates, with consent of her husband, appointed her father-in- law, Sir John Ross of Halkhead, bailie of the barony of Melville during his life, describing herself in the writ as Agnes Melville of that ilk. 5 In 1473 an action was brought against her husband by Archibald Melville, who claimed the south mains of Tartraven, on a lease granted to him by the late Thomas Melville, her father. The lords auditors, however, decided that Melville should give up the lands to Ross, but they requested the latter to give to him and his wife, for his lifetime, six acres of corn-land and two acres of meadow, free of rent. 6
The heiress of Melville, however, was dead before 1478, leaving a son and heir, John Ross, a minor.

---

http://www.richpettit.com/melvin/surname.htm

The Melvilles are said to have originated from Malleville in the Pays de Caux Normandy and gave their name to the lands of Melville in Midlothian and Fife. Galfridus de Malveill was the first of the name to appear in Scotland in the 12th century and flourished during the reigns of Malcolm IV [1153-1165] and William [I] the Lion [1165-1214]. The original stock terminated in an heiress,Agnes, who married Sir John Ross of Halkhead [SIC: Robert Ross of Halkhead] and their descendant was created Lord Ross by James IV in whose family the barony of Melville remained until 1705.
There are many accounts concerning the true origin of this family but for lack of evidence it is impossible to state which is correct. Consensus would seem to indicate a Norman origin and that they came to England with the Norman invaders in 1066 and later, like others, came north when David I [r. 1124-1153] returned to Scotland. The first record of the name in Scotland is of Galfrid, sheriff of Edinburgh Castle, who appears in a charter of Malcolm IV in 1162. The lands first associated with the family were those of the same name on the southern outskirts of Edinburgh. Here the line of Melville reigned until Thomas Melville of that Ilk died in 1458, when his debt-ridden estate passed through a daughter to the Rosses of Halkhead.

References

• The Melvilles, Earls of Melville, and the Leslies, Earls of Leven. Memoirs. (Correspondence. - Charters.) [With plates, including portraits and facsimiles, and genealogical tables.] by Fraser, William, Sir, 1816-1898.Link
• “ Clan Melville History” “ Galfrids’ granddaughter Agnes was the sole heir to the Barony of Melville. She married John Ross of Halkhead, and her descendant was made Lord Ross by King James IV. The family then retained the Barony until 1705.”
• “History of the Melville Clan” “Richard Maluvell's grand-daughter inherited the Barony of Melville which passed to the Ross family when she married Sir John Ross of Halkhead and the barony remained in that family until 1705.”