Places of the Sutherlands

Dornoch Cathedral
Many of the Earls of Sutherland were buried there, including William, the 1st Earl of Sutherland. They were buried "in the south yle, called Our Ladies Yle." (p. 7)

"Sir Robert Gordon states that [William, 1st Earl of Sutherland] helped Gilbert, Bishop of Caithness in the building of Dornoch Cathedral. The Earl, it is said, died in 1248 and was buried in the Cathedral."
- http://www.duffus.com/ashort.htm

"From the time of its completion until the Reformation some 340 years later, Gilbert's Cathedral stood in its original state. In 1570 it was set on fire and Gilbert's tomb was desecrated during a clan feud between the Murrays of Dornoch and the Mackays of Strathnaver. Almost totally destroyed, except for the chancel and transept walls, the Cathedral was partially restored in 1616 by Sir Robert Gordon. Between 1835 and 1837, through the generosity of Elizabeth, Duchess-Countess of Sutherland, the restoration was completed and the Sutherland burial vault, which is now sealed off, was built under the chancel floor."
- http://www.dornoch-cathedral.com/pages/history.html

Duffus Castle
(from wikipedia)
"It was Freskin who built the great earthwork and timber motte-and-bailey castle in c.1140... Freskin’s direct line ended in 1270 and the castle passed into the ownership of Sir Reginald Cheyne, the younger. In around 1350 the last Cheyne died leaving his estate to his daughter who was married to Nicholas,the second son of the 4th Earl of Sutherland. The Sutherlands, themselves were descended from Freskyn and remained in their possession until 1705[5] when the castle was abandoned."

We are descended from Nicholas Sutherland, the 1st Laird of Duffus... as well as from his line all the way through William Sutherland, 9th Laird of Duffus.

The above quote says Freskin's direct line ended in 1270. It appears that it refers to his direct line *that owned Duffus Castle*. In 1235 the Earldom of Sutherland was created and given to William, Hugh's son. Dunrobin Castle "appears to have stood on this site since then, possibly on the site of an early medieval fort." (http://www.dunrobincastle.co.uk) Hugh's SECOND son, Walter was called "of Duffus", and thus probably owned it. It is WALTER's line that ends in 1270 with the death of his son, the second Freskin, who left no male heirs. Freskin's eldest of two daughters, Mary, "married to Sir Reginald Cheyne in 1286, and in 1305 her husband approached the all-conquering King Edward the First of England for permission to fell 200 oak trees 'to build his manor of Duffus.' Cheyne and Mary De Moravia once again produced only two daughters, and the elder, who was the heir to Duffus, another Mary, married a far-out cousin, Nicholas, second son of Kenneth, 4th Earl of Sutherland. So Duffus came back to the original male descendants of the first Freskin, even though now called Sutherland."
"The second Sir Reginald was one of the signers of the Declaration of Arbroathin 1320, the letter to the pope declaring Scotland's independence. He died about 1345 and had only two daughters, Marjory and Mariota. Mariota first married John Douglas and second John Keith. Marjory married Nicholas Sutherland of Duffus, son of Kenneth the 4th Earl of Sutherland. This couple was the progenitors of the Lairds of Duffus. "

So Duffus Castle was never out of family hands. Mary, wife of Cheyne, was Hugh's great-granddaughter. The male owner of Duffus Castle was a Cheyne for only one generation. His daughter married Nicholas and began the line of the Lairds of Duffus... our line.



The name Dun Robin means Robin's Hill or Fort in Gaelic and may have come from Robert, the 6th Earl of Sutherland who died in 1427.

Dunrobin Castle
(from wikipedia)
"The lands of Sutherland were acquired, before 1211, by Hugh, Lord of Duffus, grandson of the Flemish nobleman Freskin.[2] The Earldom of Sutherland was created around 1230 for Hugh's son William, and a castle is first recorded on this site in 1401.[3] It was possibly built on the site of an early medieval fort (the dun of the place-name). The earliest castle was a square keep with few, and small, windows, looking out from a cliff top position, probably surrounded by a defensive curtain wall. "
According to this, Dunrobin was built after our line of the Sutherlands split off from the Earls of Sutherland. However, Dunrobin Castle's website says differently. And Sir Robert Gordon says William, 1st Earl of Sutherland died at Dunrobin.

Found Kinminitie:
just northwest of Newmill, north of Keith.
Tarmore is just to the southwest.