Michael/John Stevenson married
Margaret Pollock in Neilston Parish, Renfrewshire, in
1784. Pollock (or Pollok) is one of the oldest family
names recorded in Scotland, derived from the ancient
lands of Pollock in Renfrewshire, and going back to
Fulbert of the 12th century. His son Petrus was the first
to use Pollock as a surname when he inherited the lands
from his father in 1163. The lands were later divided
into Upper and Lower Pollock, with the Pollocks retaining
Upper Pollock and chartering Lower Pollock to the Maxwell
clan, a powerful clan from near the border with England.
The two families formed a strong alliance and today,
Pollocks continue to be recognized as a sept of Clan
Maxwell.
The earliest generations of
POLLOCKS are included in the online GEDCOM
database.
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Lands from Pollock were donated by
the clan to build the Paisley Monastery. John Pollock
signed the charter for St. Andrews University in 1453,
the oldest university in Scotland. Another John Pollock,
14th in descent from Fulbert, fought with Lord Maxwell on
the side of Mary, Queen of Scots at the battle of
Langside in 1568. The rapid defeat of Mary's forces at
Langside, only a few miles from Pollock Castle, ended her
reign in Scotland. For his role in the battle, John
Pollock was forced to forfeit his share of the lands.
(See "Sir Dru
Drury and the Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots"
for the story of another of the Webmaster's ancestors and
his role in her execution.)
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Castle Pollock
was constructed in the 1600's by Sir Robert
Pollock, but was destroyed by fire in 1880. The
final Castle Pollock, completed in 1889, was
reported to have 88 bedrooms and 365 windows.
Although reconstructed, it was demolished in 1954
and the lands were sold. For the first time in
eight centuries, the lands of Upper Pollock were
no longer Pollock lands. |
Remaining today are two
gatehouses, a stable, and the gardner's cottage, all
occupied; the stone foundation and a few massive stones
of the castle wall still remain. The Castle was
requisitioned by the British Army for storage of
ammunition for WWII. Miss Jane Dunlop Ferguson-Pollock
continued to live in one wing of the Castle until 1942.
She willed the Castle to her nephew, Robert
Ferguson-Pollok, who sold the Castle, surrounding
woodlands and fields for only 8,000 pounds (less than
$14,000 at today's exchange rate). In early 1954 the
Castle was destroyed. It stood in the area of present day
Barrhead and Dodside Roads, along Dodside Road back
towards Glasgow. Only the foundation of the ancient tower
remains as a memorial to the oldest landed family of
Mearns.
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Stewarton Road and M77 cut through
the land once included in the Pollock estate. The Stable
is now occupied by Sandra McBeth; the Gardener's Cottage
is now known as the Kersland Cottage. The two Gatehouses
are now identified as Pollok Lodge and West Lodge.
Entering the property by the West Lodge, and passing the
Stable and Gardener's Cottage, you can drive about
halfway to the castle site, because of overgrowth. Part
of a stone wall still exists along a section of the
roadway. The Castle South front steps remain, as do the
bases for the columns at the top of the steps. The Castle
Foundation remains as does the outline of the courtyard.
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The obituary for Miss J. D.
Ferguson-Pollok, last Pollock to live at the Castle,
states "There have been Polloks of Pollok for 800
years. There are authentic records of the family as far
back as the twelfth century, when Petrus de Pollok,
"munificent donator to the Monastery of
Paisley" in the reign of Malcolm III, occupied what
was then known as "Upper Pollok". The adjoining
estate, now in the possession of the Stirling-Maxwells,
was called 'Nether Pollok'."
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The name Pollock has evolved into
a number of variations, including Pollok, Pogue, and
Polk. Prominent among American descendants are James K.
Polk, 11th President, and General Leonidas Polk of Civil
War fame. James Pollock was an early Governor of
Pennsylvania, and Thomas Pollock died in 1722 while
serving as acting Governor of the Colony of North
Carolina.
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The following text is copied from:
AUDACITER ET STRENUE --- by: Grace Polk Gentry
Compiled by: Katherine Gentry
Bushman -1954 pub. privately
England, Scotland, & Ireland
"The history of the Polk
family is traceable back into that is called the Dark
Ages, when the progress of civilization was arrested and
obscured for several centuries by a cloud of war and
destruction, evoked by superstition. From members of the
family in Ireland and Scotland, and from official records
in Maryland, have come down to us the Polk family history
beginning in the year 1053, during the reign of Edward
the Confessor.
"Fulbert the Saxon" the
first recorded progenitor of the family, had come over to
England before Harold was overthrown at Hastings by
William the Conqueror. He is said to have been
Chamberlain to the latter, and one of his beneficiaries.
"From British genealogical
sources, and from decendants of Fulbert in Scotland and
Ireland, was derived the pedigree down to the emigration
of Robert Bruce Polk and family to America. From official
records of Maryland and Delaware, and from family
documents, this history of the family has been continued
down to the present. We thus have presented a view of the
family history during a period of 858 years, a length of
retrospect possessed by but few families in America.
"Fulbert the Saxon, A native
of Normandy, in France, was an uncle of Heloise, whose
love of Abelard, and its finale of sorrow, constitute one
of the most pathetic human stories of the Middle Ages. As
stated above, he was Chamberlain to William the
Conqueror. He accompanied him to England and was engaged
with him in the battle of Hastings (1066). Shortly after,
he received from William a large grant of land in
Scotland, which became know later as the Barony of
Pollock."
Scotch and Irish History of the
family
A. D. 1073
"In the reign of King David
1st, the vast feudal barony of Pollock, in Renfrewshire,
was held by "Fulbert the Saxon", a great noble
and territorial King, who had come from Normandy, France
to England, as Chamberlain of William the Conqueror.
Fulbert died in 1153, at the beginning of the reign of
Malcolm the 4th, and was succeeded by his son Petrus.
"Petrus assumed as a surname,
(which at that time only came to be used), instead of a
patronymic, the name of his great hereditary lands of
Pollock. The Lord Baron Pollock of this feudal kingdom,
was a man of great eminence in his time, and a benefactor
of the Monastery of Paisley, which donation was confirmed
by Joceline, Bishop of Glasgow, who died in 1190.
Petrus was a Law unto himself, and
equaled the sovereign in wealth, rank and power. He was
the ancestor of many brave warriors and Crusade knights,
who joined in the mighty struggle of Europe, during the
eleventh and twelfth centurie s, to free the Holy
Sepulcher from the grip of the Moslem.
"Petrus de Pollock was
greatly distinguished for valor in arms and prowess in
the chase, and his exploits in them were the subject of
many minstrel lays. His next brother Helias, gave to the
same Monastery the church of Mears, the next parish to
the eastward.
"Besides the vast estates in
Renfrewshire, the chevron of which barony is still borne
on the shield of arms of the Prince of Wales, he held the
great Barony of Rothes, in
Aberdeenshttp://www.nara.gov/genealogy/hire, whi ch he
gave to his only daughter, Mauricle, who married the
celebrated Sir Norman de Lesley."
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