Whitefoord

The lands of Whitefoord lay on the River Cart near Paisley. There is no explanation as to why the ford over this river should have been white, but the old English ‘whita’ was a common personal name. The first to bear the name is said to have been one Walter, who distinguished himself at the Battle of Largs in 1263 and obtained the lands from Alexander, High Steward of Scotland, as a reward. Walter Whitefoord witnessed a charter by Alexander III in the same year. The sheriff of Lanark was ordered in 1296 to restore the lands of John de Wheteford. John de Quhetfur, is described in a notarial instrument of 1413 as ‘dominus ejusdem’, which translates as ‘of that Ilk’. The family arms display two red wheatsheafs, to commemorate a victory by one of the Whitefoords over the English at the time of Robert the Bruce. He is said to have led a surprise attack on the English by creating a causeway over a river, using a great quantity of wheatsheaves. Whatever the truth of this story, the family grew in power and reputation and acquired considerable estates. They married into the powerful families of Semple, Somerville and Houston. The principal stem of the family ended in 1689. The name was continued by the Whitefoords of Blairquhan, descended from a younger son of Whitefoord of that Ilk. They obtained substantial lands in Ayr and were hereditary coroners of Carrick. James Whitefoord married a daughter of Sir Bryce Blair of that Ilk, and their son, Adam, was created a baronet in 1701. Colonel Charles Whitefoord of Blairquhan was a professional soldier who fought for the Hanoverian cause during the 1745 rebellion. His only son, Caleb, born in 1734, was unable to prove his legitimacy and the baronetcy became dormant. Caleb was an acquaintance of Dr Samuel Johnson and Oliver Goldsmith, and a friend of the great actor David Garrick. He was appointed one of the commissioners to negotiate the peace settlement with America after the War of Independence and became a close friend of the American statesman, Benjamin Franklin. Major General Philip Whitefoord, heir of line to the Baronets of Blairquhan, was a distinguished soldier who commanded the Allied land forces in Norway from 1944 to 1945.