Scotch-Irish
 The first Leslie came from
Scotland and was a Hungarian nobleman Bartholomew Leslie who was the chamberlain
and protector of Margaret Queen Of Scotland. It is through him that the family motto
Grip Fast originated. While fleeing enemies Queen Margaret rode pillion on the back of
Bartholomew's horse. When fording a river the queen fell off, Bartholomew threw her the
end of his belt and told her to grip fast the buckle. He saved the Queen's life & from that
day forward she bestowed the motto Grip Fast on the Leslies.
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Spelling Variations Include:
Leslie, Lesley, Lessely, Lessley, Lesslie, Lesli, Lasley, Lasly
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The document below comes from my Brother Bill and his Son Tony from a Dublin Irish festival in Columbus Ohio back in 98 its from the historical research center on family surenames and origins. Thank you Tony for sharing this.
The information below was found via internet from "Leslie Clan Society International" also "Electric Scotland" to which I have links below.
The Beginning
The Founder of Our Name
Edgar, the Aetheling, was the son of Prince Edward of the ancient and royal Saxon House of Wessex and his mother, Agatha, was the daughter of Henry II, emperor of Germany .
Edgar, his mother Agatha, and his two sisters Margaret and Christina, came to England to the court of Edward the Confessor, bringing with them a large number of Hungarian attendants.
Edgar, the Aetheling, had in his own person the Anglo-Saxon claim to the crown of England , but before he could act, William, Duke of Normandy, landed an army in England , gained the throne, and was crowned in London before the end of the year 1066.
Edgar abandoned his claim to the throne and swore loyalty to William at Berkhamstead on December 25, 1066 . In return, William gave Edgar an earldom with large possessions.
Edgar later became suspicious of William, and taking his two sisters, his mother Agatha, and their attendants, fled England and sailed for Scotland . High winds drove their ship into the Firth of Forth at St. Margaret's Hope, Queenferry , Scotland . They were received by King Malcolm II, Canmore of Scotland.
King Malcolm II was the son of King Duncan of Scotland . King Duncan had been killed in a battle with MacBeth. Afterwards, Malcolm II defeated MacBeth and took the Scottish crown as Malcolm II, Canmore.
Later, King Malcolm offered his hand to Princess Margaret, daughter of Agatha, and sister of Edgar. Margaret accepted and became the Queen of Scotland.
The Garoich
The Garoich is a fertile district in Aberdeenshire. It is bounded on the south by the river Don, which separates the Garoich from Mar, on the east and north by Formartine and the hills of Foundland, and on the west by the river Bogie. It is overlooked by the beautiful hill Bennaths. This district of the Garioch was erected into an earldom by King Malcolm in favor of his brother, David, Earl of Huntingdon, about 1160.
Lands of Lesslyn in the Garioch
Bartholomew
Founder of our Lessley Name
Among the noblemen who traveled from Hungary to England then on to Scotland with Edgar, Agatha and family was Bartholomew. He became Queen Margaret's most trusted assistant. King Malcolm, Canmore, appointed him governor of the Edinburg Castle , honored him with the dignity of knighthood, and gave him large grants of land in Fife , Angus, the Mearns, and Aberdeenshire.
According to tradition, King Malcolm promised Bartholomew all hereditary rights to all land within a radius of one mile where he was forced to stop and feed his horse on a journey, starting at Deinfermline and proceeding northward. He first stopped at Frechil in Fife , next at Innerlessad in Angus, then at Feskie in the Mearns, and last at Cuskine in Mar. His horse failed him in the Garioch. On his return, the king asked him where he had left his horse, and he answered in metrical style,
"Between a lesse ley and a mair
{"Lesse" means sheltered, "ley" a pasture and "mair" the sea}
My horse it tyrd and stopped there."
The king replied in the same metrical style,
"Lord Lesse ley shalt thou be
And thy heirs after thee."
and gave him the grant of land.
Bartholomew later married Beatrix, sister of King Malcolm and became the king's brother-in-law.
From the "Genealogist of Tree of the Royal Family of Scotland", by John Brown of Scotland , published in March 1792, comes the following:
"Beatrix, daughter of King Duncan and sister of Malcolm II, Canmore, married Bartholomew of whom all the Lesleys in Scotland are descended."
From this union came many noble and famous men who have risen to great splendor and wealth from distinguished service or intermarriages with other noble houses in not only Scotland but France , Sweden , Germany , Russia , and Austria .
The land of Lesslyn in the Garioch about 19 miles north of Aberdeen is a fine agricultural area of Scotland . No doubt, this is where Bartholomew built his castle. Bartholomew was the first possessor of the land of Lesslyn .
Founder of the family name, Bartholomew died as an old man about 1121 and was succeeded by his son Malcolm. Malcolm died about 1176 and was succeeded by his son Norman, about 1248.
Norman married a daughter of Stuart, Earl of Lion. They had issue:
Norina -succeeded.
Leonard
Bartholomew
Norina succeeded Norman and married Catherine Muir. His issue:
Norman - succeeded.
Leonard
William
Norman, the fifth possessor of the land of Lesslyn, was the first to use the family surname as he styled it in most public documents as "Sir Norman de Lesslyn" and "dominus de Lesley". He married the daughter and heiress of Watson of Rothes. He died about 1320.
Andrew - succeeded.
Balquhain
Sir Andrew de Lesslyn succeeded his father in 1320. He received several baronies through the rights of this wife, Mary Abernethy. He was the sixth possessor of the land of Lesslyn and conveyed to his son George the Baronies of Balquhain. He also obtained from King David II a charter under the great seal, making all the lands into one free barony called the Barony of Balquhain. George became the first Baron of Balquhain.
George Lessley, First Earl of Rothes
King Robert Bruce granted a charter to his nephew, Randolph, Earl of Moray, of all the king's land in Moray as they were held by Alexander, King of Scotland, together with all the other adjacent lands contained within the limits and boundaries, beginning at the river Spey where it falls into the sea and ascending by the same river, comprehending the lands of Fochabers, Rolhenayks, Roths, Bakarm, and other lands. It was granted in 1312. The first Earl of Rothes was George Lessley. George, the son of Norman de Lessley, was born about 1417 and through his father and mother was descended from both the royal families of Bruce and Stewart. He was created Earl of Rothes by King James II by charter of March 20, 1457 .
The Lesleys of Rothes and Balquhain became the principal branches of the family.
The Lesleys of Ballybay North Ireland are a branch of the family of the Earl of Rothes.
The Leslie House in County Antrim , North Ireland , descends from the Ballybay branch.
The Lesleys of Tarbet in Ireland descend from the Wardis branch of the family of Balquhain.
The Lesleys of Glassbough of Ireland descend from the Wardis branch of the Barons of Balquhain.
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During my research I found 2 Castles linking to the Leslies I found of Interest. At first I thought they were one in the same but kept getting confused as they did not look the same. Further researching I found there is a "Leslie Castle" in Scotland and then there is a "Castle Leslie" in Ireland. Notice the name of Leslie and Castle of each :), not to mention one is in Scotland and one is in Ireland :). Below are my findings
LESLIE CASTLE (ABERDEENSHIRE SCOTLAND--once known as Lesslyn Scotland)
Leslie Castle, in the Parish of Leslie in the district of The Garioch was the site of the original Baronial grant to Bartholf, or his son Malcolm. The original Castle was a raised mound surrounded by a stockade, also known as a motte, but was replaced in the 14th century by a stone castle.
The first known castle was of great strength and was surrounded by a fosse , or moat, with a drawbridge on the west side with a watch tower to protect it. It was a castellated style of building with two massive towers or keeps, joined at right angles and the towers were topped with turrets, which were commonly called pepper-boxes. The walls were around six feet thick and the ground floor, was supported by massive arches with vaults underneath. As can be seen in the photograph, the castle consists of a square tower, rising the whole height of the castle with turreted towers connected to the main tower which then gave the living areas for the family and servants.
The Barony remained in the possession of the Leslie family till 1620 when George Leslie 8th Baron of That Ilk mortgaged the Barony to John Forbes of Enzean. William Forbes, son of John Forbes, succeeded his father in the Barony of Leslie and became the first Forbes of Leslie. He rebuilt the castle in 1651 as appears in an inscription on one of the interior walls, dated 17th June 1651 and he placed the Forbes coat of arms over the entrance to the castle, with the inscription “Haec Corp. Sydera mentem”. The Barony of Leslie did not remain in the possession of the Forbes family for long as it was then sold.
Leslie Castle was inhabited up to the start of the 19th century but was then allowed to fall into disrepair, the moat was filled and all the fine gardens and ornamental trees cut down. The roof then started to fall in and the whole building was left to the weather and vandals.
In 1979, David Carnegie Leslie, an architect from Aberdeen and his wife Leslie, purchased the ruins of the Castle and after much work the repairs were completed and then in 1995, David and Leslie held a gathering at the Castle, which was attended by the Earl of Rothes and Leslie’s from all around the world, including America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Leslie Castle, has now been sold by David Leslie and his wife Leslie Leslie (her first name was Leslie *how ironic is that*), but they have retained a block of land on the site and are building a home there, in keeping with the design of Leslie Castle.
source: http://www.clanleslie.org/Castles4.html
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CASTLE LESLIE (IRELAND)
CASTLE LESLIE, GLASLOUGH, IRELAND
CASTLE LESLIE, GLASLOUGH, IRELAND Real Estate Properties
Castle Leslie is privately owned by descendants of the original Leslie clan. The castle was bought in 1655 by the Bishop of Clogher John Leslie but was added to and rebuilt in 1878. The first Leslie came from Scotland and was a Hungarian nobleman called Bartholomew Leslie who was the chamberlain and protector of Margaret Queen Of Scotland. The castle is now owned by Samantha Leslie, daughter of Desmond Leslie.
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There are a few Castles of interest about Ireland, Scotland, among other various places that are connected to the Leslies.
I have linked to the Clan Leslie Society of Austrailia and new Zealand for you to read more about them here
Leslie Castles
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Sources:
Public Record Ireland "Leslie Papers"
Google searches--->"Leslie Name"-"Leslie Tartan"-"Leslie Badge"
Web Sites--->Clan Leslie Society USA---Electric Scotland
IGI-Web site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
do a search for George Leslie Birth: abt 1418
of,Rothes,Fifeshire,Scotland
Death: aft 31 Aug 1489
Burial: bef 24 May 1490
The search should generate a pedigree of the information of names above on the second page of records for International Genealogical Index - British Isles
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