Malcolm Fleming of Biggar was the son of Patrick Fleming of Biggar, the 2nd son of Robert Fleming of Lenzie. His mother was Joan, younger daughter and coheiress of Sir Simon Fraser of Olivercastle, Sheriff of Peeblesshire, for whom the family thereafter quartered the Fraser arms Azure three fraises Argent.

Origins

< clanmacfarlanegenealogy.info >

Sir Simon Fraser of Oliver Castle (d. 1306) (son of Sir Simon Fraser, of Oliver Castle, Sheriff of Traquair & Pebbles, d. at 1291 & Maria)

Children

• + 1. Mary Fraser, co-heiress of Oliver Castle, d. Yes, date unknown. m. Sir Gilbert de Haya of Lockerworth
• + 2. Joan Fraser, co-heiress of Oliver Castle, b. Abt 1285, Oliver Castle, Tweedmuir, Peebleshire, Scotland d. Yes, date unknown. Married Sir Patrick Fleming, of Biggar, b. Abt 1286, Cumbernauld, Lanarkshire, Scotland d. Biggar, Lanarkshire, Scotland

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Family

The peerage of Scotland: containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom, ... collected from the public records, and ancient chartularies of this nation, ... Illustrated with copper-plates. By Robert Douglas, Esq;. (1764) < link >

VI. Sir PATRICK FLEMING, second son of sir Robert, and brother german of the first sir Malcolm of Cumbernauld, was likeways a faithful and steady friend of king Robert Bruce,* 1.36 who appointed him high sheriff of the county of Peebles.

He married one of the daughters and coheiresses of the brave sir Simon Fraser of Oliver-castle, by whom he got the lands and barony of Biggar, which became one of the chief titles of the family; and,* 1.37 in consequence of this marriage, they have ever since continued to quarter the arms of Fraser with their own.

He was succeeded by his son,

VII. Sir MALCOLM FLEMING of Biggar, who obtained from Malcolm earl of Wigton, dilecto consanguineo suo, Malcolmo Fleming de Biggar,

• 1.36 Charta penes marchionem de Tweeddale
• 1.37 SirGeo. MacKenzie, Nisbet, Crawfurd, &c.
• 1.38 Chart. in archiv. familiae de Wigton.

Comments

Re: "by whom he got the lands and barony of Biggar." Robert Douglas was in error attributing the lands of Biggar to the Fraser marriage as the Frasers were never there.

Notes

Oliver Castle and Tweeddale passed to the Frasers until the wars of independence, after which the clan moved north and expanded across the Highlands. During the wars, Sir Simon Fraser fought for Wallace at Rosslyn in 1302, defeating the English. While fighting for Robert the Bruce in 1306 he was captured, and like Wallace, was executed in the cruellest style, being hanged and quartered.

Source: Fraser Clan History

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The Biggar arms had been extinguished with the death of Hugh of Biggar, so Patrick Fleming took new arms as Lord of Biggar. His arms were quartered 1 and 4 for Fleming (gules a chevron within a double tressure flory counterflory argent) and 2 and 3 for Fraser (azure three fraises argent)

Arms of the Earl of Wigton, Lord Fleming. Chief of Fleming. (Lord Lyon Registrar Vol. 1/56.) CC BY-SA 3.0 <Wikimedia Commons >

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References

1. The barony of Biggar: from where the Flemings ruled (dead link)
2. Paul, James Balfour. The Scots Peerage : Founded On Wood's Ed. Of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage Of Scotland; Containing An Historical And Genealogical Account Of The Nobility Of That Kingdom. Vol VII. "Frasers of Philorth, Lord Saltoun." Begins on page 417. Daughters of Simon Fraser are found on pg 422. < Archive.Org > In 1306 he [Simon Fraser] joined the force of Robert de Bruce, and on 19 June distinguished himself at the battle of Methven.10 He was taken prisoner, conveyed to London, and beheaded with great cruelty. He left two daughters, possibly Margaret and Joanna, who forfeited ten merks of Aldynstone in 1337,11 married respectively to Hay of Locherwart and Fleming of Wigtoun.12
   1. 10 Prynne, 1123.
   2. 11 Cal. Docs. Scot., iii. 388.
   3. 12 Frasers of Philorth, ii. 90 ; i. 13
3. Douglas, Robert, Esq. (1764) The peerage of Scotland: containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom, ... collected from the public records, and ancient chartularies of this nation, ... Illustrated with copper-plates. < link >
4. < clanmacfarlanegenealogy.info >
   1. [S6] Stirnet Genealogy, Peter Barns-Graham: Fraser01
   2. [S6] Stirnet Genealogy, Peter Barns-Graham: Fleming01
   3. The Scots Peerage (Wigtown)
   4. Burkes Extinct Peerages 1883 (Fleming of Wigtown) (Reliability: 3).
5. Medlands "Scotland Untitled Nobility" (v4.5 Updated 12 January 2024) FRASER. The early generations of the Fraser family cannot be reconstructed with certainty. However, the repetition of certain names, for example Simon, Alexander and Bernard, suggest that all the different branches which are shown below were related and descend from a common ancestor. The family has been studied in detail by Alexander Fraser, Lord Saltoun whose three volume work was published in 1879[588]. This work is scholarly, and balanced, although a little wordy. Above all, it does not try to invent connections which cannot be corroborated by primary source data, while at the same time indulging in sensible speculation. (a) SIMON Fraser (-executed London 8 Sep 1306). ... m MARY, daughter of ---. A charter dated 3 Sep 1296 records petitions to King Edward I by women whose estates had been seized in Scotland, including by "Maria uxor domini Simonis Fraser" requesting restoration of property "ad sustentationem suam et puerorum suorum"[635]. Simon & his wife had two children: (1) daughter . m GILBERT Hay of Locherwart, son of ---. (2) daughter . m PATRICK Fleming, son of ---.
   1. [588] Fraser, A. (1879) The Frasers of Philorth (Edinburgh), Vols. I, II and III.
   2. [635] Stephenson (1870) Vol. II, CCCLXXXV, p. 96.
6. "Clan Fleming Scottish Society" (2023) < link > "Fraser." He [Patrick Fraser] was sent to London and hanged, drawn and quartered in September 1306. With his death, his daughter Joan inherited the estate at Olivercastle, thus bringing it into the Fleming family's portfolio. Patrick Fleming was consequently appointed Sheriff of Peebleshire.
7. "Tweedsmuir Parish History: Frasers of Oliver Castle" (2020) < link > Sir Simon left two daughter heiresses. Joan who married Patrick Fleming whose descendants are Lord Fleming and the Earls of Wigton. Mary who married Gilbert Hay whose descendants are the Hays of Yester, the Marquis of Tweeddale. The Barony of Oliver lands were divided between the Flemings and Hays – the precise territorial boundaries are not recorded but the Neidpath site went to the Hays. ...
8. Sir Simon Fraser of Oliver and Neidpath was a Scottish knight who fought in the Wars of Scottish Independence, for which he was hanged, drawn, and quartered in 1306. Simon is known to have had the following issue: Margaret Fraser, married Sir Gilbert Haya of Lochorwart, passing the Barony of Neidpath into the Hay family; had issue.[5] Joan Fraser, married Sir Patrick Fleming of Biggar, passing the Barony of Oliver into the Fleming family; had issue.
9. Oliver Castle was a medieval tower house, located in upper Tweedsdale in the Scottish Borders. The site of the hillfort known as Oliver Castle is to the north of the village of Tweedsmuir, although the site of the tower house is less certain. Mentioned in a document of c.1200, it was originally part of the line of peel towers along the Tweed Valley. It was replaced in the seventeenth century by a house, which was itself replaced in the late 18th century by the present Oliver House. ... Oliver Castle was inherited by his daughter Joan who married Sir Patrick Fleming of Biggar.[2] The estate remained with his successors until 1524 when John 2nd Lord Fleming was murdered by Thomas Tweedie. His son, Malcolm 3rd Lord Fleming, pledged Oliver Castle to Robert Dickson for one hundred pounds and eventually parted with the estate.[3]