Clan Kirkpatrick

Clan Kirkpatrick is a Lowland armigerous Scottish clan. There are several variations of the Kirkpatrick name; Kilpatric, Kilpatrick, and Gilpatrick. The names Kirkpatrick and Kilpatrick may have been interchangeable at one time. The clan is recognised by the Court of the Lord Lyon, however the clan does not currently have a chief so recognised. The clan takes its name from the church of Saint Patrick in the parish of Closeburn in Dumfriesshire, Scotland.

The first record of the clan is in the 12th century, when Ivone de Kirkpatrick was listed as a witness in a charter of the Bruce family. Later, Alexander II confirmed by charter the lands of the same Ivone. Roger de Kirkpatrick was an attendant to Robert Bruce during the time when Bruce murdered Red Comyn. Kirkpatrick legend has it that the chiefly motto is derived from Roger Kirkpatrick's killing of Sir John (Red) Comyn. Upon meeting Comyn in the church of the Greyfriars at Dumfries, Bruce confronted Comyn with accusations of his treachery. A scuffle broke out; during which Bruce stabbed Comyn with his dagger. Horrified, Bruce fled from the church to his escorts and told them, "I doubt I have slain the Comyn." Kirkpatrick cried, "Sire, You doubtest so? I'll mak sikkar!" ("I'll make sure"), whereupon he rushed the church and finished off the wounded Comyn. Sir Roger Kirkpatrick hid with Robert Bruce for three nights to escape retribution from Comyn's family. This event is memorialized in the clan's crest, which contains a hand holding a bloody dagger; and the shield: three pillows on a saltire shield with the Scotland colours, or the St Andrews Cross, reversed (i.e. Kirkpatrick wears a blue saltire on a white ground). It is also memorialized in the Clan's motto, "I Mak Sikkar", or the modernized version "I Make Sure." The family was later pardoned by the Pope for their part in Comyn's death, who reasoned that Bruce's blow against Comyn was likely mortal.

In 1246, during the reign of Alexander II, a Humphrey de Kilpatrick obtained a charter of the lands of Colquhoun from the Earl of Lennox, and that Humphrey's son Ingram was the first to assume the name Colquhoun. It may be remarked that both Humphrey and Ivan are popular names with Colquhouns, and that a Humphrey de Kilpatrick appears in charters relating to the Lennox, and others relating to Dumfries-shire - all of similar date. Geographically, the name 'Kilpatrick' is now most closely associated with the Lennox, while places named 'Kirkpatrick' are largely confined to Dumfries-shire, and it is quite probable that many who now bear the name had origin in these places, and may or may not have links, other than the 'kinship of a name', with the family who held Closeburn. This family gave rise to many cadet families in and around their home county. At the end of the 18th century William Kirkpatrick of Conheath became a wine merchant in Malaga and married Dona Francesca, daughter of Baron de Grivegnee. Their daughter, Eugénie de Montijo, married Emperor Napoleon III and became last Empress of France.

In 1314 the Kirkpatricks were rewarded the lands of Redburgh. In 1355, Sir Roger Kirkpatrick took Caerlaverock Castle and Dalwinston Castle from English forces. Two years later, in 1357, Sir Roger Kirkpatrick was murdered by Sir James Lindsay in a private argument. The title passed from Roger to his Nephew, Sir Thomas Kirkpatrick, who had a charter for the lands of Closeburn and Redburgh from Robert Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany in 1409. Much later, in 1542, Sir Thomas Kirkpatrick was captured at the Battle of Solway Moss. The estate then passed to a cousin. In 1685 Sir Thomas Kirkpatrick of Closeburn was created a Baronet of Nova Scotia. The Kirkpatrick estate of Closeburn was finally sold by the 4th baronet, Sir James Kirkpatrick. Today there is no recognized chief of the clan.

Major General Charles Kirkpatrick, grandson of the 2nd son of the 4th Baronet in his "Records of the Closeburn Kirkpatrick's" published originally in 1953 and republished in 2003 by the family, gives a good accounting of the Kirkpatrick Family in Dumfriesshire. He points out that the family residing in Closeburn and the cadet family at Kirkmichael were always known as "Kirkpatrick" and that the further western branch of the family that was aligned with the Lennox were known more by "Kilpatrick", that Humphrey de Kilpatrick was a 'cousin'. Further, there is no record in the Court of the Lord Lyon that the name "Kilpatrick" was ever associated with the Dumfriesshire estates and holdings.