'Skene01'Index links to: Lead / Letter
Families covered: Skene of Skene

                               
Tradition says that the family was descended from the younger son of an early 11th-century ancestor of the house of Robertson of Struan (before they took the name Robertson). That younger son is reported to have saved the life of King Malcolm Canmore (who died in 1093) by killing a wolf with his knife. The gaelic for knife is skean (or sgian), hence the name Skene. If there is any truth in this then the dates (which make the late 11th century more plausible than the early part of that century) suggest that this hero may have been a son of Conan, 1st of Glenerochie. However, it seems more likely that the name was simply taken from the place of that name in Aberdeenshire. The first proven ancestor is probably ...
John de Skene (a 1296)
1. ?? de Skene
  A. Robert de Skene, 1st of Skene (a 1318)
Robert obtained a charter from Robert the Bruce erecting the lands of Skene into a barony.
  i. ?? de Skene
  We follow the numbering of the lairds used by the web site identified below as the Main Source for this page.
  a. Adam Skene, 5th of Skene (d Harlaw 1411)
  m. Janet Keith (dau of Sir William Keith, Marischal)
  (1) James Skene, 6th of Skene (d 1461)
  m. ?? (widow of Fraser of Corntoun)
(A) Alexander Skene, 7th of Skene (d 1470)
  m. (mcrt 1438) Mariota Kinnaird (dau of Thomas Kinnaird of that ilk)
  (i) Gilbert Skene, 8th of Skene (d 1485)
  m. (1481) Cristina Mercer (dau of Robert Mercer of Bailleif)
  (a) Alexander Skene, 9th of Skene (b c1481, d 1507/36)
  m. Agnes Forbes (dau of Lord Forbes, probably 2nd or 3rd)
  ((1)) Alexander Skene, 10th of Skene (b c1499, d Pinkie 1547)
  m. (1516) Elizabeth Black
  ((A)) Alexander Skene, 11th of Skene (b 1547, d 1604)
  ((2)) James Skene of Wester Corse (b c1505)
  m. Janet Lumsden (dau of Robert Lumsden of Cushnie)
  (ii) daughter
  m. Alexander Forbes of Echt

Main source(s): various web sites, in particular: http://www.compapp.dcu.ie/~humphrys/FamTree/Skene/
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