Paternal Family Tree: Bruce of Elgin
On 11th March 1799 [his father] Thomas Bruce 11th Earl Kincardine 7th Earl Elgin [aged 32] and [his mother] Mary Nisbet Countess Elgin [aged 20] were married. She by marriage Countess Elgin. They had two sons and three daughters. They divorced before 20th April 1808 she having been accused of having an affair with [his step-father] Robert Ferguson of Raith [aged 29] whom she subsequently married. The Earl sued Ferguson in both England and Scotland and won £10,000. He the son of [his grandfather] Charles Bruce 9th Earl Kincardine 5th Earl Elgin.
On 20th April 1808 [his step-father] Robert Ferguson of Raith [aged 38] and [his mother] Mary Nisbet Countess Elgin [aged 30] were married.
On 21st September 1810 [his father] Thomas Bruce 11th Earl Kincardine 7th Earl Elgin [aged 44] and [his step-mother] Elizabeth Oswald Countess Kincardine and Elgin [aged 20] were married. The difference in their ages was 23 years. He the son of [his grandfather] Charles Bruce 9th Earl Kincardine 5th Earl Elgin.
On 20th July 1811 James Bruce 12th Earl Kincardine 8th Earl Elgin was born to Thomas Bruce 11th Earl Kincardine 7th Earl Elgin [aged 45] and Mary Nisbet Countess Elgin [aged 33].
In 1841 James Bruce 12th Earl Kincardine 8th Earl Elgin [aged 29] was elected MP Southampton but the election was declared void on petition.
On 22nd April 1841 James Bruce 12th Earl Kincardine 8th Earl Elgin [aged 29] and Elizabeth Mary Cumming Bruce Countess Kincardine and Elgin were married. He the son of Thomas Bruce 11th Earl Kincardine 7th Earl Elgin [aged 74] and Mary Nisbet Countess Elgin [aged 63].
On 14th November 1841 [his father] Thomas Bruce 11th Earl Kincardine 7th Earl Elgin [aged 75] died at Paris [Map]. His son James [aged 30] succeeded 12th Earl Kincardine, 8th Earl Elgin. [his wife] Elizabeth Mary Cumming Bruce Countess Kincardine and Elgin by marriage Countess Kincardine, Countess Elgin.
In 1842 James Bruce 12th Earl Kincardine 8th Earl Elgin [aged 30] was appointed Governor of Jamaica.
On 19th June 1842 [his daughter] Elma Bruce was born to James Bruce 12th Earl Kincardine 8th Earl Elgin [aged 30] and [his wife] Elizabeth Mary Cumming Bruce Countess Kincardine and Elgin.
Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes
Récits d’un bourgeois de Valenciennes aka The Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes is a vivid 14th-century vernacular chronicle written by an anonymous urban chronicler from Valenciennes in the County of Hainaut. It survives in a manuscript that describes local and regional history from about 1253 to 1366, blending chronology, narrative episodes, and eyewitness-style accounts of political, military, and social events in medieval France, Flanders, and the Low Countries. The work begins with a chronological framework of events affecting Valenciennes and its region under rulers such as King Philip VI of France and the shifting allegiances of local nobility. It includes accounts of conflicts, sieges, diplomatic manoeuvres, and the impact of broader struggles like the Hundred Years’ War on urban life in Hainaut. Written from the perspective of a burgher (bourgeois) rather than a monastery or royal court, the chronicle offers a rare lay viewpoint on high politics and warfare, reflecting how merchants, townspeople, and civic institutions experienced the turbulence of the 13th and 14th centuries. Its narrative style combines straightforward reporting of events with moral and civic observations, making it a valuable source for readers interested in medieval urban society, regional politics, and the lived experience of war and governance in pre-modern Europe.
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On 4th June 1843 [his daughter] Mary Bruce was born to James Bruce 12th Earl Kincardine 8th Earl Elgin [aged 31] and [his wife] Elizabeth Mary Cumming Bruce Countess Kincardine and Elgin at Jamaica. On 7th June 1843 she and her mother died.
On 7th November 1846 James Bruce 12th Earl Kincardine 8th Earl Elgin [aged 35] and Mary Louisa Lambton Countess Kincardine and Elgin [aged 27] were married. She by marriage Countess Kincardine, Countess Elgin. She the daughter of John "Radical Jack" Lambton 1st Earl Durham and Louisa Elizabeth Grey Countess Durham. He the son of Thomas Bruce 11th Earl Kincardine 7th Earl Elgin and Mary Nisbet Countess Elgin [aged 68].
On 16th May 1849 [his son] Victor Bruce 13th Earl Kincardine 9th Earl Elgin was born to James Bruce 12th Earl Kincardine 8th Earl Elgin [aged 37] and [his wife] Mary Louisa Lambton Countess Kincardine and Elgin [aged 30]. He married 1876 his fifth cousin once removed Constance Mary Carnegie Countess Elgin, daughter of James Carnegie 9th Earl Southesk and Catherine Hamilton Noel.
In 1851 [his son] Robert Preston Bruce was born to James Bruce 12th Earl Kincardine 8th Earl Elgin [aged 39] and [his wife] Mary Louisa Lambton Countess Kincardine and Elgin [aged 31].
On 7th July 1853 Sholto Douglas 18th Earl Morton [aged 35] and [his sister-in-law] Alice Anne Lambton Countess Morton [aged 22] were married. She the daughter of John "Radical Jack" Lambton 1st Earl Durham and Louisa Elizabeth Grey Countess Durham. He the son of George Sholto Douglas 17th Earl Morton [aged 63] and Frances Theodora Rose Countess of Morton [aged 54].
In 1854 [his son] Frederick John Bruce was born to James Bruce 12th Earl Kincardine 8th Earl Elgin [aged 42] and [his wife] Mary Louisa Lambton Countess Kincardine and Elgin [aged 34].
On 23rd May 1854 [his brother-in-law] George Frederick D'Arcy Lambton 2nd Earl Durham [aged 25] and Beatrix Frances Hamilton Countess Durham [aged 19] were married at St George's Church, Hanover Square. She by marriage Countess Durham. She the daughter of James Hamilton 1st Duke of Abercorn [aged 43] and Louisa Jane Russell Duchess Abercorn [aged 41]. He the son of John "Radical Jack" Lambton 1st Earl Durham and Louisa Elizabeth Grey Countess Durham. They were fifth cousin once removed. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland.
On 9th July 1855 [his mother] Mary Nisbet Countess Elgin [aged 77] died.
On 31st March 1858 George Sholto Douglas 17th Earl Morton [aged 68] died. His son Sholto [aged 40] succeeded 18th Earl Morton. [his sister-in-law] Alice Anne Lambton Countess Morton [aged 26] by marriage Countess Morton.
On 20th November 1863 James Bruce 12th Earl Kincardine 8th Earl Elgin [aged 52] died of a heart attack while crossing a swinging rope and wood bridge over the river Chadly, on the lap between Kullu and Lahul in Himachal Pradesh. He was buried at St John in the Wilderness Church, Dharamshala. His son Victor [aged 14] succeeded 13th Earl Kincardine, 9th Earl Elgin.
The History of William Marshal was commissioned by his son shortly after William’s death in 1219 to celebrate the Marshal’s remarkable life; it is an authentic, contemporary voice. The manuscript was discovered in 1861 by French historian Paul Meyer. Meyer published the manuscript in its original Anglo-French in 1891 in two books. This book is a line by line translation of the first of Meyer’s books; lines 1-10152. Book 1 of the History begins in 1139 and ends in 1194. It describes the events of the Anarchy, the role of William’s father John, John’s marriages, William’s childhood, his role as a hostage at the siege of Newbury, his injury and imprisonment in Poitou where he met Eleanor of Aquitaine and his life as a knight errant. It continues with the accusation against him of an improper relationship with Margaret, wife of Henry the Young King, his exile, and return, the death of Henry the Young King, the rebellion of Richard, the future King Richard I, war with France, the death of King Henry II, and the capture of King Richard, and the rebellion of John, the future King John. It ends with the release of King Richard and the death of John Marshal.
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On 9th March 1898 [his former wife] Mary Louisa Lambton Countess Kincardine and Elgin [aged 78] died.
Kings Wessex: Great x 23 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 19 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 25 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 20 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings Godwinson: Great x 23 Grand Son of King Harold II of England
Kings England: Great x 13 Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 19 Grand Son of King William I of Scotland
Kings France: Great x 15 Grand Son of King Philip IV of France
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 27 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Kings Spain: Great x 19 Grand Son of Alfonso VII King Castile VII King Leon
Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Bruce
Great x 3 Grandfather: Alexander Bruce 4th Earl Kincardine
Great x 2 Grandfather: Thomas Bruce 7th Earl Kincardine
Great x 1 Grandfather: William Bruce 8th Earl Kincardine
Grandfather: Charles Bruce 9th Earl Kincardine 5th Earl Elgin
James Bruce 12th Earl Kincardine 8th Earl Elgin 13 x Great Grandson of King Edward III of England
Grandfather: William Hamilton Nisbet
mother: Mary Nisbet Countess Elgin 12 x Great Granddaughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Manners 8th Earl of Rutland 
7 x Great Grandson of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Manners 1st Duke Rutland 8 x Great Grandson of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Frances Montagu Countess Rutland 
10 x Great Granddaughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Manners 2nd Duke Rutland 9 x Great Grandson of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Baptist Noel 3rd Viscount Campden 
21 x Great Grandson of Hugh I King of the Franks
Great x 3 Grandmother: Catherine Noel Duchess Rutland 11 x Great Granddaughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Bertie Viscountess Campden 
10 x Great Granddaughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 1 Grandfather: Robert Manners 10 x Great Grandson of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Sherard 1st Baron Sherard
Great x 3 Grandfather: Bennet Sherard 2nd Baron Sherard
Great x 4 Grandmother: Abigail Cave Baroness Sherard
Great x 2 Grandmother: Lucy Sherard Duchess Rutland
Grandmother: Mary Manners 11 x Great Granddaughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: William of Mellwood Park Digges
Great x 1 Grandmother: Mary Digges