As with so many families whose history stretches back before the twelfth
century, the derivation of this familys surname is uncertain.
If the name is Celtic in its origin, it may derive from the Gaelic personal
name Fear Sithe, meaning man of peace. It may,
however, allude to a place of peace, and refer to a particular place,
or lands. One tradition provides a Norman descent from Forsach, one
of the Norsemen who settled on lands on the River Dordogne in Aquitaine.
The Viscomte de Fronsoc accompanied Eleanor de Provence to London to
marry Henry III and lived at the English court from 1236 to 1246. It
is believed that his family obtained lands in Northumberland, and thence
to the Borders of Scotland.
William de Fersith appears on the Ragman Roll of Scottish noblemen
submitting to Edward I of England in 1296. Osbert, son of Robert de
Forsyth, received a grant of lands at Sauchie in Stirlingshire from
Robert the Bruce sometime after March 1306. He distinguished himself
at the Battle of Bannockburn and received confirmation under the great
seal of the realm of his lands in 1320. Osberts son was appointed
the kings macer and constable of Stirling Castle in 1368. Fersith
the clerk is recorded receiving a royal pension of one hundred pounds
per annum from Robert II. The family became established around Stirling
and many prominent burgesses and civic dignitaries bore the name.
David Forsyth of Dykes in Lanarkshire acquired his lands some time
prior to 1488. His seal bore heraldry similar to the arms of de Fronsoc,
and he specifically claimed them as his ancestors. There was a Forsyth
castle at Dykes until it was demolished in 1828. A branch of the family
left Dykes and moved to Inchnoch Castle in Monkland and their descendants
spread the family throughout Ayrshire and around Glasgow.
William Forsyth, baillie of Edinburgh around 1365 had, with other
issue, a son, William, who, in 1423, moved to St Andrews and subsequently
acquired the barony of Nydie. This was a fief of the Archbishops
of St Andrews. Alexander, fourth Baron of Nydie, was sheriff depute
of Fife, and the arms assigned to him are recorded in Balfours
manuscript. Alexander died at Flodden in 1513. His grandson, James,
married a substantial heiress, Elizabeth Leslie, granddaughter
of the Earl of Rothes and great-granddaughter of James III. The
Forsyths of Nydie had little choice thereafter but to tie their
fortunes to their extremely powerful relatives. They acquired
lands around the royal Palace of Falkland, and in 1538 John Forsyth
was appointed kings macer and thereafter Falkland Pursuivant.
It is from the Falkland Forsyth lairds that the present chief
descends.
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