Eupheme de Morham

The final charter of this generation is found in Yester writ #24. It is produced by the widowed Euphemia Morham, in which she grants a half carucate of land in her tenement of Barrow to Richard de Dale and his heirs for his faithful service. In addition, she grants de Dale the right to grind his grain at her mill of Duncanlaw, and that she and her heirs will defend the land granted to de Dale. The witnesses to this charter provide a great deal of vital information in being able to date the document. Among the witnesses were Lord James Douglas "The Good"; Robert de Keith; Alexander de Seton; Robert de Lauder; and Henry Sinclair. In the charter, Euphemia states that she is a widow and the spouse of the deceased Sir John Giffard. As Lord James Douglas left for Spain in the spring of 1330, and was killed in battle there in August of that year, this undated charter must have been written in 1328 or 1329. Sir John Giffard was living as of Nov., 1327, and hence Euphemia's charter fixes his death in the 1328-1329 time period. The apperance of Lord James Douglas as a witness in this rather minor charter would seem to be significant. He was also a witness in the 1322 Yester confirmation charter of King Robert the Bruce, but this would be expected as he witnessed a great many of Bruce's documents. Lord James Douglas will be discussed later in relation to the parentage of Joanna Douglas, the future daughter-in-law of Sir John Giffard and Euphemia Morham.

Another interesting fact found in Euphemia Morham's charter is that she styles herself as Euphemia "Giffard", adopting the use the deceased husband's surname was a common practice of widows. In their widowhood, both her daugher-in-law (Joanna Douglas), and her grand-daughter (Joanna Giffard), will follow the similar practice of using the surname of their deceased husbands.

Links

• http://community-2.webtv.net/NUbrubun55/GIFFARDOFYESTER/page2.html

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http://www.rickster.org/tng10/getperson.php?personID=I56548&tree=32gen

Name Morham, Eupheme Born 1287 Morham, East Lothian, Scotland Find all individuals with events at this location Gender Female Died Yes, date unknown Person ID I56548 32 Generations Last Modified 19 Oct 2005

Father Morham, Sir Thomas, b. Abt 1250, East Lothian, Scotland Find all individuals with events at this location, d. Deceased Family ID F16672 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Family 1 Gifford, Sir John Lord Of Yester, b. 1281, Yester, Peebleshire, Scotland Find all individuals with events at this location, d. Bef 1345 (Age < 64 years) Children

	1. Gifford, Hugh,   b. 1306, Yester, Peebleshire, Scotland Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1366  (Age 60 years) Family ID	F29764 	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

Children

	1. Gifford, Hugh,   b. 1306, Yester, Peebleshire, Scotland Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1366  (Age 60 years) Family ID	F29843 	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart