• General Notes

  Sir Thomas Morham
  
  Sir Thomas Morham was born about 1245 in the Barony of Morham in East Lothian. Thomas Morham in his own words states that he was the son and heir of Sir Adam de Morham, Lord of Morham. The earliest historical evidence of Sir Thomas Morham is found in his charter to Neubotle Abbey made circa 1280. (Liber S Marie de Neubotle #100). In this document, Lord Thomas Morham confirms in chronological order all the earlier charters of his ancestors to Neubotle Abbey, thus providing invaluable genealogical evidence of his direct relationship to earlier Morham generations. The next documented evidence of Sir Thomas Morham occurs when he witnessed a 1293 Neubotle charter of William Gurlay which pertained to Dunipace. Other witnesses included Sir Andrew Fraser and Sir Patrick Graham.
  
  By 1296, Sir Thomas Morham had taken up the cause of Scottish independence and had been deemed the "enemy" of King Edward I of England. In July of 1296, Sir Thomas Morham was captured by the English forces in Scotland. He was brought to Aberdeen by Hugh St. John and delivered to King Edward I, who was in residence at Aberdeen from July 14-19, 1296. Held at Berwick for a short period, Sir Thomas Morham was delivered to the Tower of London by a mandate of Edward, Prince of Wales, on October 12, 1296. He would remain a prisoner in the Tower for the next 17 years. Mentions of Sir Thomas Morham being a prisoner in the Tower are found to occur in 1297, 1304, and 1313. On Nov. 13, 1314, King Edward II of England ordered the Constable of the Tower to deliver Thomas Morham of Scotland to be exchanged for John de Segrave, lately taken prisoner by the Scots.
  
  After his release and return to Scotland, Sir Thomas Morham (designated senior) resigns the barony of Kimmerghame to Sir Alexander Stewart in a confirmation charter of Robert the Bruce in 1316. In this charter, Bruce refers to Sir Thomas Morham as "our great man". Sir Thomas Morham is next found at the signing of the famous Declaration of Arbroath in 1320. His seal as a Scottish noble is one of those found attached to the document. The Declaration was drawn up at Arbroath and sent to Pope John XXII to approve and recognize the independence of Scotland. The Declaration of Arbroath remains today as the most revered document in Scottish history.
  
  The latest date when the aged Sir Thomas Morham was still found to be living occurred in the May 18, 1322 charter, in which he granted the Baronies of Morham and Duncanlaw to Sir John Giffard and Euphemia Morham.
  
  Primary Sources:
  
  Registrum S. Marie Cambuskenneth; Declaration of Arbroath; Ragman Rolls, 1296; Liber S. Marie de Neubotle; Calendar of writs preserved at Yester House 1166-1503; Liber S. Thome de Arberbrothoc; Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland; Regesta Regum Scottorum, Vols. I, II, V, & VI; Calendar of the Laing Charters 854-1837; Liber S. Marie de Dryburgh; Liber S. Marie de Melros; Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland; Hand Acts of Alexander II; Hand Acts of Alexander III, the Guardians & John; Deeds relating to East Lothian, Wallace-James; Anglo-Norman Families, Loyd; The Surnames of Scotland, George F. Black. 

Details of Thomas' family with <Unknown>