Biography
Archibald Adair of Litter was born circa 1624 in Kilhilt Tower, Portpatrick, Wigtownshire, Scotland, United Kingdom to Robert Beatty Adair (1583-1655) and Jean Edmonstone (1606-1675) and died 30 November 1661 of unspecified causes.
Research Notes
William Adair was the son of Sir Robert Adair and Jane Edmonstone.1 He married Anne Helena Scott, daughter of Colonel Walter Scott.1 He died on 30 November 1661.1 He lived at Ballymena, County Antrim, IrelandG.1
William inherited both the Kilhilt Estate (Scotland) and Ballymena Estate (Ireland) from his father. But he died when his son was barely two years old.
Kilhilt Tower
Kilhilt was the name of the Adair Family castle / manor home that stood in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries in the village of Portpatrick, County of Wigtownshire, Scotland. Nothing remains of the site today. Portpatrick sits on the southwest cost of Scotland and on a clear day you can see Ireland only 21 miles west. In the 17th century, much of the Adair Family moved to County Antrim in Ireland as part of the Ulster Plantation.
- See Also Kilhilt Castle - Stravaiging.com
Ballymena Castle
From a postcard of the early 20th Century.
Ballymena Castle was a large estate located in the village of Ballymena in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The land was first given to the Adair family by King Charles I in 1626, with a right to hold two annual fairs and a free Saturday market in perpetuity. As of 2018, the Saturday market still runs.
The Adairs were active in helping Scotch settlers settle the "Ulster Plantation" in Northern Ireland. In the 1600s Sir Robert Adair (d. 1655) built Ballymena Castle as a centre for their Irish estates. But a great portion of the Adair Family continued at their main residence in Kilhilt Tower in Wigtownshire, Scotland. For time Ballymena was renamed "Kinhiltshire".
In 1865, one of the key descendants, Robert Alexander Shafto Adair (2nd Baronet Adair) made extensive modifications to the castle. But in the 20th century, the placed was little used, becoming victim to vandalism and arson before being sold and demolished in 1957. The Adairs sold much of the surrounding landholdings to their tenants.
Marriage and Family
- Colonel Sir Robert Adair (1650-1745) - knighted for bravery at the 1690 Battle of the Boyne. Inherited William's estate.
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Robert Adair (1659-1745) | 9 February 1659 Ballymena Castle, Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland | 7 February 1745 County Down, Northern Ireland | Penelope Coleville (1654-1695) Martha N.N. (c1660-) Anne McAuley (c1660-) Annabella Ricketts (c1660-) |
Siblings
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| William Adair (1624-1661) | 1624 Kilhilt Tower, Portpatrick, Wigtownshire, Scotland, United Kingdom | 30 November 1661 | Anne Helena Scott (c1625-) |
| Archibald Adair (1625-) | 1625 Kilhilt Tower, Portpatrick, Wigtownshire, Scotland, United Kingdom | ||
| Alexander Adair (1626-) | 1626 Kilhilt Tower, Portpatrick, Wigtownshire, Scotland, United Kingdom | ||
| Robert Adair (1627-) | 1627 Kilhilt Tower, Portpatrick, Wigtownshire, Scotland, United Kingdom | ||
| Isabella Adair (1629-1678) | 1629 Kilhilt Tower, Portpatrick, Wigtownshire, Scotland, United Kingdom | 1678 Genoch, County Antrim, Ireland | Patrick McDowall (1627-1699) |
| Jean Adair (1631-1675) | 1631 Kilhilt Tower, Portpatrick, Wigtownshire, Scotland, United Kingdom | 1675 Genoch, County Antrim, Ireland | Patrick Cathcart Adair (1625-1694) |
Residences
See Also
- William Adair - disambiguation
- Adair Family
- Adair in Wigtownshire
- Adair in County Antrim
- Sir William Adair of Kilhilt - Geni.com
- Adair of Ballymena Castle and Flixton Hall, Baronets - Landed Families of England Blog.
- Townend, Peter. Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 105th edition. London, U.K.: Burke's Peerage Ltd, 1970.
- William Adair at thePeerage
References