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Note: The only J.F. that I have been able to find at the right date is the son of Colin Falconer, Episcopalian Bishop of Moray. Points in favour 1. He is of Halkerton family. 2. He is Episcopalian. 3.He would be well enough educated to be Chamberlain of Arnage. 4. He would be suitable to be deputy to Geo Keith at Dunnottar. I am sure that somewhere must be the answer.
Episcopalian records of Old Deer have numerous mentions of J.F. as witness between 24 April 1696 and 25 July 1703, need to be checked. Worth checking all records.[Smith.FTW]
The original John is an area where there is possible research to be done and he is also the one that there is much family legend about, and I think that there is truth there. He is said to have been Deputy Governor of Dunnottar Castle near Stonehaven at a well known period in 1685 when it was used as a prison for Covenanters. Various reasons have been given for why but arising from this he was said to have been outlawed and spent the rest of his life in hiding at Old Deer after a failed attempt to flee to Holland. Truth is that he appears associated with Major George Keith of Whiteriggs the ex-Governor of Dunnottar and that he might have been outlawed for joining Keith on either his journey to the battle of Killiecrankie and /or an armed raid southwards in 1690 for which Keith and others unnamed were put under sentence of outlawry. John was a firm Episcopalian for all his life and I have proof that he associated with several known Jacobites, but there is one strange aspect which is that he was latterly Chamberlain of Arnage, a property belonging to Ross, Provost of Aberdeen, who is remembered for being violently anti-Episcopalian. John was an educated man and I believe that if we could just place him, we would have the connection to the main Falconer line, which again family legend claims. There is a small chance that he was the son of Colin Falconer, last Episcopalian Bishop of Moray, as he had a son John born at the right date, but it is generally assumed that this son died young as no more is known of him.
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