Hugh [probably Gaelic: Aodh], was the third successor of Ferchar mac in tSagairt as Mormaer of Ross (1323–1333).
Biography Hugh de Ross was the eldest son and heir of William II, Earl of Ross, by his wife Euphemia de Berkeley, or Barclay.
Hugh was a favorite of King Robert I of Scotland, who endowed him with many lands. Hugh even married Robert's sister, Matilda (Maud) de Brus (c. 1287 - aft. September 1323), in 1308 in the Orkney Isles. Hugh's young brother, John, married Margaret Comyn, heiress of Buchan (although he died childless).
Marriages and issue Hugh de Ross married twice: (1) Matilda (Maud) de Brus, sister of Robert I "the Bruce", King of Scots, and daughter of Robert de Brus, 6th Lord of Annandale, and his wife Marjorie, Countess of Carrick; married in 1308.Scots Peerage VII, p. 236 "He married, first, in 1308, Lady Maud Bruce, sister of the King." Hugh and Matilda had several children: William de Ross III, oldest son and successor, made Earl of Ross on 17 May 1336. Marjory de Ross, wife of Malise V, Earl of Strathearn John de Ross, who died on 27 May 1364 without issue.Kalendar of Fearn 1364 https://digital.nls.uk/scottish-history-society-publications/browse/archive/127352313?mode=transcription
(2) Margaret de Graham, daughter of Sir John de Graham of Abercorn;John P. Ravilious, Queen Euphemia and her ancestry, The Scottish Genealogist, June 2017, vol. LXIV(2) pp. 49-52. Prior publications including J. Balfour Paul's Scots Peerage identify Margaret de Graham in error as a daughter of Sir David Graham of Montrose. married by papal dispensation dated 24 November 1329. Hugh and Margaret had two known children: Hugh de Ross of Rarichies, first of Balnagown; declared heir to the earldom of Ross in 1350; was a hostage for the return of David II King of Scotland from the English in 1351. Euphemia de Ross, married (1) John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray and (2) by dispensation (due to affinity) Robert Stewart, Earl of Strathearn, subsequently Robert II, King of Scots (1371–1390) as his second wife. Euphemia is sometimes incorrectly assigned as a daughter of Matilda, but this would have involved consanguinity in the 2nd and 3rd degrees which was not stated in the dispensation for her marriage to Robert Stewart.Robert and Euphemia were related in the 3rd degree of affinity, and 4th degree of consanguinity: Andrew Stuart, Genealogical History of the Stewarts, pp. 420–421 Hugh and Margaret are often also assigned a daughter Janet, wife of Sir John de Monymusk.Scots Peerage VII:237, cites Anderson's Dip. Scot., p. lix, and Earldom of Strathern, Nicolas This has been found to be erroneous, as Janet was actually Janet de Barclay, daughter of Margaret de Graham by her 2nd husband, John de Barclay of Gartley.John P. Ravilious, The Ancestry of Euphemia, Countess of Ross: Heraldry as Genealogical Evidence, The Scottish Genealogist, Vol. LV, No. 1 (March 2008), pp. 33–38 All received prestigious marriage partners, including to the earls of Buchan and Moray, to Maol Íosa IV, Earl of Strathearn and the future king Robert II.
Death He was killed along many other Scottish nobles at the Battle of Halidon Hill on 19 July 1333, and was succeeded by his son and successor, William.
Notes
Bibliography Barrow, G.W.S., Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland, (Edinburgh, 1988) Sir James Balfour Paul, Scots Peerage, Vol. VII:234-237 John P. Ravilious, The Ancestry of Euphemia, Countess of Ross: Heraldry as Genealogical Evidence, The Scottish Genealogist Vol. LV, No. 1 (March 2008), pp. 33–38