Andrew Wemyss, Lord Myrecairnie (c.1545–1617) was a 16th/17th century Scottish judge and

Senator of the College of Justice The senators of the College of Justice in Scotland are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court ...

Life

In the 14th century King David III granted lands in

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

to John Wemyss of Reres and

Kincaldrum Kincaldrum is a hamlet in the county of Angus, Scotland Angus (; ) is one of the 32 Local government in Scotland, local government council areas of Scotland, and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The council area borders Abe ...

, previously owned by Robert

Earl of Fife The Earl of Fife or Mormaer of Fife was the ruler of the province of Fife in medieval Scotland, which encompassed the modern counties of Fife and Kinross. Due to their royal ancestry, the earls of Fife were the highest ranking nobles in the re ...

, making John the ancestor of the

Earls of Wemyss Earl of Wemyss ( ) is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created in 1633. The Scottish Wemyss family had possessed the lands of Wemyss in Fife since the 12th century. Since 1823 the earldom has been held with the Earldom of March, created in 1 ...

. Andrew was born in the mid-16th century, the second son of James Wemyss of Lathocker, and later owned two estates: Myrecairnie in the parish of

Kilmany Kilmany (Scottish Gaelic: ''Cille Mheinidh'') is a village and parish in Fife, Scotland. It is located on the A92 between Auchtermuchty and the Tay Road Bridge. In 2001 it had a population of 75. The current name of the village derives from an ...

(north of

Cupar Cupar ( ; ) is a town, former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland. It lies between Dundee and Glenrothes. According to a 2011 population estimate, Cupar had a population around 9,000, making it the ninth-largest settlement in Fife, and the ...

) and Logie, both in

. His father James Wemyss was killed at the

Battle of Pinkie The Battle of Pinkie, also known as the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh (), took place on 10 September 1547 on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland. The last pitched battle between Scotland and England before the Union of the Crowns, ...

in 1547. Given this death, Andrew must have had little memory of his father. In November 1591 he was elected a

, replacing

Thomas Bellenden, Lord Newtyle Thomas Bellenden of Kilconquhar, Lord Newtyle (drowned November 1591) was a Senator of the College of Justice at Edinburgh. The half-brother of Sir Lewis Bellenden of Auchnole & Broughton, Lord Justice Clerk, Thomas had from his father the baron ...

(who had drowned). He operated as a

Lord of Session The senators of the College of Justice in Scotland are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court ...

until 1615 and died early in March 1617.

Family

He was married to Grisel Drummond. They were parents to

John Wemyss of Logie John Wemyss younger of Logie, (1569-1597), was a Scottish courtier, spy, and subject of the ballad "The Laird o Logie", beheaded for plotting to blow up a fortification at Veere in the Netherlands. Life John Wemyss was a son of Andrew Wemyss, L ...

. They had two further sons, James and David, and a daughter, Eufame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wemyss, Andrew 1617 deaths People from Fife Senators of the College of Justice Year of birth uncertain

Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...