David Wemyss, 4th Earl of Wemyss (29 April 167815 March 1720), was a Scottish peer and Member of Parliament who served as
Lord High Admiral of Scotland
The Lord High Admiral of Scotland was one of the Great Officers of State of the Kingdom of Scotland before the Union with England in 1707.
The office was one of considerable power, also known as ''Royal Scottish Admiralty'', including command ...
from 1706 to 1714.
Early life
David Wemyss was born on 29 April 1678, the son of
James Wemyss, Lord Burntisland (c. 1657–1682) and
Margaret Wemyss, 3rd Countess of Wemyss
Margaret Wemyss, 3rd Countess of Wemyss and Countess of Cromarty (1 January 165911 March 1705) was a Scottish peer.
Margaret was the daughter of David Wemyss, 2nd Earl of Wemyss and Margaret Leslie, daughter of John Leslie, 6th Earl of Rothes. Sh ...
(1659–1705). His elder sister was Lady Anne Wemyss (d. 1702), who married
David Melville, 3rd Earl of Leven
David Melville, later Leslie, 3rd Earl of Leven and ''de jure'' 2nd Earl of Melville (5 May 16606 June 1728) was a Scottish aristocrat, politician, and soldier.
The third son of George Melville, 1st Earl of Melville and his second wife Catherine ...
, and his younger sister was Lady Margaret Wemyss, who married
David Carnegie, 4th Earl of Northesk
David Carnegie, 4th Earl of Northesk (1675 – 14 January 1729) was a Scottish peer and politician.
He was born the son of David Carnegie, 3rd Earl of Northesk and Elizabeth Lindsay. He was invested as a Privy Councillor of Scotland in 1698 and ...
.
Career
He succeeded to the Wemyss title on the death of his mother in March 1705. Lord Wemyss entered parliament as a peer on 28 June 1705, and was the same year sworn of the privy council. He was one of the commissioners for the treaty of Union with England. In 1706, he was appointed
High Admiral of Scotland, and this office having been abolished at the Union, he was then constituted
Vice Admiral of Scotland.
The Earl of Wemyss was one of four non-medicals who was granted an Honorary Fellowship in the first 25 years of the Royal College of Physician's life.
Personal life
In his 41 years Earl Wemyss married three times. The first was on 13 August 1697, to Lady Anne Douglas (d. 23 February 1700), the only daughter of
William Douglas, 1st Duke of Queensberry
William Douglas, 1st Duke of Queensberry PC (163728 March 1695), also 3rd Earl of Queensberry and 1st Marquess of Queensberry, was a Scottish politician.G. E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and L ...
. Together, they had two sons and one daughter:
* The Hon. David Wemyss, Lord Elcho (d. 1715)
* The Hon.
James Wemyss (1699–1756), who became
5th Earl of Wemyss, who married Janet Charteris, heiress of
Col. Francis Charteris
*Lady Williamina Wemyss (1704-1784), who moved to Chester County, Pennsylvania and married Judge William Moore of "Moore Hall"
His second marriage was on 5 January 1709, at St Martin-in-the-Fields, London to Mary Robinson (d. 1711/12), daughter of Sir John Robinson.
His third marriage as in July 1716, to Elizabeth St. Clair (d. 1721), the daughter of Henry, Lord Sinclair. Together, they had two daughters:
* Lady Elisabeth Wemyss, who married
William Sutherland, 17th Earl of Sutherland
William Sutherland, 17th Earl of Sutherland, previously named William Gordon, 17th Earl of Sutherland,[James Stuart, 8th Earl of Moray
James Stuart, 8th Earl of Moray KT (1708 – 5 July 1767) was the son of Francis Stuart, 7th Earl of Moray.
In 1741, he was elected as one of the 16 Scottish Representative peers who sat in the post-1707 British House of Lords, a position ...](_bla ...<br></span></div> (1708–1750)
* Lady Margaret Wemyss, who married <div class=)
(1708–1767)
The Earl of Wemyss died on 15 March 1720.
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wemyss, David Wemyss, 4th Earl Of
1678 births
1720 deaths
4
Scottish representative peers
Lord High Admirals of Scotland
Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1689–1702
Commissioners of the Treasury of Scotland
Members of the Royal Company of Archers
Lords of the Admiralty
Clan Wemyss