Dougal or Dugald Stewart, Lord Blairhall MP (c.1658–1712) was a 17th/18th century Scottish judge, politician, and Senator of the College of Justice.

Life

He was born in

Rothesay Rothesay ( ; gd, Baile Bhòid ) is the principal town on the Isle of Bute, in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies along the coast of the Firth of Clyde. It can be reached by ferry from Wemyss Bay, which offers an onward rail ...

on the

Isle of Bute The Isle of Bute ( sco, Buit; gd, Eilean Bhòid or '), known as Bute (), is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, United Kingdom. It is divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault. Formerly a constituent is ...

the son of Sir Dougal Stewart MP (d.1670), 2nd baronet of Ardmaleish on Bute, and his wife, Margaret Ruthven, daughter of John Ruthven of

Dunglass Dunglass is a hamlet in East Lothian, Scotland, lying east of the Lammermuir Hills on the North Sea coast, within the parish of Oldhamstocks. It has a 15th-century collegiate church, now in the care of Historic Scotland. Dunglass is the birthpla ...

. His brother James Stewart was the first

Earl of Bute Marquess of the County of Bute, shortened in general usage to Marquess of Bute, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1796 for John Stuart, 4th Earl of Bute. Family history John Stuart was the member of a family that ...

. His uncle was Robert Stewart, Lord Tillicultrie. The family were Episcopalians and Royalists, and suffered heavily in the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

. They suffered further in refusing to swear an Oath of Allegiance to King William in 1693 He studied law at

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

from 1687 to 1691 and passed the Scottish bar as an advocate in 1694. From 1702 to 1707 he was MP for Rothesay. He was made a Burgess of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

in 1703 and of Perth in 1710. He was Sheriff Depute of Edinburghshire ( Midlothian) from 1704 to 1709. He inherited the estate of Blairhall in

Longforgan Longforgan is a village and parish in the Carse of Gowrie, in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It lies west of Dundee on the main A90 road. History A record survives of Sir Patrick Gray, as Baron of Longforgan, holding a baronial court here in 13 ...

in Perthshire around 1705 through the death of his father-in-law. He was strongly opposed to the Act of Union in 1707 and imprisoned in 1708 for allegedly supporting a Jacobite invasion but nevertheless was created the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Banffshire later in the same year. He generally opposed the alignment of English and Scottish laws debated after 1707, and fought for the independence of Scots Law. In June 1709 he was elected a Senator of the College of Justice under the title of Lord Blairhall, succeeding his uncle Robert Stewart. He died at Blairhall on 16 June 1712.

Family

In 1700 he married Mary Bruce (d.1759) daughter of John Bruce of Blairhall. They had two sons, James and John.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Dugald 1712 deaths Alumni of the University of Glasgow Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1702–1707 Senators of the College of Justice People from Rothesay, Bute People associated with Perth and Kinross Scottish sheriffs Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies 17th-century Scottish lawyers British MPs 1707–1708 18th-century Scottish lawyers