George Bethune (c1635-), the last name pronounced and sometimes written as Beaton, was a Scottish soldier, businessman, and politician from

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

whose public career was curtailed by his

Jacobitism Jacobitism (; gd, Seumasachas, ; ga, Seacaibíteachas, ) was a political movement that supported the restoration of the senior line of the House of Stuart to the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British throne. The name derives from the first name ...

Origins

The son of John Bethune, 12th of Balfour, and his wife Catherine Haliburton, he was a younger brother of James Bethune (1620-1690), 13th of Balfour, and the uncle of David Bethune (1648-1708), 14th of Balfour.

Career

In the

Scots Army The Scots Army (Scots language, Scots: ''Scots Airmy'') was the army of the Kingdom of Scotland between the Restoration (Scotland), Restoration in 1660 and the Acts of Union 1707, Acts of Union of 1707. A small standing army was established at ...

he served as a Lieutenant in The Blues under Colonel Sir

William Lockhart of Lee Sir William Lockhart of Lee (1621–1675), was a Scottish soldier and diplomat who fought for the Covenanters during the 1638 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Following Royalist defeat in the 1642 to 1647 First English Civil War, Lockhart to ...

and then went into business in the burgh of

Kilrenny Kilrenny ( gd, Cill Reithnidh) is a village in Fife, Scotland. Part of the East Neuk, it lies immediately to the north of (but inland and separate from) Anstruther on the south Fife coast. The first element of the name is from the Scottish Ga ...

, where he was admitted as a

burgess __NOTOC__ Burgess may refer to: People and fictional characters * Burgess (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Burgess (given name), a list of people Places * Burgess, Michigan, an unincorporated community * Burgess, Missouri, U ...

. In the

Parliament of Scotland The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...

convened in 1689, he was elected for the constituency of

, but was unseated on 25 April 1693 after failing to take the oath of loyalty to King William II and Queen

Mary II Mary II (30 April 166228 December 1694) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, co-reigning with her husband, William III & II, from 1689 until her death in 1694. Mary was the eldest daughter of James, Duke of York, and his first wife ...

. The date of his death has not been traced. Kilrenny was later represented by his great-nephew, James Bethune (1671-1719), 15th of Balfour.

Family

No record of marriage or children has been found.

References

People from Fife

Members of Scottish legislatures Parliament of Scotland {{Scotland-bio-stub