James Drummond, 4th Earl of Perth, KT, PC (164811 May 1716) was a Scottish peer and politician. Lyle, Kathleen (2019), ''The Jacobites in Perth 1715-16'', Tippermuir Books Ltd., Perth, p. 162,

Family

The eldest son of James Drummond, 3rd Earl of Perth by his spouse Lady Anne, daughter of

George Gordon, 2nd Marquess of Huntly George Gordon, 2nd Marquess of Huntly (c. 1592March 1649), styled Earl of Enzie from 1599 to 1636, eldest son of George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly by Lady Henrietta Stewart, daughter of Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox, born at Huntly Cast ...

, he was educated at the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

, and succeeded his father on 2 June 1675, and was served heir to him on 1 October.

Political career

In 1678 he was appointed a member of the

Scottish Privy Council The Privy Council of Scotland ( — 1 May 1708) was a body that advised the Scottish monarch. During its existence, the Privy Council of Scotland was essentially considered as the government of the Kingdom of Scotland, and was seen as the most ...

and supported Lord Lauderdale's policy of giving up the disaffected western shires of Scotland to highland raids, before joining

Hamilton's Buck Meadows (formerly Hamilton's and Hamilton's Station) is a census-designated place in Mariposa County, California, United States. The community is located east-northeast of Smith Peak, at an elevation of . The population was 21 at the 2020 c ...

faction in opposition to Lauderdale. After Lauderdale's retirement in 1680 he was one of the Committee of Seven which managed Scottish affairs. He was appointed

Lord Justice General Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

in 1682 and an Extraordinary Lord of Session on 16 November the same year. He introduced the use of the thumbscrew in Scotland. He was also

Lord Chancellor of Scotland The Lord Chancellor of Scotland, formally titled Lord High Chancellor, was an Officer of State in the Kingdom of Scotland. The Lord Chancellor was the principal Great Officer of State, the presiding officer of the Parliament of Scotland, the K ...

, 1684–1688.

New Jersey

Drummond was a partner with

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

in the settlement of East New Jersey in 1681. As one of 24 proprietors of a large parcel of property that took up much of what is now the State of New Jersey, Perth sponsored an expedition in 1684 to establish a settlement there. The City of Perth Amboy,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, which sits on the waterfront facing

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

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, and which was once a port city in its own right, is named in his honor – a statue of Lord Perth stands in front of City Hall ("Amboy" comes from a Lenape word meaning "the point").

Roman Catholicism

In 1685 the 4th Earl of Perth converted to

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

ism, along with his brother, the 1st Earl of Melfort, which brought him into high favour with King James VII and II. In 1686, Perth and his brother opened a Catholic chapel in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, and their public attendance there resulted in a riot. Perth and his brother suggested to James II that the Scottish Parliament would approve a repeal of the

Test Act The Test Acts were a series of penal laws originating in Restoration England, passed by the Parliament of England, that served as a religious test for public office and imposed various civil disabilities on Catholics and nonconformist Prote ...

and penal laws against Catholics and Protestant dissenters, but this was later proved untrue. On 29 May 1687, nonetheless, he was made a

Knight of the Thistle The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland, who asserted that he was reviving an earlier order. The ...

, being one of the eight original knights of that Order. He is said to have had a novodamus, 17 December 1687, (on resignation) of his dignities, creating him Earl of Perth, Lord Drummond, Stobhall, and Montefex (Scotland), with remainder, failing heirs-male of his and of his brother's body, to the heirs-male of the second Earl. The records of Perth council refer to Catholic worship at Stobhall in the 1680s, and in 1700 Drummond Castle became a centre of Catholic worship in Perthshire. When James retreated from

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

before William of Orange, the people of

, in the absence of the troops whom Perth had disbanded, rose against him. Perth departed on 8 December under a strong escort to his seat of Drummond Castle, Perthshire. Finding himself unsafe there, he fled in disguise over the

Ochil Hills The Ochil Hills (; ) is a range of hills in Scotland north of the River Forth, Forth valley bordered by the cities of Stirling, Perth, Scotland, Perth and the towns of Alloa, Kinross, and Auchterarder . The only major roads crossing the hil ...

Burntisland Burntisland ( , ) is a former Royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland, on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. It was previously known as Wester Kinghorn or Little Kinghorn. The town has a population of 6,269 (2011). Burntisland is known ...

, where he gained a vessel about to sail to France. He had, however, been recognised, and a boatful of watermen from

Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; ; ) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, making it Fife's second-largest s ...

pursued the vessel, which, as it was almost a dead calm, was overtaken at the mouth of the Forth. Perth was dragged from the hold in woman's clothes, stripped of all he had, and thrown into the common prison of Kirkcaldy. Thence he was taken to

Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most historically and architecturally important castles in Scotland. The castle sits atop an Intrusive rock, intrusive Crag and tail, crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill ge ...

, and not released until 4 August 1693 on condition of a bond to leave the kingdom under penalty of £5000.

St. Germain

Tomb Brain James II England VII Scotland Scots college Paris

He joined the exiled King at St Germain, by whom he was, on 19 August 1696, appointed Governor to the young Prince of Wales, and by whose testamentary directions he was, before 17 October 1701, created by King James III and VIII, Duke of Perth, Marquess of Drummond, Earl of Stobhall, Viscount Cargill, and Baron Concraig, all proclaimed as in the

Peerage of Scotland The Peerage of Scotland (; ) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and for those peers created by the King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Union 1707, Treaty of Union, the Kingdom of Scots and the ...

(but in reality in the

Jacobite peerage The Jacobite peerage includes those peerages created by James II and VII, and the subsequent Jacobite pretenders, after James's deposition from the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland following the Glorious Revolution of 1688. These creati ...

), with remainder to his heirs-male whatsoever. In 1701 he was recognised as a Duke in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

by King

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

. On 14 February 1703, he was made a Gentleman of the Bedchamber, and on 21 June 1706 he was appointed a

Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...

. He was afterwards Chamberlain to Queen

Mary of Modena Mary of Modena (; ) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of James VII and II. A devout Catholic, Roman Catholic, Mary married the widower James, who was t ...

, and is said to have been created a

Knight of the Golden Fleece This article contains a list of knights of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Burgundian Golden Fleece 15th century !Year of induction!!Name!!Born!!Died!!Notes , - , rowspan=25, 1430, , Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, , 1396, , 1467, , Founde ...

by the King of Spain. During James's exile, the Duke of Perth acted as his ambassador to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, and after the King's death, Perth erected a monument to him in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Marriage and death

The Duke of Perth married: * Firstly, 18 January 1670, Lady Jane, daughter of William Douglas, 1st Marquess of Douglas by his second wife Lady Mary, daughter of

George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly (156213 June 1636) was a Scottish nobleman who took a leading role in the political and military life of Scotland in the late 16th century, and around the time of the Union of the Crowns. Biography The son ...

. Their daughter, Lady Mary Drummond, married William Keith, 9th Earl Marischal * Secondly, Lilias (died c. 1685), Dowager Countess of Tullibardine and daughter of Sir James Drummond of Machany * Thirdly, Lady Mary (1646–1726), daughter of

Lewis Gordon, 3rd Marquess of Huntly Lewis Gordon, 3rd Marquess of Huntly (c. 1626–1653) was a Scottish nobleman. He was the third son of George Gordon, 2nd Marquess of Huntly. Biography Born when his father was commander of the Garde Écossaise, he was named after Louis XIII of ...

by his spouse Mary, daughter of Sir John Grant of Freuchie. Lady Mary had been a Lady of the Bedchamber in Ordinary to Queen

.Joseph Massey, 'The Stuart Consorts and Scotland', Aidan Norrie, ''Tudor and Stuart Consorts: Power, Influence, and Dynasty'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022), p. 207. Her heart was buried with her husband. He died at St Germain, was interred in the Scots Chapel,

, and was succeeded by his son and heir by his first wife: * James Drummond, 2nd Duke of Perth (c. 1674–1720).

Notes

References

* ''The Jacobite Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, & Grants of Honour'' by the Marquis de Ruvigny & Raineval, London and Edinburgh, 1904, pp. 145–6. , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Perth, James Drummond, 4th Earl of 1648 births 1716 deaths Converts to Roman Catholicism Alumni of the University of St Andrews 4 Knights of the Golden Fleece Knights of the Thistle Lord chancellors of Scotland Members of the Privy Council of England Members of the Privy Council of Scotland Peers created by James Francis Edward Stuart Nobility from Perth and Kinross

James Drummond, 4th Earl of Perth James Drummond, 4th Earl of Perth, Order of the Thistle, KT, Privy Council of England, PC (164811 May 1716) was a Scottish peer and politician. Lyle, Kathleen (2019), ''The Jacobites in Perth 1715-16'', Tippermuir Books Ltd., Perth, p. 162, Fa ...

Lords Justice-General Commissioners of the Treasury of Scotland Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1685–1686 Extraordinary Lords of Session Dukes of Perth People convicted under a bill of attainder 17th-century Scottish peers Scottish Jacobites