James Livingstone, 1st Viscount Kilsyth (25 June 1616 – 7 September 1661), was a devoted Scottish Royalist who was raised to the peerage of Scotland as Viscount Kilsyth and Lord Campsie in 1661. Lee, Sidney (1903),

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

br>Index and Epitomep. 783
(see also main entry vol. 33 p. 397)

Biography

James Livingstone, born on 25 June 1616, was younger son of Sir

William Livingstone of Kilsyth Sir William Livingstone of Kilsyth (died 1627) was a Scottish landowner and courtier. He was a son of William Livingstone of Kilsyth and Christian Graham, a daughter of William Graham, 3rd Earl of Menteith and Margaret Mowbray of Barnbougle, wid ...

, a

Lord of Session The senators of the College of Justice 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 of Session) ...

, by his second wife, Margaret, daughter of Sir John Houston of Houston. On 23 April he was served heir male of his brother's grandson. Being a devoted loyalist he garrisoned Kilsyth Castle against

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

, for which and for other services he received from Charles II a letter of thanks dated 7 October 1650. He was excepted from

Cromwell's Act of Grace Cromwell's Act of Grace, or more formally the Act of Pardon and Grace to the People of Scotland, was an Act of the Parliament of England that declared that the people of Scotland (with certain exceptions) were pardoned for any crimes they migh ...

in 1654, and fined £1,500. After the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

he entered 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 ...

in 1661 as a

shire commissioner A commissioner was a legislator appointed or elected to represent a royal burgh or shire in the pre-Union Scottish Parliament and the associated Convention of the Estates. Member of Parliament (MP) and Deputy are equivalent terms in other ...

for

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, gd, Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration countyRegisters of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. of Scotland. Its county town is Stirli ...

. On 17 August 1661 raised to the

peerage of Scotland The Peerage of Scotland ( gd, Moraireachd na h-Alba, sco, Peerage o 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, ...

by the title of Viscount Kilsyth and Lord Campsiebut died the following 7 September in London.

Family

James Livingstone married Eupheme, daughter of Sir Robert Cunningham of

Robertland The Castle and Barony of Robertland (NS 4428 4693) is located near Stewarton, off the B769 road, in the old district of Cunninghame, Parish of Stewarton, and now part of East Ayrshire, Scotland. History Robertland castle and barony Robertland C ...

. They had two sons, James, 2nd viscount, and William, 3rd and last viscount, who having engaged in the rebellion of 1715 was

attainted In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditary ...

for high treason, and died an exile in Holland in 1733. Of his two daughters, Elizabeth married General Robert Montgomery, fifth son of

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

, 6th Earl of Eglinton, and Anne died unmarried.

References

Attribution: * This entry cites **Douglas's Scottish Peerage (Wood), volume 2 p. 38

Biography

Family

References

Further reading