John Bethune of Craigfoodie (1670–1734), pronounced and sometimes written as Beaton, was a Scottish landowner and politician who later became a clergyman in England.

Origins

Baptised in Edinburgh on 5 August 1670, he was the son of William Bethune of Craigfoodie (died 1699) and his wife Mary Bethune, daughter of Andrew Bethune of Blebo (died 1653). His younger brother George Bethune (died 1735) went into business in Massachusetts, becoming a prominent citizen of Boston. His father worked as an advocate in Edinburgh, and in 1680 bought the estate of Craigfoodie, which in 1695 was the second most valuable property in the parish of

Dairsie Dairsie, or Osnaburgh, is a village and parish in north-east Fife, Scotland. It is south-southwest of Leuchars Junction, and east-northeast of Cupar on the A91 Stirling to St Andrews road. The village grew out of two smaller settlements (calle ...

in Fife, where he built the present house. This was to be the inheritance of his elder brother Robert, while he studied at the University of St Andrews with the aim of entering the ministry of the Church of Scotland, but on the death of his brother in 1696 he left university with an MA degree, to prepare for a career as a landowner.

Life

On the death of his father in 1699, he became laird of Craigfoodie and soon accepted public duties, being elected as

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 ...

to the Parliament of Scotland for the county of Fife in 1701. There, he signed two petitions on 9 January 1701, and, re-elected in 1703, he supported an act on 5 August 1704. His father had however incurred debts and in the exceptionally heavy winter of 1708–09, when food and money were everywhere short, he had to sell lands and goods. Craigfoodie went to his brother-in-law, Charles Bell WS (died 1731), while he and his family moved to London. On a testimonial from St Andrews University, he was accepted as a priest in the Church of England, becoming chaplain to the Lock Hospital in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

and curate of

St Michael, Cornhill St Michael, Cornhill, is a medieval parish church in the City of London with pre-Norman Conquest parochial foundation. It lies in the ward of Cornhill. The medieval structure was lost in the Great Fire of London, and replaced by the present bui ...

in the City of London, where he died on 17 April 1734, survived by his wife.

Family

On 15 February 1699 in Edinburgh he married Anna Urie (died 1741), daughter of the Reverend Andrew Urie (died 1707), and they had nine children. Two of their sons made careers and raised families in

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

: * John Bethune (1702–1775) became a surgeon in

East Grinstead East Grinstead is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the extreme northeast of the county, the civ ...

, and married Mildred Thorpe (1717–1782), first cousin of George Nevill, 1st Earl of Abergavenny. * Andrew Bethune (1705–1767) became an Anglican priest living at

Rowfant Rowfant was a railway station on the Three Bridges to Tunbridge Wells Central Line in the parish of Worth, West Sussex. The line closed in 1967, a casualty of the Beeching Axe. The route of the railway line cut a path through the estate of Cur ...

in the parish of Worth, and married Mary Watson (1703–1774), widow of John Goodwin who was the nephew of Charles Goodwin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bethune, John 1670 births 1734 deaths People from Fife

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 ...

Members of Scottish legislatures Parliament of Scotland Lairds Alumni of the University of St Andrews 18th-century English Anglican priests