Sir John Cochrane of Ochiltree (d.c. 1707) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

nobleman, soldier, and conspirator.

Early life

Cochrane was the second son of

William Cochrane, 1st Earl of Dundonald William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, by Eupheme, daughter of Sir William Scott of Ardross, Director of Chancery at the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland and constitutes part of the College of Justice; the supreme criminal court of Scotland is the High Court of Justiciary. The Court of Session sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh ...

Career

He was one of the main promoters of the Carolina Company which established a Scottish colony at Port Royal, South Carolina. Cochrane was implicated in the Rye House plot (1683) and the

Monmouth Rebellion The Monmouth Rebellion, also known as the Pitchfork Rebellion, the Revolt of the West or the West Country rebellion, was an attempt to depose James II, who in February 1685 succeeded his brother Charles II as king of England, Scotland and Ir ...

, but escaped to Rotterdam, where he remained till the death of Charles II. On the accession of

James II James II may refer to: * James II of Avesnes (died c. 1205), knight of the Fourth Crusade * James II of Majorca (died 1311), Lord of Montpellier * James II of Aragon (1267–1327), King of Sicily * James II, Count of La Marche (1370–1438), King C ...

he was attainted while still abroad. He took part in the Earl of Argyll's insurrection in 1685, on the suppression of which he was harboured for a time by his kinsman, Gavin Cochrane of

Renfrew Renfrew (; sco, Renfrew; gd, Rinn Friù) is a town west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the Royal Stewarts" for its early link with Scotland's former ...

. Betrayed by Gavin Cochrane's wife, whose brother had fallen in a skirmish on the royalist side, he was carried to Edinburgh, led through the streets by the hangman, and lodged in the Tolbooth. Charged with high treason he is said by Lord Fountainhall to have turned approver and saved his head. Burnet states that the Earl of Dundonald bought his son's pardon by a payment of £5,000 to 'the priests,' and denies that Cochrane disclosed anything of importance. On the promulgation of the declaration of indulgence he was employed (1687) to urge its acceptance upon the

Presbyterians Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

. His estates were restored to him in 1689. He subsequently held the position of farmer of the

poll tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. Head taxes were important sources of revenue for many governments fr ...

, and in 1695, failing to give satisfactory account of moneys received by him in that capacity, was committed to prison.

Personal life

By his wife Margaret, daughter of Sir William Strickland of Boynton, Yorkshire, one of Cromwell's lords of parliament, he had two sons. The date of his death is uncertain.

References

* Balfour Paul, Sir James, '' The Scots Peerage'' ix vols, Edinburgh 1904. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cochrane, John Year of birth missing 1695 deaths People from East Ayrshire People of the Rye House Plot 17th-century Scottish people John of Ochiltree Younger sons of earls