John Dickson, Lord Hartree or Hartrie (1600–1653) was a 17th-century Scottish judge and

Senator of the College of Justice 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); ...

and a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

Life

He was born in July 1600. He trained in law but made much of his income from his estates. In 1630 he acquired the

Kilbucho Kilbucho ( gd, Cille Bheagha) is a small settlement in the parish of Broughton, Glenholm and Kilbucho in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland in Peeblesshire and near Biggar and Broughton. The name derives from the church which was dedica ...

estate from the

Earl of Morton The title Earl of Morton was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1458 for James Douglas of Dalkeith. Along with it, the title Lord Aberdour was granted. This latter title is the courtesy title for the eldest son and heir to the Earl of Morton. ...

. In 1633 he acquired the Hartree estate 1 mile south of Biggar, previously controlled by the Brown family, but under the feudal ownership of the

Earl of Traquair Earl of Traquair (pronounced "Tra-''quare''") was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1633 for John Stewart, 1st Earl of Traquair, John Stewart, Lord Stewart of Traquair. The family seat was Traquair House. Stewart had been c ...

. He was Depute Clerk Register to Sir

Alexander Gibson, Lord Durie Alexander Gibson, Lord Durie I (c.1570–1644) was a Scottish judge and legal author. Life He was son of George Gibson of Goldingstones, a clerk of session, and his wife Mary Airth, of the family of Airth of that ilk in Stirlingshire; Will ...

. He was Commissioner for

Peeblesshire Peeblesshire ( gd, Siorrachd nam Pùballan), the County of Peebles or Tweeddale is a historic county of Scotland. Its county town is Peebles, and it borders Midlothian to the north, Selkirkshire to the east, Dumfriesshire to the south, and Lan ...

1644 to 1651. Not until 1649 did he become an advocate and this seems to have been a contrivance to allow his election as a Senator of the College of Justice to replace his wife's uncle,

George Haliburton, Lord Fodderance Sir George Haliburton, Lord Fodderance (c.1580–1649) was a 17th-century Scottish judge and Senator of the College of Justice. Life He was a member of the family of Haliburton of Pitcur (near Coupar Angus) and his father owned a nearby estate ...

. In 1649/50 he was MP for

. In November 1650 he presided over the execution trial of an "English spy" Mosse. He died at Hartree Tower in 1653.

Family

He married twice: firstly Bessie Barbour, and had two daughters and four sons. He secondly married Susannah Ramsay (1607-1690) daughter of George Ramsay, with whom he had seven daughters and four sons. One daughter, Elizabeth Dickson (1641-1669) married Sir

George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh Sir George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh (1636 – May 8, 1691) was a Scottish lawyer, Lord Advocate, essayist and legal writer. Early life Mackenzie, who was born in Dundee, was the son of Sir Simon Mackenzie of Lochslin (died c. 1666) and Elizab ...

. His numerous descendants included the botanist Alexander Dickson and Rev Dr David Dickson.

References

1600 births 1653 deaths Scottish landowners Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1648–1651 Senators of the College of Justice {{Scotland-pre1707-MP-stub