John Hay, 1st Marquess of Tweeddale (13 August 1625 – 11 August 1697) was a Scottish peer and politician who served as

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 ...

Early life

Hay was born in 1626. He was the eldest son of

John Hay, 1st Earl of Tweeddale John Hay, 1st Earl of Tweeddale (1593–1653) was a Scottish aristocrat. Hay was the son of James Hay, 7th Lord Hay of Yester and Margaret Kerr or Ker, eldest daughter of Sir John Ker of Ferniehirst. He became the 8th Lord Hay of Yester in Feb ...

(created 1 December 1646) and Lady Jean Seton. After his mother's death a few days after his birth in 1625, his father remarried to Lady Margaret Montgomerie, the eldest daughter of

Alexander Montgomerie, 6th Earl of Eglinton Alexander Montgomerie, 6th Earl of Eglinton (1588 – 7 January 1661) was a Scottish aristocrat and soldier, originally known as Sir Alexander Seton of Foulstruther. Life He was the third son of Robert Seton, 1st Earl of Winton by his wife ...

and Lady Anne Livingston (eldest daughter of Alexander Livingston, 1st Earl of Linlithgow). After his father's death in 1653, his stepmother remarried to

William Cunningham, 9th Earl of Glencairn William Cunningham, 9th Earl of Glencairn () (1610–1664), was a Scottish nobleman, Lord Chancellor of Scotland, and a cavalier. He was also the chief of Clan Cunningham. The eldest son of William Cunningham, 8th Earl of Glencairn, on 21 July ...

. From his father's second marriage, he had a younger half-brother, the Hon. William Hay of Drummelzier (1649–1726), who married the Hon. Elizabeth Seton, only surviving daughter of Alexander Seton, 1st Viscount of Kingston. His father was the eldest son and heir of James Hay, 7th Lord Hay of Yester and Lady Margaret Kerr (third daughter of

Mark Kerr, 1st Earl of Lothian Mark Kerr (or Ker), 1st Earl of Lothian (15538 April 1609) was a Scottish nobleman and politician. He became the first Earl of Lothian in 1606. Family background He was a member of the "famous border family" of Ker of Cessford. He was the son ...

). His mother was the only daughter of

Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline (1555 – 16 June 1622) was a Scottish lawyer, judge and politician. He served as Lord President of the Court of Session from 1598 to 1604, Lord Chancellor of Scotland from 1604 to 1622 and as a Lord High ...

by his second wife, Lady Grizel Leslie (the half-sister of John Leslie, 6th Earl of Rothes).

Career

During the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

he repeatedly switched allegiance between the Royalist cause and the Parliamentarians. He fought for

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

and joined him at Nottingham in 1642, then for Parliament at the

Battle of Marston Moor The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms of 1639–1653. The combined forces of the English Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester and the Scottish Covenanters unde ...

in 1644, on account of his attitude towards Covenanters, and four years later was again on the side of the Royalists at the Battle of Preston. He succeeded as Earl of Tweeddale in 1654, and was imprisoned for support of James Guthrie in 1660. He was a member of the Commonwealth Parliaments of 1656 and 1659. When Charles II was restored to the throne, he was appointed Lord President of the Scottish Council in 1663 and an Extraordinary Lord of Session in 1664. He was elected in the latter year a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

. He used his influence to moderate proceedings against the

Covenanters Covenanters were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son ...

, but with the hardening of the official attitude in 1674 he was dismissed from office and from the Privy Council on the advice of

Lauderdale Lauderdale is the valley of the Leader Water (a tributary of the River Tweed, Tweed) in the Scottish Borders. It contains the town of Lauder, as well as Earlston. The valley is traversed from end to end by the A68 road, A68 trunk road, which run ...

. He returned to the

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...

in 1680. Tweeddale supported

William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily () * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg (1817–1890) N ...

and became a privy councillor in 1689. He was

from 1692 to 1696. He supported the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

in Scotland, and was created

Marquess of Tweeddale Marquess of Tweeddale (sometimes spelled ''Tweedale'') is a title of the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1694 for the 2nd Earl of Tweeddale. Lord Tweeddale holds the subsidiary titles of Earl of Tweeddale (created 1646), Earl of Gifford (1694), ...

in 1694. As

Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland The Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland was the List of Scottish monarchs, monarch of Scotland's high commissioner, personal representative to the Parliament of Scotland. From the accession of James I of England, James VI of Sc ...

from 1694 to 1696 he ordered the inquiry into the Glencoe massacre in 1695. He was dismissed from the Chancellorship in 1696 for supporting the

Darien scheme The Darien scheme was an unsuccessful attempt, backed largely by investors of the Kingdom of Scotland, to gain wealth and influence by establishing New Caledonia, a colony in the Darién Gap on the Isthmus of Panama, in the late 1690s. The pl ...

Personal life

On 4 September 1644, Tweeddale was married to Lady Jean Scott, the second daughter of

Walter Scott, 1st Earl of Buccleuch Walter Scott, 1st Earl of Buccleuch, 2nd Baron Scott of Buccleuch (before 1606 – 20 November 1633) was a Scottish nobleman. He was the son of Walter Scott, 1st Lord Scott of Buccleuch (c. 1549–1611), and Mary Kerr, a daughter of Mark Kerr, ...

and Lady Mary Hay, third daughter of

Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll (30 April 156416 July 1631) was a Scottish nobleman. A convert to Catholicism, he openly conspired with the king of Spain to try to unseat the Protestant Queen Elizabeth. Biography He was the son of Andrew Ha ...

). Together, they were the parents of: *

John Hay, 2nd Marquess of Tweeddale John Hay, 2nd Marquess of Tweeddale PC (1645 – 20 April 1713) was a Scottish nobleman. Early life Hay was the eldest son of John Hay, 1st Marquess of Tweeddale and his wife, Lady Jean Scott, daughter of Walter Scott, 1st Earl of Buccleuch. ...

(1645–1713), who married Lady Mary Maitland, only daughter and heiress of

John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale, Order of the Garter, KG, Privy Council of Scotland, PC (24 May 1616 – 24 August 1682) was a Scottish statesman and peer. Background Maitland was a member of an ancient family of both Berwickshire an ...

. * David Hay (1656–1737), who married Rachel Hayes, daughter of Sir James Hayes, of Great Bedgbury. * Alexander Hay (1663–1737), who married Catherine Charters, daughter of Laurence Charters. * Margaret Hay (d. 1753), who married

Robert Ker, 3rd Earl of Roxburghe Robert Ker, 3rd Earl of Roxburghe PC (6 May 1682) was a Scottish nobleman. Early life Ker was the eldest son of four sons born to William Ker, 2nd Earl of Roxburghe and the Honourable Jane Ker, who were first cousins. Among his younger brot ...

. * Jean Hay (d. 1729), who married William Douglas, 1st Earl of March. Tweeddale died on 11 Aug 1697.

Legacy

His portrait by Sir

Peter Lely Sir Peter Lely (14 September 1618 – 30 November 1680) was a painter of Dutch origin whose career was nearly all spent in England, where he became the dominant portrait painter to the court. He became a naturalised British subject and was kn ...

is held by the

Scottish National Portrait Gallery National Galleries Scotland: Portrait is an art museum on Queen Street, Edinburgh. Portrait holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. It also holds the Scottish National Photography Collec ...

.Hutchinson's ''Encyclopedia of Britain''

References

External links

Portrait of John Hay, 1st Marquess of Tweeddale
by Sir

at the

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tweeddale 1625 births 1697 deaths Nobility from East Lothian Senators of the College of Justice Lord chancellors of Scotland Lords High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland Commissioners of the Treasury of Scotland English MPs 1656–1658 English MPs 1659 Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1689 Extraordinary Lords of Session 1 Fellows of the Royal Society