John Schairp of Houston (died 1607) was a Scottish lawyer and businessman.
Schairp studied at the University of St Andrews for the church, but changed careers and became a lawyer. His practice included work for Edinburgh town council and many private clients. He also lent money to aristocrats like John Lyon, 8th Lord Glamis.
Houston House is at Uphall in
West Lothian
West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its shires of Scotland, historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geogra ...
. The lands were called Stathbrock when he bought them in 1569. The lands were erected into a barony for Shairp, but he had to defend his ownership of the property from various claimants. Schairp completed a new Houston House which still stands.
He gave a speech in Latin at the Entry of James VI into Edinburgh.
On 12 July 1593 he acted as proxy for John Maitland of Thirlestane and his wife Jean Fleming when they resigned the barony of
Musselburgh
Musselburgh (; sco, Musselburrae; gd, Baile nam Feusgan) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It has a population of .
History
The name Musselburgh is Ol ...
John Shairp married firstly, Agnes Moffet. Their children included:
*James Shairp, who was an invalid.
*John Shairp
*Patrick Shairp, Minister of Uphall.
*Anna Shairp, who married William Little.
*Agnes Shairp, who married, secondly, William Hume.
He married secondly Euphemia Acheson, daughter of Alexander Acheson of Gosford, merchant and master of the mint, and Helen Reid, and sister of Mark Acheson of Acheson's Haven. Their children included:
*Alexander Shairp, (d. 1604) while studying at Poitiers.
*Andrew Shairp
*William Shairp
*Euphemia Shairp
*Isobel Shairp, who married Robert Dunbar of
Burgie
Irving Louis Burgie (July 28, 1924 – November 29, 2019), sometimes known professionally as Lord Burgess, was an American musician and songwriter, regarded as one of the greatest composers of Caribbean music.Kinloss, Muirton, and Findhorn and salmon fishing rights in pools called the Stells and Yairs. Schairp disputed their rights to these properties with Edward Bruce, 1st Lord Kinloss. When they building at Houston, Margaret Collace wrote to Shairp's secretary in Edinburgh asking about customary payments for the masons. They had asked for "morning and afternoon's drink", probably a reference to "
drinksilver Drinksilver was a kind of tip or gratuity given to artisans in Early Modern Scotland, a sum of money suitable for buying drinks and celebrating. Records of payments give insights into labour, service, and patronage.
Payments and contexts
Building ...
".Margaret Sanderson, ''A Kindly Place? Living in Sixteenth-Century Scotland'' (East Linton: Tuckwell, 2002), p. 113.