John Stewart, 1st Earl of Traquair (died 27 March 1659) 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 ...

statesman who was created Baron Stewart of Traquair in 1628 and

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 ...

in 1633.

Life

He was the son of John Stewart, the Younger, of Traquair in

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 ...

, of a branch, originally illegitimate, of the house of Buchan. His mother was Margaret Stewart, a daughter of Andrew, Master of Ochiltree, and Margaret Stewart. She was a lady-in-waiting in the household of Anne of Denmark. He was appointed Treasurer-depute of Scotland and an Extraordinary Lord of Session in 1630. In February 1633 Traquair visited building and repair works at

Linlithgow Palace The ruins of Linlithgow Palace are located in the town of Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland, west of Edinburgh. The palace was one of the principal residences of the monarchs of Scotland in the 15th and 16th centuries. Although mai ...

, Dunfermline Palace, and

Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland, both historically and architecturally. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological ...

. In 1633 Charles I was crowned in Edinburgh, and Traquair was involved in repairing the

Scottish crown jewels The Honours of Scotland (, gd, Seudan a' Chrùin Albannaich), informally known as the Scottish Crown Jewels, are the regalia that were worn by Scottish monarchs at their coronation. Kept in the Crown Room in Edinburgh Castle, they date from t ...

and the royal wardrobe. Traquair is said to have given the casting vote against John Elphinstone, 2nd Lord Balmerino at his trial in 1634, but afterwards obtained his pardon. From 1636 to 1641 he held the office of

Lord High Treasurer of Scotland The Treasurer was a senior post in the pre-Union government of Scotland, the Privy Council of Scotland. Lord Treasurer The full title of the post was ''Lord High Treasurer, Comptroller, Collector-General and Treasurer of the New Augmentation'', f ...

, and aided Charles I in introducing the

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

. He endeavoured to prevent a conflict by impressing on the king the necessity of caution and the danger of extreme measures against the rioters. He was, however, compelled to publish Charles's proclamation enforcing the use of the liturgy and forbidding hostile demonstrations on pain of treason (1638). This was followed by military measures in which Traquair assisted by secretly conveying munitions of war to Dalkeith Palace. He was, however, obliged to surrender the place with the regalia to the

Covenanters Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) 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. The name is derived from ''Covenan ...

(March 1639). After the Treaty of Berwick he was appointed the king's commissioner to the

assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

(August 1639), and he assented in writing to the act abolishing episcopacy, but prevented its ratification by adjourning the opening of parliament. His apparent double-dealing made him suspected by both parties, and in 1641 the Scottish parliament issued a warrant for his arrest. In his absence he was sentenced to death, but, although the king secured the remission of this penalty, he was dismissed from his office of treasurer, and in 1644, for repairing to the court and opposing the covenant, he was declared an enemy to religion and fined 40,000 marks. Stewart was accused of being a

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. His son, Lord Linton, whom he had sent to Montrose with a troop of horse, withdrew on the eve of the Battle of Philiphaugh (September 1645) and it has been supposed that Traquair betrayed Montrose's plans to David Leslie. He was readmitted to parliament in 1646, raised cavalry for the "engagement" between the king and the Covenanters, and was captured at

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

(1648). He was released by Oliver Cromwell in 1654, and died on 27 March 1659. He was succeeded by his only son John (c. 1622-1666), whose descendants held the title until 1861, when on the death of Charles, the 8th earl, it became dormant or extinct.

Family

He married Lady Catherine Carnegie, daughter of

David Carnegie, 1st Earl of Southesk Sir David Carnegie, 1st Earl of Southesk, 1st Baron Carnegie of Kinnaird, 1st Baron Carnegie, of Kinnaird and Leuchards (1575–1658) was a Scottish nobleman. He was a member of the Privy Council of Scotland and held the office of Lord of Session ...

and had three children: * John Stewart, 2nd Earl of Traquair (c. 1622-1666). * Margaret Stewart, married James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Queensberry. Parents of William Douglas, 1st Duke of Queensberry. * Elizabeth Stewart, married Patrick Murray, 2nd Lord Elibank.

Notes

References

* That article references: ** Spalding, ''Memorialls'' ( Spalding Club) ** Sir James Balfour, ''Annals'' (ed. Haig, 1824) ** '' Dict. Nat. Biog.'', vol. liv. {{DEFAULTSORT:Traquair, John Stewart, 1st Earl of Lord High Treasurers of Scotland Earls in the Peerage of Scotland Peers of Scotland created by Charles I 1659 deaths Lords High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland People from the Scottish Borders Scottish Freemasons Extraordinary Lords of Session Members of the Privy Council of Scotland 17th-century Scottish politicians 17th-century Scottish people Lords High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1621 Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1625 Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1630 Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1639–1641 Treasurers-depute Year of birth unknown

Life

Family

See also

Notes

References