John Stewart (after 1670 – 22 April 1748) of

Sorbie Sorbie ( gd, Soirbidh) is a small village in Wigtownshire, Machars, within the Administration area of Dumfries and Galloway Council, Scotland. It is located midway between Wigtown and Whithorn on the A714 road. Farming forms the principal loca ...

, Wigtown was a Scottish soldier and politician who sat in the Scottish Parliament from 1702 to 1707 and in the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

between 1707 and 1727. Stewart was born after 1670, the 3rd surviving son of

Alexander Stewart, 3rd Earl of Galloway Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

and his wife Lady Mary Douglas, daughter of

James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Queensberry James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Queensberry (before 16221671) was a Scottish noble, politician and Covenanter. Biography James was the second son of William Douglas, 1st Earl of Queensberry and his wife Isabel. On his father's death in 1640 he succeed ...

He was educated at

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

in 1687 and then joined the army. He was an ensign in the 3rd Foot Guards in 1691, a captain-lieutenant in April 1692, and captain and lieutenant-colonel in July 1692. In 1702 Stewart was returned in the Scottish parliament for the Scottish constituency of Wigtownshire. After the Act of Union he was one of the

Scottish representatives to the first Parliament of Great Britain The Scottish representatives to the first Parliament of Great Britain, serving from 1 May 1707 to 26 May 1708, were not elected like their colleagues from England and Wales, but rather hand-picked. The forty five men sent to London in 1707, to t ...

in 1707 and was returned as

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 ...

for

Wigtownshire Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown (, ) is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an administrative county used for local government. Since 1975 the area has f ...

at the

1708 general election Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...

. During this time he became 2nd lieutenant-colonel in 1704 and in 1710 was 1st lieutenant colonel and colonel of foot. In parliament in 1710, he voted for the impeachment of Sacheverell. The same year he was promoted

Brigadier-General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

and later served in the Peninsula commanding British forces during the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

. He was initially defeated at the 1710 general election, but petitioned and was reinstated as MP for Wigtownshire on 3 March 1711. He was returned unopposed in the family interest as a Whig in subsequent general elections in 1713,

1715 Events For dates within Great Britain and the British Empire, as well as in the Russian Empire, the "old style" Julian calendar was used in 1715, and can be converted to the "new style" Gregorian calendar (adopted in the British Empire i ...

and 1722. He did not stand at the 1727 general election. Stewart was the last resident of the Old Place of Sorbie and died, apparently unmarried, at Sorbie in April 1748. He lies buried in the local kirkyard. .

References

Year of birth uncertain 1748 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies Shire Commissioners to the Parliament of Scotland Politics of Dumfries and Galloway People associated with Dumfries and Galloway Younger sons of earls Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1689–1702 Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1702–1707 British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 {{Scotland-GreatBritain-MP-stub