John Wemyss, 1st Earl of Wemyss (1586–1649) was a Scottish politician.
He was a son of
Sir John Wemyss
Sir John Wemyss (1558–1621) was a Scottish landowner.
Biography
He was the son of David Wemyss (d. 1596) and Cecilia Ruthven, a daughter of William Ruthven, 2nd Lord Ruthven.
His home was Wemyss Castle in Fife. The coastal location was somet ...
and Margaret Douglas, a daughter of
Sir William Douglas of
Lochleven. His home was
Wemyss Castle
Wemyss Castle (pronounced eems is situated in Wemyss on the sea cliffs between the villages of East Wemyss and West Wemyss in Fife, Scotland. Wemyss Castle is considered to be a multi-period building, and today's castle includes many elements ...
in
Fife
Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...
.
Around 1610 he acquired the estate of
Raith from William Paton (of Ballilisk) minister of
Dalgety in Fife.
[Fasti Ecclesiastae Scoticana vol.5 p.2]
Knighted in 1618, in 1625 Wemyss was created a
Baronet of Nova Scotia
This is a list of baronetcies in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia. These were first created in 1624, and were replaced by the Baronetage of Great Britain in 1707.
This page lists baronetcies, whether extant, extinct, dormant (D), unproven (U), ...
in 1625, with a charter to the barony of
New Wemyss in that province of Canada. In 1628 he was raised to the Peerage of Scotland as Lord Wemyss of Elcho, and in 1633 he was further honoured when he was made Lord Elcho and Methel and
Earl of Wemyss
Earl of Wemyss ( ) is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created in 1633. The Scottish Wemyss family had possessed the lands of Wemyss in Fife since the 12th century. Since 1823 the earldom has been held with the Earldom of March, created in ...
, also in the Peerage of Scotland.
He was
, a
Privy Councillor
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
and one of the
Committee of the Estates. Wemyss later supported the
Parliament of Scotland
The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...
against
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 ...
in the
Wars of the Three Kingdoms
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of related conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, then separate entities united in a pers ...
, and died in 1649. He married Jane Gray (daughter of
Patrick Gray and his second wife, Mary Stewart, daughter of
Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney
Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney and Lord of Zetland (Shetland) (spring of 1533 – 4 February 1593) was a recognised illegitimate son of James V, King of Scotland, and his mistress Eupheme Elphinstone. Robert Stewart was half-brother to M ...
, the King's uncle) and was succeeded by his only son,
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
, the second Earl.
Notes
1586 births
1649 deaths
17th-century Scottish peers
Lords High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
Peers of Scotland created by Charles I
Members of the Privy Council of Scotland
Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1617
Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1617
Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1630
Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1639–1641
1
Clan Wemyss
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