James Veitch, Lord Elliock

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

(25 September 1712 – 1 July 1793) was a Scottish advocate, judge, politician and landowner who became a

Senator of the College of Justice The senators of the College of Justice are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court of Session); ...

Life

He was born in

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 ...

in September 1712, the son of Christian Thomson, daughter of Gavin Thomson, Provost of Peebles, and William Veitch of Elliock House near

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...

, a

Writer to the Signet The Society of Writers to His Majesty's Signet is a private society of Scottish solicitors, dating back to 1594 and part of the College of Justice. Writers to the Signet originally had special privileges in relation to the drawing up of document ...

(WS) who died in 1747. Veitch studied law at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, Leyden University and

Halle University Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...

. While in Germany he met and apparently befriended

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

. He passed the Scottish bar as an advocate and was elected to the Faculty of Advocates in 1738.An Historical Account of the Senators of the College of Justice: Brunton, Haig and Lockhart He was appointed Sheriff-Depute of Peebles in 1747. He served as MP for Dumfriesshire from 1755 to 1760. In 1761 he was elected a

in the place of

Andrew Macdowal, Lord Bankton Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...

. In Novemberv 1763 he is noted as living in the

Jock's Lodge Jock's Lodge is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It centres on the junction of London Road and Willowbrae Road (part of the A1 trunk route to London), Portobello Road and Restalrig Road South (Smokey Brae) and is an alternative name for the M ...

area of Edinburgh and was the first point of contact after the post-boy was mugged and robbed of his horse and mailbags. He was Commissioner for Forfeited Estates in 1769, as Deputy Governor of the

Royal Bank of Scotland The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS; gd, Banca Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a major retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest (in England and Wales) and Ulster Bank ...

(1776–), and as a member of the Board of Trustees for Manufactures & Fisheries (1777–). In 1775 he is listed as living at

to the east of Edinburgh. He moved to St Andrew Square in the 1780s, as soon as the houses were built. In 1783 he was a founding Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. He died at St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, on 1 July 1793. His position as Senator was filled by

William Baillie, Lord Polkemmet William Baillie, Lord Polkemmet (1736- 14 March 1816) was a Scottish lawyer and judge. Life Baillie was the eldest son of Thomas Baillie of Polkemmet WS (died 1785), and Isabel Walker (died 1777). He was admitted advocate in 1758. He was app ...

. He was buried in

Restalrig Restalrig () is a small residential suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland (historically, an estate and independent parish). It is located east of the city centre, west of Craigentinny and to the east of Lochend, both of which it overlaps. Restalrig ...

Churchyard in eastern Edinburgh on 5 July.

Family

His children included Mary Veitch (1752-1776)

References

* 1712 births 1793 deaths Lawyers from Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Leiden University alumni University of Halle alumni Members of the Faculty of Advocates Elliock Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies Politics of Dumfries and Galloway Scottish bankers Scottish civil servants 18th-century Scottish landowners Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh British MPs 1754–1761 Scottish sheriffs 18th-century Scottish businesspeople {{Scotland-GreatBritain-MP-stub