Sir James Stewart, 1st Baronet (or Steuart; 1681 – 9 August 1727) was a Scottish lawyer and politician.

Early life

He was the first son of Sir James Stewart of

Goodtrees Moredun is a district in the south-east of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is east of Liberton, while Craigour is situated just to its north. The estate of Gut-tres or Goodtrees was the family home of James Stewart but it was renamed ...

(1635–1713) by his first wife Agnes, daughter of the Rev. Robert Traill, and grandson of Sir James Stewart of

Coltness Coltness is the largest suburb of the town of Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The 2001 census indicated a population of almost 4,500. Lying to the north east of Wishaw town centre, Coltness is an area of mainly local authority built h ...

(1608–1681),

Lord Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is the convener of the City of Edinburgh local authority, who is elected by City_of_Edinburgh_Council, the city council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the e ...

. His father, a distinguished lawyer and an active Whig, was appointed

Lord Advocate , body = , insignia = Crest of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg , insigniasize = 110px , image = File:Official Portrait of Dorothy Bain QC.png , incumbent = Dorothy Bain KC , incumbentsince = 22 June 2021 , appointer = Monarch on the advice ...

by William II and III in 1692. His sister, Anne Stewart, married William Mure of Caldwell, father of William Mure (1718–1776).

Career

Stewart followed his father into the law and became an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

in 1704. In May 1705, he was elected to 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 ...

for Queensferry and was created a

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, of Goodtrees, on 22 December.

First Parliament of Great Britain

The failure of the Stewarts to support the

Act of Union 1707 The Acts of Union ( gd, Achd an Aonaidh) were two Acts of Parliament: the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act 1707 passed by the Parliament of Scotland. They put into effect the te ...

meant that the younger Stewart was not chosen to represent Scotland in the first

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdo ...

, and did not stand at the general election in 1708. The elder Stewart was replaced as Lord Advocate by Sir David Dalrymple in 1709, but the younger Stewart succeeded Dalrymple as Solicitor-General, holding the office jointly with Thomas Kennedy of Dunure. Dalrymple, uncle to Stewart's wife Anne, supported the candidacy of his nephew-by-marriage for

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 1710 without success.

Involvement with Lord Advocate

Stewart's father was reappointed Lord Advocate in 1711, but Stewart and Kennedy did most of the work. The elder Stewart died on 1 May 1713, and Stewart succeeded to the estates of Goodtrees and Coltness. Both Stewart and Kennedy expected promotion to the now-vacant office of Lord Advocate, and Stewart was elected to Parliament for Edinburgh in the general election of that year in an attempt to increase his influence. However

Lord Oxford Earl of Oxford is a dormant title in the Peerage of England, first created for Aubrey de Vere by the Empress Matilda in 1141. His family was to hold the title for more than five and a half centuries, until the death of the 20th Earl in 1703. ...

continued to leave the post vacant, and Stewart turned against

the government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

, attacking ministers in Parliament over the New Woodstock election petition and the expulsion of

Richard Steele Sir Richard Steele (bap. 12 March 1672 – 1 September 1729) was an Anglo-Irish writer, playwright, and politician, remembered as co-founder, with his friend Joseph Addison, of the magazine ''The Spectator''. Early life Steele was born in Du ...

. He was sacked as Solicitor-General in March 1714 and Kennedy was appointed Lord Advocate.

Solicitor-General (1714)

Following the death of Queen Anne and the accession of

George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George I of Antioch (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgor ...

, Stewart was re-appointed as sole Solicitor-General in October 1714. He was again disappointed of the office of Lord Advocate, which went to Sir David Dalrymple. He did not contest his seat in Parliament at the general election of 1715, but remained politically active in Scotland, supporting the government during the Jacobite rising of that year. He continued as Solicitor-General until 1717.

Personal life

On 9 March 1705 he married Anne Dalrymple, daughter of the

Lord President of the Court of Session The Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General is the most senior judge in Scotland, the head of the judiciary, and the presiding judge of the College of Justice, the Court of Session, and the High Court of Justiciary. The L ...

Lord North Berwick. Together they had 12 children, including: *

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...

(8 October 1707 – 1780), who married Lady Frances, granddaughter of

David Wemyss, 4th Earl of Wemyss David Wemyss, 4th Earl of Wemyss (29 April 167815 March 1720), was a Scottish peer and Member of Parliament who served as Lord High Admiral of Scotland from 1706 to 1714. Early life David Wemyss was born on 29 April 1678, the son of James Wemy ...

. Frances Wemyss was daughter of James, Earl of Wemyss and Janet Charteris. Sir James Stewart of Goodtrees and Coltness died in 1727. By his wife Anne he left one son and five daughters, six other children having predeceased him. He was succeeded in his estates and the baronetcy by his eldest living son, James.

Descendants

Among his descendants was his grandson,

Sir James Steuart Denham, 8th Baronet General Sir James Steuart Denham, 8th and 4th Baronet (August 1744 – 12 August 1839) was a Scottish soldier of the British Army. Birth and education He was born James Steuart, the only son of Sir James Steuart, 2nd Baronet, of Coltness in Lana ...

(1744–1839),R.G. Thorne
"Lanarkshire"
in ''The House of Commons, 1790-1820'', 1986, vol. 2

References

;Notes ;Sources * Wilkinson, David
STEWART, Sir James, 1st Bt. (1681-1727), of Goodtrees, Edinburgh.
in ''The House of Commons, 1690-1715'' (CUP 2002), vol. 5 * * G.E.C. (

George Edward Cokayne George Edward Cokayne, (29 April 1825 – 6 August 1911), was an English genealogist and long-serving herald at the College of Arms in London, who eventually rose to the rank of Clarenceux King of Arms. He wrote such authoritative and standar ...

) ed., "STEUART, or STEWART: cr. 29 Jan. 1698" in ''The Complete Baronetage'', 1900-1906
vol. 4
p. 375-377 * Edith, Lady Haden-Guest
"STEUART DENHAM, Sir James (1744-1839), of Coltness and Westshield, Lanark."
in ''The House of Commons 1754-1790'', 1964, vol. 3. * D.G. Henry
"STEUART DENHAM, Sir James, 8th Bt. (1744-1839), of Coltness and Westshield, Lanark."
in ''The House of Commons 1790-1820'', 1986, vol. 5. * H.M.S. ( H. Morse Stephens), "DENHAM, Sir JAMES STEWART, the younger (1744-1839)", in ''The

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', 1885–1900, vol. 14, p. 344-345. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, James 1681 births 1727 deaths Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1702–1707 British MPs 1713–1715 Burgh Commissioners to the Parliament of Scotland Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies Solicitors General for Scotland Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia Members of the Faculty of Advocates