Sir William Johnstone, 2nd Baronet of

Sciennes Sciennes (pronounced , ) is a district of Edinburgh, Scotland, situated approximately south of the city centre. It is a mainly residential district, although it is also well-known as the site of the former Royal Hospital for Sick Children. M ...

and Westerhall was a Scottish landowner and politician who sat in 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 ...

from 1698 to 1707 and in the British House of Commons between 1707 and 1722.

Early life

Johnstone was the second son of Sir James Johnstone of Westerhall, a member of the pre-

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

. His mother Margaret was the daughter of John Bannatyne of

Corehouse Corehouse is a country house and estate, located to the south of Lanark, Scotland. The estate is by the Corra Linn Falls on the River Clyde, and close to the World Heritage Site of New Lanark. The house was designed by Sir Edward Blore for G ...

in Lanarkshire. He married Henrietta Johnston, the daughter and coheiress of James Johnston of Sciennes, Edinburgh before 1698. His elder brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

was an MP and became 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 14t ...

Career

Johnstone was a political ally of his distant relation the

Earl of Annandale Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form '' jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particula ...

. In the

he was a member from 1698 to 1707 for the burgh of Annan, of which Annandale was the patron. He initially supported the Union with England, and when Annandale shifted towards opposing it, Johnstone intermittently joined him. After the Union, Johnstone received the continuing support of Lord Annandale. At the 1708 general election, he was involved in a double return at Dumfries Burghs and was declared elected

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 o ...

on 30 November 1708. He did not make much impression apart from voting against the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell, and did not stand at the

1710 general election Year 171 ( CLXXI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Herennianus (or, less frequently, year 924 ''Ab urbe con ...

. On the death of his brother on 30 September 1711 he succeeded to the baronetcy and Westerhall estate. In 1712 he became a councilor of

Lochmaben Lochmaben ( Gaelic: ''Loch Mhabain'') is a small town and civil parish in Scotland, and site of a castle. It lies west of Lockerbie, in Dumfries and Galloway. By the 12th century the Bruce family had become the local landowners and, in the 14th ...

. He was returned unopposed as MP for Dumfries Burghs at a by election on 9 May 1713, and at the 1713 general election was returned unopposed again for Dumfries Burghs and also elected MP for

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county. I ...

. Although he unusually continued to represent both seats in Parliament, he again made little contribution. In 1714, he voted against the expulsion of Richard Steele, and for extending the schism bill to cover Catholic education. He was in favour of the Hanoverian succession, but cooperated with Jacobites on Scottish matters. At the 1715 general election he was returned as MP for Dumfriesshire alone and appears to have supported the Administration, although his only recorded vote was for the

Peerage Bill {{short description, Proposed British law of 1719 The Peerage Bill was a 1719 measure proposed by the British Whig government led by James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope and Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland which would have largely halted the ...

in 1719. During the Jacobite rebellion, he made effective preparations in fortifying Dumfries, so that the rebels did not attack the town, and reported on the military progress of the rebels, as Annandale's representative in Dumfriesshire. However Annandale died in 1721 and Johnstone was on poor terms with his successor the second Marquess who had him removed from the council at Locmaben. Johnstone appealed to the Convention and was re-instated, but did not stand at the 1722 general election.

Later life and legacy

Johnstone's younger son, John, married Annandale's stepmother which exacerbated the ill-feeling between the families. In 1726 the Marquess tried to prevent his titles and lands descending collaterally to ‘a certain family of Johnstone’, by which he was acting against his stepmother and the Johnstones of Westerhall. Johnstone died on 8 October 1727, leaving two sons. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

, who was MP for Dumfries Burghs from 1743 to 1754.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnstone, William Year of birth unknown 1727 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia Burgh Commissioners to the Parliament of Scotland Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1689–1702 Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1702–1707 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722