William Gordon (19 December 1683 – 13 July 1720), known by the

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some co ...

of Lord Strathnaver from 4 March 1703, was a Scottish politician who sat briefly 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 ...

in 1708 until he was declared ineligible, being the eldest son of a Scottish peer. In 1719, the family name was changed to Sutherland, when his father was recognised as the Chief of Clan Sutherland.

Early life

Lord Strathnaver was the eldest son of

John Gordon, 16th Earl of Sutherland John Gordon, 16th Earl of Sutherland (1661–1733) was a Scottish nobleman and army officer. He was the only son of George Gordon, 15th Earl of Sutherland (1633–1703), and his wife, Jean Wemmyss.

and his first wife Helen Cochrane, daughter of William Cochrane, Lord Cochrane. He joined the army in 1702 and was a Colonel of Foot. By this time the effects of his heavy drinking were apparent. He married, with 60,000 merks, under a contract dated 9 October 1705, Katharine Morison, daughter of William Morison MP. His father then gave him responsibility for the Sutherland estate and thereby, the family’s electoral interest.

Parliamentary career

Strathnaver was returned in a contest at the

1708 British general election The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland. The election saw the Whigs finally gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November ...

as the first

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

Tain Burghs Tain Burghs, was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832, sometimes known as Northern Burghs. It was represented by one Member of P ...

. His election, and that of a number of other heirs to Scottish peerages, was contested. Before 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 ...

, the eldest sons of peers were ineligible to be 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 ...

. No such restriction existed for the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised t ...

. The question arose whether the eldest sons of Scottish peers could be elected to the

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 ...

, after the Union. After the House called in counsel, the election petitions and representations in writing were read out and the lawyers put forward arguments for their clients. After counsel had withdrawn, a question was formulated and put to a vote. The proposition the House voted on was "that the eldest sons of the Peers of Scotland were capable by the

Laws of Scotland Scots law () is the legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. Together with English law and Northern Ireland l ...

at the time of the Union, to elect or be elected as

Commissioners A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

for the

Shire Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the beginn ...

or Boroughs ic, see Burghs">Burgh.html" ;"title="ic, see Burgh">ic, see Burghsto the Parliament of Scotland; and therefore by the Treaty of Union, 1707">Treaty of Union are capable to elect, or be elected to represent any Shire or Borough [sic] in Scotland, to sit in the House of Commons of Great Britain". On 3 December 1708, the House of Commons decided the issue, as at that time the House judged the eligibility of its members itself rather than leaving the issue to be decided by a Judge, and rejected the motion. Lord Strathnaver was declared ineligible to be elected an MP for Tain Burghs and vacated the seat.

Later life

In October 1708 Strathnaver went with his regiment to Flanders. As the oldest colonel then in service, he sought promotion from the Duke of Marlborough and his father also interceded on his behalf. However nothing transpired and in June 1710 he sold his command in a fit of pique. He remained an active supporter of the Whigs and assisted the return of Whig candidates in 1710 and 1713. He was appointed admiral depute and bailie depute for the regality of Sutherland by 1711 and became Chamberlain of Ross in 1715. He took command of a regiment of Sutherland clansmen to resist the

Jacobite rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( gd, Bliadhna Sheumais ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts The House of Stuart, ori ...

. General Wade's report on the Highlands in 1724, estimated the number of men to bear arms by "Lord Sutherland and Strathnaver" to be 1000. For his efforts, his father obtained for Strathnaver a pension of £500 a year, but it was not approved until 1717, when he received a grant of £1,250 from royal bounty to make up the arrears. Strathnaver became sheriff of Inverness in 1718. In 1719 he became active again in organizing resistance to a threatened Jacobite invasion.

Death and legacy

Lord Strathnaver fell ill from consumption in 1719, and died before his father on 13 July 1720. He had eight sons of whom four survived. His eldest son survived him by only a few months, and the second son,

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, eventually succeeded to the peerage. His widow died in 1765.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strathnaver, William Gordon, Lord 1683 births 1720 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies British MPs 1708–1710 British courtesy barons and lords of Parliament Heirs apparent who never acceded