William Cochrane, 1st Earl of Dundonald (1605– November 1685)
supported the Royalist cause during the
Wars of the Three Kingdoms
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of 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 in a personal union un ...
.
Early life
Cochrane was the eldest surviving son of Alexander Cochrane ( Blair) and Elizabeth Cochrane (third daughter and co-heiress of William Cochrane of that Ilk).
Career
William Cochrane of Coldoun, who was knighted by
Charles I, acquired the estate of Dundonald in 1638. He was created ''Baron Cochrane of Dundonald'' in 1647.
The part he had taken in the
Wars of the Three Kingdoms
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of 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 in a personal union un ...
, is evidenced by the proceedings of the
Presbytery of Ayr, which, on 28 February 1649, debarred "Lord Cochrane" from renewing the
Solemn League and Covenant
The Solemn League and Covenant was an agreement between the Scottish Covenanters and the leaders of the English Parliamentarians in 1643 during the First English Civil War, a theatre of conflict in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. On 17 August ...
, he having "been a Colonel in the late unlawful rebellion, and having went to Ireland to bring over forces," etc.
In 1654 he was fined in £5,000 by
Cromwell's Act of Pardon and Grace. In 1669,
he was made a Commissioner of the Treasury and Exchequer, and created ''Baron Cochrane, of Paisley and Ochiltree'' (having previously acquired the latter barony), and ''
Earl of Dundonald'', with remainder to the heirs-male of his body, failing which, to tho eldest heirs-female of his body without division, and the heirs-male of such heirs-female, bearing the name and arms of Cochrane. Cochrane was an active
freemason
Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
.
In 1684 the Earl was accused, in his old age, of having kept a chaplain with his dying son, who prayed for the success of these rebels in the west—those
Covenanters
Covenanters were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son ...
who defeated
Claverhouse at the
Battle of Drumclog
The Battle of Drumclog was fought on 1 June 1679, between a group of Covenanters and the forces of John Graham of Claverhouse, at Drumclog, in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.
Battle
Following the assassination of Archbishop James Sharp on M ...
in 1679. The Earl died in 1686, and was interred in the church of Dundonald.
Personal life
Sometime after 14 April 1633, William married
Eupheme, a daughter of Sir William Scott of Ardross and
Elie, and Hon. Helen Lindsay (sister to
John Lindsay, 17th Earl of Crawford, 1st Earl of Lindsay).
Together, they were the parents of:
*
William Cochrane, Lord Cochrane (d. 1679), who married Lady Katherine Kennedy, a daughter of
John Kennedy, 6th Earl of Cassilis, in 1653.
* Hon. Sir
John Cochrane of Ochiltree, who married Catherine Strickland, daughter of
Sir William Strickland, 1st Baronet, MP, in 1656.
* Hon. James Cochrane (d. )
* Lady Grizel Cochrane, who married
George Ross, 11th Lord Ross
George Ross, 11th Lord Ross of Halkhead (died April 1682), was a Scottish nobleman and soldier.
Origins
Ross was the son and heir of William Ross, 10th Lord Ross, who died in 1656, by Margaret, daughter of Sir James Forrester of Torwoodhead. The R ...
.
Lord Dundonald died in 1686, and was interred in the church of Dundonald.
Lady Dundonald died at Dundonald in 1687. The 2nd through 7th Earls were all descendants of her first son, while the 8th Earl was a descendant of her second son,
John.
Descendants
Through his son William, he was a grandfather to
John Cochrane, 2nd Earl of Dundonald,
William Cochrane, of Kilmaronock (who married Lady Grizel Graham, a daughter of James Graham, 2nd
Marquess of Montrose
A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or widow ...
),
Margaret Cochrane (wife of
Alexander Montgomerie, 9th Earl of Eglinton), Helen Cochrane (wife of
John Gordon, 16th Earl of Sutherland), and Jean Cochrane (wife of
John Graham, 1st Viscount Dundee and William, 3rd
Viscount of Kilsyth).
See also
*
Auchans Castle, Ayrshire
References
;Attribution
*
, -
1605 births
1685 deaths
1
People from Dundonald, South Ayrshire
Nobility from South Ayrshire
Shire Commissioners to the Parliament of Scotland
Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1643–44
Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1644–1647
Peers of Scotland created by Charles I
English MPs 1656–1658
Scottish Freemasons
William
William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...
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