Sir James Steuart 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 – 31 March 1681) was a Scottish merchant, banker, landowner, politician and

Covenanter 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 C ...

Early life

Steuart was the second son of Marion Carmichael and James Steuart (1575–1607), of Allanton, Lanarkshire, and was born

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...

. Marion was sister of Sir James Carmichael, Justice General of Scotland.

Career

He was a merchant and banker in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, acquired a large fortune, then acquired the estates of Kirkfield (from Sir John Somerville of Cambusnethan) and Coldness (from Sir John Hamilton of Edston), both in Lanarkshire, in 1653. He became a burgess of

and guild member in 1631, apparently through his marriage to Thomas Hope's niece.

Public office

Steuart served as

Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is elected by and is the convener of the City of Edinburgh Council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city, ex officio the Lord-Lieutenant of Edi ...

from 1648 to 1652,

Commissioner 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 incl ...

for

to the

Parliament of Scotland In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

from 1649 to 1650, and Lord Provost again in 1659. For a period of time, he was the Collector of Excise and Accountant-General for the Scottish Army. His period of office as Provost included the decision to fortify the harbour of

Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

and to create a new road between Edinburgh and Leith (later called

Leith Walk Leith Walk is one of the longest streets in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is the main road connecting the east end of the city centre to Leith. Forming most of the A900 road, it slopes downwards from Picardy Place at the south-western end of the str ...

Scottish Restoration

the Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state. This may refer to: *Conservation and restoration of cultural property **Audio restoration **Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property **Film restoration ** Image ...

(1660) he was dismissed from public roles due to his being a

. After confinement in

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age. There has been a royal castle on the rock since the reign of Malcol ...

, Steuart was sent to

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

as a prisoner. He was granted a pardon in 1670.

Personal life

In 1630, he married Anne Hope (d. 1646), daughter of Henry Hope and niece of Sir Thomas Hope of Craighall. Together, they had: *Sir Thomas Steuart, 1st Baronet of Coltness (1631–1698) * Sir James Steuart of Goodtrees (1635–1713) *William Steuart (1640–1700) * Sir Robert Steuart, 1st Baronet of Allanbank (1643–1707) *Marion Steuart (1645–1706), who married John Maxwell (1648–1732) In 1648, two years after Anne's death, Steuart married Marion McCulloch Elliott (d. 1690), widow of Sir John Elliott, and only daughter and heiress of David McCulloch, of Goodtrees. Sir James Steuart died on 31 March 1681.

References

;Notes ;Sources *

Joseph Foster Joseph Foster may refer to: * Joseph Foster (politician) (born 1959), American politician in New Hampshire *Joseph Foster (genealogist) (1844–1905), English genealogist * Joey Foster (born 1982), British racing driver * Joey Foster Ellis (born 19 ...