Sir John Scott (b c 1564 d. 24 September 1616) was an English soldier and politician, and Member of Parliament (MP).

Early life

He was the second son of Sir Thomas Scott, born around the year 1564. His family homes were

Scot's Hall Scot's Hall (or Scott's Hall) was a country house in Smeeth, between Ashford and Folkestone in southeast England. It was the property of a gentry family, the Scotts. The first known resident was Sir John Scott (born 1436), who married Carolin ...

and

Nettlestead Place Nettlestead Place is a country house in Nettlestead, Kent, England. The house and its gatehouse are each separately Grade I listed buildings. Buildings The construction of Nettlestead Place began c. 1250–60 with additions added c. 1438 and ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

Career

He served as captain of a band of lancers in the English army in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, and in 1588 was knighted for his services. In 1597 he commanded a ship in the expedition to the

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

. In 1601, Scott was implicated in

Essex's Rebellion Essex's Rebellion was an unsuccessful rebellion led by Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, in February 1601 against Queen Elizabeth I of England and the court faction led by Sir Robert Cecil to gain further influence at court. Background Robert ...

but succeeded in clearing himself, and in the same year was a parliamentary candidate for

in 1601. He was unsuccessful on this first attempt, but was elected its MP in the Parliament of 1604 and for

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

in the

Addled Parliament The Parliament of 1614 was the second Parliament of England of the reign of James VI and I and sat between 5 April and 7 June 1614. Lasting only two months and two days, it saw no bills pass and was not even regarded as a parliament by contemp ...

of 1614. In November 1603

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...

appointed him as one of the advisors for the administration of her English jointure lands. Scott was an early investor in the

Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia was a British Empire, British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colo ...

. He became a member of the Council for Virginia in 1607, the year when that colony was re-established, subscribing £75, and was a councillor of the

Virginia Company of London The Virginia Company of London (sometimes called "London Company") was a Division (business), division of the Virginia Company with responsibility for British colonization of the Americas, colonizing the east coast of North America between 34th ...

in 1609. He died in 1616 and was buried at

Brabourne Brabourne is a village and civil parish in the Ashford district of Kent, England. The village centre is east of Ashford town centre. Geography The village originated around the village church and this area is now usually referred to as E ...

in Kent.

Marriages

Scott married twice, but had no issue:; . *Firstly, in 1590, to Elizabeth Stafford (d. 6 February 1599), widow of

Sir William Drury Sir William Drury (2 October 152713 October 1579) was an English statesman and soldier. Family William Drury, born at Hawstead in Suffolk on 2 October 1527, was the third son of Sir Robert Drury (c. 1503–1577) of Hedgerley, Buckinghamshire, ...

(30 May 1550 – 18 January 1590) of

Hawstead Hawstead is a small village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. It is located south of Bury St. Edmunds between the B1066 and A134 roads, in a fork formed by the River Lark and a small tributary. The ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, and daughter of Sir William Stafford (d. May 1556) by his wife,

Dorothy Stafford Dorothy Stafford, Lady Stafford (1 October 1526 – 22 September 1604) was an English noblewoman, and an influential person at the court of Queen Elizabeth I of England, to whom she served as Mistress of the Robes. Dorothy Stafford was the seco ...

(1 October 1526 – 22 September 1604), granddaughter of

Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham (3 February 1478 – 17 May 1521) was an English nobleman. He was the son of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Katherine Woodville, Duchess of Buckingham, Katherine Woodville and nephew of E ...

. By his first marriage, Scott was the stepfather of Sir Robert Drury, friend of the poet,

John Donne John Donne ( ; 1571 or 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under Royal Patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's, D ...

. Without issue. *Secondly, before 17 September 1599, he married Katherine Smythe, widow of

Sir Rowland Hayward Sir Rowland Hayward (c. 15205 December 1593) was a London slave merchant, and Lord Mayor of the City in both 1570 and 1591. Through his commercial activities he acquired considerable wealth, and was able to loan money to Queen Elizabeth I ...

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

, and daughter of

Thomas Smythe Sir Thomas Smythe (or Smith, c. 1558 – 4 September 1625) was an English merchant, politician and colonial administrator. He was the first governor of the East India Company and treasurer of the Virginia Company from 1609 to 1620 until envelo ...

(d.1591). She was baptised Katherine Smith on 6 Dec 1561 at All Hallows Lombard Street, City of London and is recorded in the Smythe pedigree taken during the Heraldic Visitation of London in 1568 and the Visitation of Kent in 1619 as the daughter of Thomas Smythe and Alice Judde. Without issue.

Notes

References

* * * * * * *

J. E. Neale Sir John Ernest Neale (7 December 1890 – 2 September 1975) was an English historian who specialised in Elizabethan and Parliamentary history. From 1927 to 1956, he was the Astor Professor of English History at University College London. Acad ...

, ''The Elizabethan House of Commons'' (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)

External links

Stafford, Elizabeth, in Emerson, Kate, ''A Who's Who of Tudor Women''Letter from Anne of Denmark, Wilton 12 November 1603, appointing John Scott as an administrator of her jointure estate. British Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, John, of Scots Hall 1616 deaths English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1614 17th-century English knights 16th-century English soldiers People from Smeeth