John Somerville, 3rd Lord Somerville (died 1491) was the son of William Somerville, 2nd Lord Somerville and Janet Mowat. He was a member of the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

. In 1449 he fought with the Scots who defeated the English at

Sark Sark (Sercquiais: or , ) is an island in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, and part of the archipelago of the Channel Islands. It is a self-governing British Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency, with its own set o ...

. He was also present at the siege of Roxburgh in 1460 during which

James II of Scotland James II (16 October 1430 – 3 August 1460) was King of Scots from 1437 until his death in 1460. The eldest surviving son of James I of Scotland, he succeeded to the Scottish throne at the age of six, following the assassination of his fathe ...

died.

Family

Somerville first married Helen Hepburn (daughter of Lord Hailes). He was succeeded by their grandson John Somerville, 4th Lord Somerville, the son of William, Master of Somerville. Their daughter Elizabeth married Gillespic (Archibald) Campbell, Master of Campbell, and was the mother of

Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll (c. 1433 – 10 May 1493) was a medieval Scottish nobleman, peer, and politician. He was the son of Archibald Campbell, Master of Campbell and Elizabeth Somerville, daughter of John Somerville, 3rd Lord ...

. After Helen's death, John married Marion Baillie, daughter of Sir William Baillie of Lamington. John's son by Marion Baillie, John Somerville of Quothquan, 1st Baron of Cambusnethan, was called 'Red Bag' on account of the red satin satchel he carried while hawking. Red-Bag would later be involved in rivalry over the Somerville family estates (died on Flodden Field 1513). After Lord John died, Marion married Humphrey Colquhoun, 10th of Colquhoun and 12th of Luss.

Alliance with the Boyds

On 9 July 1466, Lord John, with the Boyds,

Adam Hepburn, Master of Hailes Adam Hepburn, Master of Hailes (after 1432 – 1479) was Sheriff of Berwickshire in April 1467, and had a charter of confirmation of Dunsyre in the sheriffdom of Lanarkshire, dated 13 October 1475, being thereafter designated 'of Dunsyre'. Family ...

, and Andrew Ker of Cessford, abducted

James III of Scotland James III (10 July 1451/May 1452 – 11 June 1488) was King of Scots from 1460 until his death at the Battle of Sauchieburn in 1488. He inherited the throne as a child following the death of his father, King James II, at the siege of Roxburg ...

who was hunting near

Linlithgow Palace The ruins of Linlithgow Palace are located in the town of Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland, west of Edinburgh. The palace was one of the principal residences of the monarchs of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland in the 15th and 16th ce ...

to Edinburgh. The Boyds then attempted to gain control of the Scottish government for two years. Although John Somerville himself had assisted the Boyds at the abduction, in November 1469, Lord John attended the Parliament that condemned Sir Alexander Boyd to beheading for the abduction of James III in 1466.

Marriages of William, Master of Somerville and John 'Red Bag' Somerville

According to the family history written by the 11th Lord Somerville, Lord John's heir, William, Master of Somerville, was born in 1453. He married firstly Marjorie Montgomery in June 1476. The 11th Lord wrote that

James IV of Scotland James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James I ...

visited Lord John at Cowthally Castle in September 1489, following the marriage of John's second son, John 'Red Bag' Somerville to Elizabeth Carmichael. (Elizabeth by her previous marriage was a sister-in-law of

George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus, Lord Douglas, Abernethy and Jedburgh Forest (c. 1427 – 12 March 1463)Alan R. Borthwick, 'Douglas, George, fourth earl of Angus (c.1417–1463)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University ...

's wife) However, there is no record of this visit in the King's financial accounts. William, Master of Somerville, died sometime after 18 May 1491. Soon after Lord John died, and on 14 February 1492 Marion Baillie, Lady Somerville, sued for 1000 marks to be given according to a marriage contract made for her deceased son William, Master of Somerville, to Jonet Douglas, daughter of William Douglas of Drumlanrig.''Acts of the Lords Auditors of Causes and Complaints, 1466-1494'', (1839), 155, 165.

References

Sources

*G. E. C., ed. Geoffrey F. White. ''The Complete Peerage''. (London: St. Catherine Press, 1953) Vol. XII, Part 1, pp. 92–93. * Scott, Walter, ed.,

James Somerville Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Fownes Somerville (17 July 1882 – 19 March 1949) was a Royal Navy admiral of the fleet. He served in the First World War as fleet wireless officer for the Mediterranean Fleet where he was involved in providing ...

, author
''The Memorie of the Somervilles by James, 11th Lord Somerville'', vol. 1, Ballantyne, Edinburgh (1815)
* Scott, Walter, ed.
''The Memorie of the Somervilles by James, 11th Lord Somerville'', vol. 2, Ballantyne, Edinburgh (1815)
* MacDougall, Norman, ''James III: a political study'', John Donald (1982) {{DEFAULTSORT:Somerville, John, 3rd Lord Year of birth unknown 1491 deaths Nobility from South Lanarkshire 15th-century Scottish peers Lords of Parliament (pre-1707)