John Stewart, 1st Earl of Atholl (1566-1603) was a Scottish landowner. John Stewart was sixth

Lord Innermeath Lord Innermeath is an extinct title in the Peerage of Scotland created c. 1471 for Walter Stewart, 1st Lord Innermeath. Stewart had previously been Lord of Lorne, but resigned that title - which came with substantial regality, comital power - unde ...

and made

Earl of Atholl The Mormaer or Earl of Atholl was the title of the holder of a medieval comital lordship straddling the highland province of Atholl (''Ath Fodhla''), now in northern Perthshire. Atholl is a special Mormaerdom, because a King of Atholl is repor ...

in 1596. His parents were James Stewart, 5th Lord Innermeath and Helen Ogilvy, a daughter of James Ogilvy, Lord Airlie, and Helen Sinclair. His uncle was the court poet, John Stewart of Baldynneis. In March 1592 his brother Robert Stewart, who had been a servant of the murdered

Earl of Moray The title Earl of Moray, or Mormaer of Moray (pronounced "Murry"), was originally held by the rulers of the Province of Moray, which existed from the 10th century with varying degrees of independence from the Kingdom of Alba to the south. Until ...

, stole the a trunk of money belonging to the

Earl of Huntly Marquess of Huntly is a title in the Peerage of Scotland that was created on 17 April 1599 for George Gordon, 6th Earl of Huntly. It is the oldest existing marquessate in Scotland, and the second-oldest in the British Isles; only the English ma ...

and twice tried to assassinate him by entering his house in disguise armed with a pistol. He married Margaret Lindsay, daughter of

David Lindsay, 9th Earl of Crawford David Lindsay, 9th Earl of Crawford (died 10 September 1558) was a Scottish peer and Member of Parliament. First known as David Lindsay of Edzell, he inherited the Earldom from David Lindsay, 8th Earl of Crawford by nomination. His second wi ...

and Katherine Campbell.

Earl of Atholl

In March 1596, he married, secondly, Marie Ruthven, the widow of John Stewart, 5th Earl of Atholl, and a friend of

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 ...

. She was a daughter of

William Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie William Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie, 4th Lord of Ruthven (c. 1541May 1584) was a Scottish peer known for devising the Raid of Ruthven. Life and career William Ruthven was born in 1541 in Ruthven Castle, in Perthshire, Scotland, the son of Patr ...

and Dorothea Stewart. He was newly created

Holyrood Palace The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly known as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood has s ...

on 25 March, after Marie Ruthven had bought back the rights to the earldom for £10,000 Scots. The king knighted five of his followers as part of the ceremony. There had been competition for the Earldom from Lord Ochiltree, and Esmé Stewart the brother of the Duke Lennox. The English diplomat George Nicholson heard that the Countess of Atholl had made an alternative plan to have her daughters marry the

and his younger brother Francis Stewart, and so the Earl of Moray would also be Earl of Atholl, and the brother become

. In April 1597 he wrote from

Blair Atholl Blair Atholl (from the Scottish Gaelic: ''Blàr Athall'', originally ''Blàr Ath Fhodla'') is a village in Perthshire, Scotland, built about the confluence of the Rivers Tilt and Garry in one of the few areas of flat land in the midst of the G ...

to Ogilvy of Inverquharity mentioning a previous meeting with the Ogilvy family at

Cupar Cupar ( ; ) is a town, former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland. It lies between Dundee and Glenrothes. According to a 2011 population estimate, Cupar had a population around 9,000, making it the ninth-largest settlement in Fife, and the ...

to discuss their business with the Laird of Balfour, and suggesting a meet-up at Blair or Dunkeld. In November 1597, Atholl and Marie Ruthven armed their followers and marched to the House of Moircleuch and besieged Walter Leslie, and brought him back to

and imprisoned him. Around this time he and his followers attacked Andrew Spalding at Ashintully Castle in Strathardle, bringing great guns,

hagbut An arquebus ( ) is a form of long gun that appeared in Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. An infantryman armed with an arquebus is called an arquebusier. The term ''arquebus'' was applied to many different forms of firearms ...

s, and pistols and raising fire at his house. Marie Ruthven and Atholl arrested Agnes McCawis and Bessie Ireland as suspected witches. The two women accused two more women from

Dunkeld Dunkeld (, , from , "fort of the Caledonians") is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The location of a historic cathedral, it lies on the north bank of the River Tay, opposite Birnam. Dunkeld lies close to the geological Highland Boundar ...

of witchcraft, Margaret Stewart and Isobel Douglas, who complained in 1598 of their unjust imprisonment to the

Privy Council of Scotland The Privy Council of Scotland ( — 1 May 1708) was a body that advised the Scottish monarch. During its existence, the Privy Council of Scotland was essentially considered as the government of the Kingdom of Scotland, and was seen as the most ...

. Marie Ruthven and the Earl were ordered to bring the four women to Edinburgh. According to the ''Chronicle of Perth'', Bessie Ireland, Jonet Robertson, and Marion McCauss were burnt on the South Inch on 9 September 1597. John Stewart died in 1603. The next earl was his son from his first marriage,

James Stewart, 2nd Earl of Atholl James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Jame ...

(died 1625). In October 1603 his widow Marie Ruthven wrote to Lord Cecil from Dunkeld asking for his help in her lawsuits. In 1605 she was in litigation with the new earl.''Melros Papers'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1837), pp. 8-10.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Atholl, John Stewart, Earl of 1566 births 1603 deaths Nobility from Perth and Kinross 901

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

16th-century Scottish landowners