John Wemyss, 1st Earl of Wemyss (1586–1649) was a Scottish politician. He was a son of

Sir John Wemyss Sir John Wemyss (11 April 1557 – 27 April 1624) was a Scottish landowner. Biography He was the son of David Wemyss (d. 1596) and Cecilia Ruthven, a daughter of William Ruthven, 2nd Lord Ruthven. His home was Wemyss Castle in Fife, Scotland, Fi ...

and Margaret Douglas, a daughter of Sir William Douglas of Lochleven. His home was

Wemyss Castle Wemyss Castle (pronounced eems is situated in Wemyss on the sea cliffs between the villages of East Wemyss and West Wemyss in Fife, Scotland. Wemyss Castle is considered to be a multi-period building, and today's castle includes many elemen ...

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

. Around 1610 he acquired the estate of Raith from William Paton (of Ballilisk) minister of Dalgety in Fife.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; vol. 5, p. 2 Knighted in 1618, in 1625 Wemyss was created a

Baronet of Nova Scotia This is a list of baronetcies in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia. These were first created in 1624, and were replaced by the Baronetage of Great Britain in 1707. This page lists baronetcies, whether extant, extinct, dormant (D), unproven (U), ...

in 1625, with a charter to the barony of New Wemyss in that province of Canada. In 1628 he was raised to the Peerage of Scotland as Lord Wemyss of Elcho, and in 1633 he was further honoured when he was made Lord Elcho and Methel and

Earl of Wemyss Earl of Wemyss ( ) is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created in 1633. The Scotland, Scottish Wemyss family had possessed the lands of Wemyss Castle, Wemyss in Fife since the 12th century. Since 1823 the earldom has been held with the Earldo ...

, also in the Peerage of Scotland. He was

Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the monarch's personal representative to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland (the Kirk), reflecting the Church's role as the national church of Scotla ...

, a Privy Councillor and one of the Committee of the Estates. Wemyss later supported 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 ...

against

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

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 ...

, and died in 1649. He married Jane Gray (daughter of Patrick Gray and his second wife, Mary Stewart, daughter of

Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney and Lord of Zetland (Shetland) (spring of 1533 – 4 February 1593) was a recognised illegitimate son of James V, King of Scotland, and his mistress Eupheme Elphinstone. Robert Stewart was half-brother to M ...

, the King's uncle) and was succeeded by his only son,

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

, the second Earl.

Notes

1586 births 1649 deaths Nobility from Fife 17th-century Scottish peers Lords High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Peers of Scotland created by Charles I Members of the Privy Council of Scotland Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1617 Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1617 Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1630 Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1639–1641 1

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 ...

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