Sir James Stewart, 1st Baronet (or Steuart; 1681 – 9 August 1727) was a Scottish lawyer and politician.

Early life

He was the first son of Sir James Stewart of

Goodtrees Moredun is a district in the south-east of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is east of Liberton, Edinburgh, Liberton, while Craigour is situated just to its north. The estate of Gut-tres or Goodtrees was the family home of Sir James Ste ...

(1635–1713) by his first wife Agnes, daughter of the Rev. Robert Traill, and grandson of Sir James Stewart 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 ...

(1608–1681),

Lord 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 ...

. His father, a distinguished lawyer and an active Whig, was appointed

Lord Advocate His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate (), is the principal legal adviser of both the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolution, devolved powers of the Scottish P ...

William II and III William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 167 ...

in 1692. His sister, Anne Stewart, married William Mure of Caldwell, father of William Mure (1718–1776).

Career

Stewart followed his father into the law and became an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

in 1704. In May 1705, he was elected 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 ...

for Queensferry and was created a

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, of Goodtrees, on 22 December.

First Parliament of Great Britain

The failure of the Stewarts to support the

Act of Union 1707 The Acts of Union refer to two acts of Parliament, one by the Parliament of Scotland in March 1707, followed shortly thereafter by an equivalent act of the Parliament of England. They put into effect the international Treaty of Union agree ...

meant that the younger Stewart was not chosen to represent Scotland in the first

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union 1707, Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a ...

, and did not stand at the general election in 1708. The elder Stewart was replaced as Lord Advocate by Sir David Dalrymple in 1709, but the younger Stewart succeeded Dalrymple as

Solicitor-General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

, holding the office jointly with Thomas Kennedy of Dunure. Dalrymple, uncle to Stewart's wife Anne, supported the candidacy of his nephew-by-marriage for

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 ...

1710 In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Saturday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 1 – In Prussia, Cölln is merged with Alt-Berlin ...

without success.

Involvement with Lord Advocate

Stewart's father was reappointed Lord Advocate in 1711, but Stewart and Kennedy did most of the work. The elder Stewart died on 1 May 1713, and Stewart succeeded to the estates of Goodtrees and Coltness. Both Stewart and Kennedy expected promotion to the now-vacant office of Lord Advocate, and Stewart was elected to Parliament for Edinburgh in the general election of that year in an attempt to increase his influence. However Lord Oxford continued to leave the post vacant, and Stewart turned against

the government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

, attacking ministers in Parliament over the New Woodstock election petition and the expulsion of

Richard Steele Sir Richard Steele ( – 1 September 1729) was an Anglo-Irish writer, playwright and politician best known as the co-founder of the magazine ''The Spectator (1711), The Spectator'' alongside his close friend Joseph Addison. Early life Steel ...

. He was sacked as Solicitor-General in March 1714 and Kennedy was appointed Lord Advocate.

Solicitor-General (1714)

Following the death of Queen Anne and the accession of

George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George of Beltan (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgoruk ...

, Stewart was re-appointed as sole Solicitor-General in October 1714. He was again disappointed of the office of Lord Advocate, which went to Sir David Dalrymple. He did not contest his seat in Parliament at the general election of 1715, but remained politically active in Scotland, supporting the government during the Jacobite rising of that year. He continued as Solicitor-General until 1717.

Personal life

On 9 March 1705 he married Anne Dalrymple, daughter of Lord North Berwick, the

Lord President of the Court of Session The Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General () is the most senior judge in Scotland, the head of the judiciary, and the presiding judge of the College of Justice, the Court of Session, and the High Court of Justiciary. ...

. Together they had 12 children, including: *

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military aviator. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morali ...

(8 October 1707 – 1780), who married Lady Frances, granddaughter of

David Wemyss, 4th Earl of Wemyss David Wemyss, 4th Earl of Wemyss (29 April 167815 March 1720), was a Scottish peer and Member of Parliament who served as Lord High Admiral of Scotland from 1706 to 1714. Early life David Wemyss was born on 29 April 1678, the son of James Wemys ...

. Frances Wemyss was daughter of James, Earl of Wemyss and Janet Charteris. Sir James Stewart of Goodtrees and Coltness died in 1727. By his wife Anne he left one son and five daughters, six other children having predeceased him. He was succeeded in his estates and the baronetcy by his eldest living son, James.

Descendants

Among his descendants was his grandson,

Sir James Steuart Denham, 8th Baronet General Sir James Steuart Denham, 8th and 4th Baronet (August 1744 – 12 August 1839) was a Scottish soldier of the British Army. Birth and education He was born James Steuart, the only son of Sir James Steuart, 2nd Baronet, of Coltness in Lana ...

(1744–1839),R.G. Thorne
"Lanarkshire"
in ''The House of Commons, 1790-1820'', 1986, vol. 2

References

;Notes ;Sources * Wilkinson, David
STEWART, Sir James, 1st Bt. (1681-1727), of Goodtrees, Edinburgh.
in ''The House of Commons, 1690-1715'' (CUP 2002), vol. 5 * * G.E.C. (

George Edward Cokayne George Edward Cokayne (29 April 1825 – 6 August 1911) was an English genealogist and long-serving herald at the College of Arms in London, who eventually rose to the rank of Clarenceux King of Arms. He wrote such authoritative and standard ...

) ed., "STEUART, or STEWART: cr. 29 Jan. 1698" in ''The Complete Baronetage'', 1900–1906
vol. 4
p. 375-377 * Edith, Lady Haden-Guest
"STEUART DENHAM, Sir James (1744-1839), of Coltness and Westshield, Lanark."
in ''The House of Commons 1754-1790'', 1964, vol. 3. * D.G. Henry
"STEUART DENHAM, Sir James, 8th Bt. (1744-1839), of Coltness and Westshield, Lanark."
in ''The House of Commons 1790-1820'', 1986, vol. 5. * H.M.S. ( H. Morse Stephens), "DENHAM, Sir JAMES STEWART, the younger (1744-1839)", in ''The

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', 1885–1900, vol. 14, p. 344-345. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, James 1681 births 1727 deaths Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1702–1707 British MPs 1713–1715 Burgh Commissioners to the Parliament of Scotland Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies Solicitors general for Scotland Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia Members of the Faculty of Advocates