William Douglas, Earl of Morton (died before 1 November 1681) was a Scottish nobleman and Earl of Morton.
He was the son of
Robert Douglas, 8th Earl of Morton, and
Anne Villiers. He succeeded as the 9th Earl of Morton on 12 November 1649.
William tried to preserve the grant of the Islands of
Orkney
Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...
and
Zetland which had been given to his grandfather,
Sir William, 7th Earl of Morton. The wadset (a loan masked as a sale of land under right of reversion) of the Lordship had been set aside, and annexed to the
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
in 1657.
On the
Restoration, he obtained a new grant, which confirmation was ratified by Parliament in 1661. However, this too was pronounced null and void, and the islands were vested in the Crown by the
Orkney and Shetland Act 1669 on 17 December 1669.
["The Laws and Acts of the Second Parliament of Our High and Dread Sovereign, Charles the Second, by the Grace of God, King of Scotland, England, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Begun at Edinburgh, the 19. of October, 1669" (Heirs of Andrew Andreson, 1679) p. 28] Thenceforward the Earls of Morton held these islands under a form of mortgage from the Crown.
On 9 September 1672 he resigned the Barony of Dalkeith in favour of
James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth
James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, 1st Duke of Buccleuch, (9 April 1649 – 15 July 1685) was an English nobleman and military officer. Originally called James Crofts or James Fitzroy, he was born in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the eldest ill ...
. The estate of Dalkeith and other lands, to the total value of £100,000 Scots yearly rental,
had been sold circa 1643 to Buccleuch to enable the 7th Earl meet his expenses supporting the King.
William married Lady Grizel Middleton, daughter of
John Middleton, 1st Earl of Middleton
John Middleton, 1st Earl of Middleton ( – 3 July 1674) was a professional soldier and mercenary from Kincardineshire in Scotland. Beginning his career in the Thirty Years War, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms he fought for the Covenanters ...
, in 1662. Their only son, Charles, Lord Dalkeith, died in infancy in 1663.
William died in 1681 leaving no heir, passing the Earldom to his uncle, James Douglas, 10th Earl of Morton, who was the son of William Douglas, 7th Earl of Morton and Lady Anne Keith.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, William
Earls of Morton
William Douglas, 9th Earl of Morton
1681 deaths
Year of birth uncertain