John Wemyss, 1st Earl of Wemyss (1586–1649) was a Scottish politician.
He was a son of
Sir John Wemyss and Margaret Douglas, a daughter of
Sir William Douglas of
Lochleven. His home was
Wemyss Castle in
Fife.
Around 1610 he acquired the estate of
Raith from William Paton (of Ballilisk) minister of
Dalgety in Fife.
[Fasti Ecclesiastae Scoticana vol.5 p.2]
Knighted in 1618, in 1625 Wemyss was created a
Baronet of Nova Scotia 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, also in the Peerage of Scotland.
He was
, a
Privy Councillor and one of the
Committee of the Estates. Wemyss later supported the
Parliament of Scotland
The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...
against
Charles I in the
Wars of the Three Kingdoms
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of related conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, then separate entities united in a personal union under Charles I. They include the 1639 to 1640 B ...
, 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 Ma ...
, the King's uncle) and was succeeded by his only son,
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
, the second Earl.
Notes
1586 births
1649 deaths
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
Clan Wemyss
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