James Johnstone, 1st Earl of Hartfell (1602 – April 1653) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

peer and

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Background

He was the only son of Sir James Johnstone, the

Warden of the West Marches The Lord Warden of the Marches was an office in the governments of Scotland and England. The holders were responsible for the security of the border between the two nations, and often took part in military action. They were also responsible, al ...

and his wife Sarah, sister of William Maxwell, 5th Lord Herries of Terregles. After the murder of his father by

John Maxwell, 9th Lord Maxwell John Maxwell, 9th Lord Maxwell ( – 21 May 1613) was a Scottish Catholic nobleman. He escaped from Edinburgh Castle in 1607, and in 1608 shot the Laird of Johnstone. For these crimes, he was executed and his titles were forfeit. Biography The ...

in 1608, Johnstone, aged six, succeeded to the barony of Newby. In 1623,

King James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

was able to determine the feud between the two families.

Career

At King Charles's I of England coronation on 20 June 1633, Johnstone was elevated to the

Peerage of Scotland The Peerage of Scotland (; ) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and for those peers created by the King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Union 1707, Treaty of Union, the Kingdom of Scots and the ...

as Lord Johnstone of Lochwood. From 1637, he represented the

Covenanter Covenanters were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son C ...

in the court and in the next year, he took part in the General Assembly in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. Johnstone raised a regiment in the

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in 1640, however was not involved in the fightings. On 8 March 1643, he was further honoured with the titles Lord Johnston of Lochwood, Moffatdale and Evandale and Earl of Hartfell. Johnstone supported the king in the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

and was imprisoned at

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by the

Committee of Estates The Committee of Estates governed Scotland during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms (1638–1651) when the Parliament of Scotland was not sitting. It was dominated by Covenanters of which the most influential faction was that of the Earl of Argyll. Th ...

in 1644. Having been released in March of the following year, he fought in the

Battle of Kilsyth The Battle of Kilsyth, fought on 15 August 1645 near Kilsyth, was an engagement of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The largest battle of the conflict in Scotland, it resulted in victory for the Royalist general Montrose over the forces of ...

and was captured in November, following the

Battle of Philiphaugh The Battle of Philiphaugh was fought on 13 September 1645 during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms near Selkirk in the Scottish Borders. The Royalist army of the Marquis of Montrose was destroyed by the Covenanter army of Sir David Leslie, ...

. Although sentenced to death at

St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...

, Johnstone later received a

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

. In 1648, when the

Engagers The Engagers were a faction of the Scottish Covenanters, who made "The Engagement" with King Charles I in December 1647 while he was imprisoned in Carisbrooke Castle by the English Parliamentarians after his defeat in the First Civil War. ...

signed a treaty with the king, he was preventively arrested.

Family

On 29 November 1622, he married firstly Lady Margaret Douglas, eldest daughter of

William Douglas, 1st Earl of Queensberry William Douglas, 1st Earl of Queensberry (c. 15828 March 1639/40) was a Scottish people, Scottish noble. He was the eldest son of James Douglas, 8th of Drumlanrig and his wife Mary Fleming. He inherited his father's title, as 9th Laird of Drumla ...

. After her death in 1640, Johnstone remarried, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Samuel Johnston, 1st Baronet on 6 March 1643. She died only few years later and on 25 February 1647 he married finally Lady Margaret Hamilton, third daughter of

Thomas Hamilton, 1st Earl of Haddington Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas t ...

Holyrood Abbey Holyrood Abbey is a ruined abbey of the Canons Regular in Edinburgh, Scotland. The abbey was founded in 1128 by David I of Scotland. During the 15th century, the abbey guesthouse was developed into a List of British royal residences, royal r ...

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 ...

. Johnstone had six children by his first wife, four daughters and two sons. He died at

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in 1653 and was succeeded in his titles by his older son William Johnstone, 1st Marquess of Annandale.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartfell, James Johnstone, 1st Earl of 1602 births 1653 deaths Nobility from Dumfries and Galloway Cavaliers

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Earls in the Peerage of Scotland Peers of Scotland created by Charles I Prisoners sentenced to death by Scotland Recipients of Scottish royal pardons Scottish prisoners sentenced to death Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1639–1641 Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1643–44