John Maitland, 1st Earl of Lauderdale

John Maitland, 1st Earl of Lauderdale († January 18, 1645 ) was a Scottish peer , politician, president of the Scottish Privy Council and lawyer who campaigned for the cause of parliamentarians during the English Civil War .

life and career

He was the son of John Maitland, 1st Lord Maitland , and Jean Fleming. Richard Maitland was his grandfather. On October 3, 1595 he inherited his father as Lord Maitland , of Thirlestane . He was accepted into the Scottish Privy Council on July 20, 1615 and later became its president. On April 2, 1616 he was awarded the hereditary title of Viscount of Lauderdale . On June 5, 1618, he was appointed lay judge at the Court of Session , the highest civil court in the country.

In 1617 he served as the Commissioner for Plantation of Kirks . In 1621 he was Commissioner for Parliament . On March 14, 1624 he was also raised to Earl of Lauderdale , Viscount Maitland and Lord Thirlestane and Boltoun . From 1626 to 1628 he held the office of Extraordinary Lord of Session . Despite the honors awarded to him by the monarch, he sided with Parliament during the English Civil War and served on numerous important commissions. In 1634 he was Commissioner of Taxes . He was President of the Scottish Parliament from 1644 until his death in January 1645 .

He died in 1645 and was buried in the family burial site at St Mary's Parish Church in Haddington .

Marriage and offspring

In 1610 at the latest he married Lady Isabel Seton (1594-1638), a daughter of Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline . With her he had seven sons and eight daughters, of whom only three sons and one daughter reached adulthood:

• John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale (1616–1682), ⚭ (1) 1632 Lady Anne Home, daughter of Alexander Home, 1st Earl of Home , ⚭ (2) 1672 Elizabeth Murray, 2nd Countess of Dysart ;
• Hon. Robert Maitland (1623–1658), Laird of Lundin in Fife , ⚭ 1648 Margaret Lundin, daughter and heir to John Lundin of Lundin;
• Charles Maitland, 3rd Earl of Lauderdale († 1691) ⚭ 1652 Elizabeth Lauder;
• Lady Jean Maitland (1612-1631).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ JRN Macphail: Maitland, Earls of Lauderdale. In: James Balfour Paul (Ed.): The Scots Peerage . Volume 5, David Douglas, Edinburgh 1908, pp. 275-323 (302).

Web links

• John Maitland, 1st Earl of Lauderdale on thepeerage.com
• Peerage: Lauderdale at Leigh Rayment's Peerage
• Lauderdale, Earl of (S, 1624) at Cracroft's Peerage

predecessor	Office	successor
New title created	Earl of Lauderdale 1624-1645	John Maitland
New title created	Viscount of Lauderdale 1616-1645	John Maitland
John Maitland	Lord Maitland 1595-1645	John Maitland