Sir Alexander Douglas, MP
Sir Alexander Douglas (b. Unknown, d. January 1718) was a Burgh and
Shire Commissioner of Orkney and Shetland for the Parliament of
Scotland and was also the first MP to represent the constituency.
An impecunious Orkney laird, Douglas was a thoroughgoing
courtier in both the Scottish and British Parliaments. Returned
for his native county in 1702, he supported the Duke of
Queensberry while in office, but tactfully absented himself from
the vote on the Duke of Hamilton’s motion in 1704 for deferring
a decision on the succession. Aware of Queensberry’s hostility
to the ‘New Party’ experiment, Douglas was nevertheless
unwilling to join the Duke’s hard-line supporters in cynical
opposition to the Court. With the fall of the ‘New Party’
ministry and the return to power of Queensberry, Douglas’
difficulties were resolved. His attitude during this period was
similar to that of his political patron, the 11th Earl of Morton
(James Douglas). The connexion between Morton and Douglas, who
were not near relations, may be traced to the Earl’s attempts to
regain his family’s grant of crown lands in Orkney and Shetland,
which had been revoked by Charles II. The attainment of this
objective in 1707 may be attributed to Morton’s support for the
Union, activities which had included persuading Douglas, who had
registered a hostile vote on the first article of the treaty, to
follow the Court line thereafter without demur. Douglas himself
was rewarded with a knighthood and a seat in the nominated first
Parliament of Great Britain.
An inactive Member, who is
not known to have spoken in debate, Douglas found the cost of
attendance at Westminster prohibitive. It is uncertain if he
made any appearance during his first Parliament. He was elected
unanimously for Orkney and Shetland in 1708, but his only known
vote was in favour of the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710
(though his inclusion on this list was queried by George
Lockhart). In the same year he was appointed to a collectorship
of the bishopric rents in Orkney, presumably via Morton’s
influence. It was later asserted by a hostile commentator that
this office brought ‘a salary or pension of the crown of a
thousand pound Scots or thereby’. Prior to the 1710 election,
moreover, Douglas was promised £200 from the government to cover
the cost of attendance at Westminster. He was duly re-elected,
despite local resentment against the Morton interest. Douglas
was described as an episcopal Tory in the electoral analysis of
Richard Dongworth, chaplain to the Duchess of Buccleuch. A
supporter of the new ministry, Douglas was listed as a ‘worthy
patriot’ who helped to detect the mismanagements of the previous
administration, and Lockhart later recalled that he had adhered
‘constantly in all votes to the Tories’. Douglas was
nevertheless dissatisfied at the failure of Lord Treasurer
Oxford (Robert Harley) to provide the promised living expenses.
Morton explained to the Earl of Mar that Douglas had been
persuaded to ‘set up to be a Parliament man contrary to his
intentions, he being a gentleman of a very low estate’. His case
was taken up in September 1711 by John Pringle, who forwarded to
Oxford the original letter from Morton’s agent which had
promised the money in Queensberry’s name. Pringle added by way
of recommendation that Douglas had ‘ever since the Queen’s
accession to the throne served his country in such measures as
seemed most agreeable to her Majesty, and is desirous to
continue to give further proof of this loyalty and affection to
the crown’. No satisfaction was evidently forthcoming. Douglas
was listed as absent in Scotland for the vote on 7 Feb. 1712 on
the Scottish toleration bill, and likewise for the votes on 4
and 18 June 1713 over the French commerce bill.
Douglas
did not stand in 1713, when his own disinclination chimed with
Morton’s desire that his brother, Hon. George Douglas, should
have a refuge from electoral difficulties elsewhere. He acted,
however, in the capacity of praeses of the electoral court,
using his influence to ensure the election of Morton’s nominee.
During these proceedings his own right to vote was queried by
James Moodie, who belatedly drew attention to the fact that the
Egilsay estate was of maternal descent. Moodie claimed that this
rendered Douglas’ entitlement open to question because ‘it is in
law presumed there is an heir male till the contrary is be
proven by a service’. He also attempted to confuse the issue by
referring to the inheritances of Douglas’ aunts as ‘heirs
portioners’ to the estate. This absurd objection was swiftly
dismissed, Douglas having plainly stated that his mother was
served heir and retoured to Patrick Monteith (my) grandfather
who stood publicly infeft in the lands of Egilsay and others
holden feu under the crown which rights were produced in the
parliament of Scotland in anno 1703 and my right to vote in the
election was determined in the parliament.
Douglas died
in January 1718, and Egilsay descended via his eldest son,
William, to his granddaughter, Janet, who married in 1729 James Baikie of Tankerness
and had a son, Robert.
Douglas was of Egilsay(1), a small Island of Orkney. He was a
member of the Parliament of Scotland in 1703 and again between 1705
until the Parliament was dissolved in 1707. His first term in 1703
was declared illegitimate at the 26 June meeting of the Parliament
of Scotland, and thus Sir Archibald Stewart of Burray was appointed
as the legal Burgh commissioner.
He was then elected (or
co-opted) into the newly established Parliament of Great Britain,
representing Orkney and Shetland from 1707 until 1713, with
George Douglas taking the seat from then. He died in 1718.
Douglas supported his kinsman, the Earl of Mortons's attempts to
reclaim his family's grant of crown lands in Orkney and Shetland,
which had been revoked by King Charles II.
Knighted in 1707, he was appointed the Chamberlain of the Bishopric
of Orkney in 1710, which brought a salary or pension of £1000 Scots.
This must have proved useful, as he had insufficient funds to attend
the Parliament in London..
He was the son of William
Douglas of Egilsay and Marjorie Monteith.
There was a daughter, Margaret.
In accordance with the marriage contract of Thomas Buchanan and
Margaret Douglas, she was vested in her father’s lands in Eday, Evie,
etc. in security for her dowry. They had a daughter, Janet.
Janet Buchanan was a wealthy heiress and orphan when she married
James Fea VI of Clestrain in 1720, having inherited the Buchanan
lands which included the estates Sound in Shapinsay and Carrick in
Eday including:
…houses, biggins, yards, crofts, town maills,
quoys, quoylands, outbrecks, outsetts, annexis, connexis, parts,
pendicles and pertinents.
She was the only child of Thomas Buchanan, of Sandside and later of
Sound in Shapinsay, and Margaret Douglas. Her parent’s marriage
contract is dated 8th November 1708.
Her paternal grandfather was James Buchanan, a merchant in
Edinburgh, who was a brother of Arthur Buchanan. James’s brother had
acquired the lands in Eday and Shapinsay from Sir John Buchanan of
Scotscaig in Fife.
From the Register of Sasines, we find that
there is a charter signed by Thomas Buchanan on 10th August 1710,
but by 15th September 1710, he had died. Janet’s mother had died by
1st February 1717, leaving Janet an orphan. Her grandfather, Sir
Alexander Douglas, had been formally appointed her “tutor dative”.
When he died, Janet’s uncle, Cornet William Douglas was appointed.
Janet could only have been around 11 years old when she was married
to James Fea VI of Clestrain. He was 27 years.
Thoughts of
Janet having been born before her parent’s marriage or that the
marriage pre dated the marriage contract seem precluded by the terms
of the 1708 contract, which specifically show that her parents were
not already married and also that she was not yet born.
The
following reference to a teacher for Janet Buchanan after her
marriage comes from a cash book of James Fea under the date April
1721 or 1722, among “disbursements I wes att upon my wife’s account”
when in Edinburgh:
To Incident in getting Miss Ker ingaged to
waite upon her and teach her
To Miss Kerr in pairt payment of a
year’s fee having agreed wt her at 100 mrk p. an two guineas is
£1 14 0
£25 4 0
(i.e.Scotts)
In 1736 the heiress Janet Douglas, grand-daughter of Sir Alexander
Douglas of Egilsay, married James Baikie, 6th of Tankerness, in the
presence of the Earl of Morton's eldest son and numerous officials.
This very Mortonian marriage ... Snippet from The People of Orkney
Notes:
1.
Egilsay, Eagleshay or Egilshay.
Any contributions to this item will be
gratefully accepted
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