John Douglas, 2nd Earl of Morton

John Douglas, 2nd Earl of Morton died 9 September 1513 at the Battle of Flodden.[2]

Life

He was the son of James Douglas, 1st Earl of Morton and Princess Joan Stewart, Countess of Morton, daughter of James I of Scotland by his wife Lady Joan Beaufort.[3] He became earl in 1493, upon his father's death. He was succeeded by his son James Douglas, 3rd Earl of Morton.

A very wealthy man, John, unlike many of his peers, did not become embroiled in the intrigues and politics of his day.[4] Instead, the shrewd Earl of Morton worked to improve his holdings and was quite the litigator in his time, successfully defending his interests in court.[5] It turned out later that John, as lord of Dalkeith was aware the land had great value both above and below the surface and in fact sat on what was later described as the Great Midlothian Coalfield.[4]

Marriage and issue

He married Janet Crichton, daughter of Patrick Crichton of Cranston-Riddel[6] and had two sons and two daughters: 

 Lady Margaret Douglas, Countess of Arran and Duchess of Chatellerault, she married James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran, 1st Duke of Chatellerault, and was heir presumptive to Mary, 'Queen of Scots'. 

  The second daughter, Beatrix Douglas, married, Robert Maxwell, 5th or 6th Lord Maxwell.

  The third daughter, Dame Elizabeth Douglas, 'Countess of Morton' who married James Douglas, of Pittendreich, 4th Earl of Morton, Lord Chancellor of Scotland, they possessed Stirling Castle, and Holyrood Palace. [6]
  • Richard Douglas, referred to in an entail of the Morton estates, had two sons William and James.[6]
  • Elizabeth Douglas, married her second cousin Robert Keith, Master of Marischal.[6] Their son William became the 4th Earl Marischal.

References

  1. ^ The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, Vol. I, Ed. Sir Bernard Burke (London : Harrison, 1884), p. 295
  2. ^ Guthrie, William (1767). A General History of Scotland. Vol. 4. Paternoster Row, London: A. Hamilton, Robinson and Roberts. pp. 371-372. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  3. ^ The Scots Peerage, Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland, Sir James Balfour Paul, Vol. VI (David Douglas, Edinburgh, 1909), p. 356
  4. ^ a b Herbert Maxwell, A History of the House of Douglas, Vol. I (Freemantle & Co., London, 1902) pp. 242–3
  5. ^ The Scots Peerage, Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland, Sir James Balfour Paul, Vol. VI (David Douglas, Edinburgh, 1909), pp. 357–8
  6. ^ a b c d e The Scots Peerage, Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland, Sir James Balfour Paul, Vol. VI (David Douglas, Edinburgh, 1909), p. 358

Notes

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