The Right Honourable
The Earl of Cassilis
PC
Treasurer of Scotland
In office
1689–1695
Personal details
Born
John Kennedy

(1653-11-00)November 1653
Died23 July 1701(1701-07-23) (aged 47)
Spouse(s)
Lady Susannah Hamilton
​
​
(m. 1668; died 1694)​

Mary Fox
​
​
(m. 1697; died 1701)​
Children6
Parent(s)John Kennedy, 6th Earl of Cassilis
Lady Margaret Hay

John Kennedy, 7th Earl of Cassilis, PC (November 1653 – 23 July 1701) was a Scottish peer

Early life

He was the son of John Kennedy, 6th Earl of Cassilis and the former Lady Margaret Ker (née Hay). His father was the grandson of Gilbert Kennedy, 4th Earl of Cassilis, and nephew of John Kennedy, 5th Earl of Cassilis.[1] Before his parent's marriage, his mother was the wife of Henry Ker, styled Lord Ker, son of Robert Ker, 1st Earl of Roxburghe, and his father was married to Jean Hamilton, a daughter of Thomas Hamilton, 1st Earl of Haddington.[2]

His maternal grandparents were William Hay, 10th Earl of Erroll and Lady Anne Lyon (a daughter of Patrick Lyon, 1st Earl of Kinghorne and Anne Murray).[2]

Career

He succeeded to the titles of 9th Lord Kennedy and 7th Earl of Cassillis on 22 September 1668. He was one of the commission exercising the office of Treasurer of Scotland between 1689 and 1695. He was appointed Privy Counsellor of Scotland to King William II in 1689.[2]

On his death, his titles went to his grandson, as his first son, Lord Kennedy, had predeceased him. Kennedy was a keen freemason, belonging to the Kilwinning Lodge.[3]

Personal life

Portrait of his first wife, Lady Susannah Hamilton, by John Michael Wright

On 26 December 1668, Lord Cassilis married Lady Susannah Hamilton (1632–1694), a daughter of James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton and the former Lady Margaret Feilding. They had three children:

On 27 February 1697 or 1698, Lord Cassilis was married to Mary Fox, the daughter of John Fox and Mary Weld. They had three children:[2]

Lord Cassilis died on 23 July 1701 and was succeeded in his titles and estates by his grandson, John.[2]

Descendants

Through his eldest son, he was a grandfather of John Kennedy who became the 8th Earl of Cassilis.[4] On the death of his grandson, the 8th Earl, without male issue, a competition arose, both for the estates and for the title of Earl of Cassilis, between William, Earl of March and Ruglen, heir general, and Sir Thomas Kennedy of Culzean, 4th Baronet, the heir male. The Court of Session found the right to the estates to be in the latter, 29 February 1760; and the same was found with regard to the title on a reference to the House of Lords, 27 January 1762.[4]

References

  1. ^ Kennedy, Iain. "Colonel Gilbert Kennedy of Ardmillan". Kennedy One-Name Study. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volumes. Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999, volume 1, page 40.
  3. ^ Steve Murdoch (2010). "Conspiratorial Networks in the North? A Review of Jacobite and Hanoverian Freemasons in Scandinavia and Russia, 1688-1746". Politica Hermetica, 24 Sorbonne. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  4. ^ a b c G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume XI, page 231.
Peerage of Scotland Preceded byJohn Kennedy Earl of Cassilis 1668–1701 Succeeded byJohn Kennedy


Categories