Clan Wedderburn

The origin of the Wedderburn clan

For the first time, the Wedderburn clan is mentioned in historical sources in the document “ Ragman Scrolls ” of 1296 - Vautier de Wedderburn (Scott. - Wautier de Wederburn), along with other leaders of the Scottish clans, swore allegiance to King Edward I Plantagenet ^[2] . At that time, the Wedderburn clan owned lands in Berikshire ^[2] . Later, the Wedderburn clan and its leader, John de Wedderburn, were mentioned in 1364 . Then, William de Wedderburn, who lived somewhere in the years 1426-1452, is mentioned ^[2] . At that time, the clan owned the lands of Wedderburn and the castle of Wedderburn, but then both those lands and the castle were lost by the clan ^[2] .

After the decline, the Wedderburn clan moved to the Scottish borderlands - lands that bordered on England and were in a state of constant war with England: constant raids were carried out on both sides to plunder ^[2] . Clan Wedderburn settled in the lands of Forfarshire . In the 15th century, there were 4 different septa of the Wedderburn clan who lived in Dundee, Kingenny in Forfar ^[2] .

XV — XVII centuries

James Wedderburn lived in Dundee ^[2] . He had three sons: James (1495–1553), John (1505–1556) and Robert (1510–1555), who were among the first Scottish Reformed Protestants ^[2] . They teamed up to defend the Protestant faith from Catholics. The ballads "Hyde and Godley", which were known as the Wedderburn psalms ^[2] , were written about them at one time.

James Wedderburn (1585–1639), Bishop of Dunblane since 1636, was a descendant of James's elder brother. He, along with the Archbishop of Canterbury William Lod, introduced a new liturgy in the Church of Scotland. But he was deprived of dignity and expelled from Scotland in 1638 ^[2] . He resigned, lived in Canterbury , was buried in Canterbury Cathedral. ^[2]

The third brother, Robert Wedderburn, had a grandson of Alexander Wedderburn (d. 1585), who was a clerk in Dundee in 1557-1582 ^[2] . His son Alexander Wedderburn from Kingenny (1561–1626) was a favorite of the Scottish king James VI Stuart ^[2] . He accompanied the king to England in 1603 , when James VI became king of England, Scotland and Ireland. And when Alexander Wedderburn from Kingenny was returning back to Scotland, he received a gift from the king - a ring from his majesty’s hand ^[2] . This line - Wedderburn from Kingenny in a direct male line died out in 1761 , after the death of David Wedderburn from Kingenny. The title was inherited by the leaders of the Skrimjur clan , who became known as Skrimjur-Wedderburn ^[2] .

James Wedderburn (1589-1627), David's brother, had a son, Alexander Wedderburn, who owned the Blackness Castle ^[2] . Alexander Wedderburn (1610-1675) was one of the commissioners for the conclusion of the Ripon Armistice (Scott. - Ripon) in 1641 ^[2] .

18th century

Sir John Wedderburn (1700-1723), 3rd Baronet of Blackness and owner of Blackness Castle, served in the British Army, then married and died in 1723 ^[2] . He sold the Blackness Castle to his cousin, Sir Alexander Wedderburn, who inherited the title of Baronet from Blackness in 1696. ^[2]

Alexander Wedderburn (1675-1744) was fired from the post of clerk Dundee for his sympathy with the Jacobites ^[2] . His eldest son, Sir John Wedderburn, the 5th Baronet from Blackness (1704-1746), also supported the Jacobites, and volunteered to join the regiment of Lord Ogilvy . He was captured during the Battle of Calloden in 1746 ^[2] . He was convicted, convicted and executed for "high treason". The title of baronet was annulled ^[2] . His eldest son, John Wedderburn (1729-1803), was also in the Jacobite army, survived, and after the defeat of the uprising fled to Jamaica ^[2] .

In 1803, Sir David Wedderburn (1775–1858), who was a member of the House of Commons from Perth (1805–1818) and the chief postmaster of Scotland (1823–1831), became the leader of the Wedderburn clan ^[2] . He was awarded the title of Baronet of Ballindin in the same 1803 . Also known is Alexander Wedderburn (1733-1805), the son of Sir Peter Wedderburn, Lord Chesterhall (d. 1756), an outstanding lawyer , solicitor general of England and Wales (1771-1778), Attorney General of England and Wales (1778-1780), chief justice general jurisdiction (1780–1793), Lord Steward of Great Britain (1793–1795) and Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (1793–1801) ^[2] . He opposed the policies of the British government in the American colonies, and predicted that the colonies would separate from the British Empire. He received the title of Lord Loughborough in 1780 and Earl of Rosslyn in 1801 ^[2] .

Wedderburn Castles

• Blackness Castle (scott. - Blackness Castle) - was owned by the Wedderburn clan in the XVII-XVIII centuries.

The title of leader of the clan passed to the Skrimjur-Wedderburn family, counts of Dundee . By family arrangement, the title of leader of the Wedderburn clan is held by the eldest son of Count Dundee, who himself is the leader of the Skrimjour clan. When the leader of the clan Wedderburn receives the count title, the title of leader passes to his heir. Currently, the leader of the Wedderburn clan is Henry David Scrimger-Wedderburn, the 15th Lord Scrimgeour (born 1982), the eldest son and heir to Alexander Henry Scrimgeour, 12th Earl of Dundee, the leader of the Scrimger clan (born 1949).

• Clans of Scotland
• Clan Scrimjour
• Count Rosslyn

• Peter Garwood: The Wedderburn Pages
• ElectricScotland.com: Clan Wedderburn
• MyClan: Wedderburn