John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl
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John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl |
John Murray, 1st Marquess and 2nd Earl of Atholl KT (
May 2 1631–
May 6 1703) was a leading
Scottish royalist and defender of the
Stuarts during the
English Civil War of the
1640s, until after the rise to power of
William and
Mary in
1689.
Murray succeeded as
Earl of Atholl on his father's demise in June
1642. In
1653, he was a chief supporter of the
8th Earl of Glencairn's rising to power in opposition to
English plans to incorporate Scotland into the
Commonwealth and devoted 2000 men to the battle. He was eventually obliged to surrender the following year to
George Monck, the victorious Commonwealth commander.
On
5 May 1659, Lord Atholl married Lady Amelia Stanley, a daughter of the
7th Earl of Derby and they had five children:
*
Amelia Murray, married
Hugh Fraser, 9th Lord Lovat.
*
John Murray, 1st Duke of Atholl (
24 February 1660–
14 November 1724)
*
Charles Murray, 1st Earl of Dunmore (
24 February 1661–
19 April 1710)
*
William Murray, 2nd Lord Nairne (d.
3 February 1726)
*
James Murray (b. before
1703–?)
In 1660, Murray became a
privy councillor, obtained a charter of the hereditary office of sheriff of
Fife and in
1663 was appointed
Lord President of the Court of Session. Murray became the first captain-general of the
Royal Company of Archers in
1670. In
1672 he became
Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland and on
14 January 1673 became an
Extraordinary Lord of Session. In
1670 he succeeded to the
earldom of Tullibardine on the death of his cousin, the
4th Earl and was created
Marquess of Atholl on
7 February 1676.
In
1678, Murray temporarily lost royal favour by counselling moderation concerning the measures taken against the Convenators, but fought vigorously against the
8th Earl of Argyll in
1685 and was instrumental in defeating him. Murray showed to be lukewarm to the accession of William III, though allowed his troops to be used at
Killiecrankie against the supporters of the new king and was knighted in
1687. Ironically, given Murray's rumoured Jacobite leanings but public opposition to the group, his grandson,
Lord George Murray became a famed general of the Jacobites and was responsible for their success throughout the greater part of the
1745 uprising. Following his death in
1703 at the age of 71, Lord Atholl was succeeded as 2nd Marquess by his son, John.
Murray was described by Lord Macaulay as "the falsest, the most fickle, the most pusillanimous of mankind."
*
thePeerage.com - Details on genealogy of Murray and connected figures.
*
Tartans.com - Article on Clan Murray history.
