Wedderburn book; a history of the Wedderburns in ... - waughfamily.ca

liiv. THE WEDDKllUl'llN BOOK.
totrod. then past einrhty years of a^e, whom he satisfied himself was the son of
this John WeJderburu. Charles' story ran that his father had at one time
taken the life of a student at S. Andrew's, and had fled to Edit, where
he died in 1744, having married in 1737, and left two sons, Charles and
John. There are various difficulties in the way of accepting the identity
of Charles' father with the sou of Peter Wedderburu and Catharine Man,
with which I have dealt at pp. 222-2S of this volume. If it and the
rest of J.W.'s account of Charles Wedderburn ia Perth could be accepted,
we should be able to exhaust the male descent from Pote.-'s second .son, for
it seems that Charles Wedderburn "s own sons died s.p , while his lirother
John, who settled at Camno, near Meigle, is clearly proved to have had but
one son, Robert, the elder of whose two sons, 'llohert Niel Wedderburn,
died without issue in 1873, while the vouuger, John, had died unmarried
in 1868.
I return from these matters of doubt to to take up the clear stoty
°^ *'-^? families descended from old Sir Alexander's
Sir John
two eldest
flrat
baronet of " surviving sons, John and James, who inherited from or through
di'ldlTol^ ^^°*' t^^'"" father the one the e.sUite of Blackness, and the other the
clerkship of Dundee. John, who was born in 1C41, was
admitted an advocate, and at one time was standing counsel to his native
burgh. I do not know if he ever had a large practice, but in 1GS3, after
eighteen years at the Bar, he was appointed one of the principal clerks
to the bills, and it was, I presume, for his services in that capacity that
he was created a baronet of Nova tjcotia (with remainder to his heirs male)
by Queen Anne in 1704. There is ground for thinking that he owed this
h(mour paitly to the influence of his cousiu, Alexander Wedtlerbnrn, .sou to
Lord Gosford, then much about the Court, and exerting him.seif in favour of
the union between Scotland and England. Sir John must have resided lar'^elv
in Edinburgh, but he was, no doubt, also much at Blackness, where" he
erected a new entrance, and in Dundee, where he built a seat for himself
and his family in the west church. He died early in 170G, liavin"- had
issue by his wife, Kachel Dunmiiir ((laughter of Mr. David Dunmnir, ad\-ocate)
whom he married in 1GG7 and who died Ix-fore Hi'J'), a faiuilv of eleven
children, of whose births he, like his father, left a holograph re"ister. Of these
children the five youngest of seven sons and the eldest and youngest of four
daughters died when quite young; the four remaining children bein" Alexander
who succeeded his father; David (born 1G74), who enteied the army and fell
at the siege of Douay in 1710, either unmarried or without issue; Margaret,
who was twice married, (1) to Andrew B.ill'our and (2) Dr. Willijim Ec-C'les
•'
and, finally, Mathilda, who married David Campbell, younger, of Kethick near
Coupar-Angus, and left issua
Sir Alexander Wedderiiurn, second Iwironct of Blackness, was born in 1G72
and was educated at S. Andrew's. I do not find that he wa.s
SirAiexMder gyer called to the Bar. but iu 1701 he was admitted "clerk
ot^Biackness!® to the bills on a coninii.s.siou frao the Earl of Selkirke, Renister,
df/diTia' and his father's demission to half the office," after which he
largely resided in Edinliur-h, where he hail a house in Trotter's
close, until his father's death, when he NULvettied to Blackness and a house
in the IS'ethergait of Dundee. He beems to have a tiste for book-collectin",
as we find accounts amounting to over £boO for books bought by him from
a single Edinburgh bookseller within two or three years ot his death. }Jo
added to his estate by the j>urcha*e of Logie from the town of Dundee, as
' There wm i>sue cf both thow nLtrriaj^r*. Uixt nf thr Crut incluilin;; iin only »ur%iviiig
Margaret IJ/ilfour, who married her cutuin. Dr. Jylin Wed.lerbuni ot Mvies, aaJ ihcJ t,\>.
iliild
Sew
i>. post, Ixvu