Sir John Lauder (1646-1742)

Judge and political commentator

Sir John Lauder of Fountainhall was the son of an Edinburgh merchant who bought the East Lothian estate of Woodhead. He kept a journal of his youthful travels on the continent and persuaded his father to change the name of their estate to Fountainhall. From 1678 onwards, he recorded the judicial decisions of the Session and Privy Council and wrote candid chronicles of political events down to the Revolution of 1688, which have been of great use to historians. In 1689, he was made a judge as Lord Fountainhall. In 1692 he was offered, but refused, the post of Lord Advocate; according to tradition, because it came with a prohibition against prosecuting those guilty of the recent massacre of Glencoe, who included Sir John Dalrymple, Master of Stair, the head of his own political faction. He was an MP in the Scottish Parliament from 1685 to 1707 and voted against the Union.

Birth in 1646

John (here given as Johnne) Lauder was born on 2 August 1646, the son of Johnne Lauder, merchant and Issobell Eleis. The entry in the Old Parish Register for Edinburgh includes the names of witnesses to the baptism.

Baptism entry for Sir John Lauder (44 KB jpeg)
National Records of Scotland, OPR 685-1/5, page 83

Marriage in 1669 and 1687

Mr John Lauder, advocate, married Jonet Ramsay on 21 January 1669. The entry in the Old Parish Register for Edinburgh gives no further details.

Marriage entry for Sir John Lauder (15 KB jpeg)
National Records of Scotland, OPR 685-1/44, page 160

Following the death of his first wife Sir John Lauder of Fountainhall, advocate, married Mrs Marion Anderson on 26 March 1669. The entry in the Old Parish Register for Edinburgh shows the marriage was by warrant of my Lord Bishop to Alexander Ramsay.

Marriage entry for Sir John Lauder (34 KB jpeg)
National Records of Scotland, OPR 685-1/44, page 78 

Testament of Sir John Lauder of Fountainhall

National Records of Scotland, CC8/8/89 pp130-132

The testament only covers a small part of his estate - a bequest to one of his grandchildren - but the documents it quotes show his opposition to needless legal formalities, 'when a Judge I ever Preferred Matter to forms'.

View transcript (86 KB PDF)

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