Sir James Steuart of Coltness (1608 – 31 March 1681) was a Scottish merchant, banker, landowner, politician and Covenanter.[1]
Early life
Steuart was the second son of Marion Carmichael and James Steuart (1575–1607), of Allanton, Lanarkshire, and was born posthumously.[2][3] Marion was sister of Sir James Carmichael, Justice General of Scotland.[4]
Career
He was a merchant and banker in Edinburgh, acquired a large fortune, then acquired the estates of Kirkfield (from Sir John Somerville of Cambusnethan) and Coldness (from Sir John Hamilton of Edston), both in Lanarkshire, in 1653.[2]
He became a burgess of Edinburgh and guild member in 1631, apparently through his marriage to Thomas Hope's niece.[4]
Public office
Steuart served as Provost of Edinburgh from 1648 to 1652, Commissioner for Edinburgh to the Parliament of Scotland from 1649 to 1650, and Lord Provost again in 1659. For a period of time, he was the Collector of Excise and Accountant-General for the Scottish Army.[5]
His period of office as Provost included the decision to fortify the harbour of Leith and to create a new road between Edinburgh and Leith (later called Leith Walk.[4]
Scottish Restoration
At the Restoration (1660) he was dismissed from public roles due to his being a Covenanter. After confinement in Edinburgh Castle, Steuart was sent to Dundee as a prisoner. He was granted a pardon in 1670.[6]
Personal life
In 1630, he married Anne Hope (d. 1646), daughter of Henry Hope and niece of Sir Thomas Hope of Craighall.[7] Together, they had:[8]
Sir Thomas Steuart, 1st Baronet of Coltness (1631–1698)[9][10]
Marion Steuart (1645–1706), who married John Maxwell (1648–1732)[3]
In 1648, two years after Anne's death, Steuart married Marion McCulloch Elliott (d. 1690), widow of Sir John Elliott, and only daughter and heiress of David McCulloch, of Goodtrees.[10]
^Taylor, W. L. (December 1957). "A Short Life of Sir James Steuart: Political Economist". The South African Journal of Economics. 25 (4): 290–302. doi:10.1111/j.1813-6982.1957.tb02850.x.
^Anderson, William (1863). The Scottish Nation: Or The Surnames, Families, Literature, Honours, and Biographical History of the People of Scotland, Volume 3. p. 509.
^Matthew H.C.G., editor, Dictionary of National Biography on CD-ROM (Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 1995). Hereinafter cited as Dictionary of National Biography.
