James Veitch, Lord Elliock

James Veitch, Lord Elliock
portrait by Henry Raeburn
Born25 September 1712 Edit this on Wikidata
Died1 July 1793 Edit this on Wikidata (aged 80)
Alma mater
OccupationJudge Edit this on Wikidata

James Veitch, Lord Elliock FRSE (25 September 1712 – 1 July 1793) was a Scottish advocate, judge, politician and landowner who became a Senator of the College of Justice.

Life[edit]

He was born in Edinburgh in September 1712, the son of Christian Thomson, daughter of Gavin Thomson, Provost of Peebles,[1] and William Veitch of Elliock House near Dumfries, a Writer to the Signet (WS) who died in 1747.

Veitch studied law at the University of Edinburgh, Leyden University and Halle University. While in Germany he met and apparently befriended Frederick the Great. He passed the Scottish bar as an advocate and was elected to the Faculty of Advocates in 1738.[2]

He was appointed Sheriff-Depute of Peebles in 1747. He served as MP for Dumfriesshire from 1755 to 1760.

In 1761 he was elected a Senator of the College of Justice in the place of Andrew Macdowal, Lord Bankton.[2]

In Novemberv 1763 he is noted as living in the Jock's Lodge area of Edinburgh and was the first point of contact after the post-boy was mugged and robbed of his horse and mailbags.[3]

He was Commissioner for Forfeited Estates in 1769, as Deputy Governor of the Royal Bank of Scotland (1776–), and as a member of the Board of Trustees for Manufactures & Fisheries (1777–).

In 1775 he is listed as living at Jock's Lodge to the east of Edinburgh.[4] He moved to St Andrew Square in the 1780s, as soon as the houses were built.[5]

In 1783 he was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

He died at St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, on 1 July 1793. His position as Senator was filled by William Baillie, Lord Polkemmet. He was buried in Restalrig Churchyard in eastern Edinburgh on 5 July.[6]

Family[edit]

His children included Mary Veitch (1752-1776) [7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "VEITCH, James (1712-93), of Elliock, Dumfries. | History of Parliament Online". historyofparliamentonline.org. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  2. ^ a b An Historical Account of the Senators of the College of Justice: Brunton, Haig and Lockhart
  3. ^ Grants Old and New Edinburgh vol.V p.142
  4. ^ Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1775
  5. ^ Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1784
  6. ^ Scottish Record Society. Robarts - University of Toronto. Edinburgh. 1898.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. ^ Scottish Record Society, Edinburgh (7 May 1898). "Scottish Record Society. [Publications]". Edinburgh – via Internet Archive.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Dumfriesshire
1755–1761
Succeeded by