TWEEDDALE, Marquis of, a title in the peerage of Scotland, conferred in 1694 on John Hay, earl of Tweeddale, descended from Robert, second and younger son of William de Haya, who held the office of pincerna domini Regis, or king’s butler, in the reigns of Malcolm Iv. and William the Lion. Robert’s son, Sir William de Haya, witnessed a charter of King Alexander II. to the abbot and monks of Kelso in 1240. He was father of Sir John de Haya, who acquired the lands of Locherworth, Mid Lothian, by marriage. His son, Sir William de Haya of Locherworth, appeared in the parliament at Brigham, 12th March 1290, when the marriage of the Princess Margaret of Scotland and Prince Edward of England was proposed. In the contest for the crown, he was one of the nominees on the part of Bruce the competitor in 1292, In July of the latter year he swore fealty to King Edward I., and also submitted to that monarch in 1297. Sir William’s son, Sir Gilbert, swore fealty to the English king in 1296. By his marriage with Mary, one of the daughters and coheiresses of that distinguished patriot, Sir Simon Fraser of Oliver castle, executed by Edward I. in 1306, he acquired considerable lands in the county of Peebles, and quartered the Fraser arms with his own. His grandson, Sir William de Haya of Locherworth, was made prisoner at the battle of Durham, 17th October 1346. In Dalrymple’s Annals, (vol. ii. p. 108), he is said to have been among the killed in that battle; but this is incorrect, as he was one of the commissioners to treat concerning the ransom of King David II. in 1354. His son, Sir Thomas Hay, was one of the hostages for the liberation of that monarch, 3d October, 1357, and was placed in the custody of the sheriff of Northumberland. He got leave from Edward to go to Rome, 16th May 1369. He afterwards returned home, and in 1385 had 400 of the 40,000 francs sent by the king of France with John de Vienne to be distributed among the principal persons of Scotland. His son, Sir William Hay, sheriff of Peebles, was twice a commissioner to treat with the English. He married, first, Johanna, eldest daughter of Hugh Gifford of Yester, Haddingtonshire, with whom he got the manor of Yester, with the patronage of the church. Originally called St. Bathan’s, and afterwards Yester, the church was in 1421 restored to its own name, and converted by Sir William into a collegiate establishment for a provost, six prebendaries, and two singing boys, which it continued to be until the Reformation. In consequence of this marriage, Sir William added the arms of Gifford to his own. He married, secondly, Alicia, daughter of Sir Thomas Hay of Errol, and had issue by both wives; by the first, three sons and three daughters; and by the second, a son and a daughter. The eldest son, Sir William Hay, predeceased his father. The second son, Sir Thomas Hay of Yester, was one of the hostages for King James I., 4th December 1423, when his annual revenue was estimated at 600 merks, and again 16th July 1425. He died without issue, in 1432. The third son succeeded his brother. The youngest son, Edmund de Hay, was ancestor of the Hays of Barra, Rannes, Mountblairy, Cocklaw, Faichfield, Ranfield, Linplum, Alderston, Mordington, and other families of the name.

Sir David Hay of Yester, the third but eldest surviving son, married Lady Mary Douglas, relict of the first Lord Forbes, only daughter of George, first earl of Angus, of that house, my Mary, daughter of King Robert III., and had two sons and a daughter. John Hay of Yester, the elder son, was created a peer, by solemn investiture in parliament, by the title of Lord Hay of Yester, 29th January, 1487-8. He was twice married; first, to Mary, daughter of John, Lord Lindsay of Byres, by whom he had a son, John, second Lord Yester; and, secondly, to Elizabeth, daughter of George Cunningham, son of Sir William Cunningham of Belton, by whom he had two sons and two daughters. John, second Lord Yester, fell at the battle of Flodden, 9th September 1513, leaving three sons and three daughters. The sons were, John, third Lord Yester; George Hay of Oliver castle; and William, ancestor of the Hays of Monkton. John, third Lord Yester, signed the latter to Henry VIII. refusing to remove the duke of Albany from the guardianship of King James V., 4th July 1516. He set his seal to a treaty with England, 7th October 1517, and died in 1543. He was twice married; first, to Elizabeth Douglas, sister of Archibald, sixth earl of Angus, by whom he had a son, John, fourth Lord Yester, and a daughter, Elizabeth, Lady Seton; and, secondly, to the daughter and sole heiress of Dickson of Smithfield, Peebles-shire, and had by her a son, John, ancestor of the family of Hay of Smithfield and Haystoun, baronet, and a daughter, Jane, wife of Broun of Coalstoun, John, fourth Lord Yester, was taken prisoner by the English at the battle of Pinkie, 10th September 1547, and sent to the Tower of London, where he remained till peace was concluded, when he was released. He died in 1557. By his wife, Margaret, eldest daughter of the fourth earl of Livingstone, he had two sons: William, fifth Lord Yester, and Thomas, provost of St Bathan’s, and a daughter, Mary, Mrs. Congalton of Congalton.

William, fifth Lord Yester, joined the Reformation, and was one of the noblemen who subscribed the Book of Discipline, in the Tolbooth of Edinburgh, 27th January 1561. He adhered to Queen Mary, and was present with her forces at Carberry Hill in 1567. He was also on the queen’s side at the battle of Langside in the following year. In 1570 he was one of the noblemen who signed a letter to Queen Elizabeth in behalf of Queen Mary, then a captive in England. He died in August 1576. By his wife, Margaret, daughter of Sir John Kerr of Fernihirst, he had, with four daughters, two sons, William, sixth Lord Yester, and James, seventh Lord Yester.

William, sixth Lord Yester, was one of the nobles engaged in the Raid of Ruthven in 1582. The following year he retired to the continent, but returned in 1585, and died in 1591. Leaving daughters only, his brother James, seventh Lord Yester, had a charter from James VI., to him and his heirs male, of the lordship and barony of Yester, containing a new creation. He died in February 1609. By his wife, Lady Margaret Kerr, third daughter of the first earl of Lothian, he had, with a daughter, two sons; John, eighth Lord Yester, and Hon. Sir William Hay of Linplum.

John, eighth Lord Yester, and first earl of Tweeddale, was distinguished for his sagacity and attention to business. He was opposed to the obnoxious five articles of Perth, and voted against them in the parliament of 1621. In 1633 he opposed the act for regulating the apparel of churchmen, and in 1637 was one of the supplicants against the introduction of the liturgy into Scotland. In 1639 he had the command of a regiment in the Scots army. He was created earl of Tweeddale by patent dated at Newcastle, 1st December 1646, to him and his heirs male for ever. He died in 1654. He was twice married; first, to Lady Jane Seton, daughter of his brother-in-law, Alexander, first earl of Dunfermline, high-chancellor of Scotland, and by her had one son, John, second earl of Tweeddale; and, secondly, to Lady Margaret Montgomery, eldest daughter of the sixth earl of Eglintoun, by whom he had another son, Hon. William Hay, on whom he settled the barony of Drumelzier.

John, second earl of Tweeddale, born in 1626, in 1642 joined the standard of Charles I., when he erected it at Nottingham, at the commencement of the civil wars. The following year he returned to Scotland, and had the command of a regiment in the army raised by the estates for the defence of the national religion and liberties. In 1644, at the head of his regiment he fought against the royal army at the battle of Marston-moor, where Charles for the first time encountered the combined banners of England and Scotland arrayed against him. In 1646, when the king had surrendered to the Scots army at Newcastle, he waited on his majesty, and at the battle of Preston, in 1648, he commanded the East Lothian regiment, of 1,200 men, raised for his rescue. In 1657 he assisted at the coronation of Charles II. at Scone, and having garrisoned his house at Niedpath, he repaired to Dundee. He succeeded his father in 1654, and the following year was member for the county of Haddington in Cromwell’s parliament. At the Restoration he waited upon Charles II., and was sworn a privy councilor. In the parliament of 1661, the earl of Tweeddale was the only person who opposed the passing sentence of death on the martyr Guthrie, for declining the king’s authority in matters ecclesiastical, and moved that he should only be banished. His words being misrepresented to the king, he was committed prisoner to the castle of Edinburgh, 14th September of that year. On the 4th October he was liberated on giving security in £100,000 Scots that he would appear when called upon. He was appointed one of the commissioners of the treasury, and on 2d June, 1664, an extraordinary lord of session. In 1667 he represented to the king the oppressed state of the people of Scotland, and the administration was for a time placed in the hands of his lordship, the earl of Kincardine, and Sir Robert Murray. In a private letter, dated in 1668, from Tweeddale to Lauderdale, it was stated, that of those who had been concerned in the insurrection at Pentland, 218 had submitted, 309 refused, 80 had been killed in the field, 40 executed, 31 had died in the counties of Galloway and Dumfries, 30 had fled, and 20 forfeited, (Wodrow, vol. ii. p. 107). Tweeddale had always been favourable to the ejected ministers, and had held interviews with some of them, with a view to ascertain whether some terms of mutual accommodation might not be framed, of some measure adopted, calculated to restore peace to the country. On the 15th July 1669, he laid a letter from the king before the council, containing the first Indulgence.

He joined the opposition against Lauderdale, and early in 1674 was dismissed from his offices, and even deprived of his seat in the privy council. ON the downfall of Lauderdale in 1680, he was restored to his post as commissioner of the treasury, and resworn a privy councilor. After the death of Charles II. he was continued in the same by James VII. Having become deeply involved in debt, chiefly on account of his cautionary engagements for the earl of Dunfermline, he was obliged in 1686 to dispose of the ancient estates of his family in the county of Peebles. He joined cordially in the revolution, and, with the earl of Leven, was sent by the convention of estates held at Edinburgh in March 1689, with an order to the duke of Gordon, who held the castle for King James, to deliver it up within twenty-four hours. The duke, overcome by the insinuating behaviour of Tweeddale, reluctantly yielded, and promised to surrender the castle next morning at ten o’clock. He afterwards decided upon retaining it. The earl was sworn a privy councilor of William and Mary, 18th May 1689. ON 7th December following, he was appointed one of the lords of the treasury, and on 5th January 1692 constituted high-chancellor of Scotland. He was created marquis of Tweeddale, earl of Gifford, viscount of Walden, and Lord Hay of Yester, to him and his heirs male whatsoever, by patent dated at Kensington, 17th December 1694. He was high commissioner to the parliament that met at Edinburgh 9th May 1695, but not complying with the policy of the court in the affair of Darien, he was deprived of his office of high-chancellor in 1696. He died at Edinburgh 11th August 1697, in his 71st year, and was buried at Yester. By his wife, Lady Jane Scott, daughter of the first earl of Buccleuch, he had seven sons and two daughters, Margaret, countess of Roxburghe, and Jane, countess of March. His sons were; 1. John, second marquis of Tweeddale. 2. Hon. Francis Hay, died young. 3. Lord David Hay of Belton, whose descendants inherited that estate. 4. Hon. Charles Hay, died young. 5. Lord Alexander Hay of Spott. 6. Lord Gilbert. 7. Lord William Hay.

John, second marquis of Tweeddale, the eldest son, born in 1645, received his education principally at home. On the invasion of Scotland by the earl of Argyle in 1685, he was constituted colonel of the East Lothian regiment, raised to suppress the rebellion, and at the revolution of 1689 he was sworn a privy councilor, and appointed sheriff of the county of Haddington. In the parliament of 1695, he sat and voted as high-treasurer of Scotland, on the king’s letter. On succeeding to the titles of his family, he was continued a privy councilor by Queen Anne. In the parliament of 1703, the marquis and the duke of Hamilton took the direction of the country party, who were opposed to the Union, and who insisted on indemnification for the losses sustained in the Darien expedition, and satisfaction for the massacre of Glencoe and other grievances suffered in the last reign. He was high-commissioner to the parliament at Edinburgh, wherein the famous “act for the security of the kingdom” received the royal assent, 5th August 1704. On 17th October the same year he was appointed high-chancellor of Scotland, in room of the earl of Seafield, but on a charge of ministers the latter nobleman was reinstated in that office, 9th March following. The marquis of Tweeddale, with his displaced friends, formed a strong party called the Squadrone volante, or flying squadron, from their sometimes supporting and at other times opposing the measures of the court. State intrigue was never so active at any period of the Scots parliament as in this the last of its existence, and the marquis of Tweeddale, on the change of ministry, was applied to by the Cavaliers, or Jacobite members, to unite with them against the court; but he declined the proposal, as being inconsistent with the object for which his party had been formed, viz., to keep the contending parties in parliament in check, and to vote only for such measures, by whatever party introduced, as should appear most beneficial to the country. Uniting with the court party, the marquis supported the Union, and the “squadron” having given it their aid, the measure was carried by a large majority. He was one of the sixteen representatives of the Scottish peerage chosen by parliament 13th February 1707. He died at his seat of Yester, 20th April 1713, in his 68th year. Macky, in his Memoirs, mentions him as “a great encourager and promoter of trade and the welfare of his country.” Scot of Satchel, in the dedication of his Rhyming History of the name of Scott, in 1688, compliments his lordship for his poetical abilities. He married, 11th December 1666, Lady Anne Maitland, only child of the duke of Lauderdale, at that time considered the greatest heiress in the kingdom, and by her had, with two daughters, Anne, Lady Ross, and Jean, countess of Rothes, three sons, viz., 1. Charles, third marquis. 2. Lord John Hay, colonel of the Royal Scots Greys, 7th April 1704. He had the rank of brigadier-general, and distinguished himself at the battles of Schellenberg in 1704, and Ramillies in 1706. He died 25th August 1706. 3. Lord William Hay of Newhall.

Charles, third marquis of Tweeddale, was, on the accession of George I., in 1714, appointed president of the court of police and lord-lieutenant of the county of Haddington. At the general election, 3d March 1715, he was chosen one of the sixteen representative peers, and died 17th December following. By his marchioness, Lady Susan Hamilton, countess of Dundonald, second daughter of William and Anne, duke and duchess of Hamilton, he had, with four daughters, four sons; 1. John, fourth marquis. 2. James, died young. 3. Lord Charles Hay of Linplum. 4. George, sixth marquis. The third son, Lord Charles Hay, served at the siege of Gibraltar, and afterwards in Germany, as a volunteer under Prince Eugene of Savoy. He had the commission of ensign 18th May 1722, and in 1729 obtained a troop in the 9th regiment of foot-guards. He behaved gallantly at the battle of Fontenoy, 30th April 1743, and was wounded. His lordship was appointed aide-de-camp to the king, 4th March 1749, colonel of the 33d foot 20th November 1752, and major-general 22d February 1757. In May of the latter year he sailed for America as second in command under General Hopson, and joined the earl of Loudoun, commander-in-chief, who had under him 11,000 land forces, supported by 33 ships of war and 10,200 seamen. As this formidable armament, instead of being engaged in active operations, was for a time idly employed in sham fights at Halifax, Lord Charles Hay threw out some reflections on his superior officers for not at once attacking the enemy, a council of war was called, 31st July 1757, when he was ordered under arrest, and sent a prisoner to England. His trial commenced 12th February 1760, before a general court martial at the horse-guards, London, and was finished 4th March. The result was not made public. The case was laid before the king, but no decision appears to have been given, as Lord Charles died at London two months afterwards, 1st May 1760, unmarried.

John, fourth marquis of Tweeddale, having studied the law, was appointed an extraordinary lord of session 7th March 1721. He was chosen one of the sixteen representative peers in 1722, and afterwards several times re-elected. He distinguished himself much in parliament, and on the resignation of Sir Robert Walpole in February 1742, he was named one of the cabinet ministers. The office of principal secretary of state for Scotland was revived and conferred on him, and he was also appointed principal keeper of the signet; but resigned both offices in January 1746, when the former was abolished. In June 1761 he was appointed justice-general of Scotland. He was also a privy councilor and governor of the Bank of Scotland. He died at London in 1762. He was not only the last secretary of state for Scotland, but the last who held the office of extraordinary lord of session. He married Lady Francis Carteret, daughter of John, earl of Granville, and, with four daughters, had two sons, George, earl of Gifford, who died in infancy, and George, fifth marquis, who died 4th October 1770, in his 13th year. The title devolved on his uncle, George, sixth marquis of Tweeddale. This nobleman was appointed one of the board of police, June 1755, but resigned that office in 1771. By a rigid system of economy he accumulated a large fortune, which he bequeathed to trustees to be laid out in the purchase of lands to be entailed on the title of Tweeddale. He died 16th November 1787, and was succeeded by his cousin, George Hay, an officer in the naval service of the East India Company, grandson of Lord William Hay of Newhall, third son of John, second marquis of Tweeddale.

The seventh marquis was one of the sixteen representative peers and lord-lieutenant of the county of Haddington. He married at Edinburgh, 18th April 1785, Lady Hannah Charlotte Maitland, fourth daughter of the seventh earl of Lauderdale. They went to the continent in 1802, on account of the state of the marquis’s health, and unfortunately happened to be in France at the commencement of hostilities in 1803, when all British subjects in that country were detained by Bonaparte. The marchioness died at Verdun, May 8, and the marquis 9th Aug. 1804. They had six sons and six daughters. The eldest son, George, succeeded as 8th marquis. The 2d son, Lord James Hay, became a lieutenant-general in the army in 1854, and died in 1862. The 3d son, Lord John Hay, C.B., born in 1793, entered the royal navy, and when a lieutenant in the Seahorse frigate, lost his left arm in the Dardanelles in August 1807, by a shot from a battery, while pursuing in the boats some small coasting vessels that had taken shelter under the land. In 1818 he became captain R.N., and rose to the rank of rear-admiral. He served as commodore in command of a small squadron on the north coast of Spain during the civil war in that country. For his services he received the Grand Cross of the Spanish order of Charles III. IN 1846 he was appointed one of the lords of the admiralty, and in the following year was chosen M.P. for Windsor. Lord William, the 4th son, died young. Lord Edward George, the 5th son, born in 1800, became lieutenant-colonel in the army in 1831. Lord Thomas, the 6th son, in holy orders, was appointed rector of Rendlesham, Suffolk, in 1830.

George, 8th marquis of Tweeddale, born Feb. 1, 1787, succeeded his father in 1804, and entered the army the same year. He was aide-de-camp to the duke of Wellington during the Peninsular war, and was wounded at the battle of Busaco, Sept. 7, 1810. He received a medal for his services as assistant-quarter-master-general, at Vittoria. He became major 41st foot, 1812; C.B., 1815, and K.T., 1820. In 1854 he attained the full rank of general in the army. In 1842 he was appointed governor of Madras, where he continued till 1846; one of the sixteen representative peers, lord-lieutenant of Haddingtonshire, and hereditary bailie or chamberlain of Dunfermline. He married in 1816, Lady Susan Montague, third daughter of the 5th duke of Manchester; issue, 6 sons and 7 daughters. Sons; 1. George, earl of Gifford, born 1822. 2. Lord Arthur Hay, born 1824, a colonel in the army. 3. Lord William Montague, born 1826. 4. Lord John, born 1827, and 5. Lord Charles Edward, born in 1833, officers in the army. 6. Lord Frederick, born in 1835. Daughters; 1. Lady Susan Georgiana, married in 1836, James, Lord Ramsay, afterwards marquis of Dalhousie, and died in 1853. 2. Lady Hannah Charlotte, born in 1818, married in 1843, Simon Watson Taylor, Esq. of Earlstoke Park, Wilts. 3. Lady Louisa Jane, born in 1819, married in 1841, Robert B. Wardlaw Ramsay, Esq. of Whitehill, with issue. 4. Lady Elizabeth, born in 1820, married in 1839, Arthur, marquis of Douro, 2d duke of Wellington. 5. Lady Jane. 6. Lady Julia. 7. Lady Emily, married in 1856, Sir Robert Peel, 3d bart. Of Drayton Manor, Staffordshire.