Archibald Douglas, 13th of Cavers was a Scottish politician. In 1701, prior to the Union of Scotland and England, Douglas had been able to return himself as one of Roxburghshire's four Commissioners to the Scottish Parliament. In his electoral capacity, he consistently opposed the Roxburghe interest both in the Scottish and British Parliaments. Repeated successes prompted his son William to remark with pardonable exaggeration in 1712 that "you have it in your hands to make the Member for the county." [1]
He came from an ancient Roxburghshire family with a strong Covenanting tradition. He was the heritable sheriff of Teviotdale, Roxburghshire and sat in the 1st Parliament of Great Britain in 1707–8. He was the Member of Parliament for Dumfries burghs for 1727–34.
His father William Douglas 11th of Cavers had been deprived of the hereditary sheriffdom on account of his opposition to the court, and his mother, Katherine Rigg the reputed 'good Lady Cavers', was imprisoned in Stirling Castle in November 1682. She was only released permanently in December 1684, when, upon being given the choice of conforming or leaving the country, she took up residence in England.
The family's status naturally revived with the Revolution, whereupon the heritable jurisdiction of Roxburghshire was restored. Douglas succeeded his elder brother, William, to the sheriffdom and the estate of Cavers in 1698. He was Receiver-general for Scotland [2] 1705-18 and postmaster-general in 1725. [3]
Archibald Douglas married Anna, daughter of Francis Scott of Gorrenberry. [4]
He died in 1741, the estate of Cavers passing to each of his four sons in succession.
The shires of Scotland, or counties of Scotland, are historic subdivisions of Scotland established in the Middle Ages and used as administrative divisions until 1975. Originally established for judicial purposes, from the 17th century they started to be used for local administration purposes as well. The areas used for judicial functions (sheriffdoms) came to diverge from the shires, which ceased to be used for local government purposes after 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.
John Campbell, 1st Earl of Loudoun was a Scottish politician and Covenanter.
Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the northwest, and Berwickshire to the north. To the southwest it borders Cumberland and to the southeast Northumberland, both in England.
Selkirkshire or the County of Selkirk is a historic county and registration county of Scotland. It borders Peeblesshire to the west, Midlothian to the north, Roxburghshire to the east, and Dumfriesshire to the south. It derives its name from its county town, the royal burgh of Selkirk. The county was historically also known as Ettrick Forest.
The Master Carver or Hereditary Carver is a member of the Royal household of Scotland. A Crown Charter of 1704 ratified by Parliament in 1705, erected Sir William Anstruther's land into the Barony of Anstruther and conferred upon him the heritable offices of Master Carver and one of the Masters of the Household. It is not clear why the office was created, except that the family appears to have held similar offices from 1585 onwards. The current holder of the office is Sir Sebastian Anstruther of Balcluskie.
In Scotland a sheriff principal is a judge in charge of a sheriffdom with judicial, quasi-judicial, and administrative responsibilities. Sheriffs principal have been part of the judiciary of Scotland since the 11th century. Sheriffs principal were originally appointed by the monarch of Scotland, and evolved into a heritable jurisdiction before appointment was again vested in the Crown and the monarch of the United Kingdom following the passage of the Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746.
Wigtown Burghs, also known as Wigton Burghs and Wigtown District of Burghs, was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885. It was represented by one Member of Parliament (MP).
Cavers is a parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, in the former county of Roxburghshire, south and east of Hawick. The largest village in the parish is Denholm.
John Murray, of Philiphaugh, Selkirk, was a Scottish politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1725 to 1753.
Lieutenant-General Sir James Campbell, 1st Baronet was a British Army officer, politician and colonial administrator. He was Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Ionian Islands, Adjutant-General to the British Forces and Heritable Usher of the White Rod for Scotland. He is buried at Westminster Abbey.
William Douglas, 14th of Cavers was a Scottish politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1715 and 1747.
Before the Act of Union 1707, the barons of the sheriffdom or shire of Berwick elected commissioners to represent them in the unicameral Parliament of Scotland and in the Convention of Estates. The number of commissioners was increased from two to four in 1690.
Before the Acts of Union 1707, the barons of the shire of Roxburgh elected commissioners to represent them in the unicameral Parliament of Scotland and in the Convention of the Estates. The number of commissioners was increased from two to four in 1690.
Before the Acts of Union 1707, the barons of the shire of Kinross elected commissioners to represent them in the unicameral Parliament of Scotland and in the Convention of the Estates.
The Honourable James Campbell of Burnbank and Boquhan was a Scottish nobleman of Clan Campbell. He was an officer of the Royal Scots Army and then the British Army, and a politician who sat in the Parliament of Scotland from 1699 to 1702 and as a Whig in the British House of Commons from 1708 to 1710.
The Sheriff of Roxburgh was historically the royal official responsible for enforcing law and order in that area of Scotland. Prior to 1748 most sheriffdoms were held on a hereditary basis. From that date, following the Jacobite uprising of 1745, the hereditary sheriffs were replaced by salaried sheriff-deputes, qualified advocates who were members of the Scottish Bar.
Makerstoun is a parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, as well as the historic county of Roxburghshire, 4 miles (6 km) south-west of Kelso.
Westgate Hall is located in Westgate in the village of Denholm, Roxburghshire, in the Scottish Borders. It stands at the western and south-western approaches to the village. Dating from the 17th century, it is an example of a building of that period that was once common in Scotland and is now a category A listed building.
Cavers Castle, also known as Cavers House, is a ruined tower house located at Cavers, Scottish Borders, Scotland. Cavers Castle was a much extended tower house of the Douglas family dating back to the 15th or 16th century, and built upon the site of an earlier stronghold of the Balliols. It was repeatedly attacked during the 16th century wars with England, and substantially remodelled in the 17th century to form a mansion house, itself extended and remodelled in baronial style by Peddie and McKay in the 1890s. It was eventually deroofed and partially demolished in the 1950s, and was sold most recently in 2019. There are developing plans to restore the building, which is a listed building.
James Oswald was a member of the Parliament of Scotland, 1703-1707, representing Kirkcaldy and, later, the member for Dysart Burghs in the House of Commons of Great Britain.