William Crichton, 2nd Earl of Dumfries

William Crichton
  • Earl of Dumfries (1642/1643-1691)[1]
  • Viscount of Ayr (1642/1643-1691)[1]
PredecessorWilliam Crichton, 1st Earl of Dumfries[1]
SuccessorWilliam Crichton, 3rd Earl of Dumfries[1]
Died1691[1]
Spouse(s)Penelope Swift[1]
Issue
  • Robert
  • Charles
  • Elizabeth
  • Penelope
  • Mary
FatherWilliam Crichton, 1st Earl of Dumfries[1]
MotherEuphemia Seton[1]

William Crichton PC (1598–1691) was the 2nd Earl of Dumfries and a privy councillor to Charles II of England.[2][3] After the Glorious Revolution, Crichton resigned his titles on 10 September 1690 and had them restored on 3 November 1690 by the new King William III of England.[2] Although he produced two sons, they both pre-deceased William, so his titles passed to his grandson William.[1]

At the time of Crichton's birth, his family owned a large number of estates in the area around Sanquhar, but due to financial problems caused in part by a large celebration thrown in 1617 for the visiting King James VI,[4] by 1642 the family had sold their Sanquar properties and moved to Cumnock.[1]

In 1686 the body of covenanter Alexander Peden was exhumed by troops from Sorn Castle and brought to Cumnock to be posthumously hung.[5] At the behest of his wife, Crichton prevented the troops from hanging the body, telling them that "the gibbet was erected for malefactors and murderers, and not for such men as Peden".[4]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Sir James Balfour Paul, ed. (1906). The Scots Peerage Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference CP.1913 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Dumfries, Earl of (S, 1633)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk.
  4. ^ a b Rev John Warrick (1899). The History of Old Cumnock.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference NSAS.1845 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).