William Veitch (1640 - 1722)

Descendants

Biography

William Veitch was born 27 April 1640 In Roberton, Lanarkshire, Scotland. He was the son of John Veitch and Elizabeth Johnston.^[1][2] He had six known siblings:

1. Rev Robert Veitch, born before 1632.

2. Rev James Veitch. born before 1632, died before 1694;^[3]

3. Rev David Veitch, born 1632;^[1][2]

4. Rev John V Veitch, born 1639;

5. Alexander Veitch, born before 1640.

William was the youngest son of a famous preacher, Rev John Veitch. William apparently was a gifted scholar and preacher. He studied at the University of Glasgow where he earned an MA in 1659. Although most of his brothers had followed his father's vocation, William preferred scholarship as an occupation. He took a position as a tutor to the family of Sir Andrew of Greenhead who was at the University of Edinburgh. However, the family pastor encouraged him in the direction of the ministry. He eventually relented and received his license to preach in 1664. He served as a time as chaplain for Sir Hugh Campbell, of Calder, who was residing in Morayshire. The Act of Parliament that restored the prelacy required that no one could serve as a family chaplain, public or private school teacher, or tutor to persons of quality without license by the local bishop. William was not approved by his bishop and thus was dismissed. It was either prior or during this time that he became a covenanter. According to Wikipedia, a covenanter was a member "of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name derived from Covenant, a biblical term for a bond or agreement with God."^[4] He retreated to his father's parish in Lanark where he met Marion Fairlie.^[5]

William married Marion Fairlie on the 15th of October 1664, in Lanarkshire.^{[2][5] [6]} They had ten children, five sons and five daughters.^[7][1] His wife reported that four children were born before she left Scotland, but two died, thus she took two with her.^[8][5]The remaining children were born in Northumberland, England. The children born in Scotland were

1. Mary, born in 1665 and died in 1666;^[7][9]

2. William, whom his father William called his eldest, born 1667;^[7][2][9]

3. Samuel, who later changed his name to Vetch, born 1668;^[7][2]

4. James, born 1671, died 1672;^[7][9]

During this time William served as a "field pastor," preaching in covenanter churches and open fields. ^[10] In 1666 he became an active participant in several uprisings. He was involved in the Mauchline disturbance, leading a group of 50 armed horsemen to Ayre,^[2] and in the Penthills Uprising, where he barely escaped capture. He was returning from Edinburgh to raise men and supplies as the covenanters were leaving the battlefield. He fell in with a troop of the enemy but as it was night, he managed to escape in the dark. While in England, he preached under the name of "Johnson."^[2] Marion was harassed with soldiers surrounding her house with her children within. The soldiers were there to capture William if he was inside and tried to leave or outside and attempted to return.^[5] When Marion was pregnant with their eldest son, William, she and her husband William escaped capture by soldiers by a wild horseback ride. it was at this time that Marion returned to her family home at Easthill.^[2] Although separated until 1672, it is clear that William managed to visit Marion, as she bore two more children, during this time period.

During his early years in London, William served as chaplain to the wife of the Mayor of Newcastle, preached for a while in London, and finally obtained pastorships in Faldlees and Hanam Hall in Rothbury, Northumberland. Four years later he moved to Seaton Hall in the parish of Longhorsly.^[11][12] During this time his next 4 children were born. These were:

5. John, born 1672, died at 12 years of age in 1686;^[7][13][9]

6. Elizabeth, born 1674;^[7][9]

7. Ebenezer, youngest son, born 1676;^[7]

8. Sarah, born 1677;^[7][9]

But this period of respite did not last long as on 16 January 1679 he was arrested. Some say he was sent to imprisonment on the Bass Rock,^[11] a bare and forbidding rock in the Fife of Forth.^[14] Others dispute this as his wife fails to mention it in her memoir.^[5] Clearly William visited Marion in Northumberland sometime in early 1680 as their 9th child was born on 20 December 1680.

9. Agnes, born 1680;^[7][9]

In 1681 he aided the Earl of Argyll's escape from Scotland, Marion mentions assisting in the earl's escape from prison in the Castle of Edinburgh where the earl had been sentenced to hang,^[5] and later Lord Crawford repeats this story.^[15] During much of this time William was in London, Their last child was born in 1682.

10. Janet, born 1682.^[7][9]

Once more an attempt to arrest William was made, this time for his involvement in the Ryehouse plot,^[5] a plot to assassinate both King Charles II and James, Duke of York and Successor to the throne of England.^[16] He escaped to Holland in 1863 and began a 2-year sorjourn there. His two oldest sons, William and Samuel, joined him there.^[5]

In 1685 William was sent to Northumberland to incite an outbreak in conjunction with the Pitchfork Rebellion, an attempt by the exiled Duke of Monmouth to overthrow James II.^[17] William was working to aid his old collaborator, the Earl of Argyll who was to lead the Scottish counterpart, Argyll's Rising, of Monmouth's English rising. Both attempts failed and the Earl of Argyll was captured and hung on 30 June 1865.^[18]

It is difficult to determine what occurred with William during the years he spent in Holland, as his memoir ends with the Pentland Uprising aka The Pitchfork Rebellion.^[2] In Scotland and England two events moved the matter of dissent into a crisis. In June of 1688 James Francis Edward was born, creating a Catholic heir, thus excluding James' Protestant daughter, Mary. James also attempted the prosecution of seven Catholic Bishops. They were acquitted and James' political authority was destroyed. Some members of the English political class invited William of Orange, the husband of James' daughter Mary, to assume the English throne. William landed, James fled and William and Mary ascended the throne. This was followed soon after by the Scottish Convention's recognition of William and Mary as co-monarchs of Scotland.^[19]

As best as can be determined from the Supplement to the Memoirs of William Veitch^[20] and from Marion Veitch's memoir,^[21] William returned to the area around Newcastle, England, in 1687. Using the name of Mr. Robinson he preached in kirks and fields in York and Hull and the Wolds. Soon he took up a post in Beverly, Yorkshire.^[2] After some six months he returned to Scotland to the parish of Whitton Chapel in the presbytery of Kelso. He was admitted to the ministry in April 1688. After the restoration of the Presbyterian Church, he was called to several churches, e.g., Crailing, Milrose, but choose Peebles. He served as the "cure" for four years at Peebles and wished to remain there. However, he lost the position by 4 votes. He left in dispute as he had been paid, he alleged illegally, as a curate when he should have been paid as an ordained minister. He argued he lost 2,000 pounds over his four years. In 1694 he received calls from Edinburgh, Paisley and Dumfries.^[20] He choose Dumfries where he remained until he resigned his position on 8 December 1714.^[1][20]

William died 8 May 1722 in Dumfries, Dumfries-shire, Scotland. His wife, Marion died one day before. They were buried together in St Michael's Churchyard in Dumfries.^[22] The gravestone pictured here replaces a faded inscription known to be William's burial site.^[23]

Research Notes

The dob of John V Veitch and Alexander Veitch must be incorrect as William was the youngest child. (removed dob reference for Robert and Alexander).Kline-1865 20:39, 6 July 2021 (UTC) Also so far I haven't seen mention of daughters, so Ann is probably not a sibling. (Removed Anne)Kline-1865 23:37, 5 July 2021 (UTC)

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Wikisource contributors, "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Veitch, William (1640-1722)," Wikisource , https://en.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Dictionary_of_National_Biography,_1885-1900/Veitch,_William_(1640-1722)&oldid=10753801 (accessed July 3, 2021).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9} Veitch, William; Brysson, George; M’Crie, Thomas,1825. Memoirs of Mr. William Veitch and George Brysson. Publisher William Blackwood (London),Collection digitallibraryindia; JaiGyan.(https://archive.org/details/dli.granth.111335/page/n15/mode/2up). see pp 3-192
3. ↑ Fasti ecclesiæ scoticanæ; the succession of ministers in the Church of Scotland from the reformation by Scott, Hew, 1791-1872; Macdonald, D. F. (Donald Farquhar), 1906-, Publication date 1915-Topics Church of Scotland, Church of Scotland, Scotland. Publisher Edinburgh : Oliver and Boyd, Collection americana. Pages 554. (https://archive.org/details/fastiecclesiasco03scotuoft/page/n58/mode/1up) citing James Veitch
4. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Covenanters," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Covenanters&oldid=1030031029 (accessed July 17, 2021).
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7} Anderson, James. The ladies of the Covenant. Memoirs of distinguished Scottish female characters, embracing the period of the Covenant and the persecution. Clinton Hall, NY: Redfield, 1851 (https://archive.org/details/ladiesofcovena00ande/page/162/mode/2up?q=veitch, accessed 11 Jul 2021)
6. ↑ "Church of Scotland: Old Parish Registers - Banns and Marriages" database, National Records of Scotland, ScotlandsPeople (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/: accessed 1 Jul 2021), William Veitch and Marion Fairlie, 15 October 1664, Lanark; citing Parish Number 648, Reference Number: 10 320.
7. ↑ ^{7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10} Veitch, William; Bryson, George; M’Crie, Thomas,1825. Supplement to the Memoirs of William Veitch in Memoirs of Mr. William Veitch and George Brysson, pp. 193-264. Publisher William Blackwood (London), Collection digitallibraryindia; JaiGyan. (https://archive.org/details/dli.granth.111335/page/258/mode/2up)
8. ↑ Free Church of Scotland. General Assembly; Veitch, Marion Fairly, d. 1722. Memoirs of Mrs. William Veitch, Mr. Thomas Hog of Kiltearn, Mr. Henry Erskine and Mr. John Carstairs. Edinburgh: Printed for the Assembly's Committee, 1846. p3 (https://archive.org/details/memoirsofmrswill00free/page/03/mode/2up accessed 10 Jul 2021).
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7} (https://electricscotland.com/history/ladies/ladies09.pdf) This is a document from a genealogical site and is purported to be "drawn up chiefly from her own Diary, and from the Memoirs of Mr. Veitch, written by himself." As there is ample evidence of such a document by Mrs. Veitch, I am including these children in the biography.~~~~
10. ↑ Erskine, Caroline. Participants in the Pentland rising (act. 1666). Oxford DNB (https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/98249 Published online: 21 May 2009, accessed 17 Jul 2021)
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} Wikipedia contributors, "William Veitch (minister)," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Veitch_(minister)&oldid=999067136 (accessed July 10, 2021).
12. ↑ Scott, Hew (1917). Fasti ecclesiae scoticanae; the succession of ministers in the Church of Scotland from the reformation. 2. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd. (https://archive.org/details/fastiecclesiaesc02scot/page/264/mode/2up) accessed 10 Jul 2021
13. ↑ Free Church of Scotland. General Assembly; Veitch, Marion Fairly, d. 1722. Memoirs of Mrs. William Veitch, Mr. Thomas Hog of Kiltearn, Mr. Henry Erskine and Mr. John Carstairs. Edinburgh: Printed for the Assembly's Committee, 1846. pp 8-9 (https://archive.org/details/memoirsofmrswill00free/page/20/mode/2up accessed 10 Jul 2021).
14. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Bass Rock," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bass_Rock&oldid=1019146350 (accessed July 18, 2021).
15. ↑ Crawford, Alexander Crawford Lindsay, Earl of. Lives of the Lindsays, or, A memoir of the Houses of Crawford and Balcarres. John Murray, Albemarle Street, London: 1858. Page 148 (https://archive.org/details/livesoflindsayv21858craw/page/148)
16. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Rye House Plot," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rye_House_Plot&oldid=1018119573 (accessed July 18, 2021).
17. ↑ "Monmouth rising ." The Oxford Companion to British History. . Encyclopedia.com. (June 23, 2021). (https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/monmouth-rising)
18. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Argyll's Rising," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Argyll%27s_Rising&oldid=1028559953 (accessed July 18, 2021).
19. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Covenanters," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Covenanters&oldid=1030031029 (accessed July 19, 2021).
20. ↑ ^{20.0 20.1 20.2} Veitch, William; Brysson, George; M’Crie, Thomas,1825. Supplement to the Memoirs of William Veitch in Memoirs of Mr. William Veitch and George Brysson, pp. 193-264. Publisher William Blackwood (London). (https://archive.org/details/dli.granth.111335/page/192/mode/2up)
21. ↑ Free Church of Scotland. General Assembly; Veitch, Marion Fairly, d. 1722. Memoirs of Mrs. William Veitch, Mr. Thomas Hog of Kiltearn, Mr. Henry Erskine and Mr. John Carstairs. Edinburgh: Printed for the Assembly's Committee, 1846. pp 8-9 (https://archive.org/details/memoirsofmrswill00free/page/20/mode/2up accessed 10 Jul 2021)
22. ↑ "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q24M-M5S3 : 8 August 2020), William Veitch; Burial, Dumfries, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, St Michael's Churchyard; Find A Grave: Memorial #166109226.
23. ↑ Scottish Covenanter Memorials Association citing William Vietch (http://www.covenanter.org.uk/dumfriesveitch.html)

See also:

For accounts of Marion Veitch's life see

• Free Church of Scotland. General Assembly; Veitch, Marion Fairly, d. 1722. Memoirs of Mrs. William Veitch, Mr. Thomas Hog of Kiltearn, Mr. Henry Erskine and Mr. John Carstairs. Edinburgh: Printed for the Assembly's Committee, 1846. pp 11-60 (Free Church of Scotland. General Assembly; Veitch, Marion Fairly, d. 1722. Memoirs of Mrs. William Veitch, Mr. Thomas Hog of Kiltearn, Mr. Henry Erskine and Mr. John Carstairs. Edinburgh: Printed for the Assembly's Committee, 1846. pp 8-9 (https://archive.org/details/memoirsofmrswill00free/page/20/mode/2up accessed 10 Jul 2021))
• Anderson, James. The ladies of the Covenant. Memoirs of distinguished Scottish female characters, embracing the period of the Covenant and the persecution. Clinton Hall, NY: Redfield, 1851 (https://archive.org/details/ladiesofcovena00ande/page/159/mode/2up?q=veitch, accessed 11 Jul 2021) citing Marion Veitch, pp 159-180.

For an account of William Veitch's life see

• Veitch, William; Brysson, George; M’Crie, Thomas,1825. Memoirs of Mr. William Veitch and George Brysson. Publisher William Blackwood (London). (https://archive.org/details/dli.granth.111335/page/n15/mode/2up).

For a broader view of the Covenanter's battle for the kirk see

• Wikipedia contributors, "Covenanters," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Covenanters&oldid=1030031029 (accessed July 19, 2021).