John Lauder, Lord Fountainhall

Sir John Lauder of Fountainhall, 2nd Baronet, Lord Fountainhall, was baptised 2 August 1646 and died 20 September 1722, both at Edinburgh, the eldest son, by his second marriage, of Sir John Lauder, 1st Baronet, whom he succeeded after much acrimony. Lord Fountainhall was one of Scotland's leading jurists who remains to this day an oft consulted authority. He was knighted in 1680 and matriculated his Arms with the Lyon Court on 15 June 1699.

Sir John Lauder was educated at The High School and the University of Edinburgh graduating, with an M.A., on 18 July 1664. He then went to the continent, partly with a the view of studying law there. After some time spent travelling he resided at Poitiers from 28 July 1665 till 24 April 1666, following which he proceeded to Paris, Brussels, Antwerp and Leyden, Holland, where he matriculated into Leiden University on 27 September 1666. ["Index to Leyden Students", p.59] .

Lord Fountainhall was admitted as an Advocate on 5 June 1668, and was counsel for the Earl of Argyll at his trial, 12 & 13 December 1681, and was also one of the advocates chosen by the Duchess of Monmouth to defend her interests during her husband's trial on 15 February 1686. He was called to the Bench on 1 November 1689 as a Lord Ordinary in the Court of Session with the title Lord Fountainhall. He was appointed on the 27 January 1690 a Lord of Justiciary, which he resigned after the Union of parliaments, which he had opposed.

In 1692 he was offered the post of Lord Advocate but declined because the condition was attached that he should not prosecute the persons implicated in the Glencoe Massacre. Sir George Mackenzie, who had been Lord Advocate under King Charles II, also refused to concur in this partial application of the penal laws, and his refusal (unlike Fountainhall's) led to his temporary disgrace. Sir John was a Justice of the Peace for Haddingtonshire in 1683, a Burgess of Edinburgh (2 November 1687). He was a Member of Parliament for Haddingtonshire (1685-86, 1690-1707), and spoke several times against the Union.

Lord Fountainhall left a very considerable collection of his legal opinions and papers, including those which record the proceedings of the Court of Session from 1678 to 1712, which also note the transactions of the Privy Council of Scotland, and those of the Courts of Justiciary and Exchequer, works compiled with anecdotes of the times and much characteristic ingenuity of observation, to which professional lawyers still turn today.

He married twice:
#21 January 1669, at the Tron Kirk, Edinburgh, Janet (1652-1686), daughter of Sir Andrew Ramsay, Lord Abbotshall, 1st Baronet, Lord Provost of Edinburgh and Senator of the College of Justice, (d. 1688), by his wife Janet née Craw. They had six sons (of whom Andrew Lauder, in Edinburgh, and David Lauder of Huntlywood, Berwickshire, were Advocates) and four daughters.
#26 March 1687, at Edinburgh, Marion, daughter of the Reverend John Anderson, of Balram, Minister of Dysart. They had three sons and three daughters.

Lord Fountainhall died at Edinburgh and was interred in the Lauder vault within Greyfriars Kirk. His Testament dated 2 December 1706 was not Proved until more than sixteen years later. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son Sir John Lauder, 3rd Baronet.

References

* "Monumental Inscriptions in Greyfriars Churchyard", by James Brown, Edinburgh, 1864, pps: 301 - 302 gives the burial vault within the church of the family of Lauder of Lauder, and all who are contained therein, including his Sir John Lauder, 2nd Bt.,and his first wife Janet Ramsay.
* "Historical Notes of Scottish Affairs; Selected from the Manuscripts of Sir John Lauder of Fountainhall, Bart"., by Dr. David Laing.
* "The Scottish Nation", by William Anderson, Edinburgh, 1870, volume 2, p.631.
* "Collectanea Genealogica", by Foster, London, 1882, 'Members of Parliament - Scotland'.
*, notably Appendix XIII Holograph Notes by Sir John Lauder - his Legal memorandum on the 1688 Baronetcy Patent and the 1690 Libel Case against his stepmother. Appendix XIV contains his further Holograph Notes on his ancestry.
* "Journals of Sir John Lauder, Lord Fountainhall, 1665-1676", edited by Donald Crawford, Scottish History Society publication, Edinburgh, 1900.
* "The Complete Baronetage", by G.E.Cockayne, Exeter, 1904, vol.IV, p.361.
* "The Register of the Privy Council of Scotland", Third Series, edited by P.Hume Brown, M.A.,LL.D., volume VIII, Edinburgh, 1915, p.279.
* "Dictionary of National Biography", pps.637/638.
* "The Faculty of Advocates in Scotland 1523 - 1943", edited by Sir Francis J. Grant, K.C.V.O.,LL.D.,W.S., Edinburgh, 1944, p.120-1. Sir John became a member 5 June 1668, and his sons Andrew, 16 January 1703, and David, 27 February 1707.