William Douglas, 7th Earl of Morton

Arms of Sir William Douglas, 7th Earl of Morton, KG

William Douglas, 7th Earl of Morton (1582 – 7 August 1648) was a grandson of the 6th Earl of Morton. He was Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, and a zealous Royalist, who, on the outbreak of the Great Rebellion in 1642, provided £100,000 for the cause by selling his Dalkeith estates to the Earl of Buccleuch. He also expanded his other seat, Aberdour Castle in Fife, with a Renaissance-style east wing.

Family

On 28 March 1604, he married Lady Anne Keith, a daughter of the George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal and they had six children:

• Lady Margaret Douglas (1610–1678), married the 1st Marquess of Argyll and had issue.
• Lady Anne Douglas (d. 1667), married the 2nd Earl of Kinnoull and had issue.
• Robert Douglas, 8th Earl of Morton (d. 1649)
• Lady Mary Douglas, married the 2nd Earl of Dunfermline and had issue.
• James Douglas, 10th Earl of Morton (d. 1686)
• Lady Isabel Douglas (d. 1650), married the 2nd Marquess of Montrose and had issue.

Claimant to the earldom

John Maxwell, 9th Lord Maxwell (c. 1586–1613), a descendant of the 3rd Earl, also claimed the earldom of Morton, but was attainted in 1609 and his rights then failed, his titles and estates being restored in 1618 to his brother Robert, with the title of Earl of Nithsdale (1620) in lieu of Morton.

Further reading

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Political offices
Preceded by The Earl of Mar	Lord High Treasurer of Scotland 1630–1636	Succeeded by Earl of Traquair
Preceded by The Earl of Kinnoull	Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard 1635–1649	Succeeded by The Viscount Grandison
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by William Douglas	Earl of Morton	Succeeded by Robert Douglas