John Preston, of Fentonbarns, Lord President

Biographical Summary

"John Preston of Fentonbarns Lord President - This judge is said to have been the son of a baker in Edinburgh...

...On the 6th June 1609, the Court, in obedience to a letter from the king requiring them to choose, by the advice of the Earl of Dunbar, the best qualified of their number to succeed Balmerino in the presidency, elected him to the chair, which he continued to fill until his death, on the 14th June 1616."

SOURCE: An Historical Account of the Senators of the College of Justice: From Its Institution in MDXXXII; by George Brunton, David Haig; 1832; Page 236