Sir John Veitch of Dawyck, knight

SIR JOHN VEITCH OF DAWCYK knight

Per wikitree birth listed as Born 1614 in Dawyck House, Peeblesshire, Scotland, death listed as 1682 at about age 68 in Dawyck, Peeblesshire, Scotland

Sir John Veitch of Dawyck was a Scottish landowner, administrator, and Master of Work in Scotland for Charles I.[1]

He was the son of James Veitch of Dawyck and Christian Murray, a daughter of John Murray of Black Barony.[2]

The family estates were at Dawyck House at Drumelzier in the Scottish borders.

Veitch paid the overseer of work at Holyrood monthly from July to October 1639. He paid the master mason John Mylne for works at Edinburgh Castle in August 1639.[3]

On 3 September 1641, Veitch was paid as Master of Works for repairs at Holyrood Palace and Holyrood Abbey.[4]

He married Christian Naesmyth.[5] They had a son John Veitch, who died in 1704.[6]

Masonic Record: The Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary's Chapel) No. 1, reputed to be the oldest operating Masonic lodge in the world, was established before 1598 (David Murray Lyon, History of the Lodge of Edinburgh [1873]; David Stevenson, The Origins of Freemasonry [1988], pp. 38–44). Sir John Veitch of Dawyck (1614-1682), nephew of Malcolm Veitch, was "arguably the most powerful Freemason in Scotland" at the time when his first cousin James Veitch served as horseman under their fathers' first cousin the Earl of Traquair, believed to be the same James Veitch who later became the High Sheriff of Maryland at age 29.

Records

1. The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707, K.M. Brown et al eds (St Andrews, 2007-2023), date accessed: 1 March 2023, < link >
2. The Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland ... A. D. M.C.XXIV-[A. D. M.DCC.VII... By Scotland, Scotland. Parliament. Page 16. < GoogleBooks >
3. Restoring the Temple of Vision: Cabalistic Freemasonry and Stuart Culture, By Marsha Keith Schuchard. Brill (2002). Page 631. < GoogleBooks >

Genealogies

1. Stirnet: Naesmyth 1
2. Wikipedia
3. Wikitree
4. Geneneat.org

Notes

1. “Renwick’s Preachings at Cauldstane Slap and Cairnhill.” From jardine's book of martyrs: History, the Covenanters, Scotland. < link > John Veitch of Dawyck lived at Dawyck in Drumelzier parish. His house was pulled down in the 1830s and its stone reused to build the present house. Dawyck is still a private residence, but the heart of his estate is open to the public as a Royal Botanical Garden. Dawyck and countryside of western Peebleshire was used by John Buchan as the setting for his first novel, John Burnet of Barns, which deals with the political turmoil of the 1680s and the Killing Times.