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Personal data James Douglas 1st Earl of Morton 

• He was born in the year 1426 in Castle Morton, Morton, Dumfries-shire, Scotland.
• (note1) .Source 1

  Source: Lorie Harris, Philip Blair Applegarth, David Mitchell, et al.; Norma James, Graham Ethell, Tony Bothwell, et al.

• (Alt. Death) on October 22, 1493 in Paisley Abbey, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland.Source 1
• He died on October 20, 1498 in Paisley Abbey, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, he was 72 years old.
• He is buried on October 20, 1498 in Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland.
• A child of James Douglas and Elizabeth de Gifford
• This information was last updated on February 28, 2025.

Household of James Douglas 1st Earl of Morton

He is married to Joan Stewart.

They got married in the year 1442 at Perth, Perthshire, Scotland, he was 16 years old.

Child(ren):

1. James Douglas  > 1466-1480 

Notes about James Douglas 1st Earl of Morton

James Douglas 1st Earl of Morton

Sources: Author: Harris, Lorie; Applegarth, Philip Blair; Mitchell, DavidMitchell; et al.; Title: "James Douglas 1st Earl of Morton," (Publication site: Salt Lk. City UT, Publisher: Family Search, Publication date: xviii Jan MMXXV)

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LJG6-FQJ

"... James Douglas 1st Earl of Morton Reason: The Peerage: James Douglas, 1st Earl of Morton Last Changed: August 4, 2024 Elizabeth Williams Sex Male Last Changed: January 28, 2018 Kevin Dee Willden

Birth 1426 Castle Morton, Morton, Dumfries-shire, Scotland Last Changed: January 18, 2023 Sheila Collins

Death 20 October 1498 Paisley Abbey, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland ... Last Changed: February 26, 2023 Rachael [NN-family name not given]

Burial 20 October 1498 Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland Last Changed: October 15, 2023 Paul Harrison

Alternate Name Also Known As The Black Douglas
Alternate Name Also Known As James Douglas, Lord of Dalkeith, 1st Earl Morton, 9th Earl Douglas

Title of Nobility 1426 Scotland 4th Lord of Dalkeith
Title of Nobility 1458 Scotland 1st Earl of Morton
Title of Nobility 5th Earl of Douglas
Title of Nobility 1st earl of Morton, Lord of Dalkeith

Spouses & Children

James Douglas 1st Earl of Morton Male 1426-1498 LJG6-FQJ [<-ancestor]
Joan Stewart Douglas Countess of Morton Female 1428-1498 LYTN-CJW [<-ancestress]
Marriage 1442 Perth, Perthshire, Scotland

Children (8)

[1] Sybilla Douglas Female 1451-1531 GWMX-TPH
[2] John Lord Douglas 2nd Earl Of Morton Male 1459-1513 LD59-5D7
[3] Sir John de Gordon, Lord of Lochinvar II Male 1460-1513 G8T9-YHT
[4] Lady Janet Douglas Female 1461-1490 L6LY-YZR
[5] Douglas Male 1463-Deceased GJHP-SLK
[6] James Douglas Male 1466-1513 LH27-SL8 [<-ancestor]
[7] Lady Elizabeth Douglas Female 1467-1490 G3QC-2GL
[8] Margaret Douglas Female 1470-1535 GGBP-DW5

Parents & Siblings

James Douglas Male 1395-1457 GBP1-8SH [<-ancestor]
Elizabeth de Gifford Female 1392-1456 GM81-SWF [<-ancestress]
No Marriage Events

Children (5)

[1] Janet Douglas Female 1415-1490 GX9M-37C
[2] John Douglas Male 1420-Deceased GKPY-R8N
[3] James Douglas 1st Earl of Morton Male 1426-1498 LJG6-FQJ [<-ancestor]
[4] John Douglas Male 1439-1519 LVPN-M13
[5] Elizabeth Douglas Female 1443-1512 G9RB-56F

Brief Life History

Wikipedia
[Note: Two of their children are related:
1.a.3. Earl John Douglas (1459-1513) md. Lady Janet Crichton (1461-1514)
1.a.3.b.2.a. Countess Janettte Douglas (1460-1489) md. Lord Patrick Hepburne (1451-1493)]

EARL JAMES DOUGLAS, 1ST EARL OF MORTON, was born about 1426 of Morton, Dumfrieshire, Scotland, Lord James Douglas (1390-1457) and Elizabeth Gifford of Sheriffhall (1392-1456.) He married Countess Joan Stewart, 15 May 1459, Perth Scotland.

James Douglas died 22 October 1493, at Lindores Fife, Scotland, age 67. He was buried at Dalkeith, Edinburghshire, Scotland.

He was created Earl of Morton in 1458.

James Douglas, 3rd Earl of Angus, Lord of Liddesdale and Jedburgh Forest (1426-1446) was a Scottish Nobleman. He was the son of William Douglas, 2nd Earl of Angus and Margaret Hay of Yester.

Angus succeeded at the age of eleven years old, and was soon involved in strife with his Black Douglas cousins. He was forfeited of his estates by James II in 1445, under the influence of his near cousin William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas. The Earl of Douglas was trying to consolidate the power vacuum created and partially filled by the murder of his cousins at the "Black Dinner" at Edinburgh Castle, sanctioned by the king and his own father James the Gross, 7th Earl of Douglas.

It has been suggested that the feud between the Black and Red Lines of the House of Douglas were fomented by Bishop Kennedy of St. Andrews as a method of controlling unruly magnates, and ensuring continued Stewart power.[1]. To compound the treachery, Kennedy was a first cousin through Angus' grandmother, Princess Mary of Scotland, a daughter of King Robert III.
During his forfeiture, Angus was surprised at the reluctance of his tenantry to pay their Feus, he made a point of collecting them punctually in person.

Angus died in 1446. He was betrothed briefly to Princess Joan, third daughter of King James I, she was twelve years old when he died and was with her sister the Dauphine of France. She later married James Douglas, 1st Earl of Morton, the head of the Douglases of Dalkeith. Angus was succeeded by his brother, George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus in 1446.

James Douglas, 3rd Earl of Morton (died 1548[1]) was a son of John Douglas, 2nd Earl of Morton and a grandson of James Douglas, 1st Earl of Morton and Joan of Scotland, a daughter of James I of Scotland. He married Catherine Stewart, an illegitimate daughter of King James IV of Scotland by his mistress Marion Boyd. The couple had three daughters; Margaret, Beatrix, and Elizabeth. He was succeeded by his son-in-law, James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton, husband of his daughter Elizabeth.

His daughter Lady Margaret Douglas married James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault, 2nd Earl of Arran, who was heir presumptive to the Scottish throne after Mary, Queen of Scots prior to the birth of Queen Mary's son Prince James in 1566. Beatrix married Robert Maxwell, 6th Lord Maxwell. Morton's three daughters were all affected by mental ill-health.[2]

Resignation at Brechin

In 1541, James V of Scotland ordered the Earl to travel to Inverness and enter ward (house-arrest). But the King met him on his way at Brechin on 17 October 1541. Morton resigned his titles to Dalkeith Palace and its lands to the King, and he was allowed to return home. The legal instrument was witnessed by David Beaton, Thomas Erskine of Haltoun, John Tennent, Oliver Sinclair of Pitcairns, Andrew Wood of Largo, and other prominent courtiers. The lands were immediately granted to Robert Douglas of Lochleven, the husband of the King's former mistress Margaret Erskine. Robert Douglas subsequently resigned the title to James V on 20 January 1542, withholding only Aberdour Castle.

In 1543, after the death of James V, the Earl successfully challenged the legality of his resignation before the council of Regent Arran. Morton stated that he was old and infirm and would have been unlikely to survive confinement in Inverness away from the comfort of East Lothian, and was compelled by his 'just dredour' (rightful fear) of the King with his 'menacing' and messages with 'boastful words'. He had 'quietly' had a notary draw up his objections on 29 March 1542. Arran's council declared him a 'constant man' in the face of fear and dread and the transactions were to have no avail in all time to come.[3] Morton was assisted in asserting his rights in 1543 by George Douglas of Pittendreich. The historian, Jamie Cameron, suggests that the motive of James V may have been to settle the Morton heritage on his son by Margaret Erskine, James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, in the event the Earldom came to George Douglas's son.[4]

Birth: 1426 Death: Nov., 1491, Scotland
Knight of the Garter, 9th Earl of Douglas, of the Black Douglases. Earl of Avondale, Lord of Balveny.

Second child and second son of James Douglas, 7th Earl of Douglas (James the Gross) and Beatrice Sinclair, daughter of Henry, 2nd Earl of Orkney. Grandson of Archibald Douglas, 3rd Earl of Douglas and Joan Moray of Bothwell.

Husband of his brother, William's widow, their cousin, Margaret Douglas, the Fair Maid of Galloway, daughter of Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Douglas and Euphreme Graham. Reportedly the marriage, (which might not have actually taken place) was to keep the family estates together. There is evidence of a later divorce.

The family history was full of conflict with the Scottish King James II: Margaret's two brothers were summoned to Edinburgh to a 'Black Dinner' in 1440 where King James II charged both boys with false charges and had them beheaded at dinner. The lordships of Annandale and Bothwell fell to Margaret.

Then, James's brother William, 8th Earl of Douglas, was invited to Stirling Castle under safe conduct in 1452 by King James II, which in itself said relations were strained at best. The king demanded dissolution of a rebellious league Douglas had joined into with Alexander Lindsay, Earl of Crawford and John of Islay. Douglas refused, James stabbed him 26 times and had his body thrown out the window. His title passed onto James, the second son, who married his brother's widow in order to preserve the family estates.

Secondly, he was the third husband of Anne Holand, widow of two John Nevilles.

Another branch of the Douglas family, the Red Douglases, took sides with the king against the Black Dougleses. James fled to England, his three brothers (Hugh Douglas Earl of Ormonde, Archibald Douglas Earl of Moray, and John Douglas Lord of Balvenie), and were defeated at the Battle of Arkinholm. Hugh was taken prisoner and executed, Archibald was killed, and John escaped to England. James was attainted in 1455, all his lands, estates and holdings were forfeited to the crown, then divided among the Red Douglases, the lordship fell to the 4th Earl of Angus.

James would try and return to Scotland with the aid of Edward IV in 1461, but was taken prisoner at the Battle of Lochmaben Fair in 1484, and died in 1488, two years after the death of Anne. Some records state his death as 1491.

Family links:
Parents:
James Douglas (1371-1443)

Spouse:
Anne Holand Douglas (____ - 1486)*
James Douglas, 1st Earl of Morton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Arms of the first three Earls of Morton[1]
James Douglas (1426-22 October 1493), the 4th Lord of Dalkeith, was created the 1st Earl of Morton in 1458.

He was the son of James Douglas, 2nd Lord of Dalkeith and Elizabeth Gifford, daughter of James Gifford of Sheriffhall.[2] His father resigned all his estates to James in 1456 when James became the 4th Lord of Dalkeith.[3] James was created Earl of Morton in 1458[a][4]upon his marriage to Joan Stewart[b] (1428-1493), the daughter of James I, King of Scots.[5]She was a deaf-mute.[5]

The Earl entered into a marriage contract with Patrick Graham, Bishop of St. Andrews between the Bishop's niece and John Douglas, the Earl's eldest son and heir.[3] In turn the Grahams, the Bishop, his brother and nephew, allied themselves to the Earl and pledged to assist him in recovering the diverted lands of Whittingehame and Morton.[3] It appears, however, that this pledge was intended to draw the Earl of Morton into a conspiracy that included the Bishop, Lord Boyd and his party.[3] Robert Boyd, 1st Lord Boyd who, as one of the Regents during the minority of James III of Scotland, took possession of the young king and married his son to the king's elder sister, for which crimes he was later attainted for high treason.[6] The Earl of Morton apparently did not participate since he sat on the jury which convicted the Boyds.[3] Bishop Graham was later excommunicated and deposed.[7]

The lands of Whittinghame and all rights over the barony of Morton, Dumfriesshire were resigned into the Earl's hands in 1473-4 and in that same year he recovered the lordship of Dalkeith increasing the Earls already vast estates.[8] He re-endowed the collegiate church at Dalkeith his 3rd great-grandfather founded and he also founded St. Martha's Hospital in Aberdour in 1474.[5]The Earl died on 22 October 1493 when his son John succeeded him as the 2nd Earl of Morton.[8] His wife Joan predeceased him by 4 months dying on 22 June 1493.[9]

The tombs of Lord and Lady Morton as they appeared in 1902. Note the blank faces and missing hands.
The Morton Monument[edit]

The Earl and Countess of Morton were buried together in the choir of the parish church of St. Nicholas Buccleuch, known as the Dalkeith Collegiate Church, in Dalkeith, south of Fife and east of Edinburgh, in Midlothian, Scotland.[10] Known as the Morton Monument, their tombs are covered with their stone effigies, complete with their armorial bearings.[c] The choir is now in the ruins, leaving the tombs out in the open, where, in a few centuries, the elements have erased their faces. Their hands, pressed together in prayer, were likely to have been destroyed during the Reformation. Today, as one of the visitors remarked, "[o]nce crisp

Last Changed: July 10, 2019 Merle Romer"

Author: James, Norma; Ethell, Graham; Bothwell, Tony; et al.; Title: "James Douglas First Earl of Morton," (Publication site: Salt Lk. City UT, Publisher: Family Search, Publication date: xxvi Feb MMXXV)

https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/GGL1-PC7

"... James Douglas First Earl of Morton Last Changed: January 7, 2025 Joanne Hamilton Cunningham Douglas Sex Male Last Changed: December 23, 2023 Norma James

Birth January 1426 Morton, Dumfriesshire, Scotland Last Changed: June 23, 2024 Sally [NN-family name not given]

Death 22 October 1493 Paisley Abbey, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland Last Changed: February 18, 2025 Pauline Reece

Burial Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland Last Changed: February 18, 2025 Pauline Reece

Spouses & Children

James Douglas First Earl of Morton Male 1426-1493 GGL1-PC7 [<-ancestor]
Joan Stewart Female 1428-1486 PM6R-VR1 [<-ancestress]
No Marriage Events

Children (1)

[1] Sir John Douglas 2nd Earl of Morton Male 1454-1513 PMDC-D9H [<-ancestor]

Parents & Siblings

James Douglas Male 1395-1457 GBP1-8SH [<-ancestor]
Elizabeth Gifford Female 1402-1456 GJVQ-LJN [<-ancestress]
Add Couple Relationship

Children (1)

[1] James Douglas First Earl of Morton Male 1426-1493 GGL1-PC7" [<-ancestor]
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Timeline James Douglas 1st Earl of Morton

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