Wedderburn book; a history of the Wedderburns in ... - waughfamily.ca

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169,
124 THP: WEDDKUnUllN BOOK.
Ch'''"iii P' ^^^' ^^''"'"^ " ^'"^''"'''-' °^ '"^ beautiful sigiuiture beucath it is given opp. p. 192 (vol. ii.).
^P-
He is continually named as clerk, notary, witness, writer of documents, etc., as well as oii
many otherminoroccarsious from 1582 to 16-2G, but as these entries are of little importance
they are briefly sunnnarized below.' Facsimiles of iii.s endorsements on, and his notarial
symbol and si.u'natures to, various documents will be found in the second volume opp. pp.
5, 13, 24, 32, 187, and 192,- while there arc examples of his seal, bearing the family anus,
attached to several documents, e.f/. D.C. 39, .^)0.
Fourteen of iiis protocol books,' ranging from l.'i82— 1024. are cxt;uit in the Dundee
charter room, while yet another book there (vol. I'GG) is by his clerk sulistitute, Thomas
Wichtane. Many of the clerk's books are inscribed, like lho.se of his father and uncle,
with mottoes and quotations. Thus, the epitaph of Mary, Queen of Scots, " Reo-ibus
orta, auxi reges," etc., is written in Latin and English on the first leaf of vols. 253,°255,
264-65, while in others are "In my defence God me defend, and bring my soul to ane
guid end " (vol. 254) ;'" Amen, per me, Wedderburne " (vol. 2-i8) ; and "Timor Domini
est incipium sapieutiic " (vol. 260). similarly in some of the Burgh Court I!ooks of his
time we find him writing " guid Cud be merciful unto me, Imprent thy fear in my hairt "
(vol. 15), and again (vol. 26) •' Finis coronal opus."
His public life was not confined to Dundee, tliough much cuimccted with it. As early
as 1 Dec. 1585 he had represented the burgh in the Scottish Parliament (A.P.S. iT^
and later on, I5!i3— li>2l, he was its representative from time to time for ncarlv thirty
years, so that his name is of frequent occurrence in the Acts of the Parliaments of
Scotland and in the Jl-';/ister of the Privy Council. Thus. 18 Jan. 1593-94. he is
commissioner for Dundee (R.P C. 16 ; A.P.S. 3), and again 3 March 1596-97 and 26 April
1604 (K.P.C. 18 ;
A.P.S. 4, 5).^ On 2 July 1604 he was named among the "merchandis""
as one of the conmiissioners in regard to a union between Scotland and England (A.P.S.
6), and he is one of the signatories to the treaty, 6 Dec. 1601 (K.P.U. 31).' He was in
London at the beginning of 160-1, where, 1 Jan., he wrote and witnessed a precept of
clare constat in favour of Thomas Ramsay (D.C. 42). but must have left soon after as he
was a commissioner for Dundee to the convention of burghs in June of that year (D.D. 29 •
R.I'.C. 33 ;
A.P.S. 7;. Perhaps it was on his departure home on this occasion that the
King, with whom he was in high favour, presented him with the ring, still in possession
of the family, together with two bracelets which have unfortunately been lost.^ The
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> See for these S.W. 2i n, 50, .51, .5S, 63, 6.5, 66, 67, 96, 100, lOf, 110, 111, 11.1.17, 119, 120, 148. 154, 164
176, 1S2, 183 (Ijond to hira), 1S4, 190-91 (di.-^charges to him), 194, 195 (.lisclwrge), 196, 203! 207,'
2"y (discharge), -Jll. 1218 i. 219 (cli^cliarges 297, 600 {2 ; D. \V. 1 1 c», 12 /. 13 i^ A, 1 7 y ; U.C. 34, 38, 39'
48 (signs contract for deacous ol crafts). 50 ; D.P.i;. 223 f, 2-10, 256. 261. 2,'i3, 339 6, 374. 3s9 in'
413, 414, 417, 4234, 424. 428, 431 ; D.1-..K. vol. ie, 309. 337. 383, 385 (a doubtful entry, ; D.C.B. 34!
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36; D.R.S. 12 (.^igns iiierm.ister's accounts); D.G.ll. 4; G .S.k. 46 (witness at Findowrie), 47, 4S
(at Paliiabreicli). 49. 50, 58, 59, 60, 63, 65, 66 (con.sents to a le.signatiou). 69 (at Eikell), 7ii, 72* 74 '/o
80-83, 85-8S, 90, 92, 93, 95, 98, 101, 104 (clerk of Aberdeen (.sic ], wiTn-ss, 1621), and §§ 310, II63',
1177, 2076 of the lately is.sued vol. 1634 fl ; H.P.C. 15, 17, 20, 27, 29, 35 ; K.S. 1, 2, 3"; R.D. 3, 31,'
42 (witness), 50, 63 (bonds to him), 69, 72 (bond), SO (bond), 84 (discliarge bv him), 88 (bonds to
him) ; R.A.D. 24 ;
P.B.N. 6ab,7, «, 10, 12, 13. See also iloniiiHk Par. Rej.. 11 April 1584, when he
witnes-sea a baptism ;
Rnj.de Panmiiie, p. 364, wliere, 23 April 1602, lie witiie.wes a charter by David
Maullof Bi>th ;
A/m-d. Cmncil Re'/. 1570—1625 (Spald. Club, ed. ii., 201), where he is named 16 July
1604 ; .ind Reg. Episc. Bro'.h., p. 439. when he .signs a taxt roll 21 Jan. 1613.
2 See S.W, 12, 13, 96, 104, 162, 164, 192, 194 95. 211, and Bl. 2 n.
» Vols. 250, 2.'.2, 253, 2.'4, 255, 256. 257, 25S, 259, 260, 263, 264, 265, 268. See the note on each of them
in vol. ii. B"our protocol books of his and of his son James were ordered to be transumed 5 Dec.
1633 (D.D. 3).
* See as to this ante, p. 75, n. 2.
' See also R.P.C. 22, where (1602) "Mr. RoWt Wedderburn, clerk," naired in a list of commis.-iioner3 for
settling di.iputes between I'erth and Dundee, is, of course, an error for Alesander.
• Thus in Sir George Mackenzie's Treatise on HcndJry (\Vorks ii., p. 652, ed. 1716), Mr. Alexander
Wedderburn, merchant, is named as one of the eommissionei-s in 1604.
'Of this treaty tlnee coiiies were signeil, of one of wliich, that at the Register Hou.se in Edinburgli, a
facsimile is given in a volume of •' Xational MSS. of Scotlaud " (III., 85;. Tliere is another copy at
Ham House, Fetersliam, Surrey, in possession of the Earl of Dysart, \vhich I have inspected on
several occasions. Tlie clerk's signature to it is a fine one, and his seal is quite perfect. No mention
of this copy of tlie treaty is made by the editor of the Rer/nter of the Privy Council (VII., xxix.
rej. 9,, though he speaks of an injured copy at the Record Office in Loudon.
6 This ring is at BirkhiU. It is of gold decorated with black enamel and five diamonds set in five square.s,
which form an equal-armed cross. It is, I think, the " reigne with fy ve diamond sparks " named in
the inventory of the estate of Alexander, foMrth of Kingeunie, in 1692 (S. W. 500;. Kiugennie is
Been wearing both ring and bracelets in tlie Birkhill and Meredith pictures. The bracelets were also
at Birkhill in the early part of tliis century, but were afterwards lo»t ; it does not appear how.