John Elphinstone (courtier)

John Elphinstone of Selmes and Baberton (1553-1614) was a Scottish landowner and courtier.

He was a son of Robert Elphinstone, 3rd Lord Elphinstone and Margaret Drummond, a daughter of John Drummond of Innerpeffray and Margaret Stewart, a daughter of James IV of Scotland.

His father granted him the lands of Selmes (Selms), near Kirknewton, West Lothian, when he was an infant.[1]

He was a servant of the Duke of Lennox in 1590.[2]

He was in London in November 1592 with his father, or his brother the Master of Elphinstone. He wrote to Archibald Douglas from Edinburgh with court news in December. He was going to Alloa Tower with James VI and Anne of Denmark to the "infare" wedding celebrations of the Earl of Mar and Marie Stewart, a sister of the Duke of Lennox. There would be a masque in which the queen performed in costume, and the plan was to travel to Tullibardine afterwards.[3]

James VI had invested 54,000 dalers from Anna of Denmark's dowry in various Scottish towns, and in July 1594 Elphinstone was authorised to collect £4,000 Scots from St Andrews and Anstruther for the clothing of her household, "the apparrelling of hir laydis, madynnis of honnour, gentilwemen, and serving wemen." This was for the baptism of Prince Henry celebrated at Stirling Castle.[4]

Elphinstone was described by James VI as a "servitor to our dearest bedfellow the queen", a servant of Anna of Denmark, in March 1595.[5] James VI gave him the lands of Kilbaberton or Baberton in August 1597. He seems to have been a gentleman of the queen's privy chamber from 1591 to 1603. He was knighted in 1604.[6]

He may be the same person as the "John Elveston" in the household of Anna of Denmark in London. According to the Earl of Arundel and his wife Alethea, John Elveston revealed the marriage of Christian Bruce and William Cavendish, 2nd Earl of Devonshire to the queen on their wedding day, and had a hand with Arbella Stewart in arranging the marriage.[7]

The lands of Baberton were transferred to the royal master of work James Murray.

He died in 1614.

Marriage and family

John Elphinstone married Gilles Elphinstone daughter of William Elphinstone of Selmes. Their children included:

  • James Elphinstone of Selmes (1592-1613), who married Bethia Guthrie.
  • John Elphinstone of Selmes (d. 1630)
  • George Elphinstone of Selmes (d. 1651)
  • Margaret Elphinstone
  • Jean Elphinstone

References
  1. William Fraser, Elphinstone family book, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1897), p. 116
  2. William Fraser, Elphinstone family book, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1897), p. 119: Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 10 (Edinburgh, 1936), p. 784.
  3. HMC Salisbury Hatfield, vol. 4 (London, 1892), pp. 247, 252: Michael Pearce, 'Anna of Denmark: Fashioning a Danish Court in Scotland', The Court Historian, 24:2 (2019) pp. 146, 148-9
  4. David Masson, Register of the Privy Council of Scotland: 1592-1599, vol. 5 (Edinburgh, 1882), pp. 151-2: Miles Kerr-Peterson & Michael Pearce, 'James VI's English Subsidy and Danish Dowry Accounts', Scottish History Society Miscellany XVI (Woodbridge, 2020), p. 54.
  5. William Fraser, Elphinstone family book, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1897), p. 120.
  6. William Fraser, Elphinstone family book, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1897), pp. 120-1.
  7. Edmund Lodge, Illustrations of British History, vol. 3 (London, 1838), pp. 232-3
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