Adam Cockburn, Lord Ormiston facts for kids

Portrait by William Aikman

Adam Cockburn, also known as Lord Ormiston, was an important Scottish judge, politician, and administrator. He was born in 1656 and passed away on April 16, 1735. He came from Ormiston, a place in Scotland.

Adam Cockburn played a big role in the Scottish government. He was a member of the Parliament of Scotland and served in different important jobs.

Adam Cockburn's Career

Early Political Life

Adam Cockburn started his career as a "Commissioner" for Haddingtonshire. This meant he represented his area in important meetings, like the Conventions of Estates in 1678, 1681, and 1689. He also served in the Parliament of Scotland in 1690. In 1689, he was chosen to be one of the people who would discuss the idea of uniting the Scottish and English parliaments.

Becoming a Judge

On November 28, 1692, Adam Cockburn became the Lord Justice Clerk. This was a very important job as a judge in Scotland. Around the same time, he also joined the Privy Council of Scotland, which was a group of advisors to the King or Queen.

In 1695, he was part of a group that investigated a serious event known as the Massacre of Glencoe. This investigation gave him a lot of power, and some people were not happy about that.

Treasurer and Business Ventures

In 1699, Adam Cockburn became the Treasurer-depute of Scotland. This meant he helped manage the country's money. However, when Queen Anne came to the throne, he lost all his government jobs.

He was also involved in a big business idea called the "Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies," often just called the Company of Scotland. This company was behind the Darien Scheme, which was a plan to set up a Scottish trading colony in Panama. Unfortunately, this plan failed and caused many Scots to lose a lot of money.

Later, Adam Cockburn was one of the people who signed the Act of Union 1707. This was the agreement that joined Scotland and England into one country, Great Britain. Because he lost money in the Darien Scheme, he was given money back as part of the Union agreement. Some people, like the poet Robert Burns, called those who benefited from this "a parcel of rogues" because they thought it was unfair.

Improvements to Land

Adam Cockburn was seen as a forward-thinking landlord. In 1698, he allowed a farmer named Robert Wight to try a new way of farming. Robert Wight was the first tenant farmer in Scotland to enclose his fields with ditches and hedges. He also planted trees along the hedges to block the wind. Adam Cockburn also used these new farming methods on his own lands at Ormiston.

Later Judicial Roles

In 1705, Adam Cockburn was appointed Lord Justice Clerk for a second time. He also became a Lord Ordinary in the Court of Session, which is Scotland's highest civil court. For his role as Lord Justice Clerk, he received £200 a year.

In 1714, he was chosen by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland to help settle disagreements within the church. He left the Lord Justice Clerk position in 1710 but remained a Lord Ordinary until he passed away on April 16, 1735, at 78 years old.

Adam Cockburn's Family

Adam Cockburn was the son of John Cockburn of Ormiston and Janet Hepburn. He inherited the family estate of Ormiston, East Lothian, in 1671.

He was married twice:

• His first wife was Susanna Hamilton, who was the daughter of John Hamilton, 4th Earl of Haddington. They had several children, including:
  • John Cockburn of Ormiston, who became a Member of Parliament.
  • Anne, who married Sir John Inglis.
  • Charles, who married Margaret Haldane.
  • Christiane, who married Sir Robert Sinclair.
• His second wife was Anne Houstoun, the daughter of Sir Patrick Houstoun, 1st Baronet. They had one daughter named Jean, who later married William Walker.