Robert Burnet, Lord Crimond
Encyclopedia
Robert Burnet, Lord Crimond (1592 – 24 August 1661) was a Scottish
advocate and judge.
. Crimond studied for seven years in France, and was admitted a Scottish advocate on 20 February 1617.
, in Aberdeenshire
, which afterwards became his residence. He refused to subscribe to the Solemn League and Covenant
, and as a consequence spent several years in exile in Paris from 1637. In that year he wrote to his brother-in-law, Archibald Johnston of Warristoun, protesting against the injustice of the sentence passed upon he bishop Thomas Sydserf
.
After his return he was urged by Oliver Cromwell
to act as a judge, but declined, and lived in retirement on his estate at Crimond until the restoration of King Charles II of England. He was nominated a Senator of the College of Justice on 19 January 1661 and took his seat in the Court of Session
under the judicial title Lord Crimond on 1 June, an office he enjoyed scarcely three months before dying at Edinburgh
on 24 August.
Sir Thomas Craig, and sister of Archibald Johnston, Lord Warriston
. Crimond's issue by his second wife, with three daughters included, Robert, (1630–1662), who, admitted to the Scottish bar 1656, died unmarried, Thomas, born 1638, physician successively to four English sovereigns and the bishop Gilbert Burnet
.
His grandson Thomas Burnet gave the following description of his character ..."His excessive modesty so far depressed his abilities, that he never made a showy figure at the bar, though he was universally esteemed a man of judgement and knowledge in his profession; he was eminent for probity and generosity in his practice; in so much that nearly one half of it went in acts of charity and friendship; from the poor he never took a fee, nor from a clergyman when he sued in the right of his church"...
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
advocate and judge.
Background
He was the fourth son of Alexander Burnet of Leys by his wife Katherine, daughter of Alexander Gordon of Lesmoir, and younger brother of Sir Thomas Burnett, 1st BaronetSir Thomas Burnett, 1st Baronet
Sir Thomas Burnett, 1st Baronet of Leys was a feudal baron and leading Covenanter who had represented Kincardineshire in the Scottish Parliament in 1621.-Early years:...
. Crimond studied for seven years in France, and was admitted a Scottish advocate on 20 February 1617.
Career
His career at the Bar was so successful, that in 1628 he acquired Banachtie and Mill of Bourtie from William Seton of Meldrum, and, in 1634, CrimondCrimond
Crimond is a village in the northeast of Scotland, located nine miles northwest of the port of Peterhead and just over two miles from the coast.- Local area :...
, in Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...
, which afterwards became his residence. He refused to subscribe to the Solemn League and Covenant
Solemn League and Covenant
The Solemn League and Covenant was an agreement between the Scottish Covenanters and the leaders of the English Parliamentarians. It was agreed to in 1643, during the First English Civil War....
, and as a consequence spent several years in exile in Paris from 1637. In that year he wrote to his brother-in-law, Archibald Johnston of Warristoun, protesting against the injustice of the sentence passed upon he bishop Thomas Sydserf
Thomas Sydserf
Thomas Sydserf [Sydserff] was a 17th century Scottish prelate. The eldest son of an Edinburgh merchant, Sydserf graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1602 before travelling to continental Europe to study at the University of Heidelberg. After returning to Scotland, he entered the...
.
After his return he was urged by Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
to act as a judge, but declined, and lived in retirement on his estate at Crimond until the restoration of King Charles II of England. He was nominated a Senator of the College of Justice on 19 January 1661 and took his seat in the Court of Session
Court of Session
The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland, and constitutes part of the College of Justice. It sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh and is both a court of first instance and a court of appeal....
under the judicial title Lord Crimond on 1 June, an office he enjoyed scarcely three months before dying at Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
on 24 August.
Marriage
Crimond married twice: firstly in 1620, Beatrix, youngest daughter and co-heir of William Maule of Glaster, son of Sir Robert Maule of Panmure, by whom he had a daughter, Bethia (1622–1624). After her death in 1622, he remarried secondly Rachel, daughter of James Johnston, a merchant in Edinburgh, by his spouse Elizabeth, daughter of the juristJurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
Sir Thomas Craig, and sister of Archibald Johnston, Lord Warriston
Archibald Johnston, Lord Warriston
Archibald Johnston, Lord Warriston was a Scottish judge and statesman.He assisted Alexander Henderson in framing the Scots National Covenant in 1638. Appointed a Procurator of the Kirk in the same year. In 1639 he assisted in negotiating pacification of Berwick, and the treaty of Ripon in 1640. He...
. Crimond's issue by his second wife, with three daughters included, Robert, (1630–1662), who, admitted to the Scottish bar 1656, died unmarried, Thomas, born 1638, physician successively to four English sovereigns and the bishop Gilbert Burnet
Gilbert Burnet
Gilbert Burnet was a Scottish theologian and historian, and Bishop of Salisbury. He was fluent in Dutch, French, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Burnet was respected as a cleric, a preacher, and an academic, as well as a writer and historian...
.
Legacy
Upon his death, Alexander Brodie of Brodie paid the following diary tribute to his memory: ..."27 August 1661. I heard that the good Mr Robert Burnet, Crimond, was removed by death; 'The righteous are taken away and perishing,none considering or laying it to hart, that they are taken away from the euel to come"...His grandson Thomas Burnet gave the following description of his character ..."His excessive modesty so far depressed his abilities, that he never made a showy figure at the bar, though he was universally esteemed a man of judgement and knowledge in his profession; he was eminent for probity and generosity in his practice; in so much that nearly one half of it went in acts of charity and friendship; from the poor he never took a fee, nor from a clergyman when he sued in the right of his church"...