Hercules Stewart of Whitelaw (died 1595) was a Scottish landowner and outlaw supporter of Francis Stewart, 5th Earl of Bothwell.
Early life He was a son of John Stewart, Prior of Coldingham (d. 1563), who was an illegitimate son of James V of Scotland by his mistress Elizabeth Carmichael. Hercules Stewart was a half-brother of Francis Stewart, 5th Earl of Bothwell, son of Jean Hepburn. His half-sister Christiane Stewart was appointed as one of the ladies to rock the cradle of James VI in March 1568.HMC Mar & Kellie, vol. 1 (London, 1904), p. 18.
Career as a rebel A letter from an English soldier at Berwick denouncing a Captain Carey in 1588 claimed that he frequently allowed Hercules Stewart and the Earl of Bothwell access to the garrison town.Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 9 (Edinburgh, 1916), p. 577.
Hercules Stewart supported his brother, the rebel earl, against James VI of Scotland.
In 1591 Stewart and the younger Hamilton of Samuelston executed a man called Purdy without trial.David Masson, Register of the Privy Council of Scotland: 1585-1592, vol. 4 (Edinburgh, 1881), pp. 625, 642, 807.
In March 1592 he was thought to be in hiding in Northumberland with the earl, the younger Laird of Niddry, and others who had tried to access the king's presence by force at Holyroodhouse. In June 1592 he was declared guilty of treason in the Parliament of Scotland. In November 1592 Hercules and a number of Bothwell's supporters, including John Wemyss of Logie, were pardoned for their treasons.Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 10 (Edinburgh, 1936), pp. 650, 687, 818, 821.
In April 1594 Bothwell's supporters dug in at Leith, repairing the old fortifications. They withdrew to Niddrie where, on 5 April 1594 Hercules Stewart was given command of a section of Bothwell's troops and fought and defeated the king's soldiers under the Master of Glamis and the Earl of Home, who split into two groups and retreated towards Edinburgh Castle and Holyroodhouse. This engagement is sometimes known as the "Battle of Leith".Annie Isabella Cameron, Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1936), p. 305 no. 238.
Hercules Stewart wrote letters for the Earl of Bothwell, although the English agent George Nicholson and the courtier Roger Aston suggested that Hercules Stewart was not in the earl's confidence.Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1936), pp. 395 no. 307, 536 no. 472.
Stewart was denounced by the Privy Council of Scotland for conspiracy with Bothwell on 9 January 1595. The other conspirators were Alexander, Lord Spynie, Archibald Wauchope younger of Niddry, Gilbert Pennycuke, William Chirnsyde, Sym Armstrong of Whitehaugh, and Josias Stewart, brother of Andrew, Lord Ochiltree.David Masson, Register of the Privy Council of Scotland: 1592-1599, vol. 6 (Edinburgh, 1882), p. 114., Spynie, Wauchope, and Pennycuke were denounced on 27 December 1594. Josias's mother and sisters were ladies in waiting to Anne of Denmark.Michael Pearce, 'Anna of Denmark: Fashioning a Danish Court in Scotland', The Court Historian, 24:2 (2019) pp. 146-8.
Stewart and William Trotter were captured by William Hume on 6 February 1595 at West Houses near Newbattle who tried to get him pardoned. It was suspected that Trotter incriminated Stewart. John Colville was at the arrest, and promised that he would be spared.Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1936), pp. 530-1 & fn, 534, 536. Hercules and Josias Stewart was interrogated and revealed information about a band or league between Bothwell and the Catholic rebel Northern earls.David Masson, Register of the Privy Council of Scotland: 1592-1599, vol. 6 (Edinburgh, 1882), p. 207.
Stewart and a man called Sym (Sym Armstrong, younger of Whitehaugh) were hanged on 18 February 1595 in the market place of Edinburgh.Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1936), pp. 536 no. 472, 538 no. 474.
Family Hercules married Mary Whitelaw or Quhytlaw, daughter and co-heiress of Patrick Whitelaw of Whitelaw.Winifred Coutts, The Business of the College of Justice in 1600 (Edinburgh: Stair Society, 2003), p. 514. They were divorced in 1592. In February 1593 she married William Hume, who worked in the king's stable.Winifred Coutts, he Business of the College of Justice in 1600 (Edinburgh: Stair Society, 2003), p. 517.
They had a daughter, Margaret Stewart. In 1620, a French woman, Jacqueline Quenlie, petitioned the Privy Council of Scotland that John Hamilton of Ferguslie was her husband in Ireland, and he had married Margaret Stewart unlawfully and taken two coffers of her belongings to Paisley. Jacqueline then withdrew her claim to be the wife of John Hamilton and received her goods.David Masson, Register of the Privy Council of Scotland: 1619-1622, vol. 12 (Edinburgh, 1895), pp. 207-8, 209: Original Letters Relating to the Ecclesiastical Affairs of Scotland: 1614-1625, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1851), pp. 602-5.
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