Earls of Middleton, Lords of Clermont and of Fettercairn

John Middleton, First Earl of Middleton.
1 1
Morton. 1 On the 15th of July he was appointed one
of the Extraordinary Lords of Session. 2 On the 23rd
of August, Lady Helen Middleton was married to
Patrick Lyon, 3 first Earl of Strathmore. 1 These
two weddings, both of which took place at Holyrood
Palace, 2 were probably performed with as much pomp
and ceremony as those of princesses. Lady Strath-
more had issue, and is the ancestress of the present
peer.
Middleton, indignant at Lauderdale's continued
opposition, and desirous of retaining the supreme
power himself, obtained the Act of Balloting, by which
twelve persons were declared by secret votes to be
incapacitated from all trusts and offices. Lauderdale,
Crawford, and Murray were numbered among these ;
but the king, disapproving of the measure, refused his
consent. 4
its support, on which account the islands of Orkney and Zetland, with
the whole jurisdiction and royalties appertaining therein, were granted
to him, June 15th, 1643, by royal charter. William, his grandson (the
husband of Lady Grizel), procured a new grant of these islands ; but
that and the original grant were contested by the king's advocate' and
December 27th, 1669, the islands were annexed to the Crown. Lord
Morton died without surviving issue in 1681, and his honours reverted
to his uncle.
1 Search in the Records.
2 Douglas's Peerage.
s Patrick Lyon, first Earl of Strathmore, third of Kinghorne, and
eleventh Baron of Glands. He was a Privy Councillor and Extraor
nary Lord of Session ; died in 1695.
4 Wright ; Burnet.