Earls of Ruglen (1697)

1^st Earl of Ruglen, John Hamilton, b.c.1664-1665, a.1697, d.1744

Fourth son of Sir William Douglas-Hamilton, 1^st Earl of Selkirk and Anne Hamilton, 3^rd Duchess of Hamilton. He was General of the Mint from 1694 to 1698 and made a Privy Counsellor in 1696. In 1697 he was created 1^st Earl of Ruglen, 1^st Viscount of Riccarton and 1^st Lord Hillhouse. In 1739 he succeeded his older brother as 3^rd Earl of Selkirk and 3^rd Lord Daer & Shortcleuch. His only son, William Hamilton, Lord Daer (b.1696, d.1742) died without children and so the earldom of Selkirk transferred to a grandson of his younger brother, while the Ruglen title passed directly to his daughter.

2^nd Earl (Countess of Ruglen), Anne Hamilton, b.1698, a.1744, d.1748

Daughter of the 1^st Earl and Anne Kennedy (b.?, d.1699-1700), daughter of John Kennedy, 7^th Earl of Cassillis.

3^rd Earl of Ruglen, William Douglas, b.1725, a.1748, d.1810

Son of the 2^nd Countess and William Douglas, 2^nd Earl of March. He succeeded his father in 1731 and his mother in 1748, and in 1778 he became 4^th Duke of Queensberry. He was appointed a Knight of the Thistle in 1761, and was a Representative Peer from 1761 until his death. He was Vice Admiral of Scotland from 1767 to 1776 and Lord-Lieutenant of Dumfries from 1794 to 1810. His only daughter, Maria Emilia Fagnani (b.?, d.1856), married Richard Seymour-Conway, 4^th Marquess of Hertford, and so his titles were passed to various other members of his extended family, as explained in more detail in the Queensberry page. The earldom of Ruglen became extinct.

(Last updated: 15/06/2011)

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