COCKBURN, Archibald Merchant and Burgess of Edinburgh ¹

   User ID: Q697

  General Notes:

"COCKBURN
ARCHIBALD
JAMES COCKBURN/ANNA NAISMYTH FR2074 (FR2074)
M
14/07/1671
685 / 1
70 / 213
Edinburgh"

from Births and Baptisms




"Archibald Cockburn, only son of James Cockburn, merchant burgess of Edinburgh, by his second wife, Anna Naysmith, was born, as already stated, in July 1671. He was left an orphan before his fourth birthday, and by his father's will, dated 1674, was placed principally in the charge of Sir Archibald Cockburn of Langton, his somewhat remote kinsman and chief of all the Cockburns. The second son by the first marriage, John, had George Cockburn of Pilton (son of the deceased Sir George Cockburn of Ormiston) as 'tutor' or trustee, which shows that James Cockburn of Edinburgh was on friendly terms with the distantly related and more important members of his family. In 1692 Archibald Cockburn was apprenticed to Michael Allan, Dean of Guild, in Edinburgh. [....]

Of Archibald Cockburn's actual occupation we know little, except that, like his father, he was described as a merchant and a burgess of Edinburgh. His training under his trustee, Sir Archibald Cockburn, may not have been to his advantage, as Sir Archibald was constantly in financial difficulties, which contributed to the ruin of his family and property. In 1696 at any rate Archibald the merchant became a shareholder to the extent of £400 sterling (his father only had about £5000 all told to leave among his four children twenty- two years previously) in the 'Joynte Stock Company of Scotland trading to Africa and the Indies,' the capital of which was £400,000 sterling - an enormous sum in those days. This was the notorious Darien Scheme, organised by W illiam Paterson, who about the same time founded the Bank of England. [....]

In 1710, however, he became possessed of the lands of Petercraig, which adjoined Harperdean, and had been in the occupation of the Swintons, the relatives of his wife; and in 1713 he was granted sasine of Harperdean on charter under the Great Seal. That place remained in the possession of his family for some seventy years."

from Cockburn Family ¹

  Research Notes:

HARPERDEAN

"The small property of Harperdean, situated on the sloping hills to the north of Haddington, has been in the possession of Cockburns at least three times. There was a family there, difficult to identify, in 1527; another at the beginning of the seventeenth century; and, as has been shown in the history of the Cockpen branch, the place was brought back to the family in 1696 by the marriage of a Butler of Harperdean with Archibald Cockburn,burgess of Edinburgh,whose son purchased Cockpen, but whose grandson was forced to sell both estates in 1785. The purchaser was Mr. Buchan Hepburn (created a baronet in 1815), whose great-grandson, Sir Archibald Hepburn, is now owner."

from Cockburn Family

Archibald married Isabell BUTLER, daughter of John BUTLER of Harperdean and Isobel SWINTON, in 1696. (Isabell BUTLER was baptised on 8 April 1678 in Haddington parish, East Lothian, Scotland,¹ died in 1750 and was buried on 21 June 1750.)

  Marriage Notes:

"In 1696 Archibald Cockburn had married Isobel Butler, daughter of John Butler of Harperdean, Haddington, and Isobel Swinton, his wife. The actual record of the marriage is not to be found, as the Haddington register of marriages is at that time blank - another instance of the records being carelessly preserved. As a result of this marriage Harperdean eventually passed into the possession of the Cockburns [....]

By her Archibald Cockburn had a large family, consisting of five sons and five daughters - namely, Sophia, Robert, Isobel, Archibald, James, Anne, Agnes, John, George, and Robina."

from Cockburn Family