URQUHART, JOHN [SSNE 3718]
- Surname
- URQUHART, URQUHARD, URQUARD
- First name
- JOHN, JOHAN, JOHANN
- Title/rank
- COLONEL
- Nationality
- SCOT
- Region
- CROMARTY, ROSS AND CROMARTY
- Social status
- OFFICER
Text source
Colonel John Urquhart was of ancient Scottish noble lineage, son of Alexander Urquhart of Kinbeachie and Margaret Abernethy.
John Urquhart arrived in Sweden with some recruited regiments in the early 1630s.
In 1635 John Urquhart was a lieutenant captain in Johan Skytte's [SSNE 6280] regiment. He was a full captain in 1636.
John Urquhart served as assistant to the commandant at Nyenmünde (Neumunde, Livonia) garrison in 1643.
John Urquhart became a major in Queen Kristina's Lifeguard in 1645 (commanded by Magnus de la Gardie), and in May that year he received a donation of three leaseholds from her. One belonged to Uppsala province hospital at Ulleracker, and the other two belonged to Skaggestadh cloister. These were for the duration of his life, his wife's life and their legitimate descendants.
In September 1645, John Urquhart took 4 companies of the Lifeguard to garrison Halmstad including his own and that of Captain Ernst Forbes (total force 379 men). Two years later he was promoted lieutenant colonel.
In 1648 John Urquhart moved with eight companies to Halberstadt (July) before being moved back towards the Elbe to await further orders.
John Urquhart was married to Isabella Kinninmund [SSNE 3317], who was the Scottish born daughter of William Kinninmund. They had two children: Isabella [SSNE 716] and Thomas [SSNE 3721]. John [SSNE 3719] and Magnus [SSNE 3720] were presumably also related to him. He was in some way a relative of Thomas and Andrew Urquhart of Cromarty. He gave the former a gift of two brass cannon in 1650 which were inscribed and sent from Stockholm.
With the end of the Thirty Years' War (1648) John Urquhart was ennobled, thereby becoming a naturalised Swede, and thereafter he was introduced in the House of Nobility (1650).
John Urquhart went on to be colonel in Magnus de la Gardie's infantry life regiment (Queen Christina's Life Guard). He also served as commandant at Birsen, Livonia in 1655
John Urquhart died in 1656.
Sources: Swedish Riksarkiv, Carl Gustaf's Arkiv i Stegeborgssamlingen, John Urquhard, July 1648 Wismar, August 1648 Erfurt; Swedish Riksarkiv, Militära chefer i svenska arméen och deras skrivelser; Swedish Krigsarkiv, Muster Roll, 1635/26,30-32; 1636/20-23; 1645/1; 1646/1; 1647/19,20; 1648/23,24; 1649/17,18; 1655/7; A letter can be found in 'Krigskollegium Kancelliet; Adressatregistratur till Krigskollegiets Registratur 1631-1654' regarding "rullor och besked på det folk som med honom på skeppen härifrån avsändas 14/6/1645"; Svenska Adelns Ättartavlor, vol. 8, p.581; H. Marryat, One Year in Sweden, including a visit to the isle of Gotland (London, 1862), p.500; Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, 3rd series, I, 1661-1664, p.17. Supplication of Alexander Urquhart of Cromarty, 1 August 1661; Bertil C. Barkman and Sven Lundkvist, Kungl. Svea Livgardes Historia, III:II. 1632 (1611) – 1660 (Stockholm, 1966), pp.133, 146,, 159, 163, 165; T. Fischer, Scots in Sweden, pp.237-8. Thanks to Thomas Brochard for additional information.
Service record
- SWEDEN, JOHN SKYTTE'S INFANTRY REGIMENT
- Arrived 1635-01-01, as LIEUTENANT
- Departed 1644-12-31, as CAPTAIN
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- SWEDEN, LIFEGUARD
- Arrived 1645-01-01, as MAJOR
- Departed 1646-12-31, as MAJOR
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- SWEDEN, DROTTNINGEN'S (Queen Christina's Life-Guard), WISMAR, ERFURT
- Arrived 1647-01-01, as LIEUTENANT
- Departed 1654-12-31, as LT. COLONEL
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- SWEDEN, DE LA GARDIE (Queen Christina's Life-Guard)
- Arrived 1655-01-01, as COLONEL
- Departed 1655-12-31, as COLONEL
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- SWEDEN, BIRSEN, LIVONIA
- Arrived 1655-01-01, as COMMANDANT
- Departed 1656-12-31, as COMMANDANT
- Capacity OFFICER AND COMMANDANT, purpose MILITARY