David Colyear, 1st Earl of Portmore

General David Colyear, 1st Earl of Portmore KT, PC (c. 1656 – 2 January 1730) was a Scottish military officer and peer who served as the governor of Gibraltar from 1713 to 1720.

The Earl of Portmore
Governor of Gibraltar
In office
1713–1720
Preceded byThomas Stanwix
Succeeded byRichard Kane
Personal details
Bornc. 1656
Scotland
Died2 January 1730(1730-01-02) (aged 73–74)
Weybridge, Surrey
SpouseCatherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester (m. 1696)
ChildrenDavid Colyear, Viscount Milsington
Charles Colyear, 2nd Earl of Portmore
Military service
Allegiance Great Britain
Branch/service British Army
RankGeneral
Battles/warsNine Years' War
War of the Spanish Succession
Anglo-Spanish War (1727–1729)

Early life

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He was the elder son of Sir Alexander Colyear, 1st Baronet, of the family of Strowan, Perthshire, who settled in Holland, where he acquired a considerable property, and preferred the name of Colyear.[1]

Career

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Colyear was commissioned into the Army of William of Orange in 1674, becoming Lieutenant-General of the Scots Brigade, the three Scottish regiments which had been fighting in the service of the Netherlands for many decades.

He led the troops ashore when William landed at Torbay on 5 November 1688 and then served in most of William's Irish campaigns, being made governor of Limerick in 1691. For his service in Ireland he was created Lord Portmore on 1 June 1699. In 1702, he obtained the rank of major-general, and on 27 February 1703 received the command of the Queen's Royal Regiment of Foot, later the 2nd Foot. On 13 April 1703, he was raised to the dignities of Earl of Portmore, Viscount of Milsington, and Lord Colyear.[1]

He took part in the War of Spanish Succession and participated in the Battle of Cádiz in 1702 and the Battle of Vigo Bay later that year.[1] In 1710, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the forces in Scotland, and in January 1711 was raised to the rank of general. In 1712, he served under the Duke of Ormonde in Flanders, and the same year he was named a member of the privy council and made a Knight of the Thistle.[1]

In August 1713, he was constituted governor of Gibraltar (gazetted November 1714[2]), and in October of the same year he was chosen one of the sixteen representative peers of Scotland. When Gibraltar was besieged by the Spaniards in 1727, he embarked for that place to assume command, but on the approach of Admiral Wager with eleven ships the siege was raised.[1]

Personal life

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David Colyear had two sons (pictured) with Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester.

He married Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester, daughter of the former Lady Catherine Savage (a daughter of John Savage, 2nd Earl Rivers) and poet Sir Charles Sedley, 5th Baronet, of Southfleet, Kent.[1] Catherine, a former mistress of James II, had been created Countess of Dorchester for life in 1686. Together, they were the parents of two sons:

He died 2 January 1730 and was succeeded in the earldom by his second son, Charles.[1]

Arms

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Coat of arms of David Colyear, 1st Earl of Portmore
Coronet
A Coronet of an Earl
Crest
A Unicorn rampant Argent armed and maned Or
Escutcheon
Gules on a Chevron between three Wolves' Heads erased Or as many Oak Trees eradicated proper fructed Or
Supporters
On either side a Wolf proper
Motto
Avance

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Henderson 1887.
  2. ^ "No. 5274". The London Gazette. 2 November 1714. p. 4.
Attribution

  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainHenderson, Thomas Finlayson (1887). "Colyear, David". In Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 11. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 424–425.

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Military offices
Preceded by Colonel of The Earl of Portmore's Regiment of Foot
1688–1703
Succeeded by
Preceded by Colonel of The Queen's Royal Regiment of Foot
1703–1710
Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of Gibraltar
1713–1720
Succeeded by
Preceded by Colonel of the Grey Dragoons
1714–1717
Succeeded by
Peerage of Scotland
New creation Earl of Portmore
1703–1730
Succeeded by
Lord Portmore
1699–1730
Baronetage of England
Preceded by Baronet
(of Holland)
1685–1730
Succeeded by