BORTHWICK, ELEAZER [SSNE 1064]

Surname
BORTHWICK, BORTHVIK
First name
ELEAZER, ELEAZAR
Title/rank
REVEREND, AGENT
Nationality
SCOT
Region
BRUNTON, LEUCHARS, FIFE?
Social status
CLERGY
Education
UNIVERSITY

Text source

Eleazer Borthwick of Chesters and Brunton gained an MA from the University of Edinburgh in 1607. John, Bishop of Caithness, ordained Borthwick as the minister of the congregation at Orheholm in Sweden on the 2nd of September 1629 indicating his service to Sir James Spens [SSNE 1642] who owned the barony. Through Spens, Borthwick met with John Durie to discuss the process of Ecclesiastical Peace which he helped to encourage. In July 1635 the Swedish council resolved to pay Borthwick a further 500 riksdaler, in addition to the 500 he had already received. The council further noted that Borthwick would remain in Swedish service for a further year and would thus receive 2000 riksdaler in London - Louis de Geer would transfer the funds quarterly through a burgess in London called Johan Luce (John Lucie?). Borthwick returned to London to work among the non-conformists of London where he remained until the end of 1636. He was also working as a Swedish agent in England during this time - the council certainly received a letter from Borthwick in October 1635, addressed to Queen Kristina and Per Baner. Borthwick returned to Sweden in 1637 to act as an envoy for the Stuart Kingdoms along with John Barclay. On 10 May he had an audience with the Riksrad (the Swedish council of the realm) where they discussed the Marquis of Hamilton's proposed marriage between Queen Kristina and the young elector, Carl Louis, and between Count Karl Gustav and the king of Bohemia's daughter (Charles I's niece). It was apparently Hamilton's attempt at promoting a closer alliance between Sweden and the Stuart kingdoms. This proposal did not sit well with the Swedes at all, who felt it was ridiculous on several accounts apart from the fact that in their eyes Borthwick did not have the required authority to discuss the issue. He remained in Stockholm for some months and wrote a letter from there in July to the Marquis of Hamilton noting that he had waited in vain for an answer from the Swedes. In the same letter, Borthwick mentioned the return to Britain of General Ruthven with his pension and the fact that Ruthven was well in with John Stewart, Earl of Traquair and James Stewart, 4th Duke of Richmond. Borthwick returned to Scotland soon after taking with him letters between Johan Skytte and Hamilton. On 16th December 1638 he was recommended by the General Assembly of the Kirk of Scotland as being worthy of a charge. On the 9th May 1639, Borthwick wrote to the Marquis of Hamilton in the strongest terms warning him of the dangers of fighting against God and his native country. He backed this with a further letter to Hamilton informing him that he had sent a petition against him via Lord Lyndsay, Hamilton’s own Brother in Law. It appears that Borthwick never received his due pay for his five years of diplomatic service for the Swedish crown as in 1640 his son, William [SSNE], petitioned Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna for the money, and 5,000 rixdaler were finally paid out to him in 1653. During the Bishops’ Wars, Borthwick served as an administrator to the Parish of Leuchers to which he was presented by Charles I on the 11th October 1641. Before two months passed he was selected as the minister to the Commissioners of the Scottish Parliament in attendance on that of England. He remained in England from 5th November 1642 until his death on the 18th August 1643.

 

Sources: Borthwick's connection to the Spens family is discussed by Hugo Hamilton [SSNE 2582] in connection with the estate of James Spens (younger) [SSNE 3549] in Riksarkivets ämnessamlingar. Personhistoria https://sok.riksarkivet.se/bildvisning/A0073861_00386#?c=&m=&s=&cv=385&xywh=3564%2C858%2C2535%2C1462

Svenska Riksradets Protokoll, vol.v, pp.99, 207; Svenska Riksradets Protokoll, vol. vii, pp. 32-3; S. Tunberg et al., Den Svenska Utrikes Forvaltningens Historia, (Uppsala, 1935), pp.76-7; H. Scott, Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ. Volume 5, Synod of Fife, and of Angus and Mearns (Edinburgh, 1869), p.221; Hartlib Papers, 60/5/1A-8B, Durie to Hartlib, Narrative of his German Travels, 1632; National Archives of Scotland (NAS), NRAs 2177, Bundle 1404, Borthwick to Hamilton, 3 July 1637; NAS, GD 406/1/1101-2; NAS, GD 406/1/9312; Steve Murdoch, Network North: Scottish Kin, Commercial and Covert Associations in Northern Europe, 1603-1746 (Brill, Leiden, 2006), p.287; Swedish Riksarkiv, Likvidationer, serie 23, bunt 1 and Oxenstierna collection, E572. Thanks to Heiko Droste for the last two references.

 

Bishops Wars; English Civil War

Service record

SCOTLAND, EDINBURGH
Arrived 1606-01-01
Departed 1607-12-31
Capacity STUDENT, purpose ACADEMIC
SWEDEN, ÖRHOLME
Arrived 1629-09-02
Departed 1632-12-31
Capacity CHAPLAIN, purpose ECCLESIASTICAL
ENGLAND, LONDON
Arrived 1633-01-01
Departed 1636-12-31
Capacity CHAPLAIN, purpose ECCLESIASTICAL
STUART KINGDOMS, SWEDEN
Arrived 1637-05-01
Departed 1637-07-03
Capacity ENVOY, purpose DIPLOMACY
SWEDEN, LONDON
Arrived 1637-06-15
Capacity COURIER, purpose MISC.
SCOTLAND, LEUCHARS
Arrived 1639-01-01
Departed 1642-11-05
Capacity CHAPLAIN, purpose ECCLESIASTICAL
STUART KINGDOMS, SCOTLAND, LONDON
Arrived 1642-11-05
Departed 1643-08-18
Capacity CHAPLAIN, purpose ECCLESIASTICAL