HEPBURN, DANIEL [SSNE 6871]

Surname: HEPBURN, HEBRON
First name: DANIEL
Title/rank: COLONEL
Nationality: SCOT
Region: BOTHWELL, SOUTH LANARKSHIRE?

Text source

Daniel Hepburn was the son of Alexander Hepburn (the brother of James, Earl of Bothwell). Alexander had fled to Stargard, where he married and had a family. Daniel was born in 1584. It was at this time that the family name changed to Hebron. Daniel entered royal military service and became a councillor of war. He was still alive in the 1620s as at that time he held the village of Damnitz, which was then renamed Hebrondamitz. In August/September 1625 Hebron's Regiment was quartered in Bohemia. In April 1626 he was engaged against the troops of Christian of Braunschweig-Lüneburg, and in August 1626 his regiments persecuted the troops of Ernst of Mansfeld in Silesia, but lost a skirmish with Johann Ernst duke of Saxe-Weimar near Oppeln on 16 August 1626. In March 1627 three regiments under Colonel Hebron occupied Pomerania. He was commander of Wismar - with a garrison of 3000 soldiers - his regiments fought against the Swedish Army on the borders of Pomerania and then occupied parts of Pomerania. On 2/3 August 1627 at the battle of Bernstein [Mark Brandenburg, today in Poland] his regiment suffered some forfeitures. From October 1627 until April 1628 he remained governor of Weismar when his discharge was ordered by Wallenstein because of many complaints of the town council. Only his sudden death in 1628 protected him from the court-martial. His funeral monument links him to Queen Mary of Scotland. Daniel had a son, Friedrich, who took over Hebrondamnitz. There was a Daniel Hepburn/Hebron who was a Scottish officer in Swedish service. He was in James Spens' [SSNE 1642] regiment in 1610. In 1611 he led a company of Scots. It is yet to be clarified if these were the same man or not.

T. Fischer, The Scots in Sweden, (Edinburgh, 1907), p.223; Swedish Krigsarkiv, muster roll, 1611; J. Nitkowska-Weglarz, 'Aristokraten, Kunstler und Aspirin' in Pommern, Zeitschrift fur Kultur und Geschichte, vol.xli, (Lubeck, 2003). Thanks to Dr Kathrin Zickermann for the translation of the article and to Dr Bernd Warlich for the information on his conduct drawn variously from Philip TOBER: Wismar im Dreißigjaehrigen Krieg 1627-1648. Untersuchungen zur Wirtschafts-, Bau- und Sozialgeschichte (Berlin 2007), p.29; Hans-Jürgen ARENDT, Wallensteins Faktotum. Der kaiserliche Feldmarschall Heinrich Holck 1599-1633, (Ludwigsfelde 2004), p. 59; Josef KOLLMANN (ed.), Documenta Bohemica Bellum Tricennale Illustrantia. Der Dänisch-Niederdeutsche Krieg und der Aufstieg Wallensteins. Quellen zur Geschichte der Kriegsereignisse 1625-1630 (Prag/Wien 1974), pp. 60, 110, 139, 182, 185; Peter Ritter von CHLUMECKY, Die Regesten oder die chronologischen Verzeichnisse der Urkunden in den Archiven zu Iglau, Trebitisch, Triesch, Groß-Bitesch, Groß-Meseritsch und Pirnitz samt den nach ungedruckten Briefen Kaiser Ferdinand des Zweiten, Albrechts von Waldstein und Rombalds Grafen Collalto. Regesten der Archive im Markgrafthume Mähren. Bd. 1, (Brünn 1856), p. 16; Rudolf HANNCKE (Ed.): Cosmus von Simmerns Bericht über die von ihm miterlebten Geschichtsereignisse zur Zeit des Wallensteinischen und Schwedischen Kriegsvolks in Pommern, in: Baltische Studien 40 (1890), pp. 17-67; Friedrich FÖRSTER, Albrechts von Wallenstein, des Herzogs von Friedland und Mecklenburg, ungedruckte, eigenhändige, vertrauliche Briefe und amtliche Schreiben aus den Jahren 1627 bis 1634 (Berlin 1828), vol. I, p. 67.

From his coffin-lid: DANIEl HEBRON WEILAND DER ROM KAYSS MAY BESTALTER OBRISTER ZU ROS UNDT FUES YBER DRE REGIMENTER – UF KARSANITZ DAMNITZ UND WILDSCHITZ ERB UND PFANDT GESESSEN – YST ANNO 1584 AM TAGE GALLI IN DIESE MUHESELIGE WELT GEBOHREN UNDT ANNO 1628 DEN 8. YULI ZUE NEUWEN STARGARDT AN DER IHNA YM WAHREN GLAUBEN ERKENTNYS UND BEKENTNYS UNSERS ENIGEN ERLOSERS UND SELIGMACHERS YESU CHRISTI GANZ SANFFT UND SELIGLICH IM 44 YAHR SEINES ALTERS VORSTORBEN – DESSEN NACHGELASSENE WITTBE DIE WOHLEDLE VIEL EHR UND TUGEND REICHE FRAW ERMUT GEBORENE VON GOTTBERGIN WYNSCHE VON HERZEN – DAS DER BARMHERZIGE GOTT DER SEELEN GNEDIGK SEIN UND DEM LEIBE AM YVNGSTEN TAGE EINE FROHLICHE AUFERSTEHUNG VERLEIHEN – AUCH EYN MITTLER WEIL UND IHRER KINDER HOCHSTER TROST SEIN WOLLE. (published by http://www.loll-fritz.de/hebron.htm).

Dr Warlich drew our arrention to the following reference: After a drawing with an inscription in French (Swedish Krigsarkiv, Sveriges krig 2: 160) lieutenant-colonel Daniel Hebron took part in Gustav II. Adolf's entry in Frankfurt/M. on 17 November 1631. See Anja RIECK, Frankfurt am Main unter schwedischer Besatzung 1631-1635. Reichsstadt-Repraesentationsort-Bündnisfestung. Frankfurt/M. 2005, p. 59; See also the MDSZ database http://www.mdsz.thulb.uni-jena.de/sz/index.php

Service record

SWEDEN, JAMES SPENS: Arrived 1610-01-01; Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
SWEDEN, DANIEL HEPBURN: Arrived 1611-01-01; Departed 1611-12-31; Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
IMPERIAL ARMY, WALLENSTEIN, DAMNITZ, HEBRONDAMNITZ: Arrived 1620-01-01, as COLONEL; Departed 1628-07-08, as COLONEL; Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY