John Kennedy, 7th Earl of Cassilis

John Kennedy, 7th Earl of Cassillis, PC (November 1653 – 23 July 1701) was a Scottish peer.

Early life He was the son of John Kennedy, 6th Earl of Cassillis and the former Lady Margaret Ker ( Hay). His father was the grandson of Gilbert Kennedy, 4th Earl of Cassillis, and nephew of John Kennedy, 5th Earl of Cassillis. Before his parents' marriage, his mother was the wife of Henry Ker, styled Lord Ker, son of Robert Ker, 1st Earl of Roxburghe, and his father was married to Jean Hamilton, a daughter of Thomas Hamilton, 1st Earl of Haddington.

Personal life

On 26 December 1668, Lord Cassillis married Lady Susannah Hamilton (1632–1694), a daughter of James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton and the former Lady Margaret Feilding. They had three children:

John Kennedy, Lord Kennedy (–1700), who married Elizabeth Hutchinson, in 1697. Anne Kennedy (bef. 1679–1699), who married John Hamilton, 1st Earl of Ruglen, son of William Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton and Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton, after 1694. Lady Elizabeth Kennedy (b. 1701) Lady Mary Kennedy (b. 1701)

Lord Cassillis died on 23 July 1701 and was succeeded in his titles and estates by his grandson, John.

Descendants Through his eldest son, he was a grandfather of John Kennedy who became the 8th Earl of Cassillis. On the death of his grandson, the 8th Earl, without male issue, a competition arose, both for the estates and for the title of Earl of Cassillis, between William, Earl of March and Ruglen, heir general, and Sir Thomas Kennedy of Culzean, 4th Baronet, the heir male. The Court of Session found the right to the estates to be in the latter, 29 February 1760; and the same was found with regard to the title on a reference to the House of Lords, 27 January 1762.