The earldom has been created twice, connected to the town of
Wigtown, a historic trading port on the western shore of
Wigtown Bay in
Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The town's name likely derives from the
Old English wic, meaning village or bay, and
tun, meaning town or hill, reflecting its position on a 200-foot hill with commanding views of the surrounding area. The earldom was surrendered in 1372 when
Thomas Fleming, 2nd Earl of Wigtown, sold the earldom and its associated lands to Archibald Douglas, known as
Archibald the Grim,
Lord of Galloway. This transfer was confirmed by
King Robert II later that year. The
Douglas family, also
Earls of Douglas, held the earldom for over 80 years until the
attainder of
James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas, in 1455, when the title and estates were forfeited to the Crown due to the family's opposition to
King James II. The earldom was recreated in 1606 by
King James VI for
John Fleming, 6th Lord Fleming. The earls of this creation held the subsidiary titles of
Lord Fleming, created in 1451 and extinct in 1747, and
Lord Kirkintilloch, created around 1184.
John Fleming, 2nd Earl of Wigtown, was a
Privy Counsellor,
commissioner in the
Scottish Parliament, and a staunch Royalist supporter of
King Charles I during the
English Civil War. His son, also John Fleming, the third Earl, was a Royalist and fought at the
Battle of Philiphaugh in 1645. William Fleming, the fifth Earl, educated at
Glasgow University, served as Commander of
Dumbarton Castle,
Sheriff of Dumbarton, and
Privy Counsellor.
John Fleming, 6th Earl of Wigtown, supported the
House of Stuart, accompanied
King James VII to France in 1689, and opposed the
Treaty of Union in 1707. He was imprisoned in
Edinburgh Castle during the
Jacobite Rising of 1715 as a suspected sympathiser. Upon the death of Charles Fleming, the seventh Earl, the earldom became extinct due to his dying without male heirs. A distinct earldom in the
Baronage of Scotland, along with the estates, passed through the female line to Lady Clementina Fleming, daughter of the sixth Earl, who married Charles Elphinstone, 10th
Lord Elphinstone. The estates remained with the Elphinstone family, and a Signature of Resignation under the
Great Seal of Scotland in 1790 confirmed the earldom in favour of John Elphinstone, 11th Lord Elphinstone. == Earls of Wigtown (1341) ==