John Ker
Encyclopedia
John Ker was a Scottish
spy
during the Jacobite
risings.
. His true name was Crawfurd, his father being Alexander Crawfurd of Crawfurdland, but having married Anna, younger daughter of Robert Ker
, of Kersland, Ayrshire, whose only son Daniel Ker was killed at the Battle of Steinkeerke
in 1692, he assumed the name and arms of Ker in 1697, after buying the family estates from his wife's elder sister.
Having become a leader among the extreme Covenanter
s, he made use of his influence to relieve his pecuniary embarrassments, selling his support at one time to the Jacobites, at another to the government, and whenever possible to both parties at the same time. He held a licence from the government in 1707 permitting him to associate with those whose disloyalty was known or suspected, proving that he was at that date the government's paid spy. In his memoirs Ker asserts that he had a number of other spies and agents working under his orders in different parts of the country. He entered into correspondence with Catholic priests and Jacobite conspirators, whose schemes, so far as he could make himself cognisant of them, he betrayed to the government. But he was known to be a man of the worst character, and it is improbable that he succeeded in gaining the confidence of people of any importance. The Duchess of Gordon was for a time, it is true, one of his correspondents, but in 1707 she had discovered him to be a knave. He went to London in 1709, where he seems to have extracted considerable sums of money from politicians of both parties by promising or threatening, as the case might be, to expose Godolphin
's relations with the Jacobites.
In 1713, if his own story is to be believed, business of a semidiplomatic nature took Ker to Vienna
, where, although he failed in the principal object of his errand, the Emperor made him a present of his portrait set in jewels. Ker also occupied his time in Vienna, he says, by gathering information which he forwarded to the electress Sophia; and in the following year on his way home he stopped at Hanover
to give some advice to the future King of England as to the best way to govern the English. Although in his own opinion Ker materially assisted in placing George I on the English throne, his services were unrewarded, owing, he would have us believe, to the incorruptibility of his character. Similar ingratitude was the recompense for his revelations of the Jacobite intentions in 1715, and as he was no more successful in making money out of the British East India Company
, nor in certain commercial schemes which engaged his ingenuity during the next few years, he died in a debtor's prison
. While in the King's Bench Prison
he sold to Edmund Curll
the bookseller, a fellow-prisoner who was serving a sentence of five months for publishing obscene books, the manuscript of (or possibly only the materials on which were based) the Memoirs of John Ker of Kersland, which Curll published in 1726 in three parts, the last of which appeared after Ker's death. For issuing the first part of the Memoirs, which purported to make disclosures damaging to the government, but which Curll in self-justification described as vindicating the memory of Queen Anne
, the publisher was sentenced to the pillory at Charing Cross
; and he added to the third part of the Memoirs the indictment on which he had been convicted.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
spy
SPY
SPY is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* SPY , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San Pédro, Côte d'Ivoire...
during the Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
risings.
Biography
Ker was born in AyrshireAyrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
. His true name was Crawfurd, his father being Alexander Crawfurd of Crawfurdland, but having married Anna, younger daughter of Robert Ker
Robert Ker
Robert Ker was the first Auditor General of the Colony and then the Province of British Columbia....
, of Kersland, Ayrshire, whose only son Daniel Ker was killed at the Battle of Steinkeerke
Battle of Steenkerque
The Battle of Steenkerque was fought on August 3, 1692, as a part of the Nine Years' War. It resulted in the victory of the French under Marshal François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg against a joint English-Scottish-Dutch-German army under Prince William of Orange...
in 1692, he assumed the name and arms of Ker in 1697, after buying the family estates from his wife's elder sister.
Having become a leader among the extreme Covenanter
Covenanter
The Covenanters were a Scottish Presbyterian movement that played an important part in the history of Scotland, and to a lesser extent in that of England and Ireland, during the 17th century...
s, he made use of his influence to relieve his pecuniary embarrassments, selling his support at one time to the Jacobites, at another to the government, and whenever possible to both parties at the same time. He held a licence from the government in 1707 permitting him to associate with those whose disloyalty was known or suspected, proving that he was at that date the government's paid spy. In his memoirs Ker asserts that he had a number of other spies and agents working under his orders in different parts of the country. He entered into correspondence with Catholic priests and Jacobite conspirators, whose schemes, so far as he could make himself cognisant of them, he betrayed to the government. But he was known to be a man of the worst character, and it is improbable that he succeeded in gaining the confidence of people of any importance. The Duchess of Gordon was for a time, it is true, one of his correspondents, but in 1707 she had discovered him to be a knave. He went to London in 1709, where he seems to have extracted considerable sums of money from politicians of both parties by promising or threatening, as the case might be, to expose Godolphin
Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin
Sir Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin, KG, PC was a leading English politician of the late 17th and early 18th centuries...
's relations with the Jacobites.
In 1713, if his own story is to be believed, business of a semidiplomatic nature took Ker to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, where, although he failed in the principal object of his errand, the Emperor made him a present of his portrait set in jewels. Ker also occupied his time in Vienna, he says, by gathering information which he forwarded to the electress Sophia; and in the following year on his way home he stopped at Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
to give some advice to the future King of England as to the best way to govern the English. Although in his own opinion Ker materially assisted in placing George I on the English throne, his services were unrewarded, owing, he would have us believe, to the incorruptibility of his character. Similar ingratitude was the recompense for his revelations of the Jacobite intentions in 1715, and as he was no more successful in making money out of the British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
, nor in certain commercial schemes which engaged his ingenuity during the next few years, he died in a debtor's prison
Debtor's prison
A debtors' prison is a prison for those who are unable to pay a debt.Prior to the mid 19th century debtors' prisons were a common way to deal with unpaid debt.-Debt bondage in ancient Greece and Rome:...
. While in the King's Bench Prison
King's Bench Prison
The King's Bench Prison was a prison in Southwark, south London, from medieval times until it closed in 1880. It took its name from the King's Bench court of law in which cases of defamation, bankruptcy and other misdemeanours were heard; as such, the prison was often used as a debtor's prison...
he sold to Edmund Curll
Edmund Curll
Edmund Curll was an English bookseller and publisher. His name has become synonymous, through the attacks on him by Alexander Pope, with unscrupulous publication and publicity. Curll rose from poverty to wealth through his publishing, and he did this by approaching book printing in a mercenary...
the bookseller, a fellow-prisoner who was serving a sentence of five months for publishing obscene books, the manuscript of (or possibly only the materials on which were based) the Memoirs of John Ker of Kersland, which Curll published in 1726 in three parts, the last of which appeared after Ker's death. For issuing the first part of the Memoirs, which purported to make disclosures damaging to the government, but which Curll in self-justification described as vindicating the memory of Queen Anne
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
, the publisher was sentenced to the pillory at Charing Cross
Charing Cross
Charing Cross denotes the junction of Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in central London, England. It is named after the now demolished Eleanor cross that stood there, in what was once the hamlet of Charing. The site of the cross is now occupied by an equestrian...
; and he added to the third part of the Memoirs the indictment on which he had been convicted.
Further reading
- Memoirs (London, 1726-1727), and in particular the preface to part I.
- George LockhartGeorge LockhartSir George Lockhart of Lee , of Carnwath, South Lanarkshire, also known as Lockhart of Carnwath, was a Scottish writer, spy and politician.He was the son of Sir George Lockhart of Lee....
, The Lockhart Papers (2 vols, London, 1817) - Nathaniel Hooke, Correspondence, edited by William D. Macray (Roxburghe ClubRoxburghe ClubThe Roxburghe Club was formed on 17 June 1812 by leading bibliophiles, at the time the library of the Duke of Roxburghe was auctioned. It took 45 days to sell the entire collection. The first edition of Boccaccio's Decameron, printed by Chrisopher Valdarfer of Venice in 1471, was sold to the...
, 2 vols., London, 1870), in which Ker is referred to under several pseudonyms, such as Wicks, Trustie, The Cameronian Mealmonger.