He was twice married ; first, to Janet, daughter of Sir Andrew Ramsay, Lord Abbotshall—and, secondly, to it daughter of Anderson of Balram ; and lie had a numerous family by both these connections. Regular ch cults having been established in 1707, Fountainhall, who by that time found himself too infirm to be equal to the fatigue of this additional duty, resigned his justiciary gown to Queen Anne, though pressed by her majesty to continue to hold it ; and a little time before his death, he also resigned his seat as a lord of session. In resigning these offices, he also gave up the salaries appended to them. He died in Sep tember, 1722.
Lord Fountainhall was most particularly remarkable for his uncommon industry and unwearied assiduity, and for his devotion to his profession, and accuracy in recording its doctrines and precedents. Besides his occupation in the arduous duties of a lawyer and of a judge, he devoted much time to writing. Those MSS. which exist in his hand, are but a very small portion of those left at his death, as is ma nifest from the frequent references he makes to numerous volumes, by a variety of different letters and figures. The
children of his second marriage being his executors, were too young to know the value of these writings, which was probably the cause of their being lost. Eight folios and three quartos now remain, said to have been originally res cued from a tobacconist's shop, but which fortunately came at last into the Library of the Faculty of Advocates, who, in 1759, published from them the two printed folio volumes entitled, Decisions of the Court of Session from June 6, 1678, to July 30, 1712, containing also the Transactions of the Privy Council, of the Criminal Court, and Court of Ex chequer, and interspersed with many Historical Facts, and other curious 4necdotes. There still remains much unpub lished matter, of a historical scattered through these MSS. which, it is hoped, may, at some period he arranged and submitted to the press. as they display considerable ob servation, and afford much information regarding the poli tical characters and transactions, as well as the manners of these interesting times.