James was the 3rd son of Malcomb Vaitche. He was a Sheriffe in Scotland, and was also the Sheriffe of Putuxcent, St Maries and Potomack, in the colony of Maryland. Ref: Maryland Land Office, old Liber B. folios 332-333.
The direct ancestry of James Veitch can be traced back to James I, King of Scotland, to Edward III, King of England, to Charles II, King of Naples, to the direct lines of five Kings of Hungary, to 2 Grand Princes of Kiev, and to Harold II, King of England. Harold II died in the Battle of Hastings against William the Conqueror, Oct 14, 1066.
James appears on a short list of American colonists of proven royal descent, in an article written by Walter Lee Shephard. His royal lineage was further confirmed in 1981 by the National Genealogical Society Quarterly (vol 62, pp 182-191) and by the President of the Society of Descendants from the Sons & Daughters of the Kings of Britain.
The Lord Lyon of Scotland has authorized a special coat of arms for the Veitch Historical Society of America. It is an adaptation of the arms of the Lairds of Dawyck. James was entitled to bear the Dawyck arms under Scottish heraldic law.