David Anderson, Lord St Vigeans (26 October 1862 – 1 June 1948) was a Scottish advocate and judge. He served from 1918 to 1934 as the second Chairman of the

Scottish Land Court The Scottish Land Court is a Scottish court of law based in Edinburgh with subject-matter jurisdiction covering disputes between landlords and tenants relating to agricultural tenancies, and matters related to crofts and crofters. The Scotti ...

Early life

Anderson was born on 26 October 1862. He was the son of Dr

Joseph Anderson Joseph Inslee Anderson (November 5, 1757 – April 17, 1837) was an American soldier, judge, and politician, who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 1797 to 1815, and later as the First Comptroller of the United States Treasur ...

(1832–1916), an antiquarian who later served as keeper of the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland from 1870 to 1913. His mother was Jessie Dempster.Anderson grave, Warriston Cemetery

Career

Anderson was called to the

Scottish bar The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a const ...

in 1891. He was appointed as

Sheriff of Dumfries and Galloway The Sheriff of Dumfries and Galloway, was historically the royal official responsible for enforcing law and order in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Prior to 1748 most sheriffdoms were held on a hereditary basis. From that date, following the J ...

in March 1913, and in June 1913 he became a King's Counsel. In August 1917, he became

Sheriff of Renfrew and Bute Renfrew (; sco, Renfrew; gd, Rinn Friù) is a town west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the Royal Stewarts" for its early link with Scotland's forme ...

. In May 1918 he relinquished the post as sheriff to become Chairman of the

, taking the judicial title of Lord St Vigeans. The title was derived from the ancient village of St Vigeans in Forfarshire, where his father had been educated. He succeeded the deceased

Lord Kennedy Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

, having twice served as temporary Chairman during periods of Kennedy's absence, in July 1914 and December 1915. After 16 years as Chairman, Anderson submitted his resignation from the Land Court in early October 1934, and retired from the bench on 1 November 1934. He was succeeded by Robert Macgregor Mitchell. In June 1935 he was awarded an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

of Law by the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

Personal life

In 1898 Kennedy married Emma Millar Robertson, daughter of James Robertson of Edinburgh. They had one son, James, who was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1922.

Death

Anderson died in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

on 1 June 1948, aged 85. He is buried with his parents amongst the trees in the section north of the vaults in

Warriston Cemetery Warriston Cemetery is a cemetery in Edinburgh. It lies in Warriston, one of the northern suburbs of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was built by the then newly-formed Edinburgh Cemetery Company, and occupies around of land on a slightly sloping si ...

References

1862 births 1948 deaths St Vigeans Members of the Faculty of Advocates Scottish sheriffs Scottish King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel {{Scotland-law-bio-stub