Lord Colonsay Vanity Fair 13 September 1873

The grave of Duncan McNeill, Warriston Cemetery, Edinburgh

Duncan McNeill, 1st Baron Colonsay

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

(20 August 1793 – 31 January 1874) was a Scottish

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

, judge and

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

politician. He was

Lord Justice General 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 ...

and

Lord President of the Court of Session The Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General is the most senior judge in Scotland, the head of the judiciary, and the presiding judge of the College of Justice, the Court of Session, and the High Court of Justiciary. The L ...

between 1852 and 1867. His younger brother was the physician and diplomat Sir John McNeill.

Background and education

McNeill was born on the island of

Oronsay This is a list of islands called Oronsay (Scottish Gaelic: '), which provides an index for islands in Scotland with this and similar names. It is one of the more common names for Scottish islands. The names come from ''Örfirisey'' which transla ...

in the

Inner Hebrides The Inner Hebrides (; Scottish Gaelic: ''Na h-Eileanan a-staigh'', "the inner isles") is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, whic ...

, the son of John McNeill (1767–1846), laird of

Colonsay Colonsay (; gd, Colbhasa; sco, Colonsay) is an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, located north of Islay and south of Mull. The ancestral home of Clan Macfie and the Colonsay branch of Clan MacNeil, it is in the council area of Argyll ...

and Oronsay, and his wife Hester (née McNeill). Educated at

St Andrew's University (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

where he graduated MA in 1809.. He served his apprenticeship in Edinburgh under Michael Linning WS, based at 6 St James Square. He became a member of the

Faculty of Advocates 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 constitu ...

in 1816. He was the presumptive father of philosopher

Edmund Montgomery Edmund Duncan Montgomery (March 19, 1835 – April 17, 1911) was a Scottish-American philosopher, scientist and physician. He was the husband of German-American sculptor Elisabet Ney. Early life Montgomery was born on the 19th of March, 1835, i ...

Political, legal and judicial career

He was Advocate Depute in Edinburgh 1820 to 1824. MacNeill was appointed

Sheriff of Perth The Sheriff of Perth was historically a royal official, appointed for life, who was responsible for enforcing justice in Perth, Scotland. Prior to 1748 most sheriffdoms were held on a hereditary basis. From that date, following the Jacobite upri ...

shire in 1824. He served under

Sir Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

Solicitor General for Scotland , body = , insignia = Crest of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg , insigniasize = 110px , image = File:Official Portrait of Ruth Charteris QC.png , incumbent = Ruth Charteris KC , incumbentsince = 22 June 2021 , department = Crown Office and ...

from 1834 to 1835 and again from 1841 to 1842 and as

Lord Advocate , body = , insignia = Crest of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg , insigniasize = 110px , image = File:Official Portrait of Dorothy Bain QC.png , incumbent = Dorothy Bain KC , incumbentsince = 22 June 2021 , appointer = Monarch on the advice ...

from 1842 to 1846. From 1843 to 1851 he sat as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Argyllshire Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

. In 1851 he was appointed a

Senator of the College of Justice The senators of the College of Justice are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court of Session); ...

and an Ordinary

Lord of Session The senators of the College of Justice are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court of Session) ...

as Lord Colonsay and Oronsay. He was

and

from 1852 to 1867, and was raised to the peerage as Baron Colonsay, of Colonsay and Oronsay in the County of Argyll, on 26 February 1867.

Personal life

In 1829 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

his proposer being John Shank More. In later life

Edinburgh University 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 1582 ...

awarded him an honorary doctorate (LLD). McNeill was unmarried, but lived in a very large Georgian townhouse: 73 Great King Street in Edinburgh's Second New Town. He was a member of the Highland Society of Edinburgh (1833). Lord Colonsay died at Pau,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, on 31 January 1874, aged 80, when the title became extinct. He was interred at

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 ...

in Edinburgh, south of the upper east–west path towards the East Gate. His bronze coat of arms has been stolen from the monument.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Colonsay, Duncan Macneill, 1st Baron 1793 births 1874 deaths People from Oronsay Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of St Andrews Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Scottish sheriffs Solicitors General for Scotland Lord Advocates

Members of the Faculty of Advocates Duncan Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies Scottish Tory MPs (pre-1912) UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs who were granted peerages Lords President of the Court of Session Lords Justice-General Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Burials at Warriston Cemetery 19th-century Scottish medical doctors Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria