James Drummond, 1st Baron Perth (12 February 1744 – 2 July 1800), was a Scottish soldier, landowner and peer.

Early life

Drummond was born on 12 February 1744 at Lundin, Fife, as James Lundin.Sir

James Balfour Paul Sir James Balfour Paul (16 November 1846 – 15 September 1931) was the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the officer responsible for heraldry in Scotland, from 1890 until the end of 1926. Life Paul was born in Edinburgh, the second son of the Rev J ...

, ''The Scots Peerage''
vol. VII
Edinburgh 1910, pp. 57–59. He was the son of James Lundin (1707–1781) and the former Lady Rachel Bruce (d. 1769), a daughter of

Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Kincardine Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

. His elder sister, Veronica Drummond, married Duncan Campbell of Kames, and his elder brother was Thomas Drummond, Lord Drummond. The Lundins descended from Thomas de Lundin, a natural son of King

William the Lion William the Lion, sometimes styled William I and also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough"''Uilleam Garbh''; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Scots from 11 ...

. James' paternal grandparents were Robert Lundin (1675–1716) and Anne Inglis (a daughter of Sir James Inglis of Cramond). His grandfather Robert was a younger son of

John Drummond, 1st Earl of Melfort John Drummond, 1st Earl of Melfort, styled Duke of Melfort in the Jacobite peerage (8 August 1650 - 25 January 1715), was a Scottish politician and close advisor to James II. A Catholic convert, Melfort and his brother the Earl of Perth consis ...

(younger son of the 3rd Earl of Perth), by his first wife, Sophia Maitland. Sophia, his great-grandmother, had inherited Lundin from her brother John Lundin of Lundin, both children of Margaret (née Lundin) Maitland and Robert Maitland (a younger son of

John Maitland, 1st Earl of Lauderdale John Maitland, 1st Earl of Lauderdale, Viscount of Lauderdale, Viscount Maitland, and Lord Thirlestane and Boltoun, (died January 1645) was President of the Parliament of Scotland as well as the Privy Council, a lawyer and a judge, who sided with ...

). Sophia's mother Margaret had inherited the Lundin estates upon the death of her father, John Lundin of Lundin, in 1684.

Career

The younger James Lundin, now also known as Drummond, joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in 1771. On 2 September 1780 he was promoted to

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the 2nd Battalion

42nd Highlanders The 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot was a Scottish infantry regiment in the British Army also known as the Black Watch. Originally titled Crawford's Highlanders or the Highland Regiment and numbered 43rd in the line, in 1748, on the disband ...

, and served with the Battalion in India.

Claim to the earldom of Perth

On 6 February 1760, following the death of

Edward Drummond Edward Drummond (30 March 1792 – 25 January 1843) was a British civil servant, and was Personal Secretary to several British Prime Ministers. He was fatally shot by Daniel McNaughton, whose subsequent trial gave rise to the McNaughton rules, t ...

, sixth Jacobite-jurisdiction Duke of Perth, James' father became heir to the earldom of Perth, which had been forfeit since 1716 owing to the attainder of

James Drummond, 2nd Duke of Perth James Drummond, 2nd Duke of Perth, etc., (c. 167417 April 1720) was a Scottish nobleman. He held the Peerage created for his father, James Drummond, 4th Earl of Perth, by the exiled Stuart monarchs at St Germain. Life The eldest son and heir of ...

(the first Earl of Melfort was the younger son of

James Drummond, 3rd Earl of Perth James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

). His father, therefore, assumed the surname of Drummond and styled himself 10th Earl of Perth, and in 1776, following the death of Jean Drummond, Duchess of Perth, in 1773, he took up residence at the Drummond estate of

Stobhall Stobhall (or Stobhall Castle) is a country house and estate in Perthshire in Scotland, from Perth, Scotland, Perth. The 17th-century dower house and several other buildings are Category A-listed with Historic Environment Scotland. The lands at ...

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

. Upon his father's death on 18 July 1781, James succeeded to his father's claim to the earldom of Perth (his elder brother Thomas, who moved to America, had died the previous November), but did not use the title. In 1784, an Act was passed allowing the Crown to grant to the heirs-male the estates that had been forfeited in 1745, and on 8 March 1785 the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland and constitutes part of the College of Justice; the supreme criminal court of Scotland is the High Court of Justiciary. The Court of Session sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh ...

declared that he was the person entitled to the Drummond estates (including

Drummond Castle Drummond Castle is located in Perthshire, Scotland. The castle is known for its gardens, described by Historic Environment Scotland as "the best example of formal terraced gardens in Scotland." It is situated in Muthill parish, south of Crieff. ...

), which he was duly granted. He submitted a claim to be Earl of Perth in 1792, but withdrew it in 1796, and on 26 October 1797 was created a Peer of Great Britain as Lord Perth, Baron Drummond of Stobhall in the County of Perth.

Personal life

On 31 March 1785, Drummond was married to the Hon. Clementina Elphinstone (1749–1822) in Edinburgh. Clementina was a daughter of

Charles Elphinstone, 10th Lord Elphinstone Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

, and Lady Clementina Fleming (daughter of John Fleming, 6th Earl of Wigton). Together, they were the parents of three children: * James Drummond (1791–1799), who died in childhood. * Clementina Sarah Drummond (1786–1865), who married Peter Robert Burrell on 20 October 1807; they adopted the surname of Drummond in addition to that of Burrell by Royal Licence on 6 November that year. He succeeded his father as

Baron Gwydyr Baron Gwydyr, of Gwydyr in the County of Carnarvon, was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created on 16 June 1796 for Sir Peter Burrell, 2nd Baronet, who had earlier represented Boston and Haslemere in the House of Commons. The Bu ...

in 1820 and

his mother ''His Mother'' is a 1912 American silent film produced by Kalem Company. It was directed by Sidney Olcott with Gene Gauntier and Jack J. Clark in the leading roles. It was one of more than a dozen films produced by the Kalem Company filmed in Ir ...

Baron Willoughby de Eresby Baron Willoughby de Eresby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1313 for Robert de Willoughby. Since 1983, the title has been held by Jane Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 28th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby. History The ...

in 1828. As the Hon. Mrs Drummond Burrell she was one of the Lady Patronesses of

Almack's Almack's was the name of a number of establishments and social clubs in London between the 18th and 20th centuries. Two of the social clubs would go on to fame as Brooks's and Boodle's. Almack's most famous establishment was based in assembly roo ...

in 1814 as described in Captain Gronow's memoirs. * Jemima Rachel Drummond (1787–1788), who died in infancy. Lord Perth died at

Innerpeffray Innerpeffray is a hamlet in Perthshire, Scotland, southeast of Crieff. It is located on a raised promontory among beech woodland above the River Earn. A fording point across the river can still be used, on what is the line of a Roman Road. The ...

on 2 July 1800, at which point the barony of 1797 became extinct.

Legacy

After Lord Perth's death, the claim to the earldom of Perth was inherited by the line of the titular Dukes of Melfort, for whom it was restored on 28 June 1853, before being inherited by the Viscounts Strathallan on 28 February 1902. Lundin had been sold to Sir William Erskine of Torry before his death, and was later inherited by

James Erskine Wemyss James Erskine Wemyss (9 July 1789 – 3 April 1854) was a Scottish MP and Rear-Admiral. He was the son of William Wemyss by his wife Frances, daughter of Sir William Erskine, 1st Baronet. In 1820 he succeeded his father as Member of Parliament for ...

(Lundin House was demolished in 1876, but its tower remains today). The Drummond estates were inherited under a settlement of 9 June 1800 by his daughter Clementina and her heirs. In 1953, Stobhall was passed by her descendant

James Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 3rd Earl of Ancaster Gilbert James Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 3rd Earl of Ancaster, (8 December 1907 – 29 March 1983) styled Lord Willoughby de Eresby from 1910 to 1951, was a British Conservative politician. Early life Gilbert James Heathcote-Drummond-Willo ...

, to the heir-male

John Drummond, 8th Earl of Perth John David Drummond, 8th Earl of Perth, (13 May 1907 – 25 November 2002), styled Viscount Strathallan from 1937 to 1951, was a Scottish peer, banker and politician. Because of the complicated history of the earldom of Perth (attainder 1715 ...

(1907–2002), while Drummond Castle remains a seat of

Jane Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 28th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby Nancy Jane Marie Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 28th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby ( ; born 1 December 1934) is an English peer and member of the Astor family. She is a holder of the office of Lord Great Chamberlain, which is exercised by the ...

(b. 1934).

In literature

Drummond provided the inspiration for the character Captain James Drummond in

James Hogg James Hogg (1770 – 21 November 1835) was a Scottish poet, novelist and essayist who wrote in both Scots and English. As a young man he worked as a shepherd and farmhand, and was largely self-educated through reading. He was a friend of many ...

's ''A Tale of an Old Highlander'' first published in the '' Metropolitan'' in February 1832.Hunter, Adrian (ed.) (2020), ''James Hogg: Contributions to English, Irish and American Periodicals'',

Edinburgh University Press Edinburgh University Press is a scholarly publisher of academic books and journals, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. History Edinburgh University Press was founded in the 1940s and became a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Edinburgh ...

, pp. 80–89, 228–230, .

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perth, James, 1st Baron 1744 births 1800 deaths People from Fife Barons in the Peerage of Great Britain Peers of Great Britain created by George III Dukes of Perth Earls of Perth