James Oswald (1715 – 24 March 1769) was a Scottish politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

from 1741 to 1768. Oswald was the grandson of James Oswald a politician of

Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; sco, Kirkcaldy; gd, Cair Chaladain) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, ...

, and son of James Oswald whom he succeeded in c.1725, inheriting his Kirkcaldy home, Dunnikier, now known as the Path House. His brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

was

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and another brother

Thomas 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 Ap ...

was an army officer.Dictionary Of National Biography, ed. Sidney Lee, Vol. LIII (Smith - Stanger), publ. Smith, Elder, & Co., 15 Waterloo Place, London, 1898; p. 3 (Adam Smith)http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/ entry for: births/baptisms, Old Parish Registers, Surname: Oswald, 1700-1730, Parent name 1: James, Parent name 2: Anne, County: FIFE He was admitted at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in 1733. The Oswald family became the dominant force in Kirkcaldy politics in the 18th century and Dysart, the second largest burgh was controlled by the St. Clair interest. The combined Oswald and St. Clair influence often decided who was to be elected. Oswald was elected

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 Dysart Burghs in 1741 and was a Commissioner of the Navy in 1745. In 1747 he exchanged the seat with

James St Clair General The Hon. James St Clair (1688 – 30 November 1762) was a Scottish soldier and Whig politician. Background St Clair was the second son of Henry St Clair, 10th Lord Sinclair and his wife Grizel Cockburn, daughter of Sir James Cockbur ...

and was elected MP for

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

until 1754. In 1752 he was Commissioner for trade and plantations. Oswald exchanged seats with

again in 1754 and was elected MP for Dysart Burghs. He was

Lord Commissioner of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the ...

in 1760 and

Vice-Treasurer of Ireland The Lord High Treasurer of Ireland was the head of the Exchequer of Ireland, chief financial officer of the Kingdom of Ireland. The designation ''High'' was added in 1695. After the Acts of Union 1800 created the United Kingdom of Great Britain a ...

from 1763 to 1767. He retired in 1768 when his son

James Townsend Oswald James Townsend Oswald (23 February 1748 – 3 January 1814) was a Scottish politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1768 and 1779. Oswald was the son of James Oswald, a politician of Kirkcaldy. The Oswald family became the dominant ...

took over the seat and died in 1769 at the age of 52. In 1747 he had married Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph Townsend, a London brewer and the widow of Abraham Reynardson. They had 1 son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oswald, James (younger) 1715 births 1769 deaths People from Kirkcaldy Members of Lincoln's Inn Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768