Sir Robert Abercromby, 5th Baronet of Birkenbog and Forglen,
FRSE KGCB DL (4 February 1784 – 6 July 1855) was a
Scottish politician.
Life
He was the son of Sir George Abercromby, 4th Baronet, and Jane Ogilvie, the daughter of
Alexander Ogilvie, 7th Lord Banff. He succeeded to the titles on the death of his father in 1831.
[Reitwiesner] Among the properties he inherited were the main
family seat
A family seat or sometimes just called seat is the principal residence of the landed gentry and aristocracy. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families ...
, which was
Forglen House
Forglen House is a mansion house that forms the centrepiece of the Forglen estate in the parish of Forglen, north-west of Turriff, Aberdeenshire, in the north-east of Scotland. The lands were given to the abbots of the Abbey of Arbroath by Kin ...
in
Turriff
Turriff () is a town and civil parish in Aberdeenshire in Scotland. It lies on the River Deveron, about above sea level, and has a population of 5,708. In everyday speech it is often referred to by its Scots name ''Turra'', which is derived f ...
,
Aberdeenshire.
From 1812 to 1818 he was the
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 o ...
for
Banffshire.
During the first quarter of the 19th century, Abercromby purchased most of the town and lands of
Fermoy
Fermoy () is a town on the River Blackwater in east County Cork, Ireland. As of the 2016 census, the town and environs had a population of approximately 6,500 people. It is located in the barony of Condons and Clangibbon, and is in the Dá ...
in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
from fellow Scotsman
John Anderson. His grandson,
Sir Robert John Abercromby, 7th Baronet
Robert John Abercromby (14 June 1850 – 24 July 1895) was the seventh Scottish Abercromby baronet. He held the estates of Birkenbog and Forglen, as well as land in Ireland. He served as Vice-Lord-Lieutenant of Banffshire, and Justice of the Pea ...
is recorded as the owner of 434 acres of land in
County Cork
County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...
during the 1870s.
In 1822 he was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh his proposer being
David Brewster.
In 1839 he commissioned
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
architect
John Smith to totally remodel Forglen House.
His town residence was at 18 Coates Crescent 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 ...
's West End.
[Edinburgh Post Office directory 1845]
He died at Forglen on 6 July 1855.
Family
On 22 October 1816 he married Elizabeth Stephenson Douglas (1795-1863), only daughter of Samuel Douglas of Netherlaw,
Kirkcudbrightshire
Kirkcudbrightshire ( ), or the County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an administrative count ...
. They had 15 children of which the first 7 were daughters. The eighth child, George Samuel Abercromby (22 May 1824 – 14 November 1872) became 6th baronet on his father's death.
In 1839, a daughter, Georgina Charlotte, died aged only 16 (she is buried in
St Johns churchyard 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 ...
).
In 1852, a daughter, Roberta Henrietta Abercromby, married
Sir Edwin Hare Dashwood, 7th Baronet.
In 1862, a daughter, Frances Emily Abercromby, married
William Forbes-Sempill, 17th Lord Sempill
William Forbes-Sempill, 17th Lord Sempill (20 May 1836 – 21 July 1905), born William Forbes, was a Scottish peer, the 17th Lord Sempill and 8th Baronet of Craigievar.
He was the son of Sir John Forbes, 7th Baronet, and succeeded his father t ...
.
Artistic Recognition
He was portrayed by Sir
Henry Raeburn
Sir Henry Raeburn (; 4 March 1756 – 8 July 1823) was a Scottish portrait painter. He served as Portrait Painter to King George IV in Scotland.
Biography
Raeburn was born the son of a manufacturer in Stockbridge, on the Water of Leith: a f ...
.
See also
*
Abercromby baronets
The Abercromby Baronetcy, of Birkenbog in the County of Banff, was a title in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia. It was created on 20 February 1636 for Alexander Abercromby, who subsequently represented Banffshire in the Scottish Parliament. His ...
References
Citations
Bibliography
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External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abercromby, Robert
1784 births
1855 deaths
Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies
UK MPs 1812–1818
Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Robert
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...