Sir Robert Anstruther, 1st Baronet (1658 – March 1737), of Wrae, Linlithgow, and

Balcaskie Balcaskie is a 17th-century country house in Fife, Scotland. It lies around 2 km north of St Monans, and is notable chiefly as the home and early work of architect Sir William Bruce. Robert Lorimer, an admirer of Bruce, called the house ...

, Fife, was a Scottish politician who sat in the

Parliament of Scotland The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...

between 1681 and 1707 and in the British House of Commons from 1709 to 1710.

Early life

Anstruther was baptized on 24 September 1658, the third son of Sir Philip Anstruther of Anstruther, Fife, a member of the Scottish Parliament, and his wife Christian Lumsden, daughter of Sir James Lumsden of Innergellie, Fife.

Career

Anstruther had an early spell in the

as a Burgh Commissioner for

Anstruther Easter Anstruther ( sco, Ainster or Enster ; gd, Ànsruthair) is a small coastal resort town in Fife, Scotland, situated on the north-shore of the Firth of Forth and south-southeast of St Andrews. The town comprises two settlements, Anstruther Eas ...

from 1681 to 1682. He married Sophia Kinnear, the daughter and coheiress of David Kinnear, and adopted the additional name of Kinnear on the death of his father-in law in 1684. Sophia died in 1686 and he married as his second wife Jean Monteith, the daughter and heiress of William Monteith of Wrae, on 12 March 1687. From 1689 to 1690, unlike his brother, he served the regime of King William on various local commissions. He was caught up in a double returned for Anstruther Easter, and the result was decided against him. He was given a place as one of the general receivers of supply in 1691. He was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

of Wrae, Linlithgowshire and Balcaskie, Fife and Braemore, Caithness on 28 November 1694. In 1696 he was appointed joint farmer of excise, and in 1697 was appointed clerk and keeper of cocquet seal, Firth of Forth west of Queensferry. He lost at least £500 in the

Darien scheme The Darien scheme was an unsuccessful attempt, backed largely by investors of the Kingdom of Scotland, to gain wealth and influence by establishing ''New Caledonia'', a colony on the Isthmus of Panama, in the late 1690s. The plan was for the co ...

and lost money in the farm of the Scottish excise, but had married two heiresses. He was able to purchase in 1698 an estate at

, on the Fife coast where he went on to build a house. He also served as a commissioner to the convention of royal burghs for the neighbouring burgh of Anstruther Easter. He married as his third wife, his cousin Marian Preston, the daughter of Sir William Preston, 2nd Baronet of Valleyfield, Fife. In 1702 Anstruther became Burgh Commissioner for

Anstruther Wester Anstruther ( sco, Ainster or Enster ; gd, Ànsruthair) is a small coastal resort town in Fife, Scotland, situated on the north-shore of the Firth of Forth and south-southeast of St Andrews. The town comprises two settlements, Anstruther Eas ...

. He opposed the Union and took part in the protests in 1705 against the treaty act. In Parliament he was frequently absent in the divisions on the Union and five of his only six votes were on the opposition side. He probably acted according to the influence of the Court Tory Lord Leven. He lost his seat and his government posts in 1707. After the union of Scotland with England, Anstruther was returned to the new Parliament of Great Britain 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 o ...

for Fife at a by-election on 24 March 1709. There was little time for him to make any impression and he did not stand at the 1710 British general election.

Death and legacy

Anstruther died in March 1737. He had had five sons and two daughters by his second wife and one son and two daughters by his third wife. One of his sons was killed at the Battle of Preston in 1715 and another rose to the rank of general in the service of the Hanoverians. He was succeeded by his eldest son Philip Anstruther.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anstruther, Robert, 1st Baronet 1658 births 1737 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1681–1682 Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1702–1707 British MPs 1708–1710 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies Robert, 1st Baronet of Wrae