Sir Robert Laurie, 5th Baronet (c. 1738 – 1804) was a Scottish soldier and 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 1774 to 1804. Laurie was the only son of

Sir Robert Laurie, 4th Baronet Sir Robert Laurie 4th Baronet (1708–1779) of Maxwelton, Dumfries was a Scottish politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1738 to 1741 Laurie was the eldest son of Sir Walter Laurie, 3rd Baronet, of Maxwelton, and his first wife Jean Ni ...

and his wife Christian Erskine, daughter of

Charles Erskine, Lord Tinwald Charles Erskine also spelled Areskine (1680 – 5 April 1763), of Tinwald and Barjarg, Dumfries, and Alva, Clackmannan was Lord Advocate, a Scottish judge, and a politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1722 to 1742. Life Erskine ...

. He succeeded his father in the baronetcy on 28 April 1779. He joined the army in 1762 and was captain in the

71st Foot The 71st Regiment of Foot was a Highland regiment in the British Army, raised in 1777. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot to become the 1st Battalion, Highland Light Infantry in 1881. History ...

. In 1765 he was a captain in the

7th Dragoon Guards The 7th (The Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1688 as Lord Cavendish's Regiment of Horse. It was renamed as the 7th (The Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards for Princess Charlotte in 1788. ...

and in 1771 a major. In the 1774 general election he was returned 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

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county. I ...

. Also in 1779 he became lieutenant-colonel in the

16th Light Dragoons The 16th The Queen's Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1759. It saw service for two centuries, before being amalgamated with the 5th Royal Irish Lancers to form the 16th/5th Lancers in 1922. History Early war ...

and joint surveyor general of window and house tax in Scotland. He was re-elected MP for Dumfriesshire in 1780 and 1784. In 1785 he was appointed

Knight Marischal The office of Knight Marischal was first created for the Scottish coronation of Charles I in 1633, at Scone. Unlike the separate office of Marischal, the office of Knight Marischal is not heritable, and has continued to be filled up to the deat ...

of Scotland but lost his position as surveyor general of window and house tax in 1789. He was made full General in 1803. Laurie was extremely irregular in his attendance in Parliament, but retained his seat until his death on 10 September 1804. He had married firstly Elizabeth Maria Ruthven, daughter of James, 5th Lord Ruthven on 18 July 1763, with whom he had a son and a daughter. Having divorced his first wife in 1774, he had married secondly Judith Wollaston, daughter of Captain Hatley and widow of Robert Wollaston of Ipswich, Suffolk on 25 April 1778. He was succeeded by his son Sir Robert Laurie, 6th Baronet.

References

Sources

National Portrait Gallery Sir Robert Laurie, 5th Bt by James Ward
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Laurie, Sir Robert 1804 deaths British Army generals Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 Year of birth uncertain 7th Dragoon Guards officers 16th The Queen's Lancers officers 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars officers 1730s births