Sylvester Douglas, 1st Baron Glenbervie, PC, KC, FRS,

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This so ...

, FSA (24 May 1743 – 2 May 1823) was a British lawyer, politician and diarist. He was Chief Secretary for Ireland between 1793 and 1794.

Background, education and legal career

He was the son of John Douglas, descended from James Douglas, minister of

Glenbervie Glenbervie (Scottish Gaelic: ''Gleann Biorbhaidh'', Scots: ''Bervie'') is located in the north east of Scotland in the Howe o' the Mearns, one mile from the village of Drumlithie and eight miles south of Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire. The river B ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially different boundaries. The Aberdeenshire Council area incl ...

, son of Sir Archibald Douglas and half-brother of William Douglas, 9th Earl of Angus. His mother was Margaret Gordon, daughter and co-heir of James Gordon, of Fechel. His sister Katherine married James Mercer, army officer and poet. Douglas was educated at the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

, graduating MA in 1765 and then studied both Law and Medicine at the

University of Leyden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...

. He was admitted to Lincoln's Inn in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1771, was called to the Bar in 1776, and became

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1793.

Political career

The same year he was appointed a King's Counsel Douglas gave up his legal career on his appointment as Chief Secretary for Ireland under

William Pitt the Younger William Pitt the Younger (28 May 175923 January 1806) was a British statesman, the youngest and last prime minister of Great Britain (before the Acts of Union 1800) and then first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister of the Un ...

. In 1794 he was admitted to both the Irish and English Privy Council and returned to the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fr ...

for St Canice, a seat he held until 1796. In 1795 he was elected to the British House of Commons for

Fowey Fowey ( ; kw, Fowydh, meaning 'Beech Trees') is a port town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town has been in existence since well before the Norman invasion, with the local ch ...

. He later represented

Midhurst Midhurst () is a market town, parish and civil parish in West Sussex, England. It lies on the River Rother inland from the English Channel, and north of the county town of Chichester. The name Midhurst was first recorded in 1186 as ''Middeh ...

between 1796 and 1800, Plympton Erle between 1801 and 1802 and

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west a ...

between 1802 and 1806. He was asked to accompany

Earl Macartney Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form '' jarl'', and meant " chieftain", partic ...

to the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is ...

in 1796 and, after 18 months there, to succeed him as governor. His wife did not like the idea and he declined the offer, even though an Irish peerage had also been offered. In 1797 Douglas was made a

Lord 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 th ...

by Pitt, In 1800 Douglas was asked for a second time to go to the Cape as governor. He finally agreed in October 1800, again for an

Irish peerage The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divi ...

and was so appointed Governor of the Cape of Good Hope, Douglas changed his mind again and accepted a post as Joint Paymaster of HM Forces, subsequently receiving £2731. 10s. in salary, paid from the Cape Treasury, even though he never went there. At the end of the year on 29 November 1800 he was created Baron Glenbervie, of Kincardine, in Scotland. After serving as joint

Paymaster of the Forces The Paymaster of the Forces was a position in the British government. The office was established in 1661, one year after the Restoration of the Monarchy to King Charles II, and was responsible for part of the financing of the British Army, in ...

between 1801 and 1803 and

Vice-President of the Board of Trade The office of Vice-President of the Board of Trade is a junior ministerial position in the government of the United Kingdom at the Board of Trade. The office was created in 1786 but fell into abeyance in 1867. From 1848 onwards, the office was he ...

between 1801 and 1804, he was

Surveyor General of Woods, Forests, Parks, and Chases The post of Surveyor General of Woods, Forests, Parks and Chases was an office under the English (later the United Kingdom) Crown, charged with the management of Crown lands. The office was at one time divided between surveyors south and north of ...

between 1803 and 1806 and 1807 and 1810. On the office of the Surveyor General of the Land Revenues of the Crown being combined with the former in 1810, became the First Commissioner of Woods and Forests, the head of the new department. He held the office until 1814. Lord Glenbervie was also Rector of King's College, Aberdeen between 1805 and 1814.

Personal life

In 1789 Lord Glenbervie married Lady Catherine Anne, eldest daughter of

Frederick North, Lord North Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (13 April 17325 August 1792), better known by his courtesy title Lord North, which he used from 1752 to 1790, was 12th Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Great Britain through most o ...

.thepeerage.com Sylvester Douglas, 1st and last Baron Glenbervie
/ref> Their only son Frederick Douglas sat as Member of Parliament for

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...

between 1812 and his early death in 1819. Lady Glenbervie died in February 1817, aged 56. Glenbervie survived her by six years and died in May 1823, aged 79. As he had no surviving male issue the barony became extinct on his death. In 1795 he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematic ...

of London and in 1806 elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

, when his proposers were Allan Maconochie, Lord Meadowbank, Gilbert Innes and

John Playfair John Playfair FRSE, FRS (10 March 1748 – 20 July 1819) was a Church of Scotland minister, remembered as a scientist and mathematician, and a professor of natural philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. He is best known for his book ''Illu ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Glenbervie, Sylvester Douglas, 1st Baron 1743 births 1823 deaths Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Members of Lincoln's Inn British diarists Douglas, Sylvester Douglas, Sylvester Douglas, Sylvester Douglas, Sylvester Douglas, Sylvester Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Barons in the Peerage of Ireland Peers of Ireland created by George III Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Plympton Erle UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs who were granted peerages Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Chief Secretaries for Ireland Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Kilkenny constituencies