Sir Thomas Miller, 1st Baronet

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 soci ...

(3 November 1717 – 27 September 1789), known as Lord Barskimming (1766–88) and Lord Glenlee (from 1788) during his judicial service, was a Scottish

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

, judge, politician and landowner. He was a founder member 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 ...

in 1783, and served as the society's first vice-president, 1783 to 1786.

Early life

He was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

on 3 November 1717 the second son of Janet Hamilton and her husband, William Miller of Glenlee WS,

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 county ...

, and of Barskimming in Ayrshire. He studied law at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

(1730) and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

(1738).

Career

He was admitted to the

Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a constitu ...

in 1742, appointed sheriff-depute of Kirkcudbright in 1748 and elected joint town-clerk of the city of Glasgow. In 1755 he resigned the office of sheriff-depute to become solicitor of the

Excise file:Lincoln Beer Stamp 1871.JPG, upright=1.2, 1871 U.S. Revenue stamp for 1/6 barrel of beer. Brewers would receive the stamp sheets, cut them into individual stamps, cancel them, and paste them over the Bunghole, bung of the beer barrel so when ...

in Scotland. He was appointed

Solicitor General for Scotland , body = , insignia = Crest of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg , insigniasize = 110px , image = File:Official Portrait of Ruth Charteris QC.png , incumbent = Ruth Charteris KC , incumbentsince = 22 June 2021 , department = Crown Office and ...

in 1759, and promoted to

Lord Advocate , body = , insignia = Crest of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg , insigniasize = 110px , image = File:Official Portrait of Dorothy Bain QC.png , incumbent = Dorothy Bain KC , incumbentsince = 22 June 2021 , appointer = Monarch on the advice ...

in 1760. From 1762 until 1764 he also held the title of Rector of the University of Glasgow. He was

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 Dumfries Burghs from 1761 to 1766, and

Rector of the University of Glasgow The (Lord) Rector of the University of Glasgow is one of the most senior posts within University of Glasgow, the institution, elected every three years by students. The theoretical role of the rector is to represent students to the senior manage ...

from 1763. He was raised to the bench and appointed

Lord Justice Clerk The Lord Justice Clerk is the second most senior judge in Scotland, after the Lord President of the Court of Session. Originally ''clericus justiciarie'' or Clerk to the Court of Justiciary, the counterpart in the criminal courts of the Lord ...

in 1766, taking the judicial title Lord Barskimming. In 1788, he became

Lord President of the Court of Session The Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General is the most senior judge in Scotland, the head of the judiciary, and the presiding judge of the College of Justice, the Court of Session, and the High Court of Justiciary. The L ...

and was created Lord Glenlee, Baronet of Glenlee, in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright. His Edinburgh address in 1775 was Browns Square. Around 1780 he bought the Dean estate, of Nisbet family fame, and lived at Dean House (later replaced by

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and on ...

). He died at Barskimming, Ayrshire, on 27 September 1789 and was interred in the family vault at

Stair Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical direction, vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps w ...

, Ayrshire.

Family

In 1752 he married Margaret Murdoch daughter of

John Murdoch of Rosebank John Murdoch of Rosebank (1709–1776) was an 18th-century Scottish tobacco lord who served as Lord Provost of Glasgow three times: 1746–1748, 1750–1752 and 1758–1760, with his brother-in-law Andrew Cochrane serving in the in ...

Lord Provost of Glasgow The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Glasgow is the convener of the Glasgow City Council. Elected by the city councillors, the Lord Provost serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city. The office is equiv ...

, and together they had one son Sir William Miller, Lord Glenlee (1755-1846). He married again in 1768 to Anne Lockhart. He was brother to

Patrick Miller of Dalswinton Patrick Miller of Dalswinton, just north of Dumfries (1731–1815) was a Scottish banker, shareholder in the Carron Company engineering works and inventor. Miller is buried in a tomb against the southern wall of Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinbur ...

References

1717 births 1789 deaths 18th-century Scottish judges 18th-century Scottish businesspeople Lawyers from Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Glasgow Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Rectors of the University of Glasgow Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain Lord Advocates Lords President of the Court of Session Members of the Faculty of Advocates Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies British MPs 1761–1768 Politics of Dumfries and Galloway Scottish sheriffs Solicitors General for Scotland Glenlee Scottish landowners Lords Justice Clerk Founder Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Politicians from Edinburgh {{Scotland-GreatBritain-MP-stub