Alexander Boswell, Lord Auchinleck, 8th Laird of Auchinleck (1706–1782) was a judge of the

supreme court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

s of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. He was the father of the author and biographer

James Boswell James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 (New Style, N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of his friend and older contemporary the Englis ...

, and grandfather of songwriter Sir Alexander Boswell. Alexander Boswell was the eldest son of James Boswell (ca. 1672–1749), 7th Laird of Auchinleck. He attended 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 ...

, read Civil Law 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 ...

and 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 1727.

He was appointed

Sheriff of Wigtown The Sheriff of Wigtown was historically the office responsible for enforcing law and order in Wigtown, Scotland and bringing criminals to justice. Prior to 1748 most sheriffdoms were held on a hereditary basis. From that date, following the Jacobit ...

in 1748 but resigned the position in 1750 after inheriting the Auchinleck estate in Ayrshire on the death of his father. There he built the present Adam-style Auchinleck House. In 1754 he built a new aisle in Auchinleck church for Rev John Dun who was also the family tutor.Fasti Ecclesiastae Scoticana vol.3 by Hew Scott Alexander was nominated to the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland and constitutes part of the College of Justice; the supreme criminal court of Scotland is the High Court of Justiciary. The Court of Session sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh ...

in 1754, receiving the additional appointment to the High Court of Justiciary in the following year. As a judge he took the courtesy title ''Lord Auchinleck'' from the name of his estate, of which he was the 8th Laird. He is noted for rescuing the

Auchinleck manuscript The Auchinleck Manuscript, NLS Adv. MS 19.2.1, is an illuminated manuscript copied on parchment in the 14th century in London. The manuscript provides a glimpse of a time of political tension and social change in England. The English were contin ...

in 1740 from a professor of the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

who was in the process of destroying it. He donated the manuscript to the

Advocates' Library The Advocates Library, founded in 1682, is the law library of the Faculty of Advocates, in Edinburgh. It served as the national deposit library of Scotland until 1925, at which time through an Act of Parliament the National Library of Scotland ...

in Edinburgh. He is known for frequently arguing with his son, James Boswell, upon matters such as Boswell's career choice, life style, his publishing methods and routes of travel, his friends and even his choice of wife.

Family

He married Euphemia Erskine (1718–1766) in 1738; their children included James, John (1743–1798) and (Thomas) David (1748–1826). John joined the Army but was obliged to resign on the grounds of insanity. Thomas David was a merchant trading with Spain before becoming head of the Prize Department of the Navy. After Euphemia's death in 1766 he married his cousin Elizabeth Boswell on the same day as his son James' marriage in 1769.

References

* 1706 births 1782 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 18th-century Scottish judges Scottish sheriffs Clan Boswell

Auchinleck Auchinleck ( ; sco, Affleck ;
gd, Achadh nan Leac

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