Sir David Wedderburn, 1st Baronet (10 March 1775 – 7 April 1858) was a Scottish businessman and

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

politician. He was

Postmaster General for Scotland The Postmaster General for Scotland, based in Edinburgh, was responsible for the postal service in the Kingdom of Scotland from approximately 1616 until the Act of Union unified Scotland and England in 1707, creating a new state called the Kin ...

1823-31 and a member of two London militias before that.

Family background

Wedderburn was the oldest surviving son of John Wedderburn (1729–1803, styled 6th Baronet) of Ballindean and his first wife Margaret Ogilvy, daughter of David Ogilvy (styled Lord Ogilvy). Both his father's and his mother's family had been attainted after the

Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took ...

, losing their titles, but his father continued to style himself as a baronet. His father had escaped to Jamaica after the execution of his own father,

Sir John Wedderburn, 5th Baronet of Blackness Sir John Wedderburn, 5th Baronet of Blackness, was a Perthshire gentleman who joined the 1745 rebellion of Charles Edward Stuart. He was captured at the Battle of Culloden, taken to London, and convicted of treason. He was hanged, his estates ...

, and had established a successful business based on slave sugar, trading with his brother and cousins in their London

trading house A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareholders are ...

Wedderburn, Webster & Co. His mother died two weeks after his birth. When he was five years old, his father re-married, giving him as stepmother Alice Dundas,Wedderburn biographical details at www.stanford.edu
Retrieved June 2012 who was related to

Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, PC, FRSE (28 April 1742 – 28 May 1811), styled as Lord Melville from 1802, was the trusted lieutenant of British Prime Minister William Pitt and the most powerful politician in Scotland in the late 18t ...

, the Tory politician. David Wedderburn had two full sisters, Margaret and Jean, and according to the Legacies of British Slave-ownership project, seven half-siblings. The eldest, James, died young.Legacy of British Slave-owners
John Wedderburn of Balindean (1729 - 13th Jun 1803)

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

(1789–1862) succeeded David as the second baronet. (Genealogist Joseph Foster writes that the second baronet's children included

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

(1835-1882) and

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

(1838-1918), the third and fourth baronets respectively; the eldest son John had joined the Bengal Civil Service and died in the

Indian Mutiny of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the for ...

.) Alexander (1791-1839) was a soldier. The four girls were Maria, Susan, Louisa Dorothea, and Anne. On 9 February 1803, aged 16, Louisa married General

John Hope, 4th Earl of Hopetoun General John Hope, 4th Earl of Hopetoun, (17 August 1765 – 27 August 1823), known as The Honourable John Hope from 1781 to 1814 and as Lord Niddry from 1814 to 1816, was a Scottish politician and British Army officer. Military career Hopetoun ...

. Anne married

Sir John Hope, 11th Baronet Sir John Hope, 11th Baronet (13 April 1781 – 5 June 1853) was a Scottish aristocrat and politician. Life Sir John was born at Pinkie House on 13 April 1781, the oldest son of Sir Archibald Hope, 9th Baronet and his second wife, Elizabeth Pato ...

Hope of Craighall.

Business and politics

The grave of Sir David Wedderburn, Inveresk churchyard

In 1796 David Wedderburn joined the business, at 35 Leadenhall Street in London, and made large profits. In 1803, he inherited his father's estates in Jamaica and at Ballindean, and was made a baronet, of Ballindean in Perthshire. He was elected at a by-election in 1805 as the

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 ...

(MP) for the Perth Burghs. He had the support of the 9th Earl of Kellie, but was opposed by

Sir David Scott, 2nd Baronet Sir David Scott, 2nd Baronet, Royal Guelphic Order, KH (25 July 1782 – 18 June 1851) of Dunninald Castle, Scotland, was a Scottish Tories (British political party), Tory politician. Biography Early life David Scott was born on 25 July 1782, t ...

, son of the deceased MP David Scott (of Dunninald). Scott had the support of the powerful Lord Melville, but by the time he began his canvassing, Wedderburn was too far ahead to be dislodged. He was re-elected unopposed at the next three general elections. 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. T ...

he voted as a loyal Tory, though after 1812 he did not attend Parliament frequently. He is believed to have never spoken in the Commons. Wedderburn left Wedderburn, Webster & Co in 1816 and retired from Parliament at the 1818 general election. He sold the Ballindean estate in 1820 to William Trotter for 67 000. He served as

from 1823 to 1831. He is buried in

Inveresk Inveresk (Gaelic: ''Inbhir Easg'') is a village in East Lothian, Scotland situated to the south of Musselburgh. It has been designated a conservation area since 1969. It is situated on slightly elevated ground on the north bank of a loop o ...

churchyard. The grave lies midway along the western boundary of the original churchyard, backing onto the Victorian cemetery.

Marriage and legacy

He married Margaret Brown (1775-1845). They had two sons, but both died before Sir David, so the title went to his half-brother, Sir John Wedderburn, son of Alice Dundas.

References

External links

*
His entry at History of Parliament Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wedderburn, David 1775 births 1858 deaths Scottish businesspeople People from Perthshire Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 Tory MPs (pre-1834) Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Dundee constituencies

Family background

Business and politics

Marriage and legacy

See also

References

External links