Sir Stair Agnew (6 December 1831 – 12 July 1916) was a Scottish public official. He served as

Registrar General for Scotland The General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) ( gd, Oifis Choitcheann a' Chlàraidh na h-Alba) was a non-ministerial directorate of the Scottish Government that administered the registration of births, deaths, marriages, divorces and adoptio ...

Life

He was born at

Lochnaw Castle Lochnaw Castle is a 16th-century tower house five miles from the town of Stranraer, in the historical county of Wigtownshire, Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the islan ...

in the parish of

Leswalt Leswalt ( gd, Lios Uillt) is a village and civil parish in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. It lies between Portpatrick and Stranraer in the Rhins of Galloway, part of the traditional county of Wigtownshire. The parish covers around . ...

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the historic counties of Dumfriesshire, Kirkc ...

, the fifth son of Sir Andrew Agnew of Lochnaw, 7th Baronet and his wife, Madeline Carnegie. He studied at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, graduating in 1855. He rowed in the Oxford and Cambridge boat race in 1854. He worked as an

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 ...

from 1860, and was Legal Secretary to the

Lord Advocate His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate ( gd, Morair Tagraidh, sco, Laird Advocat), is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved p ...

from 1861–1866 and 1868–1870, Queen's Remembrancer for Scotland from 1870–1881, and

Registrar-General for Scotland The General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) ( gd, Oifis Choitcheann a' Chlàraidh na h-Alba) was a non-ministerial directorate of the Scottish Government that administered the registration of births, deaths, marriages, divorces and adop ...

and Keeper of the Records of Scotland and Deputy Clerk Register from 1881–1909. In 1871 he was 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 ...

, his proposer being

Philip Kelland Philip Kelland PRSE FRS (17 October 1808 – 8 May 1879) was an English mathematician. He was known mainly for his great influence on the development of education in Scotland. Life Kelland was born in 1808 the son of Philip Kelland (d.1847), ...

. Agnew married a woman named Georgina More Nisbett (1838-1916), and they had at least three children: Stair Carnegie Agnew (born 1872), Georgina Constance Maxwell (born 1877) and Dora Charlotte (born 1879). He was appointed

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregiv ...

(CB) in 1885 and promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the

1895 Birthday Honours The 1895 Birthday Honours were appointments by Queen Victoria to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The Queen, and w ...

, thereby receiving a knighthood. In 1905 he is listed as living at 22 Buckingham Terrace, just west of Dean Bridge 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 ...

.Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1905-6 He is buried with his wife (who had died only a few weeks earlier) and daughters in

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 o ...

in western

. The grave is on the north wall of the north extension of the original cemetery, near the north-west corner.

References

1831 births 1916 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Younger sons of baronets Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Cambridge University Boat Club rowers Burials at the Dean Cemetery {{scotland-bio-stub