Alexander Macdonald, 1st Baron Macdonald DL ( – 12 September 1795) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

nobleman and Chief of Clan MacDonald of Sleat.

Early life

Macdonald was the younger son of Sir Alexander Macdonald, 7th Baronet, and his wife Lady Margaret Montgomerie, a daughter of the 9th Earl of Eglinton. He was educated at Eton and served with the

Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

Career

Macdonald was also a Deputy Lieutenant of

Inverness-shire Inverness-shire () or the County of Inverness, is a Counties of Scotland, historic county in Scotland. It is named after Inverness, its largest settlement, which was also the county town. Covering much of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands and s ...

and a brigadier-general in the

Royal Company of Archers The Royal Company of Archers, The King's Bodyguard for Scotland, is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland—a role it has performed since 1822 during the reign of King George IV when the company provided a pers ...

. He succeeded his elder brother in the baronetcy in 1766 and in 1776 he was raised to the

Peerage of Ireland The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

as Baron Macdonald, of Slate in the County of Antrim. In 1778 he raised the Macdonald's Highlanders and was Brigadier-General in the

. Between 1794 and 1795, he raised another regiment from the Highlands and the Islands.

Personal life

On 3 May 1768 Lord Macdonald married Elizabeth Diana Bosville (1748–1789) at St Giles in the Fields, London. She was the eldest daughter of Godfrey Bosville IV of Gunthwaite and of Thorpe Hall,

Rudston Rudston is a small village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated between Driffield and Bridlington approximately west of Bridlington, and lies on the B1253 road. The Gypsey Race (an intermittent stream) r ...

, both in Yorkshire, and sister of the ardent Whig Colonel William Bosville (1745–1813). They had seven sons and three daughters, including: * Hon. Diana Macdonald (1769–1845), who married Rt. Hon. Sir John Sinclair, 1st Baronet, son of George Sinclair of Ulbster, in 1788. * Alexander Wentworth Macdonald, 2nd Baron Macdonald (1773–1824), an MP for

Saltash Saltash () is a town and civil parish in south Cornwall, England. It had a population of 16,184 in 2011 census. Saltash faces the city of Plymouth over the River Tamar and is popularly known as "the Gateway to Cornwall". Saltash’s landmarks ...

who died unmarried.G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14'' (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes,

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

Alan Sutton Publishing The History Press is a British publishing company specialising in the publication of titles devoted to local and specialist history. It claims to be the United Kingdom's largest independent publisher in this field, publishing approximately 300 ...

, 2000), volume VIII, page 340. * Godfrey Bosville Macdonald, 3rd Baron Macdonald (1775–1832), who married Louisa Maria La Coast, the illegitimate daughter of

Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh (25 November 1743 – 25 August 1805), was a grandson of George II of Great Britain, George II and a younger brother of George III, George III of the United Kingdom. Life Youth Prince Wi ...

(a son of

Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales (Frederick Louis, German: ''Friedrich Ludwig''; 31 January 1707 – 31 March 1751) was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen C ...

and a younger brother of King

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

) and his mistress, Lady Almeria Carpenter (a daughter of the 1st Earl of Tyrconnell). * Hon. Archibald Macdonald (1777–1861), who married Jane Campbell, daughter of Duncan Campbell of Arneave, in 1802. Lady Macdonald died in 1789. Lord Macdonald survived her by six years and died in September 1795. He was succeeded in his titles by his son

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

.Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes.''

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 2, page 2474.

Descendants

Through his daughter Diana, he was a grandfather of thirteen grandchildren, including Sir George Sinclair, 2nd Baronet, a writer and an MP for Caithness who married Lady Catherine Camilla Tollemache; John Sinclair, who became

Archdeacon of Middlesex The Archdeacon of Middlesex is a senior cleric in the Church of England, co-responsible for the Archdeaconry of "Middlesex", which mirrors the "Kensington" episcopal area of the Diocese of London — the other person responsible being the Bis ...

; Capt. Archibald Sinclair of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

;For more on Captain Archibald Sinclair RN see: the Rev. William Sinclair, was

Prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Catholic Church, Catholic or Anglicanism , Anglican clergy, a form of canon (priest) , canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in part ...

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

(and was the father of

Archdeacon of London The Archdeacon of London is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Church of England. They are responsible for the eastern Archdeaconry (the Archdeaconry of London) of the Two Cities (London and Westminster) in the Diocese of London, an area with ...

William MacDonald Sinclair); and author Catherine Sinclair.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Alexander Macdonald, 1st Baron 1740s births 1795 deaths Nobility from Highland (council area) Peers of Ireland created by George III Deputy lieutenants of Inverness-shire Grenadier Guards officers People educated at Eton College Year of birth uncertain Members of the Royal Company of Archers Sleat, Alexander Macdonald, 6th Lord 1 109