Francis Stuart, 10th Earl of Moray
KT (2 February 1771 – 12 January 1848) was a Scottish peer.
Early life

Francis was born on 2 February 1771 at
Fife
Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...
,
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. He was the eldest son of
Francis Stuart, 9th Earl of Moray, and the former Hon. Jean Gray. His elder sister, Lady Grace Stuart, married George Douglas of
Cavers
Caving, also known as spelunking (United States and Canada) and potholing (United Kingdom and Ireland), is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology is the scientific st ...
,
and his younger twin brother, Hon. Archibald Stuart, married Cornelia Pleydell (a daughter of
Edmund Morton Pleydell).
The huge family estate embraced most of
Morayshire
The County of Moray, ( ) or Morayshire, called Elginshire until 1919, is a historic county in Scotland. The county town was Elgin. The historic county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975. Since 1996 most of the historic ...
, embracing towns such as
Forres
Forres (; ) is a town and former royal burgh in the north of Scotland on the County of Moray, Moray coast, approximately northeast of Inverness and west of Elgin, Moray, Elgin. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several ...
. From around 1785 Moray lived at Moray House in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
, situated between
Charlotte Square
file:Charlotte Square - geograph.org.uk - 105918.jpg, 300px, Robert Adam's palace-fronted north side
Charlotte Square is a garden square in Edinburgh, Scotland, part of the New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site ...
and the
Water of Leith
The Water of Leith (Scottish Gaelic: ''Uisge Lìte'') is the main river flowing through central Edinburgh, Scotland, that starts in the Pentlands Hills and flows into the port of Leith and then into the sea via the Firth of Forth.
Name
The ...
.
His paternal grandparents were
James Stuart, 8th Earl of Moray and, his first wife, Grace Gordon, Countess of Aboyne ( Lockhart, daughter of Sir
George Lockhart and former wife of the
3rd Earl of Aboyne).
Through his twin brother Archibald, he was an uncle to the Rev. Edmund Luttrell Stuart (father of the
15th,
16th, and
17th Earl of Moray) His maternal grandparents were
John Gray, 11th Lord Gray and Margaret Blair (a daughter of Alexander Blair Carnegie, 11th
Lord Kinfauns).
[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
Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish geneal ...
, 2003, vol. 2, p. 1643.
Career
Upon the death of his father on 28 August 1810, he succeeded as the 2nd
Baron Stuart of Castle Stuart in the
Peerage of Great Britain
The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself repla ...
, ennabling him to sit in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
. At the same time, he succeeded as the 8th
Lord St Colme, the 10th
Earl of Moray
The title Earl of Moray, or Mormaer of Moray (pronounced "Murry"), was originally held by the rulers of the Province of Moray, which existed from the 10th century with varying degrees of independence from the Kingdom of Alba to the south. Until ...
, the 10th
Lord Abernethy and Strathearn
The title Earl of Moray, or Mormaer of Moray (pronounced "Murry"), was originally held by the rulers of the Province of Moray, which existed from the 10th century with varying degrees of independence from the Kingdom of Alba to the south. Until ...
, and the 10th
Lord Doune, all in the
Peerage of Scotland
The Peerage of Scotland (; ) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and for those peers created by the King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Union 1707, Treaty of Union, the Kingdom of Scots and the ...
.
In 1822, he commissioned
James Gillespie Graham
James Gillespie Graham (11 June 1776 – 21 March 1855) was a Scottish architect, prominent in the early 19th century. Much of his work was Scottish baronial in style. A prominent example is Ayton Castle. He also worked in the Gothic Revival ...
to lay out an estate of huge townhouses on what was known as the
Moray Feu. The development, begun in 1825, is now known as the
Moray Estate
The Moray Estate, also known as the Moray Feu, is an early 19th century building venture attaching the west side of the New Town, Edinburgh. Built on an awkward and steeply sloping site, it has been described as a masterpiece of urban plannin ...
, and edges Edinburgh's
New Town
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz
* New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013
* New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...
. Street names are all closely linked to the Moray family. It remains as exclusive an address as when it was first built.
He was appointed Knight of the
Order of the Thistle
The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland, who asserted that he was reviving an earlier order. The ...
in 1827.
Personal life

On 26 February 1795, he married Lucy Scott, daughter of Maj.-Gen.
John Scott and Hon. Margaret Dundas (a daughter of
Robert Dundas Jr.). Before her death in 1798, they were the parents of two children:
*
Francis Stuart, 11th Earl of Moray (1795–1859), who was "incurably insane" since his schooldays and never married.
*
John Stuart, 12th Earl of Moray (1797–1867), a Captain in the
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
and
MP for
Newport; he never married.
After Lucy's death, Francis married his cousin, Margaret Jane Ainslie, daughter of Col. Sir
Philip Ainslie of
Pilton and his maternal aunt, Hon. Elizabeth Gray (a daughter of the
11th Lord Gray) on 7 January 1801 at
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
. Together, they were the parents of:
* Lady Jane Stuart (1802–1880), who married
Sir John Drummond-Stewart, 6th Baronet, son of
Sir George Stewart, 5th Baronet and Catharine Drummond, in 1832. After his death, she married Capt. Jeremiah Lonsdale Pounden in 1838.
* Hon. James Stuart (1804–1840), a Captain in the
85th Regiment of Light Infantry who predeceased his father.
* Lady Margaret Jane Stuart (1807–1863), who died unmarried.
* Lady Ann Grace Stuart (1809–1873), who died unmarried.
*
Archibald George Stuart, 13th Earl of Moray (1810–1872), who never married.
* Hon. Charles Stuart (1812–1847), who predeceased his father.
* Lady Louisa Charlotte Stuart (1813–1864), who died unmarried.
*
George Philip Stuart, 14th Earl of Moray (1816–1895), the
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 ...
; he never married.
Lady Moray died at Willoughby House in
Cheltenham
Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...
, on 3 April 1837. Lord Moray died at
Darnaway Castle
Darnaway Castle, also known as Tarnaway Castle, is located in Darnaway Forest, southwest of Forres in Moray, Scotland. This was Comyn land, given to Thomas Randolph along with the Earldom of Moray by King Robert I. The castle has remained t ...
near
Forres, Moray, on 12 January 1848. He was, in time, succeeded in the earldom by four of his sons, none of whom married or had children themselves.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moray, Francis Stuart, 10th Earl Of
1771 births
1848 deaths
10
Knights of the Thistle
Lord-lieutenants of Elginshire