Colonel
Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
Hugh Montgomerie, 12th Earl of Eglinton, KT (5 November 1739 – 14 December 1819), styled Lord Montgomerie from 1769 to 1796, was a British politician, military officer and composer.
Early life
Montgomerie was born on 5 November 1739. He was the son of Alexander Montgomerie (d. 1783) and Lillias Montgomery (1715–1783). Among his siblings were Lillias Montgomerie (wife of John Hamilton of Sundrum), Frances Montgomerie (wife of James Ritchie of Busbie and Craigton), Alexander Montgomerie (who married Elizabeth Taylor), Archibald Montgomerie (who married Marie Chantrey), Lt.-Gen. James Montgomerie (who married Harriet Elizabeth Jackson).
His paternal grandparents were Hugh Montgomerie (a grandson of the 6th Earl of Eglinton) and Katherine ( Arbuckle), widow of John Hamilton of Letham. His paternal grandparents were Sir Robert Montgomery, 5th Baronet and the former Frances
Stirling
Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...
Ayrshire
Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...
off and on from 1780 to 1796. That year he became Lord Lieutenant of Ayrshire, a post he held until his death. In 1794 he raised a
fencible
The Fencibles (from the word ''defencible'') were British regiments raised in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and in the colonies for defence against the threat of invasion during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, the Frenc ...
regiment, the West Lowland Fencibles of which he was colonel.
In 1798, having previously succeeded to the earldom through his third cousin, he was elected a
Scottish representative peer
This is a list of representative peers elected from the Peerage of Scotland to sit in the House of Lords after the Acts of Union 1707 abolished the unicameral Parliament of Scotland, where all Scottish Peers had been entit ...
and moved to 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 ...
. On 15 February 1806, he was created Baron Ardrossan in the
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great B ...
, enabling him to sit the Lords in his own right. He was made a
Knight 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 1814.
As large ships were unable to reach
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
due to the silting of the
River Clyde
The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...
, Montgomerie promoted and partially funded the
Glasgow, Paisley and Ardrossan Canal
The Glasgow, Paisley and Ardrossan Canal, later known as the Glasgow, Paisley and Johnstone Canal, was a canal in the west of Scotland, running between Glasgow, Paisley and Johnstone which later became a railway. Despite the name, the canal wa ...
. However, funds ran out, and the canal was only constructed from Glasgow to
Paisley. The Glasgow terminus of the canal was at Port Eglinton. Though the wharf is now filled in, the neighbouring Eglinton Street still bears his name. Preparatory work on the canal from the new harbour created at Ardrossan was used as the basis for Glasgow Street, which is the main thoroughfare of the town.
Montgomerie was an amateur composer and
cellist
The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...
. His best-known work is the dance tune "Ayrshire Lasses," and other composers dedicated works to him, including
Thomas Arne
Thomas Augustine Arne (; 12 March 17105 March 1778) was an English composer. He is best known for his patriotic song " Rule, Britannia!" and the song " A-Hunting We Will Go", the latter composed for a 1777 production of '' The Beggar's Opera'', w ...
.
Personal life
In , Montgomerie married Eleanora Hamilton (–1817), daughter of Robert Hamilton of
Bourtreehill
Bourtreehill is a large housing estate built by the Irvine Development Corporation (IDC) in the late 1970s which forms part of the Irvine New Town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. The estate has two main parts, known as Bourtreehill North and Bou ...
(the son of Hugh Hamilton of Clongall) and Jean Mitchell. Among her siblings were Jean Hamilton, who married
George Lindsay-Crawford, 21st Earl of Crawford
George Lindsay-Crawford, 21st Earl of Crawford (14 March 1723 – 11 August 1781), ''styled'' Lord Kilbirny and Drumry from 1723 to 1738, then 4th Viscount of Garnock from 1738 to 1749; was a Scottish aristocrat.
Early life
Lindsay-Crawford was ...
. Together, they had two sons, and two daughters:
* Hon. Archibald Montgomerie (1773–1814), ''styled'' Lord Montgomerie; a Maj.-Gen. 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 ...
; he married Lady Mary Montgomerie, daughter of Gen.
Archibald Montgomerie, 11th Earl of Eglinton
Archibald Montgomerie, 11th Earl of Eglinton (18 May 172630 October 1796) was a Scottish General officer, General and member of parliament (MP) in the Parliament of Great Britain, British Parliament. He was also the Scottish clan chief, Clan Chi ...
Port Royal
Port Royal () was a town located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest and most prosperous city in the Caribbean, functioning as the cen ...
,
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
.
* Lady Jane Montgomerie (d. 1860), who married her cousin, Capt. Archibald Hamilton, son of John Hamilton of Sundrum and Lillias Montgomerie, in 1828.
* Lady Lilias Montgomerie (d. 1845), who married Robert Dundas MacQueen of Braxfield in 1796. After his death, she married Richard Alexander Oswald, son of George Oswald of
Scotstoun
Scotstoun () is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, west of Glasgow City Centre. It is bounded by Garscadden and Yoker to the west, Victoria Park, Jordanhill and Whiteinch to the east, Jordanhill to the north and the River Clyde (and Braehead ...
, in 1817.Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, vol. 1, p. 1284.
Lady Eglinton died on 18 January 1817. Lord Eglinton died on 14 December 1819. As his eldest son predeceased him, he was succeeded in his titles by his grandson, Archibald Montgomerie.