James Carnegie, 9th Earl of Southesk, (16 November 1827 – 21 February 1905) 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, explorer and poet.

Early life

Born 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 ...

, on 16 November 1827, Southesk was the son of

Sir James Carnegie, 5th Baronet Sir James Carnegie of Kinnaird and of Pitarrow, 5th Baronet DL (1799 – 30 January 1849) was a Scottish politician and ''de jure'' 8th Earl of Southesk, 8th Baron Carnegie of Kinnaird and 8th Baron Carnegie of Kinnaird and Leuchars. Background ...

and Charlotte Lysons, daughter of the Reverend Daniel Lysons. Through his great-great-great-grandfather, who was the fourth son of David Carnegie, 1st Earl of Southesk, James was the heir to the earldom of Southesk and the lordship of Carnegie. The fifth earl was involved in the

Jacobite rising Jacobitism was a political ideology advocating the restoration of the senior line of the House of Stuart to the British throne. When James II of England chose exile after the November 1688 Glorious Revolution, the Parliament of England ruled ...

of 1715 and was attainted, with his titles and estates forfeited. However, in 1855 Sir James Carnegie obtained a reversal of his kinsman's attainder by Act of Parliament and became the ninth Earl of Southesk. He attended the

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in Stockbridge, Edinburgh, Stockbridge, is now part of the Senior Scho ...

, received his military training at the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

and in 1845 joined the

92nd Regiment of Foot 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Hindu–Arabic digit Circa 300 BC, as part of the Brahmi numerals, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bo ...

, before transferring to 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 ...

the next year, with whom he served for three years. In 1849, he was appointed

Lord Lieutenant of Kincardineshire This is a list of people who have served as the Monarch's Lord Lieutenant in the County of Kincardine. * Sir James Carnegie, 3rd Baronet April 1746 – 30 April 1765 * Anthony Keith-Falconer, 5th Earl of Kintore 17 March 1794 – 30 August 1804 * ...

, a position he continued to hold until 1856, when he sold his lands in

Kincardineshire Kincardineshire or the County of Kincardine, also known as the Mearns (from the Scottish Gaelic meaning "the stewartry"), is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area on the ...

Career

On 30 January 1849, he succeeded as the ''6th Baronet Carnegie, of Pittarrow, co. Kincardine'' in the

Baronetage of Nova Scotia Baronets are hereditary titles awarded by the Crown. The current baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier, existing baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland and Great Britain. To be recognised as a baronet, it is necessary ...

. On 2 July 1855, after the original precedence by reversal by Act of Parliament of the

Act of Attainder A bill of attainder (also known as an act of attainder, writ of attainder, or bill of pains and penalties) is an act of a legislature declaring a person, or a group of people, guilty of some crime, and providing for a punishment, often without a ...

, he succeeded as the ''9th Lord Carnegie of Kinnaird'', the ''9th Lord Carnegie of Kinnaird and Leuchars'', and the ''9th Earl of Southesk'', 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 ...

. On 7 December 1869, he was created ''1st Baron Balinhard, of Farnell, Forfar'' 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 ...

. He held the office of Deputy Lieutenant of

Forfarshire Angus (; ) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include agriculture and fishing. Global pharmaceuticals ...

1859 North American expedition

In 1859, after the death of his first wife, the Earl was advised that to improve his health he should travel to a place where he could live an open-air life and hunt. In 1859, at the age of 32, he embarked on a trip to the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

(HBC) trading area, which later became

western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a list of regions of Canada, Canadian region that includes the four western provinces and t ...

. He travelled through the prairies to

Fort Edmonton Fort Edmonton (also named Edmonton House) was the name of a series of Trading post, trading posts of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) from 1795 to 1914, all of which were located on the north banks of the North Saskatchewan River in what is now ce ...

, then to the east slopes of the Rockies, seeing much of the western part of present-day north-central

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

before returning to New York by way of Winnipeg. Southesk left

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

on 15 April 1859 on a

Cunard The Cunard Line ( ) is a British shipping and an international cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its four ships have been r ...

paddle-wheeler called the ''Africa'' for North America. Eventually, he ended up in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

, the jumping-off point for his expedition, and then continued on north to

Fort Garry Fort Garry, also known as Upper Fort Garry, was a Hudson's Bay Company trading post located at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers in or near the area now known as The Forks in what is now central Winnipeg, Manitoba. Fort Garr ...

, the HBC's western headquarters in the

Red River Colony The Red River Colony (or Selkirk Settlement), also known as Assiniboia, was a colonization project set up in 1811 by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, on of land in British North America. This land was granted to Douglas by the Hudson's Bay ...

, today's Winnipeg. He travelled with Sir George Simpson, governor of the HBC. The Earl received considerable support from Simpson who helped the Earl arrange for guides, supplies and horses. He gave the Earl a map and instructed HBC employees to show him "every attention". In June, Southesk headed out west from Winnipeg. Over the next seven months, the expedition travelled more than 4,000 kilometres, across the northern prairies, through parts of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

, then across the prairies once again back to Winnipeg. The plan was to head west out of Fort Garry west into

Rupert's Land Rupert's Land (), or Prince Rupert's Land (), was a territory in British North America which comprised the Hudson Bay drainage basin. The right to "sole trade and commerce" over Rupert's Land was granted to Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), based a ...

, to hunt bears and bison. He arrived at Fort Edmonton on 1 August. At the fort he bought horses, hired a

Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...

, Antoine Blandoine, to be his guide, and built enough pack saddles to haul his outfit. The party went into the mountains west of the future site of

Cadomin Cadomin is a Hamlet (place), hamlet in west-central Alberta, Canada, within Yellowhead County. It is along the McLeod River in the Rocky Mountain Foothills, foothills of the Rocky Mountains, approximately south of Hinton, Alberta, Hinton near ...

to pursue

bighorn sheep The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of Ovis, sheep native to North America. It is named for its large Horn (anatomy), horns. A pair of horns may weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates th ...

. The expedition went up the

Athabasca River The Athabasca River (French: ''Rivière Athabasca'') in Alberta, Canada, originates at the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park and flows more than before emptying into Lake Athabasca. Much of the land along its banks is protected in nationa ...

to the

McLeod River The McLeod River is a river in west-central Alberta, Canada. It forms in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, and is a major tributary of the Athabasca River. __TOC__ Course The river begins in the southern arm of Whitehorse Wildland Prov ...

and the Medicine Tent River (in present-day Jasper National Park). In September he noted that he was now in country that, "no European had ever seen, where bears and wild sheep were certain to be abundant." On September 6, he wrote in his journal, "I am the first European who has visited this valley t the head of the Medicine Tent and North Saskatchewan rivers and if I might have the geographic honour of giving my name to some spot of earth, I should choose the mountain near which the two rivers rise." Worried that that mountain (Mount Southesk) had already been named and therefore could not carry his name, he climbed a mountain located 6 km north of Mount Southesk and erected a

cairn A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...

on top that can still be seen today. This mountain is named Southesk Cairn in his honour. As well, Southesk Pass, Southesk River and Southesk Lake, all nearby, bear his name. The expedition then crossed over Southesk Pass, also known as Cairn Pass, and pressed on to the Kootenay Plains of the

North Saskatchewan River The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows from the Canadian Rockies continental divide east to central Saskatchewan, where it joins with the South Saskatchewan River to make up the Saskatchewan River. Its water flows event ...

valley. The expedition followed the Siffleur River, crossed over the Pipestone Pass, and followed the Pipestone River to the

Bow River The headwaters of the Bow River in Alberta, Canada, start at the Bow Glacier and Bow Lake (Alberta), Bow Lake in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies, Canadian Rocky Mountains. The glacial stream that feeds Bow Lake (Alberta), Bow Lake ...

. The Earl nearly crossed paths with another explorer,

James Hector Sir James Hector (16 March 1834 – 6 November 1907) was a Scottish-New Zealand geologist, naturalist, and surgeon who accompanied the Palliser Expedition as a surgeon and geologist. He went on to have a lengthy career as a government employed ...

, at a time when there were very few Europeans in the Rockies. The two passed through the same route going in opposite directions about a month apart in time. The Southesk party then travelled back to Fort Edmonton, arriving October 12. Southesk made his way east, arriving at Fort Garry (Winnipeg) on January 8, 1860. He travelled on to New York and made the voyage home to England on the Cunard liner ''Etna'', arriving in February 1860. For the expedition he employed several Métis guides and helpers: James McKay, John McKay, George Klyne, John "Piscan" Munroe, Baptiste La Grace, James "Little Dog" Short, Antoine Blandion, Pierre Desnomme, Thomas Arinwakena, and Duncan Robertson. These men were experienced buffalo hunters. During this trip which took him west to Fort Edmonton and into the

he commissioned and collected several Métis and aboriginal artifacts. He wrote an account of his trip, ''Saskatchewan and the Rocky Mountains'' (published in 1874). His research on the Cree language was published that same year, under the title ''The Cree syllabic characters, terminations, &c.'' An exhibit dedicated to the Earl's prairie and mountain trip, including a life-sized statue of a large plains grizzly bear he killed while on a

bison A bison (: bison) is a large bovine in the genus ''Bison'' (from Greek, meaning 'wild ox') within the tribe Bovini. Two extant taxon, extant and numerous extinction, extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American ...

hunt on the nearby prairie, is at Ancient Echoes Interpretive Centre in

Herschel, Saskatchewan Herschel is a special service area in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is the seat of the Rural Municipality of Mountain View No. 318 and held village status prior to December 31, 2006. The populat ...

The Southesk Collection at the Royal Alberta Museum

Throughout the 1859 Canadian expedition, Southesk collected objects made by

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

and

people whom he met in the course of his travels. The artifacts returned home with Southesk to Kinnaird Castle, the family estate in Scotland where they remained for the next 146 years, until 2006, when the earl's descendants put them up for auction at

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

in New York. The

Royal Alberta Museum The Royal Alberta Museum (RAM) is a museum of human and natural history in Downtown Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, located north of City Hall. The museum is the largest in western Canada with more than exhibition space and in total. The museum w ...

purchased many of the items put up for sale. for $1.1 million. Although relatively small, the Southesk collection is historically significant given that objects from the

northern Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include the mix ...

dating to the 1850s are rare and that many of the artifacts are of exceptional quality. Although modest in size, the collection includes work from at least five distinct cultures: Plains Cree,

Blackfoot The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'', or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Bl ...

, Nakoda and

Anishnaabe The Anishinaabe (alternatively spelled Anishinabe, Anicinape, Nishnaabe, Neshnabé, Anishinaabeg, Anishinabek, Aanishnaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They in ...

. The subsequently donated five additional items linked with the collection.

Publications

Novels

*''Herminius: a romance''. (1862) *''Suomiria: a fantasy'' (1899)

Short fiction

*''Some Sort of Madness xcerpt' (1982) nly as by Earl of Southesk

Non-Fiction

*''Saskatchewan and the Rocky Mountains: a diary and narrative of travel, sport, and adventure, during a journey through the Hudson's Bay Company's territories, in 1859 and 1860. (''1875'')'' *''Origins of Pictish symbolism; with notes on the sun boar and a new reading of the Newton inscriptions''. (1893) *''The Ogham Inscriptions of Scotland''. (1885) *''Britain's art paradise; or, Notes on some pictures in the Royal Academy,'' (1871)

Poetry

(His poetry is said to tend to the occult.) *''Lurida lumina. (''1876'')'' *''The Burial of Isis, and other poems''. (1884) *''Jonas Fisher, a poem in brown and white.'' ''(''1875) *''Greenwood's farewell and other poems''. ''(''1876) *''The Meda Maiden, and other poems''. (1877)

Catalogues

*''Catalogue of the collection of antique gems formed by James, ninth earl of Southesk, K.T.''; edited by his daughter Lady Helena Carnegie. ''(''1908) *''The letter archive of James Carnegie, 9th Earl of Southesk, and the Pictish symbol stones of Aberdeenshire''; Lynda McGuigan. (2020)

Personal life

On 19 June 1849, Sir James married Lady Catherine Hamilton Noel (1829–1855) at Exton Park, Rutland, England. Lady Catherine was the second daughter of Charles Noel, 1st Earl of Gainsborough and, his third wife, Annabella Hamlyn-Williams (second daughter of Sir James Hamlyn-Williams, 2nd Baronet of

Clovelly Court Clovelly Court is a privately owned country house in Clovelly, Devon. The house and adjacent stable block are Grade II listed buildings. The gardens and parts of the estate are open to the public. History The manor of Clovelly was for over 600 y ...

). Before Catherine's death in 1855, at the age of twenty-six, they had one son and three daughters: * Lady Arabella Charlotte Carnegie (1850–1907), who married Samuel Romilly, DL, the paternal grandson of

Samuel Romilly Sir Samuel Romilly (1 March 1757 – 2 November 1818) was a British lawyer, Whigs (British political party), Whig politician, abolitionist and legal reformer. Born in London of French Huguenot descent, he was largely self-educated and escaped p ...

and maternal grandson of

Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 2nd Earl of Minto Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 2nd Earl of Minto, (; 16 November 178231 July 1859), styled as Viscount Melgund between 1813 and 1814, was a British diplomat and Whig politician. Background and education Minto was the eldest son of the Gilbe ...

. They had four children. * Lady Constance Mary Carnegie (1851–1909), who married

Victor Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin Victor Alexander Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin, 13th Earl of Kincardine (16 May 184918 January 1917), known as Lord Bruce until 1863, was a right-wing British Liberal politician who served as Viceroy of India from 1894 to 1899. He was appointed by Pr ...

. They had issue. * Lady Beatrice Diana Cecilia Carnegie (1852–1934), who married Rev.

Henry Holmes Stewart Rev. Henry Holmes Stewart (8 November 1847 – 20 March 1937) was a Scottish clergyman who was a member of the Wanderers team which won the FA Cup in 1873. He also played for the Scottish team in 1872 in the last of the series of representativ ...

, Rector of

Michaelston-le-Pit Michaelston-le-Pit () is a village in the Vale of Glamorgan, just to the west of the city of Cardiff, Wales. It is part of the Michaelston-le-Pit and Leckwith community. The community population taken at the 2011 census was 309. To the sout ...

and son of James Stewart of Cairnsmore. * Charles Noel Carnegie, 10th Earl of Southesk (1854–1941), who married Ethel Mary Elizabeth Bannerman, the only child of Sir Alexander Bannerman, 9th Baronet and Lady Arabella Diana Sackville-West (the youngest daughter of

Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Monarchy of the United Ki ...

George Sackville-West, 5th Earl De La Warr George John Sackville-West, 5th Earl de la Warr, PC (26 October 1791 – 23 February 1869), styled Viscount Cantelupe until 1795, was a British courtier and Tory politician. Background Sackville-West was the son of John West, 4th Earl De ...

and

Elizabeth Sackville-West, Countess De La Warr Elizabeth Sackville-West, Countess De La Warr and 1st Baroness Buckhurst (11 August 1795 – 9 January 1870), was a British peeress. Early life The Countess De La Warr was born Lady Elizabeth Sackville on 11 August 1795. She was the youngest ...

). In 1860, Lord Southesk married Lady Susan Catherine Mary Murray (1837–1915), eldest daughter of Alexander, Earl of Dunmore. They had three sons and four daughters, including: * Sir Lancelot Douglas Carnegie (1861–1933), who married Marion Alice de Gournay Barclay, youngest daughter of Henry Ford Barclay in 1890, and had issue. * Lady Dora Susan Carnegie (1863–1952), who married Maj. Ernest de Rodakowski-Rivers, son of General Josef de Rodakowski by his wife Ottilia, Countess Wrangel. * Lady Elizabeth Erica Carnegie (1864–1897), who died unmarried. * Lady Helena Mariota Carnegie (1865–1943), who died unmarried. * Lady Katherine Agnes Blanche Carnegie (1867–1949), who married

Courtenay Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar Courtenay Charles Evan Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar, CBE, KStJ, VD (10 April 1867 – 3 May 1934), was a Welsh peer. Early life Morgan was born on 10 April 1867 at Ruperra Castle near Newport, Monmouthshire.Published under Association of Cri ...

. Had issue. * Hon. Robert Francis Carnegie (1869–1947), who married Violet Mabel

Fraser Fraser may refer to: Places Antarctica * Fraser Point, South Orkney Islands Australia * Fraser, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Belconnen * Division of Fraser (Australian Capital Territory), a former federal ...

, second daughter of Philip Affleck Fraser, 18th of Reelig, and Augusta Zella Webb (eldest daughter and heiress of William Frederick Webb). * Hon.

David Wynford Carnegie David Wynford Carnegie (23 March 1871 – 27 November 1900) was an explorer and gold prospector in Western Australia. In 1896 he led an expedition from Coolgardie through the Gibson and Great Sandy Deserts to Halls Creek, and then back agai ...

(1871–1900), an explorer who died unmarried. Lord Southesk died on 21 February 1905, aged seventy-seven while at his home in Kinnaird Castle in Scotland. He was succeeded by his son from his first marriage, Charles Noel Carnegie.

Legacy and honours

*Fellow of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

(1860) *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 ...

. (1869) on Prime Minister Gladstone's recommendation. *Honorary

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

from St. Andrews. (1872) *Honorary

from Aberdeen University. (1875)

References

External links

*
The Lost Statue of the Earl of SoutheskKinnaird CastleFort Edmonton ParkRoyal Alberta MuseumAncient Echoes Interpretive Centre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Southesk, James Carnegie, 9th Earl Of 1827 births 1905 deaths Nobility from Angus, Scotland People educated at Edinburgh Academy

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

9 Lord-lieutenants of Kincardineshire Knights of the Thistle Exploration of Canada Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria