Neil Primrose, 3rd Earl of Rosebery KT (1728 – 25 March 1814) was a Scottish peer and politician.

Early life

Primrose was born in 1728 in

Dalmeny Dalmeny () is a village and civil parish in Scotland. It is located on the south side of the Firth of Forth, southeast of South Queensferry and west of Edinburgh city centre. It lies within the traditional boundaries of West Lothian, and ...

West Lothian West Lothian (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, bordering (in a clockwise direction) the City of Edinburgh council area, Scottish Borders, South Lanarkshire, North Lanarkshire and Falkirk (council area), Falkirk. The modern counci ...

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 a younger son of James Primrose, 2nd Earl of Rosebery and Mary Campbell. Among his siblings were Lady Dorothea Primrose (wife of

Sir Adam Inglis, 3rd Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English language, English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in Fren ...

), Archibald Primrose, Lord Dalmeny (who died young), and John Primrose, Lord Dalmeny (who died unmarried in August 1755). His father "was imprisoned for riot and debt, and considerably depleted his inheritance. His entailed estates were put in the hands of trustees." His paternal grandparents were

Archibald Primrose, 1st Earl of Rosebery Archibald may refer to: People and characters *Archibald (name), a masculine given name and a surname * Archibald (musician) (1916–1973), American R&B pianist * Archibald, a character from the animated TV show '' Archibald the Koala'' Other us ...

and Dorothea Cressy (a daughter of Everingham Cressy). His maternal grandparents were Hon. John Campbell (a son of the 9th Earl of Argyll and Lady Mary Stuart, a daughter of the 4th Earl of Moray) and Elizabeth Elphinstone (a daughter of the 8th

Lord Elphinstone Lord Elphinstone is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created by King James IV in 1510. History The title of Lord Elphinstone was granted by King James IV in 1510 to Sir Alexander Elphinstone of Elphinstone, who was killed at the Battle ...

). Among his extended family were uncles

John Campbell, 4th Duke of Argyll General John Campbell, 4th Duke of Argyll, KT, PC ( – 9 November 1770) was a Scottish military officer, Whig politician and peer who sat in the British House of Commons from 1713 to 1761. Early life John Campbell was born , the son of Jo ...

, Charles Campbell, MP for

Argyllshire Argyll (; archaically Argyle; , ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. The county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975 and most of the area now forms part of ...

, William Campbell, MP for

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 ...

, and aunt Primrose Cambell (wife of

Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat, ( 1667 – 9 April 1747) was a Scottish landowner and head of Clan Fraser of Lovat. Convicted of high treason in the United Kingdom, high treason for his role in the Jacobite rising of 1745, he was the last ma ...

Career

Primrose was a merchant in London until the death of his father on 26 November 1755, when he succeeded as the 3rd

Earl of Rosebery Earl of Rosebery is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created in 1703 for Archibald Primrose, 1st Viscount of Rosebery, with remainder to his issue male and female successively. Its name comes from Roseberry Topping, a hill near Archibald's w ...

, the 3rd Viscount of Rosebery, the 3rd Viscount of Inverkeithing, the 3rd Lord Primrose and Dalmeny, the 7th Baronet Primrose, of Carrington. After inheriting the earldom, he left immediately for an 18-month Grand Tour, visiting

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, where he spent a good deal of time with architect

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (architect), William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and train ...

, whom he had known at home. On his return from his Grand Tour, he worked to free the Roseberry estate of debt, reorganise its farming practises, and plant trees. He was appointed a Representative peer for Scotland in 1768, 1774, and 1780. He was elected and invested as a Knight of the Order of the Thistle on 4 March 1771.

Personal life

The 3rd Earl of Rosebery with his family outside of Barnbougle Castle

On 19 May 1764, he married heiress Susan Ward, a daughter of Sir Edward Ward, 5th Baronet. Susan died, without issue, on 20 August 1771, leaving him her Norfolk estate. On 17 July 1775, he married, secondly, Mary Vincent, daughter of

Sir Francis Vincent, 7th Baronet Sir Francis Vincent, 7th Baronet, ( – 22 May 1775) of Stoke D'Abernon, was an English country landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1775. Early life Vincent was born in . He was the eldest son of Elizabeth She ...

, and Mary Howard (the daughter of Lt.-Gen. Hon. Thomas Howard, who served as Governor of Berwick, and Mary Moreton, the youngest daughter of

William Moreton William Moreton (1641 – 21 November 1715) was an English prelate in the Church of Ireland who served as the Bishop of Meath from 1705-1716. Life He was born in Chester in 1641, eldest son of Edward Moreton (1599–1665), prebendary of Cheste ...

Bishop of Meath The Bishop of Meath is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Catholic Church it remains as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bishopric. History Until the ...

). Before his death in 1814, they lived at

Barnbougle Castle Barnbougle Castle is a historic tower house on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth, between Cramond and Queensferry, and within the parish of Dalmeny. It lies within the Earl of Rosebery's estate, just north-west of Dalmeny House. Although ...

and had five children, including: * Lady Charlotte Primrose (–1864), who married Gen. Kenneth Howard, 1st Earl of Effingham, son of Lt.-Gen. Thomas Howard, in 1800. After his death in 1845, she married Thomas Holmes in 1858.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 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 genea ...

(Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, pp. 1277–1278, volume 3, page 3399. * Lady Mary Primrose (1777–1847), who married Henry John Shepherd, son of Sir Samuel Shepherd and Elizabeth White (sister of

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

John White), in 1808. * Lady Dorothea Arabella Primrose (1779–1825), who married William Hervey of Bodwell Hall, Carnavon, son of Thomas Hervey, Esq., in 1801. * Archibald John Primrose, 4th Earl of Rosebery (1783–1868), who married Harriett Bouverie, daughter of Hon. Bartholomew Bouverie (a son of the 1st Earl of Radnor), in 1808. They divorced in 1815, and he married Hon. Anne Margaret Anson, daughter of Thomas Anson, 1st Viscount Anson and Lady Anne Margaret Coke (a daughter of the 1st Earl of Leicester), in 1819. * Hon. Francis Ward Primrose (1785–1860), who married Percy Gore, daughter of Col. Ralph Gore of Barrowmount,

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the City status in Ir ...

, in 1829. Lord Rosebery died in

on 25 March 1814 and was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son, Archibald. His widow died on 9 March 1823.

Descendants

Through his eldest son, he was a grandfather of Archibald John Primrose, Lord Dalmeny (1809–1851), who predeceased the 4th Earl so the earldom passed directly to his son,

Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian (7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from March 1894 to June 1895. Between the death of h ...

(1847–1929), who briefly served as

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...

from 1894 to 1895.

References

;Notes ;Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosebery, Neil Primrose, 5th Earl 1728 births 1814 deaths Nobility from Edinburgh 3 Scottish representative peers Lord-lieutenants of West Lothian

Neil Neil is a masculine name of Irish origin. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish ''Niall'' which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion".. As a surname ...