Sir George Nicolson, Lord Kemnay (1637–1711) was a Scottish judge and

Senator of the College of Justice The senators of the College of Justice in Scotland are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court ...

Life

He was born in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

the son of Thomas Nicolsone, merchant, and his wife, Elizabeth Abercrombie of Birkenbog. He was baptised in the

Kirk of St Nicholas The Kirk of St Nicholas is a historic church in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is the original parish church of the city, and is also known locally as the Mither Kirk or mother church. Following the Reformation, it was divided between two congregations, ...

on 28 February 1637. His younger brother was Thomas Nicolson. He studied Law at

King's College, Aberdeen King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, the full title of which is The University and King's College of Aberdeen (''Collegium Regium Aberdonense''), is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and now an integral part of the Univer ...

and acted as "Civilist" to the university for several years. He qualified as an advocate in 1661 and was then known as George Nicolson of

Cluny Cluny () is a commune in the eastern French department of Saône-et-Loire, in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is northwest of Mâcon. The town grew up around the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny, founded by Duke William I of Aquitaine in ...

. In 1682 he purchased Kemnay House and estate from Alexander Strachan of Glenkindie. On 5 July 1682 he was created a

and adopted the title Lord Kemnay. In 1688 he sold the Kemnay estate to

Thomas Burnett Thomas Burnett or Burnet may refer to: *Thomas Burnet (theologian) (c. 1635–1715), theologian *Thomas Burnet (judge) (1694–1753), English wit, barrister and judge * Thomas Burnet (physician) (1638–1704), physician to Charles II, James II, Wi ...

, however he did not change his title. In 1689 he bought the Balcaskie estate. Thomas Burnett died after only one year at Kemnay but the house remained with his family for many centuries. His son Thomas was created a Nova Scotia Baronet in April 1700. George died in Edinburgh on 8 February 1711.

Family

In 1663 he married Margaret Halyburton in Edinburgh, and their children included: * Sir Thomas Nicolson of Kemnay and Glenbervie (d.1728) * Sir William Nicolson of Glenbervie (1673-1766)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicolson, George 1637 births 1711 deaths People from Aberdeen Alumni of the University of Aberdeen 17th-century Scottish landowners Senators of the College of Justice