Sir James Hunter Blair, 1st Baronet

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

(February 1741 – 1 July 1787) was a Scottish banker, landowner and politician.

Life

Born John Hunter in

Ayr Ayr ( ; ; , meaning "confluence of the River Àir"), is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. A former royal burgh, today it is the administrative centre of South Ayrshire Council, and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With ...

, the son of a merchant,Monuments and monumental inscriptions in Scotland: The Caledonian Society of Scotland John Hunter of Mainholm and Millquarter and his wife, Anne Cunninghame. In 1756 he was apprenticed to Messrs

Coutts Coutts & Co. () is a British private bank and wealth manager headquartered in London, England. Founded in 1692, it is the eighth oldest bank in the world. Today, Coutts forms part of NatWest Group's wealth management division. In the Channe ...

, bankers 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 ...

and in 1763 became a partner in the banking company of Sir William Forbes, and acquired the estate of Robertland. After his marrying Jean Blair, the daughter and heiress of John Blair of Dunskey in

Wigtownshire Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown (, ) is one of the Counties of Scotland, historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an counties of Scotland, administrative county used for ...

in 1770, the family name became Hunter Blair when she inherited her father's estate in 1777. Hunter Blair was Member of Parliament for

from 1780 to 1784 and

Lord Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is elected by and is the convener of the City of Edinburgh Council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city, ex officio the Lord-Lieutenant of ...

from 1784 to 1786. As Lord Provost, he carried through various reforms, including the beginning of work on rebuilding the University and the construction of South Bridge, over the

Cowgate The Cowgate (Scots language, Scots: The Cougait) is a street in Edinburgh, Scotland, located about southeast of Edinburgh Castle, within the city's World Heritage Site. The street is part of the lower level of Edinburgh's Old Town, Edinburgh, ...

. The foundation stone of this bridge was laid by Lord Haddo, as

Grand Master Mason This is a list of grand master masons of the Grand Lodge of Scotland: # 1736–1737: William St Clair of Roslin # 1737–1738: George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie # 1738–1739: John Keith, 3rd Earl of Kintore (G.M. of England; 1740) # 1739� ...

of Scotland in 1785, after Parliament had passed an Act giving permission for the plans to be executed. This connection gives rise to the names Hunter Square and Blair Street immediately west of South Bridge. By negotiation his Edinburgh seat as MP was passed to

Sir Adam Fergusson, 3rd Baronet Sir Adam Fergusson, 3rd Baronet of Kilkerran, FRSE LLD (7 May 1733 – 25 September 1813) was a Scottish advocate, politician and slave-owner. He was described as able but humourless. Together with contemporaries such as Robert Dundas he was part ...

of Kilkerran, in the election of August 1784. In November 1783 Blair was a founder member of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

. His Edinburgh home was on George Street, then a new Georgian townhouse in the centre of Edinburgh's First New Town. His country house was Dunskey House in Ayrshire. He had interests in an estate in Tobago. Blair was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

of Dunskey in the County of Wigtown on 27 June 1786. Hunter Blair cordially received

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

when the poet first arrived in Edinburgh. On his death, Burns drafted an elegy, beginning: "he lamp of day, with ill-presaging glare", which extols rather laboriously Blair's public virtues. Burns called it "just mediocre", but Ferguson describes it as "the disastrous Elegy on the Death of Sir James Hunter Blair". Hunter Blair was an enthusiastic Freemason. Hunter Square and Blair Street in Edinburgh are both named after him. Blair died in

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, but he is buried in

Greyfriars Kirkyard Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 1 ...

in Edinburgh. His widow, Lady Hunter Blair, lived at 34 Queen Street in Edinburgh which he had purchased as a new house shortly before death. She is shown as owner of large tracts of land to the north which later became Queen Street Gardens.

Legacy

Due to his role in the creation of South Bridge in the 1784, both Blair Street and Hunter Square, at the north end of the bridge are named after him.

Family

After 1777, when his wife succeeded her brother to Dunskey estates, Hunter assumed and added the name of Blair to his own. He married Jane (or Jean) Blair of Dunskey in 1770. They had 14 children including Sir David Hunter Blair, 3rd Baronet

(1778–1857). Dunskey Estate is currently used as a wedding and film venue.

Family

There were 10 sons and four daughters of the marriage. The sons, excluding four who died young, were: * John Hunter Blair, 2nd Baronet (1772–1800) * David Hunter Blair, 3rd Baronet

(1778–1857) * Thomas Hunter Blair (1782–1849), later Major-General * Robert Hunter Blair * Forbes Hunter Blair * James Hunter Blair. * Anne Hunter Blair (d. 1854), who married William Mure of

Caldwell Caldwell may refer to: People * Caldwell (surname) * Caldwell (given name) * Caldwell First Nation, a federally recognized First Nation in southern Ontario, Canada Places Great Britain * Caldwell, Derbyshire, a hamlet * Caldwell, Ea ...

(d. 1831), son of William Mure (1718–1776), and father of William Mure (1799–1860) * Clementina Hunter Blair * Jane Hunter Blair * Jemima Hunter Blair.

References

;Attribution

External links

Burns' association with Hunter Blair
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter Blair, James 1741 births 1787 deaths People from Ayr Nobility from South Ayrshire Scottish bankers Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain Scottish landowners Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies Politics of Edinburgh Scottish knights British MPs 1780–1784 18th-century Scottish businesspeople Burials at Greyfriars Kirkyard Councillors in Edinburgh Lord provosts of Edinburgh Scottish civil servants Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Founder fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh

Life

Legacy

Family

Family

See also

References

External links