Sir James Macdonald, 2nd Baronet,

GCMG The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

(14 February 1784 – 29 June 1832) was a British politician. He sat in the

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between 1805 and 1832.

Early life

Macdonald was born 14 February 1784, the eldest and only surviving son of Sir Archibald Macdonald, a

Baron of the Exchequer The Barons of the Exchequer, or ''barones scaccarii'', were the judges of the English court known as the Exchequer of Pleas. The Barons consisted of a Chief Baron of the Exchequer and several puisne (''inferior'') barons. When Robert Shute was ...

, by Lady Louisa Leveson-Gower. His two surviving siblings were Susan Macdonald, the illustrator of ''"The Sports of the Genii"'', and Caroline Diana Macdonald (wife of Rev. Thomas Randolph, son of The Rt. Rev. John Randolph). His paternal grandparents were Sir Alexander Macdonald, 7th Baronet, and, his second wife, Lady Margaret Montgomerie (a daughter of the 9th Earl of Eglinton and Susanna Kennedy). Among his extended paternal family were uncles, Sir James Macdonald, 8th Baronet and Alexander Macdonald, 1st Baron Macdonald. His maternal grandparents were

Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford, KG PC (4 August 172126 October 1803), known as Viscount Trentham from 1746 to 1754 and as The Earl Gower from 1754 to 1786, was a British politician from the Leveson-Gower family. Sitting in ...

and Lady Louisa Egerton (a daughter of the 1st Duke of Bridgwater). Among his extended maternal family were aunts Lady Margaret Leveson-Gower (wife of the 5th Earl of Carlisle), Lady Anne Leveson-Gower (wife of the Rt. Rev. Hon.

Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt (10 October 1757 – 5 November 1847) was a Church of England bishop. He was the Bishop of Carlisle from 1791 to 1807 and then the Archbishop of York until his death. He was the third son of the George Venables ...

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), Lady Georgiana Augusta Leveson-Gower (wife of the 2nd Earl of St Germans), Lady Charlotte Leveson-Gower (wife of the 6th Duke of Beaufort), and Lady Susanna Leveson-Gower (wife of the 1st Earl of Harrowby); and uncles

George Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland George Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland Order of the Garter, KG, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC (9 January 175819 July 1833), known as Viscount Trentham from 1758 to 1786, as Earl Gower from 1786 to 1803 and as t ...

and

Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Granville Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Granville, (12 October 1773 – 8 January 1846), styled Lord Granville Leveson-Gower from 1786 to 1815 and The Viscount Granville from 1815 to 1833, was a British Whig statesman and diplomat from the Leveson-G ...

. Like his father, he was educated at

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and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

. He was admitted to

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in 1804.

Career

With the support of his uncle, George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Marquess of Sutherland (later first duke), Macdonald was first elected to parliament at the by-election for the

Tain Burghs Tain Burghs was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832, sometimes known as Northern Burghs. It was represented by one Member of P ...

in 1805. He then successfully contested the seats of

Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. It is adjacent to the city of Stoke-on-Trent. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the population ...

at the general election of 1806,

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at the general election of 1812, the

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by-election of 1816 (and subsequent elections) and

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

at the general election of 1831. Macdonald's father was created a baronet on his retirement in 1813 and on his death in 1826, James inherited the title. Sir James was persuaded to accept the office of

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, in the hope that the climate of the Mediterranean would improve his poor health. He was appointed to the office on 2 June 1832 and immediately gave up his Hampshire seat in the Commons. He was gazetted a Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

on 22 June, the same day of the subsequent Hampshire by-election. However, he died on 29 June 1832, without having set sail for Corfu or being invested as a knight.

Personal life

Sir James was married three times. His first marriage was to Elizabeth Sparrow (1789–1818) on 5 September 1805. She was a daughter of John Sparrow, of Bishton Hall, Staffordshire. She died on 4 January 1818; they had no issue. He married Lady Sophia Keppel (–1824) on 10 August 1819. She was the eldest daughter of

William Keppel, 4th Earl of Albemarle William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

and Hon. Elizabeth Southwell (a daughter of the 20th Baron de Clifford).Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volumes.'' Crans,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999, volume 1, page 48. Before her death on 29 September 1824, they had two sons: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 (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, pps. 450–451. * Sir Archibald Keppel Macdonald, 3rd Baronet (1820–1901), an army officer who married Lady Margaret Sophia Coke, a daughter of Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester in 1849. After her death, he married Catherine Mary ( Coulthurst) Stonor, widow of Hon. Thomas Stonor (a son of 3rd Baron Camoys) who was a daughter of John Nicholas Coulthurst, in 1869. * Granville Southwell Macdonald (1821–1831), who died young. His third, and final, marriage was on 20 April 1826 to Anne Charlotte Ogle (–1886), a daughter of the Rev. John Saville Ogle, of Kirkley Hall, Northumberland, who was

prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Catholic Church, Catholic or Anglicanism , Anglican clergy, a form of canon (priest) , canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in part ...

of Durham, and Catherine Hannah Sneyd. After dining at his father-in-law's home at

Berkeley Square Berkeley Square is a garden square in the West End of London. It is one of the best known of the many squares in London, located in Mayfair in the City of Westminster. It was laid out in the mid 18th century by the architect William Kent, ...

on 27 June 1832, he fell ill the next day and died of cholera on the 29th at

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.Nichols, John He left the bulk of his estate including landed property, shares in the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Co., to his only surviving son, Archibald, who succeeded him in the baronetcy.

Descendants

Through his son Arichbald, he was a grandfather of Mary Catherine Macdonald (wife of Leonard Labouchere Hillyer) and Sir Archibald Macdonald, 4th Baronet, upon whose death the baronetcy became extinct.

References

External links

*
Sir James Macdonald, 2nd Bt. (1784-1832)
at the National Trust Collections
Sir James Macdonald, second baronet
at Lord Byron and his Times {{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, James 1784 births 1832 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Newcastle-under-Lyme UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1818–1820 UK MPs 1820–1826 UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs 1831–1832 202 Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George