Sir James Montgomery, 2nd Baronet
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Sir James Montgomery, 2nd Baronet Stanhope,
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". ...
(9 October 1766 – 27 May 1839) was a Scottish politician and lawyer who served as
Lord Advocate His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate (), is the principal legal adviser of both the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolution, devolved powers of the Scottish P ...
of Scotland 1804 to 1806.


Life

James Montgomery was born in
Peeblesshire Peeblesshire (), the County of Peebles or Tweeddale is a Counties of Scotland, historic county of Scotland. Its county town is Peebles, and it borders Midlothian to the north, Selkirkshire to the east, Dumfriesshire to the south, and Lanarkshire ...
on 9 October 1766, the son of Sir James Montgomery, 1st Baronet Stanhope and Margaret Scott. The family moved to
Stobo Castle Stobo Castle is located at Stobo in the Scottish Borders, in the Counties of Scotland, former county of Peeblesshire. The building of the present castle began in 1805 and was completed in 1811 under the supervision of architects Archibald Ellio ...
when he was an infant. He was educated at the High School 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 ...
from 1773 to 1778. He trained as an advocate passing the bar in 1787. He worked as an advocate at Argyll Square 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 ...
through the 1790s. He succeeded to the baronetcy on the death of his father in 1803. He immediately set about remodelling Stobo Castle, commissioning the Edinburgh architect
Archibald Elliot Archibald Elliot (August 1761 – 16 June 1823) was a Scottish architecture, architect based in Edinburgh. He had a very distinctive style, typified by square plans, concealed roofs, crenellated walls and square corner towers. All may be said t ...
to rebuild it in a castellated style. The very large project was completed in 1811 and brought the castle to its current appearance. In 1810 he inherited £20,000 on the death of the family friend,
William Douglas, 4th Duke of Queensberry William Douglas, 4th Duke of Queensberry, (16 December 172423 December 1810) was a Scottish noble landowner. He was popularly known as Old Q and was reputed as a high-stakes gambler. In 1799 he was estimated the eighth-wealthiest man (or small ...
, who had died childless. This was a true fortune at that time. From 1817 he served as Deputy Governor of the British Linen Company Bank. He held the office of Member of Parliament (M.P.) for
Peeblesshire Peeblesshire (), the County of Peebles or Tweeddale is a Counties of Scotland, historic county of Scotland. Its county town is Peebles, and it borders Midlothian to the north, Selkirkshire to the east, Dumfriesshire to the south, and Lanarkshire ...
between 1800 and 1831. His maiden speech as an MP was on the prevention of forgery of bank-notes. In 1807 he was elected a Fellow 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 proposers were Sir James Hall,
Alexander Dirom Lieutenant General Alexander Dirom of Luce and Mount Annan FRS FRSE (21May 17576October 1830) was a British military commander who saw overseas service in Barbados, Jamaica and India. He is remembered not only as a military commander but also as ...
, and
Thomas Charles Hope Thomas Charles Hope (21 July 1766 – 13 June 1844) was a Scottish physician, chemist and lecturer. He proved the existence of the element strontium, and gave his name to Hope's Experiment, which shows that water reaches its maximum density at ...
. In later life he had a town house at 20 York Place, Edinburgh. He died on 27 May 1839 aged 72.


Family

He married, firstly, Lady Elizabeth Douglas (d.1814), daughter of
Dunbar Douglas, 4th Earl of Selkirk Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and gave its name to an ecc ...
and Helen Hamilton, on 1 August 1806. His brother-in-law during this marriage was Basil William Douglas. They had two daughters and one son: *Helen Anne Montgomery (d. 1870) married
William Forbes Mackenzie William Forbes Mackenzie (18 April 1807 – 24 September 1862) was a Scottish Conservative politician and temperance reformer. He is best known for the Forbes MacKenzie Act, legislation passed in 1853 to regulate public houses in Scotland. Li ...
MP. They had two children. *Elizabeth Montgomery (d. 15 Sep 1874) *James Montgomery (28 Apr 1811 - 16 July 1833) He married, secondly, Helen Graham (d.1828), daughter of Thomas Graham MP of
Kinross House Kinross House is a late 17th-century country house overlooking Loch Leven, near Kinross in Kinross-shire, Scotland. History Construction of the house began in 1685, by the architect Sir William Bruce as his own home. It is regarded as one of hi ...
, in 1816. They had two daughters and three sons: *Anne Montgomery (30 June 1835). Unmarried. *Margaret Fleming Montgomery (d. 28 Feb 1840). Unmarried. *
Sir Graham Graham-Montgomery, 3rd Baronet Sir Graham Graham-Montgomery, 3rd Baronet, (9 July 1823 – 2 June 1901) was a Scotland, Scottish baronet and member of the British House of Commons. Life Graham-Montgomery entered the House of Commons in 1852 as a Member of Parliament (Uni ...
(9 July 1823 - 2 June 1901) *John Basil Hamilton Montgomery (11 Sep 1824 - 22 Feb 1911). Unmarried. *Capt. Thomas Henry Montgomery (21 Aug 1828 - 20 Jan 1879) married Hon. Anna Maria Elphinstone, daughter of Lt.-Col. James Drummond Buller-Fullerton-Elphinstone (a grandson of Charles Elphinstone, 10th Lord Elphinstone). They had two sons, and one daughter, including
Sir Henry James Purvis-Russell-Hamilton-Montgomery, 7th Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in 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 French only as part o ...
.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery, James, 2nd Baronet 1766 births 1839 deaths Nobility from the Scottish Borders Lord advocates Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom British MPs 1796–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies UK MPs 1801–1802 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