Sir Thomas Miller, 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". ...

(3 November 1717 – 27 September 1789), known as Lord Barskimming (1766–88) and Lord Glenlee (from 1788) during his judicial service, was a Scottish

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

, judge, politician and landowner. He 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 ...

in 1783, and served as the society's first vice-president, 1783 to 1786.

Early life

He was born 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 ...

on 3 November 1717 the second son of Janet Hamilton and her husband, William Miller of Glenlee WS,

Kirkcudbrightshire Kirkcudbrightshire ( ) or the County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the Counties of Scotland, historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an ...

, and of Barskimming in Ayrshire. He studied law at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

(1730) and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

(1738).

Career

He was admitted to the

Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates () is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a const ...

in 1742, appointed sheriff-depute of Kirkcudbright in 1748 and elected joint town-clerk of the city of Glasgow. In 1755 he resigned the office of sheriff-depute to become solicitor of the

Excise file:Lincoln Beer Stamp 1871.JPG, upright=1.2, 1871 U.S. Revenue stamp for 1/6 barrel of beer. Brewers would receive the stamp sheets, cut them into individual stamps, cancel them, and paste them over the Bunghole, bung of the beer barrel so when ...

in Scotland. He was appointed

Solicitor General for Scotland His Majesty's Solicitor General for Scotland () is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Lord Advocate, whose duty is to advise the Scottish Government on Scots Law. They are also responsible for the Crown Office and P ...

in 1759, and promoted to

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 ...

in 1760. From 1762 until 1764 he also held the title of Rector of the University of Glasgow. He was Member of Parliament for Dumfries Burghs from 1761 to 1766, and

Rector of the University of Glasgow The (Lord) Rector of the University of Glasgow is one of the most senior posts within the institution, elected every three years by students. The theoretical role of the rector is to represent students to the senior management of the university ...

from 1763. He was raised to the bench and appointed

Lord Justice Clerk The Lord Justice Clerk is the second most senior judge in Scotland, after the Lord President of the Court of Session. The current Lord Justice Clerk is Lord Beckett, who was appointed to the position on 4 February 2025, succeeding Lady Dorr ...

in 1766, taking the judicial title Lord Barskimming. In 1788, he became

Lord President of the Court of Session The Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General () is the most senior judge in Scotland, the head of the judiciary, and the presiding judge of the College of Justice, the Court of Session, and the High Court of Justiciary. ...

and was created Lord Glenlee, Baronet of Glenlee, in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright. His Edinburgh address in 1775 was Browns Square. Around 1780 he bought the Dean estate, of Nisbet family fame, and lived at Dean House (later replaced by

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and o ...

). He died at Barskimming, Ayrshire, on 27 September 1789 and was interred in the family vault at

Stair Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps which enable passage ...

, Ayrshire.

Family

In 1752 he married Margaret Murdoch daughter of

John Murdoch of Rosebank John Murdoch of Rosebank (1709–1776) was a Scottish tobacco lord and politician who served as Lord Provost of Glasgow three times: 1746–1748, 1750–1752 and 1758–1760, with his brother-in-law Andrew Cochrane serving in the ...

Lord Provost of Glasgow The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Glasgow is the convener of the Glasgow City Council. The Lord Provost serves both as the chair of the city council and as a figurehead for the entire city, and is elected by the city councillors from among i ...

, and together they had one son Sir William Miller, Lord Glenlee (1755-1846). He married again in 1768 to Anne Lockhart. He was brother to

Patrick Miller of Dalswinton Patrick Miller of Dalswinton (1731–1815) was a Scottish banker and inventor who served as Deputy Governor of the Bank of Scotland. He engineered the ship '' Experiment of Leith'' for the Swedish Navy, and was involved in a boat project with Wi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Thomas 1717 births 1789 deaths Nobility from Edinburgh Politicians from Edinburgh Lawyers from Edinburgh 18th-century Scottish judges 18th-century Scottish businesspeople Alumni of the University of Glasgow Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Rectors of the University of Glasgow Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain Lord advocates Lords President of the Court of Session Members of the Faculty of Advocates Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies British MPs 1761–1768 Politics of Dumfries and Galloway Scottish sheriffs Solicitors general for Scotland Glenlee 18th-century Scottish landowners Lords Justice Clerk Founder fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh