William Buller Fullerton Elphinstone, 15th Lord Elphinstone and 1st Baron Elphinstone (18 November 1828 – 18 January 1893), known as William Elphinstone until 1861, was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician.

Early life

Elphinstone was born on 18 November 1828. He was the son of Lieutenant-Colonel James Drummond Fullerton Elphinstone (1788–1857) and his second wife, Anna Maria (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Buller) Elphinstone, who married on 25 February 1824. His father was previously married to Diana-Maria Clavering, who died

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

of 1821. His father was the fourth son of the Hon.

William Elphinstone William Elphinstone (143125 October 1514) was a Scottish statesman, Bishop of Aberdeen and founder of the University of Aberdeen. Biography He was born in Glasgow. His father, also William Elphinstone, later became the first Dean of the Facu ...

, himself the third son of Charles Elphinstone, 10th Lord Elphinstone. His paternal uncle was Major-General

William George Keith Elphinstone Major-General William George Keith Elphinstone CB (26 January 1782 – 23 April 1842) was a Scottish officer of the British Army during the 19th century, remembered for service in the highest and lowest actions of the British Army. Elphinstone ...

. His mother was the only daughter of Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Buller and Gertrude van Cortlandt (descendant of

Stephanus Van Cortlandt Stephanus van Cortlandt (May 7, 1643 – November 25, 1700) was the first native-born mayor of New York City, a position which he held from 1677 to 1678 and from 1686 to 1688. He was the patroon of Van Cortlandt Manor and was on the governor ...

, the

Schuyler family The Schuyler family (Help:IPA/English, /ˈskaɪlər/; Dutch pronunciation: Help:IPA/Dutch, xœylər was a prominent Dutch family in New York and New Jersey in the 18th and 19th centuries, whose descendants played a critical role in the forma ...

and the de Peyster family from

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, ...

Career

He served as a midshipman on HMS ''Grampus'' from 1845 to 1847. He succeeded his second cousin in the lordship in 1861 and was elected a

Scottish representative peer This is a list of representative peers elected from the Peerage of Scotland to sit in the House of Lords after the Acts of Union 1707 abolished the unicameral Parliament of Scotland, where all Scottish Peers had been entit ...

in 1867. Elphinstone served as a

Lord-in-waiting Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (without ...

(government whip in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

) under

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...

from 1874 to 1880 and under

Lord Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903), known as Lord Salisbury, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United ...

from 1885 to 1886 and from 1886 to 1889. In 1885, he was created Baron Elphinstone, of Elphinstone in the County of Haddington, in the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great B ...

. In February 1885, he spent three weeks in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

in south-eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

with the English historian

James Anthony Froude James Anthony Froude ( ; 23 April 1818 – 20 October 1894) was an English historian, novelist, biographer, and editor of ''Fraser's Magazine''. From his upbringing amidst the Anglo-Catholic Oxford Movement, Froude intended to become a clergym ...

and his son, Ashley Anthony Froude. In March 1885 he accompanied the Froudes to New Zealand where they visited the Pink & White Terraces at Tarawera and stayed with

Sir George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Gov ...

on Kawarau Island. During his travels, Lord Elphinstone kept a portfolio of sketches which the elder Froude used when he published ''Oceana, or, England and Her Colonies'' in 1886.

Personal life

Lord Elphinstone married Lady Constance Euphemia Murray (1838–1922), daughter of

Alexander Murray, 6th Earl of Dunmore Alexander Edward Murray, 6th Earl of Dunmore (1 June 1804 – 15 July 1845) was a British Army officer and peer. He was the son of George Murray, 5th Earl of Dunmore. Early life He was the son of George Murray, 5th Earl of Dunmore and Lady Susan ...

, in 1864. Among her siblings were Lady Susan Murray,

Charles Murray, 7th Earl of Dunmore Charles Adolphus Murray, 7th Earl of Dunmore VD DL (24 March 1841 – 27 August 1907), styled Viscount Fincastle from birth until 1845, was a Scottish peer, Conservative politician, explorer, author, and artist. Early life He was born in Lond ...

, and Lady Victoria Alexandrina (wife of Rev. Henry Cunliffe, a son of Sir Robert Cunliffe, 4th Baronet). Together, they were the parents of five children, only one of whom married: * James Drummond Elphinstone (1865–1890), who died unmarried. * The Hon. Lilian Elphinstone (1867–1956), who died unmarried. * Sidney Elphinstone, 16th Lord Elphinstone (1869–1955), who married Lady Mary Bowes-Lyon, the daughter of

Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne Claude George Bowes-Lyon, 14th and 1st Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, (14 March 1855 – 7 November 1944), styled as Lord Glamis from 1865 to 1904, was a British peer and landowner who was the father of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and ...

and

Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck Cecilia Nina Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne (''née'' Cavendish-Bentinck; 11 September 1862 – 23 June 1938) was the mother of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and maternal grandmother and godmother of Queen Elizabeth ...

and the sister of

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was al ...

. * Hon. Mountstuart William Elphinstone (1871–1957), who served as Private Secretary to the Military Secretary,

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

during the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and who died unmarried. * Hon. Constance Lothian Elphinstone (1873–1895), who died unmarried. He died in January 1893, aged 64, and was succeeded in his titles by his eldest surviving son Sidney. Lady Elphinstone died in March 1922, and lived in Pinewood,

Windlesham Windlesham is a geographically-large village in the Surrey Heath borough of Surrey, England, approximately south west of central London. Its name derives from the Windle Brook, which runs south of the village into Chobham, and the common suffi ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

Notes

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Elphinstone, William Elphinstone, 15th Lord 1828 births 1893 deaths Nobility from East Lothian Conservative Party (UK) Baronesses- and Lords-in-Waiting Scottish representative peers Scottish people of Dutch descent De Peyster family Schuyler family Van Cortlandt family

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom 15 Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria