Dunbar Douglas, 4th Earl of Selkirk
The Earl of Selkirk | |
|---|---|
| Representative Peer for Scotland | |
| In office 1787–1799 | |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Galloway |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Dunbar Hamilton 1 December 1722 |
| Died | 24 June 1799 (aged 76) |
| Spouse |
Helen Hamilton (m. 1758) |
| Relations | Lord Basil Hamilton (grandfather) |
| Parent(s) | Isabella Mackenzie Basil Hamilton |
| Alma mater | University of Glasgow |
Dunbar Hamilton Douglas, 4th Earl of Selkirk FRSE (1 December 1722 – 24 June 1799) was a Scottish peer.
Early life
Born Dunbar Hamilton, he adopted the name Dunbar Douglas upon his succession to the Earldom of Selkirk in 1744. He was the eldest son of the former Isabella Mackenzie and Basil Hamilton, MP for Kirkcudbright Stewartry. His only surviving sibling was Mary Hamilton, who married Ranald Macdonald of Clanranald.[1]
His maternal grandparents were Elizabeth (née Paterson) Mackenzie (a daughter of Kenneth Mackenzie of Suddie) and Col. Hon. Alexander Mackenzie (a son of Kenneth Mackenzie, 4th Earl of Seaforth). His paternal grandparents were Lord Basil Hamilton (a sixth son of William Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton and Anne Hamilton, suo jure Duchess of Hamilton).[2]
He attended Glasgow University from 1739, being greatly influenced by Francis Hutcheson, Professor of Moral Philosophy. In 1745 he was granted the honorary Doctorate of Civil Law.
Career
Selkirk was a supporter of the government during the Jacobite Rising of 1745. He was Rector of the University of Glasgow from 1766 to 1768. He served as Lord Lieutenant of Kirkcudbright and, from 1787, as a representative peer for Scotland.[3]
He succeeded to the title of 4th Earl of Selkirk (creation of 1646 in the Peerage of Scotland) and 4th Lord Daer and Shortcleuch (creation of 1646 in the Peerage of Scotland) on 3 December 1744.
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In 1778, during the American Revolutionary War, Selkirk was the target of a raid by John Paul Jones, who was sailing in the service of the Continental Navy. Jones landed his ship, the Ranger on the shore of St Mary's Isle, intending to kidnap the Earl. Finding only the countess and her young family at home, his men made off instead with the silver of the household.[4] The story is told more fully here.
In 1782, he became a member of the radical Society for Constitutional Information.[5]
In 1785 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were Dugald Stewart, James Hutton, and Adam Smith.[6]
Personal life
On 3 December 1758, Lord Selkirk married Helen Hamilton (c. 1738–1802), daughter of Hon. John Hamilton and Margaret Home. He had seven sons, six of whom predeceased him. The youngest, Thomas, succeeded him as 5th Earl of Selkirk in 1799.
- Sholto Basil Douglas (1759–1760), who died in infancy
- Basil William Douglas, Lord Daer (1760–1794), who died, unmarried, from tuberculosis.
- John Douglas, Lord Daer (1765–1797)
- Hon. Dunbar Douglas (1766–1796), a Commander of the Royal Navy.
- Hon. Alexander Douglas (1767–1794) Captain, 38th Regiment of Foot.
- Lady Helen Hamilton Douglas (c. 1768–1837), who married Sir James Hall, 4th Baronet.[7]
- Hon. David Douglas (1769–1770), who died young.
- Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk (1771–1820), who married Jean Wedderburn-Colville, sister to James Wedderburn and Andrew Colville, in 1807.
- Lady Elizabeth Douglas (c. 1789–1814)
- Lady Katherine Douglas (c. 1790–1848)
Lord Selkirk died on 24 June 1799 at his residence on George Street, Edinburgh and was buried at Holyrood Abbey on the 31st of that month[8]
References
- ^ Paul, James Balfour (1910). The Scots Peerage: Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland; Containing an Historical and Genealogical Account of the Nobility of that Kingdom. D. Douglas. p. 518. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
- ^ "Dunbar Hamilton, later Douglas, 4th Earl of Selkirk". The Douglas Archives. Archived from the original on 15 November 2010.
- ^ "Earl of Selkirk". Cracroft's Peerage. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012.
- ^ Evan Thomas (2004). John Paul Jones: Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Nav. pp. 125–128.
- ^ The collected writings of Lord Selkirk 1799-1809 (PDF). Manitoba Record Society. p. 9.
- ^ Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002 (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. ISBN 0-902-198-84-X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
- ^ Lodge, Edmund (1859). The Genealogy of the Existing British Peerage and Baronetage: Containing the Family Histories of the Nobility. Hurst and Blackett. p. 703. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
- ^ Balfour Paul, Sir James, Scots Peerage Edinburgh 1904. vol vii, p521
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