James St Clair
General The Hon. James St Clair (1688 – 30 November 1762),[1] was a Scottish soldier and Whig politician.
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[edit] Background
St Clair was the second son of Henry St Clair, 10th Lord Sinclair and his wife Grizel Cockburn, daughter of Sir James Cockburn, 1st Baronet.[2] As a child he received a commission into the 1st Battalion, Royal Regiment of Foot.[3]
[edit] Military career
St Clair became an ensign of 6th Regiment of Foot in 1694, however was set on halfpay in 1713.[3] In the next year, he was admitted to the 3rd Foot Guards and was promoted to captain in 1714.[3] He served as 2nd major of his regiment from 1722 and as 1st major from 1725, having been advanced to the rank of brevet colonel two years before.[3] In 1734, St Clair was appointed to the command of the 22nd Regiment of Foot[3] and three years later he was transferred to the colonelship of the Royal Regiment of Foot (later renamed as 1st (Royal) Regiment of Foot), which he held until his death.[4]
He rose to Brigadier General in 1739 and already after another two years to Major General.[5] St Clair became lieutenant-general in charge of the British forces in Flanders in June 1745[6] and in the following year, he was sent with six thousand men to attack Quebec.[5] Because of delays, he sailed instead to capture the Breton port of Lorient.[5] He destroyed the French fortifications near Quiberon and then returned to England.[5] In 1761, St Clair was finally advanced to a full general.[5]
[edit] Political career
St Clair entered the British House of Commons in 1722, sitting for Dysart Burghs until 1734.[7] Two years later, he was elected for Sutherland, which constituency he represented until 1747, when he was again returned for Dysart.[7] He held the latter seat until 1754 and became then Member of Parliament for Fife until 1762.[7] St Clair travelled as envoy to the courts of Turin and Vienna in 1748 and later acted as governor of County Cork.[5]
[edit] Personal life
In 1735, St Clair bought Rosslyn Castle, which was later later inherited by the male heirs of his sisters.[8] On the death of his older brother John St Clair in 1750, he succeeded de jure as Lord Sinclair, but never assumed the title.[1]
Around 1745, he married Janet Dalrymple, youngest daughter of Sir David Dalrymple, 1st Baronet and widow of Sir John Baird, 2nd Baronet.[9] Their marriage was childless.[2] St Clair died in Dysart in 1766 and was survived by his wife for four years.[9] With his death the lordship became dormant until 1782, when it reverted to Charles St Clair, a first cousin of James Sinclair, 7th Lord Sinclair.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Leigh Rayment - Peerage". http://www.leighrayment.com/peers/peersS3.htm. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
- ^ a b c Burke, John (1832). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire. vol. I (4th ed.). London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley. pp. 441.
- ^ a b c d e Douglas, Sir Robert (1910). Sir James Balfour Paul. ed. The Scots Peerage. vol. VII. Edinburgh: David Douglas. pp. 588–589.
- ^ London Gazette: no. 7614. p. 2.a. 28 June 1737. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f
"Sinclair, James (d.1762)". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. - ^ London Gazette: no. 8441. p. 2. 15 June 1745. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
- ^ a b c Sir Lewis Namier, John Brooke, ed. (2002). The House of Commons, 1754-1790. vol. I. London: Secker & Warburg. pp. 398.
- ^ "ThePeerage - General James St Clair". http://www.thepeerage.com/p12916.htm#i129154. Retrieved 4 March 2007.
- ^ a b Burke, John (2001). Peter de Vere Beauclerk-Dewar. ed. Burke's Landed Gentry of Great Britain. pp. 44. ISBN 0971196605.
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by William Kerr |
Member of Parliament for Dysart Burghs 1722 – 1734 |
Succeeded by Thomas Leslie |
| Preceded by Sir James Fergusson |
Member of Parliament for Sutherland 1736 – 1747 |
Succeeded by George Mackay |
| Preceded by James Oswald |
Member of Parliament for Dysart Burghs 1747 – 1754 |
Succeeded by James Oswald |
| Preceded by James Oswald |
Member of Parliament for Fife 1754 – 1762 |
Succeeded by James Wemyss |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by William Barrell |
Colonel of the 22nd Regiment of Foot 1734–1737 |
Succeeded by John Moyle |
| Preceded by The Earl of Orkney |
Colonel of the 1st (Royal) Regiment of Foot 1737–1762 |
Succeeded by Sir Henry Erskine, 5th Bt |
| Peerage of Scotland | ||
| Preceded by John St Clair |
Lord Sinclair de jure 1723–1750 |
Dormant
Title next held by
Charles St Clair |
- 1688 births
- 1762 deaths
- British Army generals
- British Army personnel of the Seven Years' War
- British MPs 1722–1727
- British MPs 1727–1734
- British MPs 1734–1741
- British MPs 1741–1747
- British MPs 1747–1754
- British MPs 1754–1761
- British MPs 1761–1768
- Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies
- Royal Scots officers
- Whig (British political party) MPs
- Politics of Fife
- Politics of Highland (council area)
- 18th-century Scottish people
