Earl of Dalhousie
Encyclopedia
Peerage of Scotland
The Peerage of Scotland is the division of the British Peerage for those peers created in the Kingdom of Scotland before 1707. With that year's Act of Union, the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England were combined into the Kingdom of Great Britain, and a new Peerage of Great Britain was...
, held by the Chief
Scottish clan chief
The Scottish Gaelic word clann means children. In early times, and possibly even today, clan members believed themselves to descend from a common ancestor, the founder of the Scottish clan. From its perceived founder a clan takes its name. The clan chief is the representative of this founder, and...
of Clan Ramsay
Clan Ramsay
Clan Ramsay is a Lowland Scottish clan of Anglo-Norman origin. The clan can be traced to the 12th century in Scotland.-Origins:A ram in the sea is said to have been an emblem on the seal of Ramsay Abbey in Huntingdon in the 11th century...
.
History
This family descends from Sir George Ramsay, who represented Kincardineshire in the Scottish ParliamentParliament of Scotland
The Parliament of Scotland, officially the Estates of Parliament, was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland. The unicameral parliament of Scotland is first found on record during the early 13th century, with the first meeting for which a primary source survives at...
in 1617. He received a charter of the barony of Dalhousie and also of the barony of Melrose on the resignation of James Ramsay, 1st Earl of Holderness. In 1618 he was raised to the Peerage of Scotland as Lord Ramsay of Melrose. However, as he did not like the title he obtained a letter from James VI
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
to change it to Lord Ramsay of Dalhousie (with the precedence of 1618). He was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Lord. He sat as a Member of the Scottish Parliament for Montrose in 1617 and 1621 and served as Sheriff Principal of Edinburghshire. In 1633 he was created Lord Ramsay of Keringtoun and Earl of Dalhousie, in the County of Midlothian, in the Peerage of Scotland. His grandson, the third Earl (who succeeded his father in 1674), fought at the Battle of Bothwell Brig in 1679. His eldest son, the fourth Earl, was killed in a duel with a Mr Hamilton. He was unmarried and was succeeded by his younger brother, the fifth Earl. He was a Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
in the Scots Guards
Scots Guards
The Scots Guards is a regiment of the Guards Division of the British Army, whose origins lie in the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland...
and Brigadier-General in the British Army and fought in the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
.
He was succeeded by his first cousin once removed, the sixth Earl. He was the son of Captain the Hon. John Ramsay, second son of the first Earl. Lord Dalhousie's eldest son of George Ramsay, Lord Ramsay (d. 1739), married Jean, daughter of the Hon. Harry Maule of Kelly, younger son of George Maule, 2nd Earl of Panmure, brother of James Maule, 4th Earl of Panmure, who took part in the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715 and was attainted in 1716 with his titles forfeited (see Earl of Panmure
Earl of Panmure
Earl of Panmure was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1646 for Sir Patrick Maule, a former Gentleman of the Bedchamber to James VI and loyal follower of Charles I. He was made Lord Maule, Brechin and Navar at the same time, also in the Peerage of Scotland...
). Dalhousie was succeeded by his grandson, the seventh Earl. He was the eldest son of Lord Ramsay. He died unmarried and was succeeded by his younger brother, the eighth Earl. He sat in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
as a Scottish Representative Peer
Representative peer
In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords...
from 1774 to 1787. His second son the Hon. William Ramsay
William Maule, 1st Baron Panmure
William Ramsay, 1st Baron Panmure was the younger son of George Ramsay, 8th Earl of Dalhousie and Elizabeth Glen. His father was the son of Jean Maule, granddaughter of George Maule, 2nd Earl of Panmure...
succeeded to the Ma the United Kingdom]], which entitled him to an automatic seat in the House of Lords.
He was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, the tenth Earl. He was an influential Tory politician and also served as Governor-General of India
Governor-General of India
The Governor-General of India was the head of the British administration in India, and later, after Indian independence, the representative of the monarch and de facto head of state. The office was created in 1773, with the title of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William...
from 1847 to 1856. In 1849 he was created Marquess of Dalhousie, of Dalhousie Castle in the County of Edinburgh and of the Punjab, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Lord Dalhousie assumed the additional surname of Broun of Colstoun
Broun Baronets
The Broun Baronets are a branch of the ancient Broun of Colstoun family whose estate near Haddington, East Lothian, remains to this day in the possession of a cadet family.-Origins:Early in the twelfth century a Walterus le Brun flourished in Scotland...
upon succeeding to the Colstoun estates. He had no male issue and on his death in 1860 the marquessate and barony of 1815 became extinct. He was succeeded in the Scottish titles by his first cousin Fox Maule, 2nd Baron Panmure
Fox Maule-Ramsay, 11th Earl of Dalhousie
Fox Maule-Ramsay, 11th Earl of Dalhousie KT, GCB, PC , known as Fox Maule before 1852, as The Lord Panmure between 1852 and 1860 and as Earl of Dalhousie after 1860, was a British politician.-Background:...
, the eleventh Earl (see Baron Panmure for earlier history of this branch of the family). He was a prominent Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
politician and notably held office as Secretary of State for War
Secretary of State for War
The position of Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a British cabinet-level position, first held by Henry Dundas . In 1801 the post became that of Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. The position was re-instated in 1854...
. On succeeding to the earldom in 1860 he assumed the surname and arms of Ramsay of Dalhousie after that of Maule. Lord Dalhousie was childless and on his death in 1874 the barony of Panmure became extinct. He was succeeded in the Scottish titles by his first cousin, the twelfth Earl. He was the second son of the Hon. John Ramsay, fourth son of the eight Earl. Lord Dalhousie was an Admiral in the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. In 1875 he was created Baron Ramsay, of Glenmark in the County of Forfar, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, which entitled him to a seat in the House of Lords.
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
as Secretary of State for Scotland
Secretary of State for Scotland
The Secretary of State for Scotland is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Scotland. He heads the Scotland Office , a government department based in London and Edinburgh. The post was created soon after the Union of the Crowns, but was...
in 1886. His eldest son, the fourteenth Earl, was a Captain in the Scots Guards
Scots Guards
The Scots Guards is a regiment of the Guards Division of the British Army, whose origins lie in the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland...
and an Honorary Colonel in the North Scottish Royal Garrison Artillery (TA). He was succeeded by his eldest son, the fifteenth Earl. He was a Deputy Lieutenant
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
of Angus
Angus
Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City...
. He died unmarried and was succeeded by his younger brother, the sixteenth Earl. He was a Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
before succeeding in the earldom and later served as Governor-General of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
Governor-General of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
This is a list of the men who served as Governor-General of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland . The Federation was formed on 1 August 1953 from the former colonies of Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and was formally dissolved on 31 December 1963.-List of Governors-General...
and was Chancellor of the University of Dundee. the titles are held by his eldest son, the seventeenth Earl, who succeeded in 1999. Lord Dalhousie is Chief of Clan Ramsay
Clan Ramsay
Clan Ramsay is a Lowland Scottish clan of Anglo-Norman origin. The clan can be traced to the 12th century in Scotland.-Origins:A ram in the sea is said to have been an emblem on the seal of Ramsay Abbey in Huntingdon in the 11th century...
.
Several other members of the family have also gained distinction. The Hon. George Ramsay (d. 1705), younger son of the second Earl, was a Lieutenant-General in the Army and served as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in Scotland in 1702. The aforementioned the Hon. William Ramsay
William Maule, 1st Baron Panmure
William Ramsay, 1st Baron Panmure was the younger son of George Ramsay, 8th Earl of Dalhousie and Elizabeth Glen. His father was the son of Jean Maule, granddaughter of George Maule, 2nd Earl of Panmure...
, second son of the eighth Earl, was created Baron Panmure
Baron Panmure
Baron Panmure, of Brechin and Navar in the County of Forfar, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 10 September 1831 for the Hon. William Maule, longtime Member of Parliament for Forfar. Born William Ramsay, he was the second son of George Ramsay, 8th Earl of...
in 1831. The aforementioned the Hon. John Ramsay (1775–1842), fourth son of the eighth Earl, was a Lieutenant-General in the service of the General Staff of India. He was the father of 1) William Ramsay (1804–1871), a Major-General in the Bengal Army
Bengal Army
The Bengal Army was the army of the Presidency of Bengal, one of the three Presidencies of British India, in South Asia. Although based in Bengal in eastern India, the presidency stretched across northern India and the Himalayas all the way to the North West Frontier Province...
; 2) the twelfth Earl (see above); 3) James Ramsay (1808–1868), a Major-General in the Bengal Army; and 4) the Hon. Sir Henry Ramsay (1816–1893), a General in the Bengal Army, whose grandson was the politician Archibald Maule Ramsay
Archibald Maule Ramsay
Captain Archibald Henry Maule Ramsay was a British Army officer who later went into politics as a Scottish Unionist Member of Parliament . From the late 1930s he developed increasingly strident antisemitic views...
. The Hon. Charles Ramsay, fourth son of the twelfth Earl, represented Forfar
Forfar (UK Parliament constituency)
Forfarshire was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of Great Britain of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1708 until 1800, and then in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom until 1950....
in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
from 1894 to 1895. The Hon. Sir Patrick Ramsay (1879–1962), second son of the thirteenth Earl, was a diplomat and served as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Greece, Hungary and Denmark. The Hon. Sir Alexander Ramsay, third son of the thirteenth Earl, was an Admiral in the Royal Navy and served as Fifth Sea Lord
Fifth Sea Lord
The Fifth Sea Lord was formerly one of the Naval Lords and members of the Board of Admiralty that controlled the Royal Navy.-History:In 1805, for the first time, specific functions were assigned to each of the 'Naval' Lords, who were described as 'Professional' Lords, leaving to the 'Civil' Lords...
from 1938 to 1939. He was the husband of Princess Patricia of Connaught
Princess Patricia of Connaught
Princess Patricia of Connaught was a member of the British Royal Family, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria...
, youngest child of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a member of the shared British and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha royal family who served as the Governor General of Canada, the 10th since Canadian Confederation.Born the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and...
. Their son was Alexander Ramsay of Mar
Alexander Ramsay of Mar
Captain Alexander Arthur Alfonso David Maule Ramsay of Mar was the only child of HRH Princess Patricia of Connaught, who renounced her royal title and style when she married then-Captain the Hon. Alexander Ramsay in February 1919...
, husband of Flora Fraser, 21st Lady Saltoun
Flora Fraser, 21st Lady Saltoun
Marjorie Flora Fraser, 21st Lady SaltounIt has recently been determined that Margaret Abernethy succeeded her brother, Alexander Abernethy, 9th Lord Saltoun in 1668, but only survived him by about 6 weeks and had not been counted in the title's numbering. This new information has resulted in the...
.
Brechin Castle
Brechin Castle
Brechin Castle is a castle located in Brechin, Angus, Scotland. The castle is the seat of the Earl of Dalhousie, who is the clan chieftain of Clan Maule of Panmure in Angus, and Clan Ramsay of Dalhousie in Midlothian. The original castle was constructed in stone during the 13th century...
is the current seat of the Earl of Dalhousie. The former seat, Dalhousie Castle
Dalhousie Castle
Dalhousie Castle is a castle in Midlothian, Scotland. Dalhousie Castle is situated near the town of Bonnyrigg, 8 miles south of Edinburgh. The castle was the seat of the Earls of Dalhousie, the chieftains of Clan Ramsay.-History:...
, was sold in the late 20th century and is now a hotel. Until then it was said to be a property longer in one family than any other in Scotland.
The title of the earldom is pronounced "Dal-how-sy".
Earls of Dalhousie (1633)
- William Ramsay, 1st Earl of Dalhousie (d. 1672)
- George Ramsay, 2nd Earl of Dalhousie (d. 1674)
- William Ramsay, 3rd Earl of Dalhousie (d. 1682)
- George Ramsay, 4th Earl of Dalhousie (d. 1696)
- William Ramsay, 5th Earl of Dalhousie (d. 1710)
- William Ramsay, 6th Earl of Dalhousie (c. 1660–1739)
- Charles Ramsay, 7th Earl of Dalhousie (d. 1764)
- George Ramsay, 8th Earl of DalhousieGeorge Ramsay, 8th Earl of DalhousieGeorge Ramsay, 8th Earl of Dalhousie was a grandson of William Ramsay, 6th Earl of Dalhousie.On 30 July 1767, he married Elizabeth Glen and they had five children:*Lady Mary Ramsay*Lady Elisabeth Ramsay...
(d. 1787) - George Ramsay, 9th Earl of DalhousieGeorge Ramsay, 9th Earl of DalhousieGeneral George Ramsay, 9th Earl of Dalhousie GCB , styled Lord Ramsay until 1787, was a Scottish soldier and colonial administrator...
(1770–1838) - James Andrew Broun-Ramsay, 10th Earl of DalhousieJames Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of DalhousieJames Andrew Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie KT, PC was a Scottish statesman, and a colonial administrator in British India....
(1812–1860) (created Marquess of Dalhousie in 1849) - Fox Maule-Ramsay, 11th Earl of DalhousieFox Maule-Ramsay, 11th Earl of DalhousieFox Maule-Ramsay, 11th Earl of Dalhousie KT, GCB, PC , known as Fox Maule before 1852, as The Lord Panmure between 1852 and 1860 and as Earl of Dalhousie after 1860, was a British politician.-Background:...
(1801–1874) - George Ramsay, 12th Earl of DalhousieGeorge Ramsay, 12th Earl of DalhousieGeorge Ramsay, 12th Earl of Dalhousie was a British naval officer.He served in the Royal Navy from 1820, rising to the rank of Admiral by 1875. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1856. He succeeded his cousin, Fox Maule Ramsay in 1874, and was created first Baron Ramsay of...
(1806–1880) - John William Ramsay, 13th Earl of DalhousieJohn Ramsay, 13th Earl of DalhousieJohn William Maule Ramsay, 13th Earl of Dalhousie KT, PC , styled Lord Ramsay between 1874 and 1880, was a Scottish naval commander, courtier and Liberal politician...
(1847–1887) - Arthur George Maule Ramsay, 14th Earl of DalhousieArthur George Maule Ramsay, 14th Earl of DalhousieArthur George Maule Ramsay, 14th Earl of Dalhousie fought in the Boer War and and World War I, as a captain in the Scots Guards.-Biography:...
(1878–1928) - John Gilbert Ramsay, 15th Earl of Dalhousie (1904–1950)
- Simon Ramsay, 16th Earl of DalhousieSimon Ramsay, 16th Earl of DalhousieSimon Ramsay, 16th Earl of Dalhousie, KT, GCVO, GBE, MC, DL was a British land-owner, statesman and politician....
(1914–1999) - James Hubert Ramsay, 17th Earl of DalhousieJames Hubert Ramsay, 17th Earl of DalhousieJames Hubert Ramsay, 17th Earl of Dalhousie, DL , styled Lord Ramsay between 1950 and 1999, is a British land-owner. The Earl was appointed, in succession to the Duke of Abercorn, as Lord Steward of Her Majesty's Household in 2009....
(b. 1948)
The heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
is the present holder's son Simon David Ramsay, Lord Ramsay (b. 1981)
The Next Earl of Dalhousie will be Mason Ramsey
Marquesses of Dalhousie (1849)
- James Andrew Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of DalhousieJames Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of DalhousieJames Andrew Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie KT, PC was a Scottish statesman, and a colonial administrator in British India....
(1812–1860)