Earl of Dunmore
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...
. It was created in 1686 for Lord Charles Murray
Charles Murray, 1st Earl of Dunmore
Charles Murray, 1st Earl of Dunmore was a British peer, previously Lord Charles Murray.The second son of John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl, he rose to become a general in the British Army and was created Earl of Dunmore, Lord Murray of Blair, Moulin and Tillimet and Viscount of Fincastle, all...
, second son of John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl
John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl
John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl, KT was a leading Scottish royalist and defender of the Stuarts during the English Civil War of the 1640s, until after the rise to power of William and Mary in 1689...
. He was made Lord Murray of Blair, Moulin and Tillimet (or Tullimet) and Viscount of Fincastle at the same time, also in the Peerage of Scotland. He was succeeded by his son, the second Earl. He was a General in the Army and 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 1713 to 1715 and from 1727 to 1752. His younger brother, the third Earl, was involved in the Jacobite rising of 1745
Jacobite rising
The Jacobite Risings were a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars in Great Britain and Ireland occurring between 1688 and 1746. The uprisings were aimed at returning James VII of Scotland and II of England, and later his descendants of the House of Stuart, to the throne after he was deposed by...
and was tried for high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
in 1746. Lord Dunmore pleaded guilty but received a pardon from King George II
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
.
He was succeeded by his son, the fourth Earl. He was a Scottish Representative Peer in the House of Lords from 1761 to 1774 and from 1776 to 1790 and also served as Governor of New York, of Virginia and of the Bahamas. His eldest son, the fifth Earl, briefly represented Liskeard
Liskeard (UK Parliament constituency)
Liskeard was a parliamentary borough in Cornwall, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1832, and then one member from 1832 until 1885, when the borough was abolished.- History :...
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...
. In 1831 he was created Baron Dunmore, of Dunmore in the Forest of Athole in the County of Perth, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
, which gave him and his descendants an automatic seat in the House of Lords.
George Murray, 5th Earl of Dunmore, bought the Estate of Harris from Alexander Norman Macleod for £60,000 in 1834. In 1839, the people of South Harris were ejected from their homes by armed soldiers and a posse of Glasgow policemen acting on orders from the government, at the behest of the Earl of Dunmore. The 6th Earl of Dunmore, Alexander Edward Murray, had inherited Harris upon the death of his father on the 11th of November 1836 and would in turn be succeeded by his son, Charles Adolphus, following the 6th Earl’s death on the 14th of July 1845 . Thus the 6th Earl was about halfway through his proprietorship of the island when he was providing a pound per person for those electing to leave.
The seventh Earl of Dumore served as a Lord-in-Waiting
Lord-in-Waiting
Most Lords in Waiting are Government whips in the House of Lords who are members of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. As members of the Royal Household their duties are nominal, though they are occasionally required to meet visiting political and state leaders on visits...
(government whip in the House of Lords) in the second Conservative administration
Conservative Government 1874-1880
Benjamin Disraeli became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for the second time after Mr Gladstone's government was defeated in the General Election of 1874. Disraeli's foreign policy was seen as immoral by Gladstone, and following the latter's Midlothian Campaign, the government was heavily...
of Benjamin Disraeli and was also Lord Lieutenant of Stirlingshire
Lord Lieutenant of Stirlingshire
This is a list of people who served as Lord Lieutenant of Stirlingshire in Scotland. The office was abolished in 1975, and replaced with the Lord Lieutenant of Stirling and Falkirk.* David Erskine, 9th Earl of Buchan 1713 – 1715...
. The 7th Earl relinquished ownership of the North Harris Estate to his bankers, in particular the Scott family. He was succeeded by his son, the eighth Earl. He was a soldier and was awarded the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
in 1897. Lord Dunmore later held political office as Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (government chief whip in the House of Lords). On the death in 1980 of his grandson, the ninth Earl, the line of the fifth Earl failed and the barony of Dunmore became extinct.
The late Earl was succeeded by his distant relative (his fourth cousin once removed), the tenth Earl. He was the great-great-grandson of the Hon. Alexander Murray, second son on the fourth Earl, and lived in Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. the titles are held by his nephew, the twelfth Earl, who succeeded his father in 1995. He also lives in Australia. As a male-line descendant of the first Marquess of Atholl he is also in remainder to this peerage and its subsidiary titles and by special remainder to the Dukedom , which are now held by his kinsman John Murray, 11th Duke of Atholl
John Murray, 11th Duke of Atholl
John Murray, 11th Duke of Atholl , known as John Murray until 1996, is a British peer.Murray was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, the only child of Major George Murray , who was killed on active service in the Second World War, and Joan , daughter of William Edward Eastwood, of South Africa...
.
Earls of Dunmore (1686)
- Charles Murray, 1st Earl of DunmoreCharles Murray, 1st Earl of DunmoreCharles Murray, 1st Earl of Dunmore was a British peer, previously Lord Charles Murray.The second son of John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl, he rose to become a general in the British Army and was created Earl of Dunmore, Lord Murray of Blair, Moulin and Tillimet and Viscount of Fincastle, all...
(1661–1710)- James Murray, Viscount Fincastle (1683–1704)
- John Murray, 2nd Earl of Dunmore (1685–1752)
- William Murray, 3rd Earl of Dunmore (1696–1756)
- John Murray, 4th Earl of DunmoreJohn Murray, 4th Earl of DunmoreJohn Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore was a British peer and colonial governor. He was the son of William Murray, 3rd Earl of Dunmore, and his wife Catherine . He is best remembered as the last royal governor of the Colony of Virginia.John was the eldest son of William and Catherine Murray, and nephew...
(1730–1809) - George Murray, 5th Earl of DunmoreGeorge Murray, 5th Earl of DunmoreGeorge Murray, 5th Earl of Dunmore , known as Viscount of Fincastle until 1809, was a Scottish peer....
(1762–1836) - Alexander Edward Murray, 6th Earl of DunmoreAlexander Murray, 6th Earl of DunmoreAlexander Edward Murray, 6th Earl of Dunmore was the son of George Murray, 5th Earl of Dunmore.On 27 September 1836, he married Lady Catherine Herbert, daughter of the 11th Earl of Pembroke...
(1804–1845) - Charles Adolphus Murray, 7th Earl of DunmoreCharles Murray, 7th Earl of DunmoreCharles Adolphus Murray, 7th Earl of Dunmore VD , styled Viscount Fincastle from birth until 1845, was a Scottish peer and Conservative politician.-Background:...
(1841–1907) - Alexander Edward Murray, 8th Earl of DunmoreAlexander Murray, 8th Earl of DunmoreAlexander Edward Murray, 8th Earl of Dunmore, VC, DSO, MVO, DL was more commonly known as Viscount Fincastle...
(1871–1962)- Edward David Murray, Viscount Fincastle (1908–1940)
- John Alexander Murray, 9th Earl of Dunmore (1939–1980)
- Reginald Arthur Murray, 10th Earl of Dunmore (1911–1981)
- Kenneth Randolph Murray, 11th Earl of Dunmore (1913–1995)
- Malcolm Kenneth Murray, 12th Earl of DunmoreMalcolm Kenneth Murray, 12th Earl of DunmoreMalcolm Kenneth Murray, 12th Earl of Dunmore is an hereditary peer of the United Kingdom.He is a native-born Australian and lives in Tasmania....
(b. 1946)
The heir presumptive
Heir Presumptive
An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...
is the present holder's brother the Hon. Geoffrey Charles Murray (b. 1949).
See also
- Duke of AthollDuke of AthollDuke of Atholl, alternatively Duke of Athole, named after Atholl in Scotland, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland held by the head of Clan Murray...
- Lady Augusta MurrayLady Augusta MurrayThe Lady Augusta Murray was the first wife of Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, the sixth son of George III. As their marriage was in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act 1772, it was considered legally void, and she could not be styled as the Duchess of Sussex.-Early life:Lady...
- Sir Charles Augustus MurrayCharles Augustus MurraySir Charles Augustus Murray was a British author and diplomat.-Background:Murray was the second son of George Murray, 5th Earl of Dunmore, and his mother was the daughter of Archibald Hamilton, 9th Duke of Hamilton...