Lord Duffus
Encyclopedia
The title Lord Duffus was created by Charles II
in the Peerage of Scotland
on 8 December 1650 for Alexander Sutherland. He was a descendant of the 4th Earl of Sutherland
, who fell in battle in 1333. The title is now extinct, although there may be male-line Sutherlands descended from earlier lairds of Duffus.
In 1734, the 3rd Lord was attainted and the lordship was forfeited. His son Eric tried but failed to get a reverse of the attainder. His son James Sutherland of Duffus got the attainder reversed, and was restored to the lordship as 4th (titular 5th) Lord Duffus on 25 May 1826. The last two Lords Duffus were also Baronets, of Hempriggs in the County of Caithness
(3rd and 4th). The lordship became extinct on the death of the 6th (titular 7th) Lord Duffus on 28 August 1875.
most closely related to the Sutherland Earls
, or Clan Chiefs, were the Lairds (and later Lords) of Duffus and the Lairds of Forse. The Duffus Lairds descended from Nicholas (or Nichol) Sutherland, only brother of William de Moravia, 5th Earl of Sutherland (d. 1370), and younger son of the 4th Earl
. The other surviving branch, the Forse Lairds, stem from Kenneth Sutherland, only brother of Robert de Moravia, 6th Earl of Sutherland (d. 1427). Duffus is outside the country of Sutherland. So also is Forse, which is in Caithness.
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
in the Peerage of Scotland
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...
on 8 December 1650 for Alexander Sutherland. He was a descendant of the 4th Earl of Sutherland
Kenneth de Moravia, 4th Earl of Sutherland
Kenneth de Moravia, 4th Earl of Sutherland was Earl of Sutherland. He was killed at the Battle of Halidon Hill.-External links:*...
, who fell in battle in 1333. The title is now extinct, although there may be male-line Sutherlands descended from earlier lairds of Duffus.
In 1734, the 3rd Lord was attainted and the lordship was forfeited. His son Eric tried but failed to get a reverse of the attainder. His son James Sutherland of Duffus got the attainder reversed, and was restored to the lordship as 4th (titular 5th) Lord Duffus on 25 May 1826. The last two Lords Duffus were also Baronets, of Hempriggs in the County of Caithness
Dunbar Baronets
There have been five Dunbar Baronetcies; the first four in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia, and the last in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. There is also a Hope-Dunbar Baronetcy of Baldoon....
(3rd and 4th). The lordship became extinct on the death of the 6th (titular 7th) Lord Duffus on 28 August 1875.
Origins of the Duffus sept
The two branches of Clan SutherlandClan Sutherland
Clan Sutherland is a Highland Scottish clan whose traditional territory is located in the region of Sutherland in northern highlands of Scotland and was one of the most powerful Scottish clans. The clan seat is at Dunrobin Castle, Sutherland...
most closely related to the Sutherland Earls
Earl of Sutherland
Earl of Sutherland is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created circa 1230 for William de Moravia. The Earl of Sutherland is also the Chief of Clan Sutherland...
, or Clan Chiefs, were the Lairds (and later Lords) of Duffus and the Lairds of Forse. The Duffus Lairds descended from Nicholas (or Nichol) Sutherland, only brother of William de Moravia, 5th Earl of Sutherland (d. 1370), and younger son of the 4th Earl
Kenneth de Moravia, 4th Earl of Sutherland
Kenneth de Moravia, 4th Earl of Sutherland was Earl of Sutherland. He was killed at the Battle of Halidon Hill.-External links:*...
. The other surviving branch, the Forse Lairds, stem from Kenneth Sutherland, only brother of Robert de Moravia, 6th Earl of Sutherland (d. 1427). Duffus is outside the country of Sutherland. So also is Forse, which is in Caithness.
Lords Duffus (1650)
- Alexander Sutherland, 1st Lord Duffus (d. 1674)
- James Sutherland, 2nd Lord Duffus (d. 1705) who had issue four sons (Kenneth, 3rd Lord, Sir James Dunbar, 1st Baronet and two others) and one daughter.
- Kenneth Sutherland, 3rd Lord Duffus (d. 1734) (attainted and forfeit 1734) for his part in the 1715 uprising. He fled to Sweden, where he married a Swedish lady, Christina Sioblade, by whom he had:
- Eric Sutherland, 4th Lord Duffus (1710-1768) (not restored, but counted), married his first cousin Elizabeth, third daughter of Sir James Dunbar of Hempriggs, 1st Baronet by his wife Elizabeth DunbarDunbar BaronetsThere have been five Dunbar Baronetcies; the first four in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia, and the last in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. There is also a Hope-Dunbar Baronetcy of Baldoon....
, daughter and heiress of Sir William Dunbar of Hempriggs, Baronet. They were parents of the 5th Lord Duffus, another son (who died issueless), and three daughters including an eldest daughter Elizabeth, wife firstly of Captain Alexander Sinclair, son of Sir William Sinclair of Keiss; secondly Charles Sinclair of Olrig (by whom one son and one daughter) and thirdly, in 1772, the Reverend James Rudd, rector in Yorkshire. - James Sutherland, 5th Lord Duffus (1747-1827) (restored 1826), who died unmarried. He eloped in December 1771 with the seventeen-year-old Lady Mary Hay, the daughter of the Earl of Enroll, Hereditary Lord High Constable of Scotland, and the wife of Major-General John Scott; she was divorced by her husband, Sutherland's colonel at the time. He abandoned her, never married, and recognized ten illegitimate children in his will. However, he is said to have at least sixty illegitimate children. The barony was claimed by the nearest heir male (and also by the 5th Lord's nephew):
- Benjamin Dunbar, 6th Lord Duffus, 3rd Baronet of HemprigssDunbar BaronetsThere have been five Dunbar Baronetcies; the first four in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia, and the last in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. There is also a Hope-Dunbar Baronetcy of Baldoon....
(1761-1843), grandson of Sir James Sutherland-Dunbar of the 5th Lord Duffus This man, together with his son, unsuccessfully petitioned the House of Lords in 1838 to be granted the title and the seat in the House of Lords, but the petition was not acted upon. (A challenge was mounted by the Rev. Eric Rudd, apparently the sole surviving nephew of the late 5th Lord. He was the son of Elizabeth Sutherland by her third husband Rev. James Rudd (d. 23 February 1827, aged 83) He was succeeded de facto by his son: - George Sutherland Dunbar, 7th Lord Duffus (1799-1875) (extinct 1875) used the title of 7th Lord Duffus, but was also known as Sir George Dunbar of Hempriggs, 4th Baronet.