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Alexander
Wedderburn, 4th Bt. of Blackness, and (some of) his
descendants:
Alexander
Wedderburn, b. 4/11/1675 [e.s. of
James W., Clerk of Dundee, and Elizabeth (Bessie) Davidson] became 4th
Bt. of Blackness in 1723 on the death of his (second) cousin John, b.
2/12/1700, the second but eldest and ultimately only surviving son of Sir
Alexander W. (b. 1672), 2nd
Bt. of Blackness, and Elizabeth Seton (d.
of Sir Alexander Seton, 1st Bt. of Pitmedden, co. Aberdeen).
[On 17/11/1712, John was a witness at the baptism of John, the third but
younger surviving son of Alexander W. (b.
1678, e.s. of Peter W. & Catherine Man) and Grissell Watson.
(W.B. p. 243, footnote�.)]
On
15 Nov. 1697 Alexander m. Katharine Scott, b. 16 Sept. 1680 (youngest d. of John Scott, merchant and late bailie of Dundee, and
Christian Watson - W.B. p. 261 & footnote�).
[Helen
Scott (�d. of John Scott�), the wife of Thomas Watson �of Grange of
Barrie� and mother of Grissel/Grizell Watson who, on 22 July 1702, m.
Peter Wedderburn�s & Catherine Man�s elder son, Alexander (b.
1678) - bailie and mariner - was perhaps Katharine�s sister? - Peter W.
(b. 1652, is the seventh but third surv. s. of Sir Alexander W., Kt. of
Blackness (b. 1610) & Matilda Fletcher.]
Between
1698 and 1718 Alexander (b. 1675)
and Katharine Scott had eight sons and seven daughters, of whom four sons
and three daughters survived to adulthood:
John
(b. 4/8/1704), their fourth but
eldest surviving son, m. Jean Fullarton (e.d.
of John Fullarton of Fullarton, co. Perth) on 22/10/1724. They had
seven sons and four daughters. On the death of his father, in 1744,
John became the 5th Bt. of Blackness. (W.B.
pp. 285-287)
�A.W.�
says of Sir John W. that �during his father�s lifetime he lived in
Dundee, and is thus termed �indweller� there when on an inquest, 18
Oct. 1743, and a letter from him to his brother-in-law David Scrymgeour of
Birkhill, is also dated from Dundee 22 Sept. 1744, and it is there that,
two days later, he signs a bond by his brother Thomas, to which he and his
other brother, Robert, were cautioners�. [I
will come to them later.] �On his father�s death, however, there
can be little doubt that he found himself in very straightened
circumstances. I do not find that he ever succeeded him as collector of
excise, an office which would have kept him much in Dundee, and it seems
more probable that he has little to favour his remaining there, although,
as appears from one of his letters, his wife retained a furnished house
there in which she resided after his death�.
�He
thus moved, towards the end of 1744, or early in the following year, to a
small farm known as the Mains of Nevay, by Newtyle, co. Forfar, lying
about eleven miles to the north-west of Dundee, and sixteen to the
north-east of Perth. [The Mains of Fullarton
are roughly equidistant from
Nevay and Newtyle.] �Here
he was living, far from prosperously, when, in the July of 1745, Prince
Charles Edward set foot in Scotland and started on the gallant enterprise,
with Sir John Wedderburn�s share in which I have now to deal as far as
possible from the available evidence�...� . [There follows (W.B.
pp. 265-284) a very full account of the events leading up to Sir
John�s trial for treason, which took place some months after he was
taken prisoner following the last battle of the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion,
at Culloden, near Inverness. (There
are also various letters to and from him during his imprisonment in
Southwark Gaol.)]
Sir
John Wedderburn, 5th Bt. of Blackness, was found guilty and,
with others, was hanged, drawn and quartered on Kennington Common, London,
on 28th November, 1746.
�Blackness�
had been sold in 1741 to redeem some of the massive debts which Sir
John�s father, the 4th Bt., had inherited from his
predecessor [it was not �forfeit to the Crown after the �45� as John
Wedderburn �of Auchterhouse�, �A.W.�s� grandfather, wrote in his
�Genealogical Account of the Wedderburn family�, published in 1824]
but �A.W.� believed that stories of Sir John�s extreme poverty were
somewhat exaggerated at his trial. One such account, which he quotes, was
in a Dr. Doran�s �London in the Jacobite Times�, VoI. II, p. 186:
�The
new baronet with his wife and family took up his residence near Perth in a
thatched hut, with a clay floor and no light except what came through a
doorway. It was placed on a very small piece of land from which Sir John
could not be ousted. He tilled his half-acre with ceaseless industry and
he made what was described as �a laborious starving shift� to support
his wife and nine children. They all went about barefoot��.Put upon
trial he pleaded his poverty, his starving family and his light offence.
He was, however, condemned, though those more guilty offenders had
unaccountably escaped. He bore himself with a calm dignity till the
adverse verdict was pronounced, and then he could not completely control
an emotion which sprang rather from thoughts for his family than for
himself. The lowest and loyallest of the Londoners acknowledged that Sir
John was a gentleman and deserving of pity. After his death the King
afforded pecuniary relief to his wife and family.� (W.B.
pp. 282/3)
�This
last account�, says �A.W.�, �is obviously very wide of the mark
and what the authority for the picturesque account of Sir John�s poverty
is, I know not, though it is clear that his circumstances were fairly
desperate before he �went out�. �.His plea is also misstated�..nor
do I think it likely that the family received assistance from the
Crown.� (W.B. p. 283)
The
dates of birth of the last three children of Sir John W. and Jean
Fullarton are not fixed. - Alexander, the sixth son, �was, perhaps, born
in 1737, the date of a blank entry in his father�s register, in which
his name does not occur�.. It was certainly, however, not earlier than
1737, and not later than about 1742. He is named in a bond dated 10th
Aug. 1744, by David Wedderburn of that ilk to his grandmother and to his
father�s children�. (W.B. p. 285)
Four
of their sons went to Jamaica after Sir John�s execution in 1746,
including Alexander �who died there unmarried according to the record,
in 1803, of his nephew, Sir David W. - apparently before 31st
July 1866, the date of the entail of �Wedderburn�, in which his name
does not occur, as, had he been then on life, it unquestionably would have
done�.
[Details
about Sir John of Balindean, b. 21/2/1729 (second but eldest surviving s.
of Sir John W., 5th Bt. of Blackness & Jean Fullarton), and
his children and descendants - other than David (b. 1775, afterwards 1st
Bt. of Balindean - see below) are on W.B. pp. 288-302 inc.]
[Details
about James Wedderburn of Inveresk, b. 28/8/1730 (third but second
surviving s. of Sir John W., 5th Bt. of Blackness & Jean
Fullarton), who returned to Scotland from Jamaica in 1773 and m. Isabella
Blackburn, or Colvile, and their children and descendants are on W.B. pp.
304-317 inc.]
Peter
Wedderburn, b. 2/1/1736 (fifth but
third surv. son of Sir John W., 5th Bt. of Blackness & Jean
Fullarton) �went out to Jamaica after the troubles of the �45, and
was living there in the parish of Westmoreland, co. Cornwall, as a
millwright in 1763, when, 30 April, he and his brothers James and
Alexander gave a power of attorney to their eldest brother John, who was
starting for Great Britain�.Peter was living on 6 March 1769, when he
granted another faculty, dated at Savannah in Jamaica, to his brother Sir
John, to manage his affairs at home, especially those as to his interest
as one of the heirs of tailzie of the late James Crnegie of Boysack�. He
died unmarried in Jamaica before 10 Aug. 1774, the date of the Will of his
sister Susannah, in which his brothers, John and James, are described as
the only surviving sons of their father.
David
Wedderburn, b. 1740? (the seventh
but fourth surv. son of Sir John W., 5th Bt. of Blackness &
Jean Fullarton) - after whom Sir John of Balindean named his second
son (below) - �was bred to
physic�, according to �J.W.�s MS. - though �A.W.� could find no
evidence for this. David is
said to have �died in London� before 19 Aug. 1763.
Sir
David W., b. 3/3/1775 [Alexander�s
nephew, referred to above - the only surviving son of Sir John Wedderburn
of Balindean and his first wife Margaret Ogilvy (eldest d. of David, Lord
Ogilvy - e.s. of John, 4th Earl of Airlie, in whose regiment
Sir John had served in the �45],
joined the West India House of Webster, Wedderburn & Co. in London in
1796 �and is thus designed merchant in London in 1801�. He was created
a baronet of Great Britain in 1803, following the death of his father, and
became the 1st Bt. of Balindean. He was a partner in the family firm for
many years �and was consequently involved in the litigation with the
children of David Wedderburn or Webster, of which an account is given in
Part V of the W.B.�.
(W.B.
p. 296)
�In
1805, Sir David entered parliament as member for the Perth burghs, which
he continued to represent until 1818, and later, in 1823, he was appointed
Postmaster General for Scotland, an office which he held until 1831.� On
21st Sept. 1813, he had been admitted to the freedom of Dundee,
�the last of his name to thus honourably connected with the burgh, the
affairs of which had long been guided by the wisdom of his ancestors�.
(W.B. p. 297)
In
1819-20, Sir David sold Balindean to a Mr. Trotter, provost of Edinburgh,
for �67,000. �Sir David�s affairs in the latter years of his life
were far from satisfactory. The prosperity of the West India House had
reached its zenith early in the century, and had for some years been
steadily declining, when in 1827, the children of David Wedderburn or
Webster began the law-suit to which I have already referred. It
lasted�.for almost 30 years, and while it involved those against whom it
was directed in anxiety and expense, brought no advantage to those by whom
it was started.� (W.B. p. 297)
�After
the sale of Balindean, Sir David resided at Luffness, near Aberlady, co.
Fife, and, later on, at Rosebank, near Roslin, whence, after the death of
Lady Wedderburn, he removed to the house of his unmarried sister at
Inveresk. (He died there on 7th April, 1858, and was buried with this
wife in the churchyard of Inveresk.) He had m. at Comrie, Perth, on 2nd
Sept. 1800, Margaret Brown, b. March 1775
(second d. of George Brown of Ellistoun, co. Roxborough, one of H.M.
Commissioners for Excise for Scotland). They had two sons, John James
Wedderburn, b. 16/10/1804 in Hanover Square, London, who d. at Brighton on
11/10/1810, and George Wedderburn, b. 16/11/1804 in Hanover Square, who d.
at Brompton on 23/5/1823�. Both are buried in the churchyard of Glynde,
Sussex, near the seat of their uncle, the then Lord Hampden (whose wife Maria Brown was a sister of Sir David�s wife Margaret).
(W.B.
p.293)
*********
The
eldest surviving daughter of Sir Alexander W., 4th Bt. of
Blackness, and Katharine Scott:
Elizabeth, b. 25//10/1699, m., in 1715, �when not yet
sixteen�, Alexander Read of Turfbeg, sheriff clerk of Forfar. (W.B.
p. 262, and footnotes�, & �.) [One of Elizabeth and Alexander
Read�s daughters, Catherine (b. in Forfar), was a celebrated artist and
portrait painter. Amongst many other sitters, she had painted Queen
Charlotte when she first arrived in England.
(W.B. p. 262, footnote� & p. 230, footnote�.) Catherine at one
time lived in Jermyn St., London, before moving to Welbeck St. She twice
travelled to the East Indies and died on 13 Dec. 1778, on board a ship
approaching the Cape, while returning from India.]
Their
eldest son, Alexander Read, m. Anne Fletcher
(d. of Robert Fletcher of Ballinschoe and
Elizabeth Lyon, d. of Wm. Lyon of Carse). - Their only
daughter, Elizabeth Read, b.1770, married David Wedderburn or Webster, b.
1775, third son of Robert W. of Pearsie.
[I will come to him later.]
Their
second son, John Read �of Cairney�, m. Ann Guthrie. - They had three
daughters, the eldest of whom, Isobel Read, m. David Lyon of Portland
Place, London, & Jamaica (�of
the Aulbar family - W.B. p. 346. footnote�). - They had two
daughters, of whom the younger, Isabella, m., in 1815, her second cousin
James Wedderburn, elder son of John Wedderburn of �Spring Garden�,
Jamaica, and Leadenhall St. London, eldest surviving son of Thomas W. of
Cantra. [I will come to all of them
I later.]
John
Read�s & Ann Guthrie�s youngest daughter, Anne Read, m. Charles
Wedderburn of Pearsie (as his first
wife) in 1787 but she died two years later, without issue.
(W.B. p. 326)
Sir
Alexander Wedderburn (4th Bt. of Blackness) & Katharine
Scott�s second daughter:
Christian,
b. 14/12/1700, died between Sept. 1707 and Sept. 1708. - Katharine
Scott�s mother, Christian Watson, �was named as godmother�. (W.B. p. 263 & 262, footnote�)
Sir
Alexander Wedderburn (4th Bt. of Blackness) and Katharine
Scott�s third daughter:
Grissell,
b. 26/7/1706 (although, in footnote�
on W.B. p. 263, it says �there is some error in the records here as the
Dundee Parish Register gives 23rd July as the date of her
baptism�) m. James Graham of Meathie but d.s.p. before Sept. 1730,
when her husband m. ii) on 5-7 Sept., Isobel Guthrie (b.
1712, d. 12/9/1780), by whom he had a son, James Graham (b.
1741, d. 1792) who m. Elizabeth, d. of Robert Wedderburn of Pearsie.
(W.B. p. 263, footnote�) [I
will come to her later.]
The
only other daughter of Alexander W. and Katharine Scott to survive and
have children:
Katharine,
b. 19/1/1715 (bap. at Dundee �in
the meeting house, i.e. the Episcopal church�, on 22/1/1715) m.
David Scrymgeour of Birkhill on 13/8/1739. [There was an earlier
connection between the Wedderburns and the Scrymgeours through the
marriage, in 1612, of Alexander Wedderburn (b.
1583), 2nd of Kingennie and Wester Gourdie, to Magdalen
Scrymgeour (d. of John Scrymgeour of Kirkton and Marion Fotheringhame). (W.B.
p. 145) The Scrymgeour-Wedderburns of Wedderburn and Birkhill,
hereditary Standard-Bearers of Scotland - later re-established as Earls of
Dundee - are descended from this �line�.] - Katharine died on
19/3/1796 and was buried at Balmerino, leaving issue. (W.B.
p. 263 & pp. 175-192)
The
fifth but second surviving son of Sir Alexander Wedderburn (4th
Bt. of Blackness) and Katharine Scott:
Robert,
b. 13/2/1708, afterwards �of Pearsie�, �is named in 1725 as servitor
to John Mercer, writer in Perth. He is named as the writer of a
disposition on 10/8/1726 and as writer in Forfar on 5 October of that
year. On 7 April 1738 he was
appointed sheriff clerk of Forfar and on 6 Sept. 1741, substitute deputy
by William Maule, Earl of Panmure, then Admiral-Depute of parts of Mearns
and Angus, and likewise acted for many years as agent for John, Earl of
Airlie�. (W.B. p. 318)
On
1 February 1738 Robert m. Isobel Edward, b. 12/11/1718 (only
d. of the deceased David Edward, second
s. of the late John Edward of Persy - sic),
and heir retoured to her uncle, Thomas Edward of Persy. Isobel died on 1st
January 1788, leaving all her property equally among her three daughters. (W.B.
p. 321)
[The
estate of Persy (or Pearsie) had in 1584 belonged to the Campbells, and
was, in common with others of their lands in the country, church plunder,
being attached to the Abbey of Coupar. Isobel Edward was the granddaughter
of John Edward of Pearsie - who died on 23rd Sept. 1721 having
had five sons: Thomas, David, Alexander, Andrew and John. Thomas and David
were drowned, in their father�s lifetime, fording the waters of a stream
near Pearsie. After a law-suit lasting six years, David�s daughter
Isobel was declared heiress to the estate, Thomas having died unmarried.]
In
the �45, Robert raised the Glen Proasen Company of men for Lord
Ogilvie�s second battalion. �His lordship made his escape on
Pearsie�s horses, and to his interference with McArthur, young Sir John
owed his safety��.Pearsie sought shelter in the hills, where he
remained for many weeks undiscovered through the faithfulness of his
servants, until he obtained a protection from the Lord Justice
Clerk�.�.The protection order, dated 20 July 1746, survived, and �as
it describes Robert Wedderburn as Sheriff Clerk of Angus, it is clear that
he must have retained his office throughout the troubles of the time�. (W.B.
p. 320)
�After
the �45, Pearsie thus resumed the duties of his office as sheriff clerk
of Forfar, and is so designed on many occasions�. (W.B.
p. 321 & footnote�)
On
15th January 1779, Robert
Wedderburn sold Pearsie, �with the consent of his wife and eldest son,
John, to his second son, Charles, for a sum to be paid at the first term
after his death and to be used in satisfying bonds of provision then made
by him in favour of his three daughters and his youngest son, the residue
of his estate going to his eldest son, John, who, however, did not long
survive him�. Robert died at Pearsie on 19th February, 1786.
(W.B.
p. 321 and footnote�)
Robert
Wedderburn and Isobel Edward had �in addition to a child who died soon
after birth� three sons and three daughters. [They
were first cousins of the children of Sir John Wedderburn, 5th
Bt. of Blackness, and of those of Thomas Wedderburn of Cantra - to whom I
will come later.]
The
eldest son of Robert Wedderburn of Pearsie and Isobel Edward was John,
b. 28/7/1744. �He may have
been the John Wedderburn who was apprenticed to Webster & Co. in
London in 1757�. (W.B. p. 325,
footnote �) John went out to India in 1763 and joined the military
service of the East India Company as a cadet in 1764, rising to be captain
in 1769. A letter from him, dated 26th August 1780, shows that
he was then in Fort William. He was promoted major in 1781 and
lieut.-colonel in 1787, in which year he died, in Calcutta, aged almost
43. [On W.B. p. 325, �A.W.� says of John that �he was never married�,
not that �he died unmarried� - which is how others are described.]
Elizabeth,
the eldest daughter, b. at Dundee 1/6/1746 (no
record of her baptism there), m. James Graham of Meathie and
Balmuir (b. 1741, d. 1792),
eldest son of James Graham [widower of Grissell Wedderburn, above, third d. of Sir Alexander W.
& Katharine Scott] and Isobel Guthrie. Elizabeth and James Graham had four sons, of whom the eldest,
James, b. 1774, went into business in London in 1794 and took the name of
Webster �pursuant to the will of his relative, Dr.
Thomas Webster�. (W.B. p. 322)
[This son, James Graham-Webster of Meathie and Balmuir, m. in London, in
1823, Miss Elizabeth Ramsay. - See W.B. p. 324 footnote� for his
connection with John Graham of Claverhouse - Viscount Dundee but for the
attainder of the title. They had a s., James Graham Webster, and
two other sons and a daughter.]
The
other sons of Elizabeth Wedderburn of Pearsie & James Graham of
Meathie and Balmuir were Robert Graham, b. 1775, d. unm. 9/9/1830; David
Graham, b. 1784, d. unm. 1858 and John Graham, b. 1787, d. unm.
1870. [These
last two successively inherited �Pearsie� after the death of Charles
Wedderburn in 1829. - See below.]
The daughters were Isabella Graham, d. unm. 21/8/1843 aged 51,
and Katharine Graham, d. unm. 27/3/1843, aged 64.
(W.B. p. 324) [The birthdates of these daughters are not given but from their ages at
death it would appear that they were both born in 1779. - Twins, perhaps?]
�The connection between the Websters and the Wedderburns of
Pearsie is through the second marriage of Isobel Edward�s mother,
Beatrice Proctor, with Mr. Webster, a merchant in Dundee. Of this marriage
there were several sons, including James, John, George and Thomas, the
last named of whom, afterwards the Rev. Dr. Webster, d. 6th
July 1818, aged 85, leaving a considerable estate, the bulk of which,
after legacies to his wife�s relations and others, he left on trust to
be laid out in the purchase of lands in the counties of Forfar [later �Angus�] and Perth, to be entailed on the issue of
Elizabeth Wedderburn, on whom failing on that of Katharine Wedderburn, and
their heirs in succession, the heirs in possession to take the name of
Webster. Dr. Thomas Webster was thus great uncle of the half blood on the
mother�s side to James Graham who succeeded him, but whose circumstances
seem to have become involved, so that by the loss of the estate the entail
became inoperative.
Of
the other Webster brothers [there
was also a David], one or more were in business, and founded the East
and West Indian House of Webster and Co. in Leadenhall St., London, which
was flourishing in 1773-74. [In one reference they are described as
�druggists�.] It was through these brothers that the two elder sons of
Robert Wedderburn of Pearsie got their commissions in the H.E.I.C.�s
service, while David, Pearsie�s third son, succeeded them in their
business, which thus passed to him and John Wedderburn of Spring Garden
[second s. of Thomas W. of Cantra, to whom I will come later], who
together founded the Wedderburn firm. It is under James Webster�s will
that David Wedderburn (see below) himself took the name of Webster, and
that his children and descendants have added that name to their own.�
(W.B. p. 322, footnote 5)
Charles Wedderburn, b. 1/8/1748, second son of Robert
Wedderburn of Pearsie and Isobel Edward, visited Paris in 1765, �where
he intended entering the French service, but was prevented from doing so
by the contemplated reduction of Lord Ogilvie�s regiment, in which he
would otherwise have got a commission�. He therefore sailed for India,
where he entered the military
service of the East India Company, in which he was aide-de-camp to
Brigadier-General Wedderburn [a
younger brother of the Alexander Wedderburn, b. 1733 - �the first Scot
to sit on the Woolsack� - who became Lord Loughborough & 1st
Earl of Rosslyn. They were
also descended from the clerks of Dundee but from the �junior�
Gosford line],
commander of the forces in Bombay, who �fell at Baroach in November
1772�. (W.B. p. 325)
Charles
was a cadet in 1770 and a captain in 1781. On p.326 of the W.B. it states,
�He must have been home� (I
think, says �A.W.�) �in 1779, when his father, with the consent
of his wife and eldest son, John, sold to Lieut. Charles Wedderburn, his
second son, his landed estate, subject to his own life-rent�.
[Charles was not home
then - see letters to him in India, written by his brother David in
London.] Charles retired from the service of the East India Company in
1785 and returned to Scotland. On the death of his father the following
year, 1786, he took over Pearsie, and in 1787, two months after the death
of his brother John in India, he m. his second cousin Anne Read (see
above), who died in 1789. In 1797 Charles m. ii) Eliza Rattray, who died
in 1823. There were no children from either marriage. He died on 15th
February 1829, aged 80, and was buried in Dundee alongside his first wife.
(W.B. p. 326)
As
he had no children, Charles� heir at law was Sir James
Webster-Wedderburn [e.s.
of his younger brother David.] Charles, however, �avoided the
succession to Pearsie of either Sir James or his brother Charles by making
a settlement
under which he entailed the estate on his nephew, David Graham (third s. of his eldest sister Elizabeth, above, by James Graham of
Meathie and Balmuir) and the heirs male of his body, whom failing, on
John Graham, David�s next brother, with a like succession, whom failing,
on Alexander Stormonth of Kinclune [son
of his sister Isabel - below] with
a like succession, whom failing on the heirs female of the substitutes in
the entail of succession, the heir in possession to bear the surname and
arms of Wedderburn of Pearsie and none other. It was thus that Charles
Wedderburn was succeeded at Pearsie by his nephew David Graham
[deputy lieutenant for Angus],
who died unm., and was followed by his brother John, on the death of whom,
also unm., the estate went to Katharine Stormonth
(wife of the Rev. James Maclagan, and daughter of Alexander Stormonth of
Kinclune) who thereupon assumed the name of Wedderburn. From her
descend the family of Maclagan-Wedderburns
(for they have all taken the latter name) - of whom an account will be
found��..�.
(See W.B. pp. 327 and 328) [Why
Elizabeth & James Graham�s two elder sons, James b. 1774, &
Robert b. 1775, did not inherit Pearsie is not explained - possibly
because they had gone to London - and James had taken the surname
�Webster�.]
Charles
Wedderburn of Pearsie, �was reluctant to speak of himself� but
�there are several letters from him to Alexander and Henry Scrymgeour-Wedderburn
of Wedderburn, 1787-1811 and 1817-24, in the Scrymgeour-Wedderburn charter
chest, which give occasional details in regard to various members of the
family, e.g. where he speaks of �leaving
his country to go to London in 1770�, of the marriage of his nephew
Charles etc.�. (W.B. p. 326 and
footnote �)
[I
have obtained a copy of Charles
Wedderburn�s Will, registered at Edinburgh on 18th April
1829 and proved in London, with three codicils, on 4th May,
1829, when probate was granted to his heir, John Graham. Its contents are
as shown in �LW 18�. (W.B. Vol. II, p. 519) - I have also obtained
copies of a number of letters, from the Dundee City Archives, written to
Charles by his brother David in London.]
Katharine
Wedderburn, second daughter of Robert of Pearsie and Isobel
Edward, was b. on 6/6/1750.
She m. �about 1780� (being named
as unmarried in her father�s disposition of Jan. 1779 - W.B. p. 324,
footnote�) Dr. Robert Stewart, an eminent physician in Dundee. [See
David�s letter to Charles dated 26th January 1782 re
�Sister Kate�s supposed marriage to Dr. Stewart in �April last�. -
Unusually, the names of his parents are not given in the W.B., but perhaps
Dr. S. is related to Gilbert Stewart, a merchant in Edinburgh, who,
in 1711, m. Rachel Wedderburn, a d. of Alexander, 4th of
Kingennie? - Rachel�s date of birth is not known but �she is
named in a bond of provision in 1687, and as her father�s second
daughter in his Will in Oct. 1691. Sir Alexander, 4th Bt. of
Blackness, referred to her as my cousine, Mrs. Stewart�. Rachel is
said to have died without issue, though the date of her death is not
known. In 1714, her husband was involved in litigation v. Rachel
Wedderburn b. 1685 (d. of George Wedderburn and Elizabeth Sutherland. -
George, s. of Alexander W., Kt., & Matilda Fletcher, was a brother of
the Peter W. who m. Catherine Man). (W.B. p. 161 and footnote�. - See
also W.B. p. 220)]
Between
1782 and 1786 Katharine & Dr. Robert Stewart had a son and three
daughters. Their son James Stewart
[not named �Robert� after
Katharine�s father or husband, which is unusual]
was b. in Dundee & bap. on 13/1/1782.
[�Dundee Parish Register, orig.
rec.�, it says.] James
died, unm., in 1839. [See
copy of the �Interdiction� he entered into, also his father�s Will -
obtained from the Scottish record office in 1999.] Katharine & Dr. Stewart�s d. Isobel Stewart, b.
8/10/1783, d. unm. in 1834. and Margaret, twin with Isobel,
�is said to have died in infancy�. The youngest daughter, Elizabeth
Stewart, b. 11 Jan. 1786, married her cousin, Alexander Stormonth. She
died at Aberdeen in 1854 and was buried at Broughty Ferry. �From her
marriage descend the Maclagan-Wedderburns, now of Pearsie�.
[Thus is dismissed Elizabeth
Stewart! (See above and W.B. p. 324)]-
Details of the Maclagan-Wedderburns are on W.B. pp. 327 and 328.
Katharine
died in December 1793, aged 43. Her husband, as sole executor and
residuary legatee under her Will dated 4 Dec. 1793 (�London
Will� No. 5, W.B. Vol. II, p. 517), was granted Administration on 27
Oct. 1795. [In August 1996 I obtained a copy
of this Will, which is, in fact, a �death-bed deposition�. In it, Katharine is described
as �Katherine Wedderburn,
otherwise Catherine Stewart, otherwise Steward, otherwise Wedderburn�.
[Her half-uncle, John Webster of London, in his
Will dated 1st February 1793, had left a legacy of �500 (via
James Graham) to his niece �Catherine Steward�, wife of
---- Steward, physician in Dundee. John Webster�s Will was proved
on 14th Sept. 1793 but by December of that year probate had
still not been granted. It must have become apparent by then that
Katharine herself was about to die as in the deposition [a
document which appears to have been written in great haste], she
transfers her right to this legacy to her husband. [In his Will - which I
found at Chancery Lane in October 1996 - John Webster seems to have gone to some trouble
to try to ensure that �Catherine�s� husband would not be able
to get his hands on it! - The cause of the long delay in granting Admon.
of Katharine�s �Goods� seems to have been because both of the
Executors named in John Webster�s Will died before Probate was granted.
Admon. was not finally granted until 7th Sept. 1796.
[The
first part of the deposition reads as follows: �I Catherine Wedderburn
Alias Stewart wife of Robert Stewart surgeon in Dundee designed in the
Last Will aftermentioned physician in Dundee ffor the love and ffavour and
affection which I have and do bear to the said Robert Stewart my husband
and for certain onerous Causes and considerations Proving and to the
Franking hereof do hereby with and under the reservation(?) power and
ffaculty aftermentioned afsign and dispone to the said Robert Stewart his
heirs executors or afsignees��.. the sum of five hundred pounds
sterling left to me by the last Will of John Webster late of the City of
London Distiller deceased swearing Date the first Day of ffebruary one
thousand seven hundred and ninety three before the Worshipful John ffisher
Doctor of Laws with the whole interest that may be due thereon at the time
of my death��.�. - The remainder is legal jargon. - It was written
at Dundee on the 4th December 1793, by John Miller Clerk to
John Ogilvie - Writer - before Witnefses John Ogilvie and William
Southison.]
In
footnote� on W.B. p. 324, it says: �See for other references to her,
her mother�s will 1787, her brother�s arbitration in 1791 and the will
of James Webster in 1789. - There is no mention of John
Webster�s Will in the W.B.
Robert
Wedderburn & Isobel Edward�s youngest daughter, Isobel, b.
9/10/1753, m. in 1786, the Rev. James Stormonth of Kinclune,
minister of Airlie. She d. on 31/3/1795. They had six daughters (W.B. p. 324, footnote 6) and an only son, Alexander Stormonth,
b. 16/1/1790, who m., in 1813, his cousin, Elizabeth Stewart (b.
1786, above), and d. in 1839. They had one son and two
daughters. The son, James Stormonth, b. 30/5/1816, m. a daughter of
the Rev. David Inglis of Lochlee and d.s.p. in 1851. (W.B.
p. 324)
Katherine
Stormonth
(b. 1/11/1814, the elder daughter of Alexander Stormonth & Elizabeth
Stewart),
afterwards Mrs. Maclagan, �succeeded as heir of entail to Pearsie on the
death of her cousin, John Graham-Wedderburn in 1870, when she and all her
family assumed the name of Wedderburn in addition to and after that of
Maclagan. See post 327.� Katherine
Maclagan-Wedderburn (a granddaughter
of two of the daughters of Robert Wedderburn of Pearsie and Isobel Edward)
died in Edinburgh on 25/4/1891. She had m. at Broughty Ferry, in 1834, the Rev. James Maclagan, D.D. They had six sons and four
daughters. Their eldest s. James Stuart Maclagan, b. 11/11/1842 �never
bore the name Wedderburn, his mother not succeeding to Pearsie until after
his death. He died at Aberdeen on 18th September 1855
and is buried there�. Katherine was therefore succeeded by the second
son, Alexander Stormonth Maclagan afterwards Wedderburn of Pearsie.(W.B.
p. 327)
Alexander
Stormonth Maclagan Wedderburn, b. 21 Sept. 1840, �was a doctor of
Medicine, in practice at Forfar, for which county he was medical officer
and also a justice of the peace�. He m. on 20 April, 1865, his cousin,
Anne Ogilvie, d. of John Ogilvie of Dundee, by Anne, d. of John Maxwell
and Elizabeth Stormonth. They had eight sons and four daughters. One of
the sons had a son who was given exactly the same names as his
grandfather.
[Pearsie
was eventually sold, in 1950, by George Maclagan-Wedderburn, who had
emigrated to Australia. The purchaser was Earl Granville, whose wife was a
sister of the then Queen, now the Queen Mother, but the estate was sold
again, in 1977, to �a Continental buyer�.]
David
Wedderburn, b. 15/8/1757, third and youngest son of Robert
Wedderburn of Pearsie and Isobel Edward, went to London to join the firm
of West Indian merchants belonging to his relative, James Webster of
Clapham.
[In Sept. 1996 I discovered,
in the Dundee City Archives, letters written by David in 1775 and 1779
which indicate that he went to London in 1772, not �about 1780�
as is said in the W.B.] David m. at Dundee. in 1785, his second cousin
Elizabeth Read, b. 13/10/1770 [only
daughter of Alexander Read of Logie, co. Angus, by his wife, Ann Fletcher
- Alexander Read being a grandson of Elizabeth Wedderburn, d. of Sir
Alexander W., 4th Bt. of Blackness, & Katharine Scott].
On the death of his uncle James Webster, in late 1789, David became the
senior partner in the mercantile house of Webster & Co. (subsequently
known as �Wedderburn, Webster & Co. and later as �Wedderburn &
Co.�), and �in compliance with James Webster�s Will, dated
14/11/1789, he assumed for himself and his issue the surname and arms of
Webster, in lieu of those of Wedderburn, obtaining to that end a Royal
License (sic) dated 15 Jan.
1790�. [Many years later there was
a long legal battle between the Webster-Wedderburns and the other partners
of the firm, concerning the affairs of the company, which dragged on for
more than thirty years.] David
was one of the executors of the Will of his late brother, John, Admon. of
which was granted on 9 June 1789. David Wedderburn-Webster died of a
�decline�, at Bath on 21/3/1801, at the age of 43. (W.B. p. 329)
[Two
letters written by David in 1775 give information about his brothers John
and Charles and indicate that his mother and sisters were then staying
with their half-uncle, the Rev. Dr. Thomas Webster, at Kinghorn in
Fifeshire, where Dr. Webster was a minister.(Not
far away is a farm called �Banchory�.) In a letter to his brother
Charles in India, in 1779, David says that
when he called at Kinghorn in July, he found that �Uncle Thomas
and Sister Kate were on a visit to our friends in Angus�. Dr. Webster,
in a letter to Robert Wedderburn of Pearsie sent from London in October
1779, says that he has resigned his living in Kinghorn �having been
persuaded by his brothers to live at Clapham�
- but an historian in Kinghorn says that Dr. Webster�s
congregation was fed up with his �leanings to the Catholic Church�!
Dr. Webster has strange writing. All his �e�s� appear as �i�s�
and his signature looks like �Wibstir�.]
David
W.-W. & Elizabeth Read had three sons and two daughters. [See below].
After David�s death in 1801, Elizabeth m. ii) in June 1802, Robert
Douglas (s. of William Douglas of
Brigton, co. Angus, & Elizabeth Graham). Robert was brother to
Archibald Murray Douglas, who m. David�s & Elizabeth�s elder
daughter Anne, b. 2/3/1791. - Robert d. on 2/8/1835, leaving issue
including a son, William Douglas, afterwards of Brigton, b. 4/8/1803,
d. 16/2/1869. On being widowed for the second time Elizabeth went to live
at Broughty Ferry, not far from the estate of her son William Douglas.
(W.B. p. 329, footnote 6)
David
Wedderburn-Webster�s & Elizabeth Read�s eldest son, James
Wedderburn-Webster, b. 31/5/1788, seems to have been something of an
odd-ball. He considered that by right he should have inherited Pearsie
and, moreover, the baronetcy of Balindean! On 8/10/1810 he m. Lady Frances
Caroline Annesley, b. 23/5/1793, second d. of Arthur, 8th
Viscount Valentia and first Earl of Mountnorris. - They had four sons and
a daughter. (Details on W.B. p.
332-5.) Lady Frances d. in London on 22/1/1837 and James d. suddenly
on 13/8/1840 in Dublin, where he is buried.
[James Wedderburn-Webster and
his wife Lady Frances are mentioned in Elizabeth Pakenham�s books about
the Duke of Wellington, �The Year of the Sword� & �Pillar of
State�.]
David
Wedderburn-Webster & Elizabeth Read�s second son Charles W-W
was b. in London on 10/9/1799. He entered the army and became a Captain.
He m. Rebecca Chatterton in 1822, in Cork, Ireland. They had a son and a
daughter. Charles died at 180 Camberwell Road, London, on 16/12/1863, and
was buried in Camberwell Cemetery. (W.B.
p. 330)
David
& Elizabeth�s third and youngest son, David �Webster or
Wedderburn�, was b. in London on 10/8/1801 - four months after his
father�s death. He
died on 14/7/1816 at Brigton, Angus.
Their
daughter, Anne, b. at Clapham on 2/3/1791, m. Aug. 1814, Archibald
Murray Douglas, brother of her stepfather, Robert Douglas of Brigton, and
had a son and two daughters. Anne d. in July 1822. Their daughter Mary, b.
at Clapham, on 15/9/1793, m. George Hawkins of Harnish House, co. Wilts.,
grandson of Sir C�sar Hawkins, Bt. of Kelstone, Somerset. They had no
issue. (W.B. p. 330)
The seventh but third surviving son of Sir Alexander Wedderburn
(4th Bt. of Blackness) and Katharine Scott:
Thomas,
b. 2 April 1710, was afterwards of �Cantra� (Inverness-shire).
In 1727 he is named, in a sasine to which he acts as bailie, as
�merchant in Dundee� - where �A.W.� believes he continued to trade
until about 1736. Some time after this he �went North� and, on 20
Sept. 1740, he m. Katharine Dunbar, second daughter of Alexander Dunbar of
Grange, co. Moray (by Mary Fraser, d. of James Fraser LL.D, secretary of Chelsea Hospital,
London*). Between 1741 and 1759 Thomas is named as collector of excise
at Inverness but it is not clear whether his appointment was earlier than
this, prior to his marriage in 1740. (W.B.
pp. 337-341) -
*See
W.B. p. 341, footnote� for more information about James Fraser.
Thomas
and Katharine�s marriage was unusual in that her family, �one of the
most ancient descent in Scotland�, were Presbyterians whereas Thomas�s
were Episcopalians. �They were, of course, averse to the alliance, which
took place, moreover, at a period when the change in the national
religious establishment was so recent, that the strong personal feeling of
dislike engendered by it between members of the old church and the newer
and predominating party were still inveterate. Two opinions, besides were
engendered under one roof, in itself a misfortune, the sons of the
marriage being educated as Episcopalians, the daughters as
Presbyterians�. (W.B. p. 341
footnote�)
�A.W.�
says that Thomas joined Prince Charles Edward at Inverness shortly before
the battle of Culloden, and a loving letter from Thomas to his wife, dated
11th April 1746, refers to him �being in his Quarters in
Inverness, about eleven at night�. In an earlier letter, from Fortrose,
dated 26th Sept. 1745, addressed to William, 16th
Earl of Sutherland �who was an adherent of the Hanoverian government, so
that it is clear that at this date Thomas Wedderburn had not joined the
Prince�, Thomas reports on the battle near Cockenzie, by Prestonpans and
says that he has heard talk of �a person of distinction in the north of
Scotland, who was judged too forward in writting (sic)
news�, which he took to be a warning that an earlier letter of his to
the Earl �has been opened�. (W.B.
p. 338)
[From
the �Culloden Papers� it certainly seems that Thomas was believed to
have been on the side of the Government
and as he appears to have escaped any consequences, and to have continued
to act as collector of excise, perhaps he was cannily keeping in with both
sides?]
On
3rd October 1752, as collector of excise at Fortrose, �he
took one John Miller as his apprentice for four years and soon after, he
moved to Cantra, a seat of the Dallas family�.
(W.B. p. 341, footnote�)
On
21st July 1755, a bill was protested against Thomas and �A.W.�
says that he thinks his affairs must have become involved, as there are
other bills protested, 15 April, 1757, 11 Sept. 1758 and 26 Sept. 1759, as
well as one accepted by him, 14 Nov. 1759. �Probably this accounts for
the fact that in the entail of Idvies in 1766 his name is omitted although
his sons are called to the succession. That at one time he was in great
difficulties is clear from a decree dated 9 Aug. 1768 - in which he is
designed late collector of
excise in Inverness - which recites that in 1753 he �fell into a dropsy,
rendering him incapable of business�..the attempted cure of which, at
Edinburgh and elsewhere also involved him in much expense� so that he
was driven into debt. It further recites that his creditors, including his
brother-in-law, David Scrymgeour, not only proceeded against him, but on
12 Dec. 1767 �cruelly and in a barbarous manner dragged him from his
home at Gallacantray and imprisoned him in the Tolbooth at Nairn, and it
is in respect of these proceedings that he now obtains a decreet for his
discharge from the tolbooth, upon his assigning all his goods for his
creditors� benefit�. (W.B. p. 340) [What had
he done, to deserve such treatment?!]
Thomas
died soon after, but the precise date is not clear. �His widow in one
place and his son John, in his record of 1799, give Jan. 1771 as the
date��but in another memorandum by Thomas�s widow, the date is given
as 1766, while the description on his tomb gives the date as Dec. 1769�.
- �A.W.� thinks that 1771 is probably the correct year and says that
Thomas died at Inverness and was buried at Cray. Katharine lived at Nairn
after her husband�s death, but in 1793 she moved to Edinburgh, where she
died 12th February 1818. (W.B. p. 340-341)
Thomas
and Katharine�s eldest s. Alexander was b. at Grange Hill, in the
parish of Dyke, Morayshire, on 20/8/1741
(though there is no record of his baptism there). In the spring of
1760 Alexander went out to Jamaica, staying on his way south with his
uncle, Robert of Pearsie. In 1766 he was named in the entail of Idvies as
his father�s eldest son but four years later, on 10 February 1770, he
died, unm., at Bluecastle, in the parish of Westmoreland, Jamaica. - J.W.
says that he was, no doubt, buried in the garden at Bluecastle�. (W.B.
p. 342) - �A.W.� says that such burials may account for the fact
that in a work entitled �Monumental Inscriptions of the British West
Indies from the earliest date�, by Capt. J.H. Laurence Archer (Chatto and Windus, London, 1875), a great portion of which is
devoted to Jamaica, there is no mention of any Wedderburn monuments in the
island. (W.B. p. 342, footnote�)
[The
planters seemingly let their young men loose among their female slaves, so
it is possible that this Alexander left behind a by-blow or two, one of
whom could have been the John Wedderburn, a free mulatto planter, to whom
Alexander�s younger brother, John, left a legacy in his Will, in 1820. -
See below.]
John
Wedderburn, the second and ultimately only surviving son of
Thomas Wedderburn of Cantra & Katharine Dunbar, was born at Forres,
Inverness, on 19th August, 1743.
(W.B.
p. 343) - In footnote�, p. 344, �A.W.� states that �In his own
record (1799) at the Herald�s
College John gives Fortrose as his birthplace, but this is an
error. In Forres parish register the entry is as follows: 22 Aug.
1743, Thomas Wedderburn, Esq., collector of Excise, and Katharine Dunbar,
his spouse, had a son baptised (born 19th), called John. Witnesses, John Frigge,
merchant in Findhorn, and Cecilia Colley, Mrs. Dunbar of Dykeside.�
John
went to Jamaica in the Spring of 1762 - shortly before the eldest son of
the executed Sir John W. of Blackness, Sir John Wedderburn of Balindean,
returned to Scotland. - In footnote� on W.B. p. 344 �A.W.�
says: �It is possible that before this, when quite young, he had been
apprenticed to the firm of Webster in London, as he may be the John
Wedderburn, apprentice to them, named 10 Dec. 1757. The signature to this
document, however, is hardly that of a boy of fourteen�. [In
footnote� on W.B. p. 325, though, �A.W.� says of John�s cousin
John (b. 1744, e.s. of Robert W. of Pearsie) that: �It is possible that
before this he was apprenticed to the mercantile house of the Websters in
London, as a John Wedderburn so occupied in 1757 may be he.�]
In
1778 John (b. 1743) became a
member of the House of Assembly and aide-de-camp, with the rank of
Lieut.-Col. of the Hanover Regiment of Infantry, to the Governor (the Hon.
John Dalling). His commission is dated at Saint Iago de la Vega, 20 Nov.
1778. (There are two other commissions to him, as ensign and lieutenant,
dated 28 March 1765 and 27 Aug. 1776. - W.B. p. 344, footnote �)
John
married �no doubt in Jamaica�, on 27 May 1782, Mary Wisdom Bedward (b.1764 in Jamaica, d. and heiress of George Bedward, of Spring Garden,
Jamaica). �He acquired (says J.W.) considerable property in the
island by his own perseverance and augmented it by his marriage, at the
same time preserving both in Jamaica and in his own country the highest
character for integrity and independence.�
(W.B. p. 344) [�Spring
Garden�, the name of the estate which John acquired by his marriage is
used to identify him.
�Spring Garden� John Wedderburn & Mary Wisdom Bedward had
two sons and four daughters. [See below.]
In
1780, while still living in Jamaica John purchased from Thomas Fletcher
the estate of Lindertis in co. Forfar [now
Angus], which he later,
�at the close of 1801�, alienated to Gilbert Mason of Moredun. On 12
July 1789 John returned to Scotland and a fortnight later, 27 July, was
presented with the freedom of Inverness. John then settled in London with
his wife and the son and two daughters who had accompanied him from
Jamaica, residing successively at Upper Grosvenor Street, Bedford Square,
and at 19, Devonshire Place, Portland Place. He joined his cousin David
(b. 1757, Robert Wedderburn of Pearsie�s youngest son - who was related
to the Webster brothers) as a partner in Webster & Co. [afterwards
Wedderburn, Webster & Co.], East and West India Merchants, in
Leadenhall Street. After David�s untimely death, in 1801, John
�carried on business as a West India Merchant, being for many years,
1801-20, chief partner�. (W.B. p. 344)
�Spring
Garden� John died, after a paralytic seizure, on 29/12/1820, at Chigwell,
Essex, a small estate that he had recently purchased from his cousin, Sir
David Wedderburn, 1st Bt. of Balindean (a grandson of the
executed Sir John, 5th Bt. of Blackness) - formerly also a
partner in the family firm. [John�s younger son, John W. �of Auchterhouse�, said of his father:
�He was truly a man of singular honour and integrity; of a firm mind, an
open, generous and unsuspicious heart, most constant
to his friends; and blessed with a kind and gentle temper, which was the
best assurance of his own and his family�s happiness.� (W.B. p. 344)]
In his Will (�L.W.15�, W.B. vol. II, p. 518) it shows that �Spring
Garden� John left a legacy to a �John Wedderburn, a free mulatto
planter in Jamaica�. - In view of his
(reputedly) kindly nature - and that of his wife - it seems possible
that he was making amends to a son whom he - or his elder brother,
Alexander (above) - may have fathered by a Jamaican slave in their youth! [I
have obtained a copy of John�s Will. In a Codicil, he says that any
beneficiary who raises objections to any part of the Will would be
disinherited. In a subsequent Codicil he excludes his two daughters -
apart from leaving them their �marriage settlements �which he is
obliged to do by law��!]
�Spring
Garden� John�s & Mary Wisdon Bedward�s elder son, James
Wedderburn
was b. on 2/6/1788, at Bluecastle, Jamaica. On the death of his father�s
younger brother James [see below] in Jamaica in 1789, James inherited the
Mint estate in Jamaica and on his father�s death he also succeeded to
�Spring Garden and the greater portion of his Colonial property�.
James
was for many years a partner in the firm of Wedderburn & Co., but
retired in 1830 and died on 23/4/1831. On 5th July 1817, he m.
his second cousin, Isabella Lyon [second d. of David Lyon of Portland
Place, London, and Jamaica, by Isabella Read, b. 21/11/1796, d. of John
Read of Hill Bank or Cairney, co. Angus - above].
They
had an only child, John Kellerman Wedderburn, b. 13/2/1818 at Upper
Seymour Street, London. [Further
details are on W.B. p. 346]
�Spring
Garden� John�s & Mary Wisdon Bedward�s younger son, John
Wedderburn
was b. on 8/1/1798 at Clapham, Surrey. (He was afterwards �of
Auchterhouse�.) On his father�s death John succeeded to the Prospect
estate in Jamaica and to a share in the Leadenhall St. House �but
retired from the latter in May 1830, owing to the similar retirement of
his elder brother James�.
On
30th April 1823 John m. at Airlie Castle, Lady Helen Ogilvy, b.
12/2/1798 (youngest d. of Walter,
fifth Earl of Airlie). John lived in London at one time but, after his
marriage, he lived at Beddington Park, Surrey, from June 1823 - Nov. 1826,
when he removed to Auchterhouse, co. Forfar [later
Angus], where he lived until his death in 1839. (W.B.
p. 347)
In
1824, John published his printed memoir, �A Genealogical Account of the
Wedderburn Family�, which later proved to be �full of inaccuracies�.
After moving to Auchterhouse (not far from Dundee) �he spent much time
in compiling an enlarged and revised MS [�J.W.�s� MS.] which later
came in to the hands of his grandson�, Alexander Dundas Ogilvy
Wedderburn, Q.C., b. 7 August 1854, [�A.W.�], �who found that it
still contained numerous errors�. Alexander Wedderburn therefore set
about producing his own expanded work, �The History of the Wedderburn
Family in the Counties of Forfarshire and Berwickshire, 1296-1896�,
which he published in 1898. (W.B.
pp. 347-8) [My �extracts�
are taken from this Book.]
When
John�s mother, Mary Wisdom Bedward, died, 17/3/1835, he, �J.W�,
wrote of her that she was �unsuspicious and incapable of deceit herself,
she detested it in others; honest and true; an open opponent; a warm
generous, and unchanging friend; hospitable, large-minded and munificent ;
she was the best friend I ever had.......�. (W.B.
p. 345)
�J.W.�
& Lady Helen Ogilvy had three sons and a daughter. [Details about them
and their descendants, including the author of the W.B. (see AlexWqc.doc) are on pp. 348-351]
John
died at Auchterhouse on 2nd April 1839 and is there buried.
Lady Helen d. at Rosebank, Roslin, on 27th April 1866 and is
buried in Roslin Chapel. (W.B. p.
348)
�Spring
Garden� John Wedderburn�s & Mary Wisdom Bedward�s four daughters
are:
Elizabeth
Susannah, b. 31/12/1783-1/1/17844 at Bluecastle, Jamaica.
She m. her second cousin Andrew Wedderburn, later Colvile of
Ochiltree [s. of James Wedderburn of
Inveresk, second s. of the executed Sir John W. of Blackness] on
27/12/1802, but d.s.p. at Inveresk, co. Midlothian, on 22/12/1803. [Andrew
Wedderburn, �who assumed the surname and arms of Colvile in 1814�, m.
ii) the Hon. Mary Louisa Eden (b. in
Spain 14/9/1788, fifth d. of William, First Lord Auckland) on
26/6/1806 at Bromley Place, Kent. - See
W.B. p. 308]
Mary,
b. 2/8/1786 at Bluecastle, Jamaica. She m. on 7/6/1817, the Rev. John
Wellings, chaplain to the Countess of Selkirk [Jean,
daughter of James Wedderburn of Inveresk] who was also a M.D. - having
been in the practice of medicine before taking Holy Orders. They had an
only child, Katharine Mary (b. in
London in 1818), who m. her first cousin, John Stirling of Kippendavie.
- Her mother, Mrs Wellings, died at Richmond, Portobello, on 6/4/1858,
aged 71, and is buried at Dunblane. (W.B.
p. 347)
Catharine
Georgiana, b. 1/2/1791 in London &
bap. on 16/3/1791 at St. Pancras� Old Church. She m. at Marylebone
Parish Church, on 13/2/1810, Patrick Stirling,
e.s. of John Stirling of Kippenndavie, co. Perth, and Blackgrange, co.
Clackmannan. They had two sons and a daughter. Their e.s., John
Stirling, b. at Tunbridge Wells, 19/8/1811, d. 27/7/1882, m. his
first cousin Katharine Mary Wellings [above - they had three sons and
a daughter. The e.s., Patrick, m. on 13/9/1846, Margaret Mary Leith (e.d.
of Rear-Admiral John Leith, by Margaret, only child and heiress of John
Forbes of Blackford) and had issue.] - Catherine�s & John�s
other children are shown on W.B. p. 347, footnote 4
Thomasina,
b. 19/9/1793 in London & bap. on 14/11/1793 at St. Pancras� Old
Church. - She died of a fever in Upper Grosvenor Street, Marylebone, on
21/3/1806. (W.B. p. 347)
*********
Thomas
Wedderburn �of Cantra�s� & Katharine Dunbar�s (alleged!) third
& youngest son
James
Wedderburn, was b. at Merknish, in the parish of Inverness on
23 Sept. 1751. [On W.B. p. 342, in footnote�, �A.W.� states that the entry in the
Inverness parish baptismal register shows: �23rd Sept. 1751,
Mr. Thomas Wedderburn collector of excise at Inverness, and his wife,
Katharine Dunbar, had a child baptised by Mr. Alexr. McBean called James.
Witnesses, Robert ffraser of Phopachie, Mr. Alexr. McBean.�]
James
went to Jamaica �at the end of 1768 or early in 1769� - some seven
years after his brother �Spring Garden� John had settled there. He
became a member of the House of Assembly in the Island, �where his
talents gained him a great reputation and where for many years his
influence and, it must be added, his speculations were almost
unbounded.�. �A.W� says
that �he, too, �returned to Scotland in 1789 and was presented the
freedom of Inverness, but this may be an error and it may have been only
his brother John who was so honoured�.
James
died at Bluecastle on 17 July 1797 �when he was buried, no doubt, in the
garden. �References to him
occur in the Will of old James Webster in 1789 when he is designed �of
Trelawny, Jamaica� and in that of his sister Thomasina in 1797. (W.B.
p. 342, footnote�) A notice of him, which appeared in the Kingston
(Jamaica) Gazette, is quoted in the Gentleman�s Magazine, vol. lxvii,
p. 889��..�. (W.B. p. 342)
James
died �never having married�, leaving �an immense fortune�. In his
Will (proved in both Jamaica and
London), after various legacies to his mother, his sisters, and other
relatives (including bequests to his
sister Elizabeth�s sons, his nephews John Alexander and Stewart Blyth,
living in Jamaica), James left the residue of his estate to his nephew
James Wedderburn (b. 1788 in
Jamaica) who, at that time, was �Spring Garden� John�s only son. [�J.W.� was not born
until the following year, 1798.] - The property James left included
the Mint Estate and some lands known as Golden Penn and Linton Penn, and
�Fraser�s Mountain�. (W.B. p.
342, footnote 4)
[Although
James �was never married�, from his Will it is clear that he had more
than one child by a mulatto woman named �Hannah� - as well as a
mulatto daughter by his �negroe wench called ffanny�. Under the terms
of the Will Hannah was to be given her freedom, also an annuity and the
use of the �Chateau and lands belonging to it� during her natural
life. In particular, he bequeathed to Hannah�s �quadroon� daughter
Lydia �all that piece or parcel of
Land situate in the parish of Westmoreland adjoining blue Castle Estate
known by the name of the Chateau together with the Buildings thereon and
that may hereafter be erected upon the same���.
To
Lydia he �further bequeathed in Trust (�with Hugh ffraser or his
Executors�) the Sum of �5000 Sterling to be paid on day of Marriage
provided she remains in Great Britain and does not return to Jamaica in
the event of Marriage not taking place when she shall have attained the
Age of 21�
. This legacy was conditional upon
Lydia going to England and marrying a �credible white person�. [On
10/5/1818 a Lydia Wedderburn m. a Hugh
Wilson at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London. - It seems likely that she was
this Lydia. James
also left annuities to two other children, a boy and a girl �say�d to
be mine� who were living with mulatto Hannah at Bluecastle. - This info.
does not appear in the W.B.!]
[There
is also a reference in James� Will to a �first wife� and children of
his cousin Henry Scrymgeour, �then living in Jamaica�, and to various
other family members. - Henry Scrymgeour �returned from Jamaica in 1790-91 and on 5/4/1793
m. Mary Turner Maitland, e.d. of Capt. the Hon. Frederick Lewis Maitland,
R.N. (sixth s. of Charles, 6th Earl of Lauderdale)�. (W.B. p.
180) - There is no mention in
the W.B. - or in �Burke�s Peerage� - of any wife other than Mary
Turner Maitland!]
The
daughters of Thomas Wedderburn �of Cantra� & Katharine Dunbar are:
Mary,
b. 13/9/1742 at Forres, co. Elgin �was for some time in London with her
cousin, the artist, Catherine Read, and there met a family with whom she
went out to Quebec. On their return
home, she remained behind and no further particulars of her could be got.
Her family thus concluded that she died there, unmarried�. (W.B. p. 342)
Katharine,
b. 1/10/1744 at Rosemarkie, Fortrose, �lived for some years in London,
and at one time was in Rome, where her cousin Miss Read painted a portrait
of her, which she gave to her nephew John Wedderburn of Auchterhouse. She
returned to Scotland and was for many years resident in North James
Street, Edinburgh, where she died on 22/2/1825. Katharine was buried in
the Buccleugh Cemetery there. (W.B.
p. 343) - In footnote� �A.W.�
states that Katharine was from an early age completely deaf, a failing
from which almost every member of each subsequent generation of her family
has more or less suffered, and which
has come to be regarded as an hereditary affliction.
Elizabeth,
b. 8/3/1747 at Rosemarkie �was considered to have married beneath her
when she married --- Blyth, an architect in Aberdeen or Montrose (W.B. p. 343, footnote 5), and �was estranged from her family as
a result�. She and her
husband went to live in Jamaica. They had two sons and three daughters.
The elder son, John Blyth, became an attorney there and died in
1835. The younger, Alexander Blyth, went to sea.
(Both sons were mentioned in the will of their wealthy uncle James when he
died in 1797.) The eldest daughter, Elizabeth, m. - Brodie but
d.s.p. and was buried in the Buccleuch Chapel cemetery
(where, �A.W.� discovered, Katharine Dunbar, her grandmother, and her
aunts Katharine & Robina [below]
were also buried. - W.B. p. 341,
footnote 6). The second daughter, Rosamund, m. --- Davidson, in
Jamaica, and d.s.p. - Of the youngest daughter, Jean, �A.W.� says that
�J.W.� �gives no account�. - Elizabeth Blyth
(n�e Wedderburn) returned to Scotland and died at Montrose on
8/2/1819. - She was buried in Old Aberdeen.
(W.B. p. 343)
[�A.W.�
says that �among the correspondence of Henry Scrymgeour Wedderburn -
ante 179 - are drafts of letters (1806) to his cousin, John Blyth, in
Jamaica, and others (1806-7) to Messrs. Wedderburn, Grant and Blyth,
attornies, Westmoreland, Jamaica, who after Aug. 1807, are addressed as
Messrs. Grant and Blyth only. - W.B. p. 343, footnote 6)]
Robina,
b. 28/1/1749 at Rosemarkie,Fortrose, �died unm. in Edinburgh on
16/12/1796�.
Thomasina,
b. 7/3/1750 at Rosemarkie, also died unm. in Edinburgh, on 19/5/1797.
These
last two and their sister Katharine, their niece Elizabeth Blyth and their
mother, Katharine Dunbar, were all buried in the Buccleuch Cemetery,
Edinburgh. (W.B. p. 343)
*********
Alexander
Wedderburn, the eighth and youngest (but fourth surviving), son of Sir Alexander W., 4th Bt.
of Blackness, and Katharine Scott, was b. on 13 Sept. & bap. 19 Sept.
1718 - although �there is no record of his baptism in the Dundee parish
register�. (W.B. p. 261)
�This
Alexander (says �J.W.� in a note
to his MS.), commonly called Uncle Sandie, seems to have been an
eccentric humourist. Many stories are told about him, some perhaps
apocryphal. His life was passed chiefly in and about Dundee, but he is
said to have been at sea and to have been a slave of the Algerines. When
he died, Sir John Wedderburn of Balindean is stated to have attended the
funeral, and Miss Katharine Graham, b. c1779 [see
top of p. 5 above], represented her brother Robert as the only
relative who took any charge of the interment, but this could hardly be,
for in 1788 Robert Graham was scarcely thirteen years old�. Alexander
died, unmarried, in Dundee 18 Jan. 1790 [not
1788, says �A.W.�] �and was there buried, so that Miss
Graham�s statement as to her brother�s charge of his burial is not so
improbable.� (W.B. p. 261-2 &
see footnote 6)
On
p. 527 of Vol. II of the W.B. is the pedigree of Sir David Wedderburn,
created 1st Bt. of Balindean in 1803
(p. 2 above), �as recorded in the Herald�s College, London, with a
note of the registration of his arms�. Alexander W. b. 1718
(fourth surviving son of Alexander Wedderburn, 4th Bt. of
Blackness, & Katharine Scott) has been left off! - In a footnote,
�A.W.� states that �the arrangement of this pedigree has been
slightly altered from that of the original MS. to suit the printed page.
He points out that it contains several errors but the omission of
Alexander�s name is not mentioned in the list of amendments!] |
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