HISTORY OF THE MACDONALDS,

AND

THE LORDS OF THE ISLES.

BY THE EDITOR.

XVII.

XXIV. SIR JAMES MACDONALD, fifteenth baron, and eighth baronet of Sleat. He was served heir to his father on the 24th of January 1751, when only 10 years of age, in order to take up the procuratory of resignation contained in his father's contract of marriage between the latter and his second wife, Lady Margaret Montgomery, dated 23d of April 1739, in which the lands and barony of Macdonald were made over to the heirs male procreated of that marriage. Thereafter a charter under the Great Seal, dated 10th December 1754, was expede in favour of Sir James of the lands and barony of Macdonald, under the conditions of entail specified in the original contract and Sir Alexander's charter which followed thereon. Sir James was infeft on the 12th of August in the same year, and his instrument of sasine is recorded in the General Register of Sasines, under date of 15th September 1756. In 1751 Mr John Mackenzie of Delvine bought the estate of Strath from John Mackinnon of Mackinnon, for behoof of Sir James Macdonald of Sleat, at the time a minor. The property of Strath remained in haereditate jacente of Delvine, while the fee of superiority was in haereditate jacente of Sir James. A charter of abjudication of these lands was afterwards expede in favour of Sir James, his heirs and assignees, upon certain debts paid out of the price, but the property was not finally conveyed to the Macdonald family until 1799, when Mr Kenneth Mackenzie, Delvine's heir, granted a disposition to Alexander Wentworth, Lord Macdonald, in which he admitted the trust ab initio, and disponed the estate of Strath to his Lordship and his heirs and assignees in fee simple, with procuratory and precept, upon which a charter and infeftment followed in his Lordship's favour.

Sir James Macdonald was a distinguished scholar. A contemporary says of him :-"He was one of the most extraordinary young men I ever knew. He studied very hard; was a scholar and a mathematician; and yet, at twenty, I have heard him talk with a knowledge of the world which one would not have expected to hear but from the experience of age. He had great and noble schemes for the civilisation and improvement of his own country, and appeared, upon the whole, to be one of those superior spirits which seemed formed to show how far the powers of humanity can extend."* He was undoubtedly a young man of great natural parts, and these were improved by a liberal education and travel. He was "of a most sweet disposition, and, for learning and the liberal arts and sciences inferior to none of his contemporaries.' Being of a very delicate constitution, it was thought a warmer climate would suit him better. He therefore went to Italy in the year 1765, where he met and

* Carter's Memoirs, vol. ii., p. 168, quoted by Douglas in the Peerage.

associated with most of the learned men of that country. He finally found his way to Rome, where, after a lingering illness, he died on the 26th of July 1766, greatly regretted by all who had made his acquaintance. Cardinal Picolomini, Governor of Rome at the time, composed an elegant Latin poem in his memory, and he was commanded by Pope Clement XIII. to accord to Sir James the most magnificent public funeral ever given to a Protestant. He was accompanied in his travels on the Continent by the Duke of Buccleuch and Adam Smith. On his death, his own countrymen and foreigners-men of learning at home and abroad" contended with each other who should pay the greatest marks of respect to his merits and his virtues." His mother, who outlived him, erected a monument to his memory in the Parish Church of Sleat, which had been executed at Rome. It has the following inscription, composed by his personal friend, George, Lord Lyttelton :-"To the memory of Sir James Macdonald, Baronet, who, in the flower of youth, had attained to so eminent a degree of knowledge in mathematics, philosophy, languages, and in every other branch of useful and polite learning, as few have acquired in a long life wholly devoted to study; yet, to his erudition, he joined what can rarely be found with it, great talents for business, great propriety of behaviour, and great politeness of manners. His eloquence was sweet, correct, and flowing; his memory vast and exact; his judgment strong and accute; all which endowments, united with the most amiable temper, and every private virtue, procured him, not only in his own country, but also from foreign nations, the highest marks of esteem. In the year of our Lord 1766, the 25th of his life, after a long and painful illness, which he supported with admirable prudence and fortitude, he died at Rome, where, notwithstanding the differences of religion, such extraordinary honours were paid to his memory as had never graced that of any other subject since the days of Sir Philip Sydney. The fame he left behind him is the best consolation to his afflicted family and to his countrymen in the Isle, for whose benefit he had planned many useful improvements, which his fruitful genius suggested, and his active spirit promoted, under the sober direction of a clear and enlightened uuderstanding." Sir James was styled "The Scottish Marcellus," and it is said of him that in extent of learning and genius he resembled the admirable Crichton. He was educated at Eton, where he had been sent at his own earnest solicitation. Dying unmarried, he was succeeded by his next brother,

XXV. SIR ALEXANDER MACDONALD, sixteenth baron, and ninth baronet of Sleat, who, on the 17th of July 1766, was by patent created a Peer of Ireland by the title of Baron Macdonald of Sleat, County Antrim, to himself and the heirs male of his body. In May 1761 he obtained a commission as Ensign in the Coldstream Regiment of Foot-Guards. On the 3d of May 1768 he married Elizabeth Diana, eldest daughter of Godfrey Bosville of Gunthwaite, in the county of York. In the marriage contract, which is dated the 28th of March 1768, provision is made for an annuity of £500 in favour of his lady should she survive him, and £5000 to be paid to his younger children, whether sons or daughters, "at the first term of Whitsunday or Martinmas next after their attaining the age of 21 years complete, or after their father's death, whichever of these periods shall first happen." In the case of more daughters or younger

children than one he reserved power to himself to divide that sum between them by a deed of writing under his hand at his own discretion, but should he fail to execute such a deed, the money was to be divided equally between his younger children. On the 24th of September 1794 he further provides for a sum of £7500 to each of his four younger sons. Being a keen politician, he made arrangements by which Sir Archibald Macdonald, his brother, and William Macdonald, his agent, obtained feucharters of parts of the estate, while other portions were conveyed to political friends in liferent or wadset, to qualify them as voters for the county. Shortly afterwards these "confidential friends," as they are described, re-disposed the property which they had acquired in feu to his Lordship, but no infeftment was taken by him on these re-conveyances, By his lady, as above, he had issue

1. Alexander Wentworth Macdonald, who succeeded as second Lord Macdonald.

2. Godfrey Macdonald, who afterwards became third Lord Macdonald. 3. Archibald Macdonald, born 21st May 1777. He was a Captain in the Prince of Wales' Own Regiment of Light Dragoons; and married, at Edinburgh, on the 29th of October 1802, Jane, eldest daughter of Duncan Campbell of Ardneave, Argyllshire, with issue-(1) Archibald, born 17th of August 1803; (2) Campbell, born 16th of June 1808; (3) James, born 27th of January 1811; (4) Nixon-Alexander, born in 1813; and (5) Arthur, born in 1816. He had also two daughters-Mary and Elizabeth Diana.

4. James Macdonald, born on the 29th of January 1783, who became a Lieutenant in the first regiment of Foot Guards; served in the Mediterranean in 1807-8; in Spain under Sir John Moore; and in the expedition to the Scheldt in 1809. He died unmarried.

5. Dudley Stewart Macdonald, born 14th of February 1786, a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. He died 26th of August 1840. 6. John-Sinclair, born 11th March 1788.

7. William, born 1789.

8. Diana Macdonald, who married, as his second wife, on the 5th of March 1788, the Right Hon. Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster, in the county of Caithness, Baronet, a Member of Parliament, a Privy Councillor, and President of the Board of Agriculture, with issue. She died 22d of April 1845.

9. Elizabeth. 10. Annabella,

Sir Alexander, first Lord Macdonald, died on the 12th of September 1795, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

XXVI. ALEXANDER WENTWORTH MACDONALD, seventeenth baron, tenth baronet, and second Lord Macdonald of Sleat, who was born on the 9th of December 1773. He expended about £35,000 on the improvement of the property. Among these was the erection of the fine modern family residence, Armadale Castle, in the Parish of Sleat. On the 21st of January 1815 we find him writing to his brother, General Bosville, as next heir of entail, acquainting him that certain improvements had been going on since 1800, "and are still in progress, particularly the erection of a new mansion-house and offices at Armadale, for which I am now forming a contract with tradesmen." Armadale Castle is a fine Gothic

building. The lobby and staircase are very fine, and from the correctness of design and elegance of finish have been very much admired. A portrait of the ancestor of the family, Somerled of the Isles, in full Highland costume, in stained glass, adorns the staircase window, and from the lobby presents a very beautiful appearance.

His Lordship died unmarried, on 19th of June 1824, when he was succeeded by his next brother,

XXVII. GODFREY MACDONALD BOSVILLE, eighteenth baron, eleventh baronet, and third Lord Macdonald of Sleat, a Major-General in the army, who assumed the additional name of Bosville after that of Macdonald, but dropped it on his accession to the estates and titles of Macdonald. He was born on the 14th of October 1775, and on the 15th of October 1803 he married Louisa Maria, daughter of Farley Edsir, and by her, who died on the 10th of February 1835, had issue

1. Godfrey William Wentworth, who succeeded.

Не

2. James William, born 31st October 1810. He is a LieutenantGeneral, C.B., Knight of the Legion of Honour, Equerry and Private Secretary to His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, the FieldMarshal Commanding-in-Chief; and Colonel of the 21st Hussars. married, on the 26th September 1859, Elizabeth Nina, second daughter of Joseph Henry, third Lord Wallscourt, with issue-(1), George Godfrey, born 17th of May 1861, and (2), a daughter, Mary.

3. William, born 27th September 1817, and died unmarried on the 11th of May 1847.

4. Elizabeth Diana Bosville, who married, on the 20th of June 1825, Duncan Davidson of Tulloch, the present Lord-Lieutenant of the County of Ross, with issue-(1), Duncan H. C. R. Davidson, yr. of Tulloch, who married Georgina Elizabeth, daughter of John Mackenzie, M.D., of Eileanach, with issue-Duncan, John Francis Barnard, Mary, Elizabeth Diana, Adelaide Lucy, Georgianna Veronnica, and Christina Isabella. (2), Godfrey Wentworth, died unmarried; (3), Caroline Louisa, who married Captain George Wade, Commissioner of the Sceychelles, with issue, two daughters; (4), Julia Bosville, who married the Hon. Henry Chetwynd, R.N., with issue, four sons and three daughters; (5), Adelaide Lucy, who married Colonel George William Holmes Ross of Cromarty, late 92d Highlanders, Commanding the Highland Rifle (Ross-shire) Militia, with issue-(a), Duncan Munro, R.N.; (b), Hugh Rose, R.A., died in 1879; (c), Walter Charteris, lieutenant 68th Light Infantry; (d), Katharine, married Frank Reid, 71st Highlanders; (e), Louisa Jane Hamilton, who married the present Lord Macdonald of Sleat; (f), Ida; (6), Matilda Justina, who married Lieutenant-Colonel Craigie-Halkett of Cramond, with issue-Duncan, Lieutenant, 78th Highlanders, and six daughters; (7), Diana Bosville, died unmarried; (8), Louisa Maria, died unmarried; (9), Elizabeth Diana, who married Patrick A. Watson Carnegy of Lour.

The Hon. Elizabeth Diana Bosville Davidson died in 1839.

5. Julia, who married, on the 11th of October 1838, the Rev. Charles Walter Hudson, Rector of Trowell, Nottinghamshire, grandson maternally of George, first Marquis Townshend, with issue-all dead.

6. Susan Hussey, who married, 9th of February 1832, Richard Beau

mont, Captain, R.N. (both dead), with issue-(1), Godfrey, captain in the Guards; (2), Richard; (3), Dudley; (4), Cecil W., R. N.; (5), Diana, who married Count Gourowski Wichide; (6), Averil, who married Hussey Vivian, M.P., with issue; (7), Gwuidaline.

The Hon. Susan Hussey Beaumont, died in 1879.

7. Diana, married, 25th of April 1839, Colonel John George Smyth of Heath Hall, Yorkshire, late M.P., and grandson maternally of George, fourth Duke of Grafton. He died on the 10th of June 1869. She died in 1880, and left issue-(1), George John Fitzroy, born 13th September 1841; (2), Henry Edward, born 26th of March 1843; (3), Diana Elizabeth, who, on the 21st of April 1858, married the Earl of Harewood; (4), Louisa; (5), Mary; (6), Eva.

8. Jane Bosville.

9. Marianne, who married, on 28th of June 1840, Henry Martin Turnor, late Captain 1st King's Dragoon Guards, with issue-(1), Archibald Henry, late lieutenant, R.N., who died unmarried; (2), Charles, captain, Life Guards; (3), Henrietta Minna, the present Countess of Eldon; (4), Florence; (5), Mabel.

10. Octavia Sophia, who, on the 7th of December 1841, married William James Hope Johnstone of Annandale (who died 17th of March 1850), with issue-(1), John James, late M.P. for the County of Dumfries; (2), Percy Alexander; (3), Wentworth William ; (4), Alice Minna, Louisa, another daughter, married, on the 4th of June 1826, John, fifth Earl of Hopetoun, with issue. She died in 1854.

His Lordship died on the 18th of October 1832, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

XXVIII. GODFREY WILLIAM WENTWORTH MACDONALD, nineteenth baron, twelfth baronet and fourth Lord Macdonald of Sleat, who was born on the 16th of March 1809, and married, on the 21st of August 1845, Maria Anne, daughter of Thomas Wyndham of Cromer Hall, Norfolk, with issue

1. Somerled James Brudenell, who succeeded his father.

2. Ronald Archibald Bosville, the present peer.

3. Godfrey Alan, who died in infancy.

4. Eva Maria Louisa, who, on the 7th of June 1873, married Captain Algernon Langham, Grenadier Guards.

5. Flora Matilda, who died unmarried on the 12th of March 1851.

6. Lillian Janet, who, in 1876, married the Viscount Tarbat, second son of the Duke of Sutherland, and heir to the Duchess in the Cromartie estates and titles, with issue.

7. Alexandrina Victoria, a god-daughter of Her Majesty the Queen. His Lordship died on the 25th of July 1863, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

XXIX. SOMERLED JAMES BRUDENELL MACDONALD, twentieth baron, thirteenth baronet, and fifth Lord Macdonald of Sleat. He was born on the 2d of October 1849, and died, unmarried, on the 25th December 1874, when he was succeeded by his next and only surviving brother,

XXX. RONALD ARCHIBALD BOSVILLE MACDONALD, twenty-first baron, fourteenth baronet, and sixth and present Lord Macdonald of Sleat. He was born on the 9th of June 1853, and married, on the 1st of October