Sir Alexander Boswell, 1st Baronet

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Margaret Montgomerie
RelativesJames Boswell the Younger (brother)

Sir Alexander Boswell, 1st Baronet,

baronetcy
for his political support of the government. However, his finances subsequently collapsed and he was revealed as the author of violent attacks on a rival. Boswell died as a result of wounds received in a duel.

Auchinleck House

Early life

Boswell was the eldest son of

Margaret Montgomerie of Lainshaw, and grandson of Alexander Boswell, Lord Auchinleck. He was born in Auchinleck House.[1]

He attended

University of Leipzig to study law, but soon dropped out of the course and visited Dresden
and Berlin before returning to London in the summer of 1796. Boswell was a tall and muscular man who was thought by his sister to have exceeded his expectations. Having inherited land from his father, he took care of his inheritance and by 1801 the rents paid annually to him were more than his father had received. Boswell had an active interest in agriculture and was keen on country sports.

Poetry

Having abandoned a legal career, Boswell developed his interest in old Scottish authors and became a poet and bibliophile, becoming friends with Walter Scott. In 1815 he established a private press at Auchinleck which printed the poetry of his circle.[2] He wrote some popular Scottish songs, of which Jenny's Bawbee and Jenny dang the Weaver are the best known. He was also a captain in the Ayr yeomanry from 1803, promoted to Major in 1815 and becoming the Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant in 1816.

Parliament

Boswell bought his entry to the

Lord Sidmouth.[3]

Countering sedition

When Sidmouth as Home Secretary brought in the "

George IV over the Queen Caroline affair
on 30 December 1820.

Leaving Parliament

Having sought a

baronetcy from the Government for his support, Boswell became angered when Liverpool's refusal to grant one was given good publicity. In November 1820 he was on the point of resigning his seat when Sidmouth implied that Liverpool might have rethought his opposition. However, he was then hit by a financial crisis in his once profitable land holdings: Boswell had made some bad decisions to buy land, and his rental income suffered in a poor economy. He also had the expense of equipping his yeomanry. It cost him £1,000 per session to remain in Parliament, and Boswell concluded that he could not afford it; he resigned in February 1821, the day after voting in support of the Government over Queen Caroline. Ironically that summer he received the baronetcy he had sought, in recognition of his loyalty.[5][6]

James Stuart by Daniel Macnee

Death

After leaving Parliament, Boswell wrote a series of virulent but anonymous attacks in two Scottish newspapers, the Beacon and the Sentinel, attacking a prominent Whig (

duel
.

They met on 26 March 1822 at Auchtertool, near Kirkcaldy in Fife. Boswell deliberately fired wide, but Stuart, who had never before handled a gun, shot Boswell in the collarbone. Boswell was taken to Balmuto House, part of the Boswell family estate, and died the following day.

He left assets of £10,000 and debts of £72,000. Stuart was unanimously found not guilty of murder at his trial.[5] More than 11,000 people attended Boswell's funeral and the funeral procession was over a mile long.

References

  1. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^
    History of Parliament
    1790–1820, vol III pp. 229–230.
  3. History of Parliament
    1790–1820, vol III p. 230.
  4. History of Parliament
    1820–1832, vol IV pp. 314–5.
  5. ^
    History of Parliament
    1820–1832, vol IV pp. 314–5.
  6. ^ "No. 17730". The London Gazette. 28 July 1821. p. 1555.

Further reading

  • Chalmers, John, Duel Personalities: James Stuart versus Sir Alexander Boswell, Newbattle Publishing, 2014.

External links

Wikisource has original works by or about:
Alexander Boswell
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Plympton Erle
1816–1821
With: Ranald George Macdonald 		Succeeded by
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baronet
(of Auchinleck, Ayrshire)
1821–1822 		Succeeded by
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