Sir James Montgomery, 1st Baronet
Sir James Montgomery, 1st Baronet Stanhope,
Life
Montgomery was born at Macbie Hill in
After schooling at the parish school at
But at the general election of 1768, Montgomery was returned for
Though he remained in parliament, Montgomery took little further interest in its proceedings after the passage of his bill. In June 1775, he was created
Montgomery was, like his father, skilled in farming, and in 1763 bought a half-reclaimed estate of Lord Islay's in Peeblesshire, originally called Blair Bog, but afterwards 'The Whim,' which eventually became his favourite residence. In 1767, he bought for £40,000 Stanhope and Stobo with its feudal barony in Peeblesshire, part of the estates of Sir David Murray, 4th Baronet, which had been confiscated for their owner's complicity in the Jacobite rising of 1745. He thenceforward chiefly resided in the country, where his good methods of farming and the improvements which he promoted, notably the Peebles and Edinburgh road in 1770, gained for him the title of 'The Father of the County.'[2]
Montgomery died at Stobo on 2 April 1803[2] and is buried in Stobo churchyard.
Family
Montgomery married Margaret Scot, daughter and heiress of Robert Scot of Killearn, Stirlingshire. They had four sons, and three daughters:
- Lt.-Col. William (d. Oct 1800)
- Margaret Montgomery (d. 1805) married Robert Campbell of Kailzie. They had no issue
- Sir James Montgomery, 2nd Baronet (9 Oct 1766 - 27 May 1839)
- Archibald Charles (25 June 1771 - 1845) married Maria Rausch. They had three sons, and two daughters.
- Robert (5 June 1775 - 2 December 1854) married Elizabeth Mason, daughter of a Bryant Mason, on 24 April 1817. They had four sons, and two daughters.
- Barbara Montgomery married Brig.-Gen. Alexander Walker.
- Anne Montgomery married Thomas Hart.
Montgomery was succeeded in his baronetcy by James, his second son, afterwards Lord Advocate, his first-born son, William, a lieutenant-colonel in the 43rd foot, having predeceased him.[2]
Montgomery and his wife, Margaret Scott, are buried in a walled-off part of the cemetery at Stobo Kirk near Peebles, with an unusual wall lining of yew hedge. His home had been the nearby Stobo Castle, which he purchased in 1767 for the sum of £40,500.[4]
Montgomery was grandfather to
References
- ^ ISBN 0-902-198-84-X.
- ^ a b c d e f g Hamilton 1894.
- ^ "Montgomery, Sir James, 2nd bt. (1766–1839), of Stobo Castle, Stanhope, Peebles. | History of Parliament Online". historyofparliamentonline.org.
- ^ Seymour, p. 10
Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Hamilton, John Andrew (1894). "Montgomery, James William". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 38. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
Sources
- Seymour, Camilla and Randall, John (2007). Stobo Kirk. A Guide to the Building and its History. Peebles : John Randall.
- Stobo Through Time[permanent dead link]
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