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James Abercromby, 1st Baron Dunfermline

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The Right Honourable
The Lord Dunfermline
PC
Speaker of the House of Commons
of the United Kingdom
In office
19 February 1835 – 27 May 1839
MonarchsWilliam IV
Victoria
Prime MinisterRobert Peel
William Lamb
Preceded byCharles Manners-Sutton
Succeeded byCharles Shaw-Lefevre
Judge Advocate General
In office
12 May 1827 – 21 January 1828
MonarchGeorge IV
Prime MinisterGeorge Canning
The Viscount Goderich
Preceded bySir John Beckett, Bt
Succeeded bySir John Beckett, Bt
Lord Chief Baron of the
Court of Exchequer in Scotland
In office
1830–1832
MonarchWilliam IV
Preceded bySir Samuel Shepherd
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Master of the Mint
In office
13 June 1834 – 14 November 1834
MonarchWilliam IV
Prime MinisterThe Viscount Melbourne
Preceded byThe Lord Auckland
Succeeded byAlexander Baring
Personal details
Born(1776-11-07)7 November 1776
Died17 April 1858(1858-04-17) (aged 81)
Colinton House, Midlothian
NationalityBritish
Political partyWhig
Spouse(s)Mary Anne Leigh
(d. 1874)

James Abercromby, 1st Baron Dunfermline FRSE PC (7 November 1776 – 17 April 1858), was a British barrister and Whig politician. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons between 1835 and 1839, the first Scottish MP to hold that position.

Background and education

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Abercromby was the third son of General Sir Ralph Abercromby, who fell at the Battle of Alexandria, and Mary, 1st Baroness Abercromby, daughter of John Menzies of Fernton, Perthshire. He was the younger brother of George Abercromby, 2nd Baron Abercromby and Sir John Abercromby and the elder brother of Alexander Abercromby.[citation needed] He attended the Royal High School, Edinburgh, and was called to the English Bar, Lincoln's Inn, in 1801. He became a commissioner of bankruptcy and later appointed steward of the Duke of Devonshire's estates.[1][2]

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Abercromby sat as Whig Member of Parliament for Midhurst between 1807 and 1812[3] and for Calne between 1812 and 1830.[4] He brought forwards two motions for bills to change the representation for Edinburgh in parliament. He received great support but no change was made until the Reform Act 1832.[1] In 1827 he was sworn of the Privy Council[5] and appointed Judge-Advocate-General by George Canning,[6] a post he held until 1828, the last months under the premiership of Lord Goderich.

In 1830 Abercromby was made Lord Chief Baron of the Court of Exchequer in Scotland, a position he retained until 1832, when the office was abolished. He received a pension of £2,000 a year.[1]

In 1831 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh his proposer being John Hope, Lord Hope.[7]

In 1832 returned to the House of Commons as one of two members for Edinburgh, whose representation had now been increased from one to two members.[8] In July 1834 he entered Lord Melbourne's cabinet as Master of the Mint,[9] but only held the post until November of the same year, when the Whigs lost power.

Abercromby was considered for the speakership of the House of Commons by his party for the 1833 election, but Edward Littleton was eventually chosen instead (he was defeated by Charles Manners-Sutton). However, in the 1835 election he was chosen as the Whig candidate. Due to an evenly balanced House of Commons the election rendered great interest and was fiercely contested. On 19 February 1835 Abercromby was elected, defeating Manners-Sutton by 316 votes to 306. The Dictionary of National Biography writes that "As speaker Abercromby acted with great impartiality while he possessed sufficient decision to quell any serious tendency to disorder." During his tenure a number of reforms for the introduction of private bills were made.[1] In spite of failing health Abercromby continued as speaker until 1839.[1] On his retirement he was raised to the peerage as Baron Dunfermline, of Dunfermline in the County of Fife.[10][11]

After his retirement Abercromby continued to take an interest in public affairs, specifically those involving the city of Edinburgh. He was one of the originators of the United Industrial School for the support and training of destitute children.[1] In 1841 he was elected as Dean of Faculty at the University of Glasgow.[12] He also wrote a biography of his father, published posthumously in 1861.[1]

He died at Colinton House, just south-west of Edinburgh on 17 April 1858.[7]

Family

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Colinton House, Edinburgh c.1900 (demolished 1925)

Lord Dunfermline married Mary Anne, daughter of Egerton Leigh, of West Hall, in High Legh, on 14 June 1802. He bought property and land in Colinton, Midlothian in 1840.

He died at Colinton House, on the south-west edge of Edinburgh in April 1858, aged 81, and was buried at Grange Cemetery, Edinburgh. He was succeeded in the barony by his son, Sir Ralph Abercromby, KCB, who was Secretary of Legation at Berlin and served as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Sardinia between 1840 and 1851 and to The Hague between 1851 and 1858. Lady Dunfermline died in August 1874.[citation needed]

He was the nephew of Robert Bruce, Lord Kennet.[13]

A portrait of James Abercromby as a child by David Allan (1779) is held by the University of Dundee Museum Services[14]

Arms

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Coat of arms of James Abercromby, 1st Baron Dunfermline
Crest
A Bee erect proper
Escutcheon
Argent a Fess embattled Gules therefrom issuant in chief a Dexter Arm embowed in Armour proper garnished Or encircled by a Wreath of Laurel the hand supporting the French Standard in bend sinister also proper in base (for Abercromby) a Chevron indented Gules between three Boars' Heads erased Azure
Supporters
On either side a Greyhound per fess Argent and Or each plain collared with a Line reflexed over the back Gules and suspended from the collar a Shield Azure charged with the Speaker's Mace in pale gold and charged on the shoulder with a Thistle proper
Motto
Vive ut vivas [citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1885). "Abercromby, James" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 1. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  2. ^ Chambers Biographical Dictionary, ISBN 0-550-18022-2, page 4
  3. ^ "leighrayment.com House of Commons: Mayo to Minehead". Archived from the original on 10 August 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  4. ^ "leighrayment.com House of Commons: Caernarfon to Cambridgeshire South West". Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  5. ^ leighrayment.com Privy Counsellors 1679–1835[usurped]
  6. ^ "No. 18362". The London Gazette. 18 May 1827. p. 1081.
  7. ^ a b Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783-2002
  8. ^ "leighrayment.com House of Commons: Ealing to Elgin". Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  9. ^ "No. 19164". The London Gazette. 13 June 1834. p. 1108.
  10. ^ "No. 19737". The London Gazette. 28 May 1839. p. 1072.
  11. ^ Anderson, John (1856). A History of Edinburgh from the Earliest Period to the Completion of the Half Century 1850: With Brief Notices of Eminent Or Remarkable Individuals. A. Fullarton & co. p. 444. ISBN 978-1-85285-581-9. Retrieved 21 October 2008.
  12. ^ "Biography of James Abercromby 1st Baron Dunfermline". www.universitystory.gla.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  13. ^ C D Waterston; A Macmillan Shearer (July 2006). Former Fellows of The Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1783–2002: Part 1 (A–J) (PDF). Royal Society of Edinburgh. ISBN 090219884X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  14. ^ "James Abercromby of Tullibody, Esq. (1776–1858) | Art UK". artuk.org. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
[edit]
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Midhurst
1807–1812
With: Samuel Smith 1807
Thomas Thompson 1807–12 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Calne
1812–1830
With: Joseph Jekyll 1812–16
Sir James Macdonald, Bt 1816–30 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Edinburgh
1832–1839
With: Francis Jeffrey 1832–34
Sir John Campbell 1834–39 		Succeeded by
Legal offices
Preceded by Judge-Advocate-General
1827–1828 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Lord Chief Baron of the Court
of Exchequer in Scotland
1830–1832 		Office abolished
Political offices
Preceded by Master of the Mint
1834–1835 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Speaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom
1835–1839 		Succeeded by
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baron Dunfermline
1839–1858 		Succeeded by
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