Robert Maxwell, 1st Baronet

Sir Robert Maxwell, 1st Baronet (* around 1600, † 1681 ), was a Scottish nobleman and military.

He was the only son of Sir Robert Maxwell of Spottis († 1615) from his first marriage to Elizabeth Gordon. He belonged to the Maxwell clan , was a great-grandson of Robert Maxwell, 4th Lord Maxwell and a grandson of Agnes Herries, 4th Lady Herries of Terregles .

When his father died in 1615, he inherited his lands, which were officially confirmed to him as his father's heir on October 31, 1615. He made Orchardton Tower in Kirkcudbrightshire his residence.

In February 1640 at the latest he had married Anne Maclellan († 1650), daughter of Robert Maclellan, 1st Lord Kirkcudbright . He had four children with her:

• Sir Robert Maxwell, 2nd Baronet († 1693), ⚭ (1) Janet Gordon, ⚭ (2) Lady Anne Carey, ⚭ (3) Margaret Maxwell;
• Thomas Maxwell of Gelston († around 1704) ⚭ Elizabeth Glendinning;
• Hugh Maxwell of Cuil;
• Anne Maxwell ⚭ John Maclellan, 3rd Lord Kirkcudbright .

When Scottish troops intervened in Ireland as part of the Irish Confederation Wars, Maxwell took part in the fighting as Lieutenant Colonel under the Duke of Hamilton . He raised a company of infantry and a squadron of horsemen at his own expense and operated in the Irish province of Ulster . There he brought Ballycastle Castle, which was owned by his mother's father, into his possession. In the further course of the war and as part of the reconquest of Ireland under Oliver Cromwell , Ballycastle was also captured by English parliamentary troops in 1649.

In recognition of his services, King Charles II awarded him the hereditary title of Baronet , of Orchardtoun in the County of Kirkcudbright on June 30, 1663 in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia .

When he died, his eldest son Robert was heir to the second baronet, and the inheritance of his lands was officially confirmed to him on October 20, 1681.

literature

• Charles Mosley (Ed.): Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage . Volume 2, Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, Wilmington 2003, p. 1881.
• George Edward Cokayne : Complete Baronetage. Volume 3, William Pollard & Co., Exeter 1903, p. 340.
• William Fraser: The Book of Carlaverock. Memoirs of the Maxwells, Earls of Nithsdale, Lords Maxwell & Herries. Volume 1, Edinburgh 1873, p. 590.

Web links

• Sir Robert Maxwell of Orchardtoun, 1st Bt. On thepeerage.com
• Baronetage: MAXWELL of Orchardtoun, Kirkcudbright at Leigh Rayment's Peerage

predecessor	title	successor
New title created	Baronet, of Orchardtoun 1663-1681	Robert Maxwell