Thomas Dundas of Fingask and Carronhall

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Thomas Dundas of Fingask and Carronhall (* around 1708 , † April 16, 1786 ) was a Scottish politician.

Life

Around 1708 Thomas Dundas was born as the first child of the merchant and Baillies of Edinburgh Thomas Dundas and his wife Bethia . He has a younger brother, Lawrence . Thomas Dundas initially worked at his brother's side in his parents' cloth trade. After the Dundas family lost their lands in Perthshire in the 17th century , the father acquired lands in Stirlingshire and established a barony in the 1730s . However, he seemed hapless and relied on the financially lucrative career of his son Lawrence. For this reason, he instructed Thomas to leave the parental business and support his brother in the future.

In 1737 Thomas Dundas married his first wife Ann . The marriage remained childless. In 1744 he was appointed deputy to Lord Lyon . In the same year he married Janet Maitland , daughter of Charles Maitland, 6th Earl of Lauderdale . Together they fathered six offspring, Bethia , Margaret , Janet , Mary , Thomas, and Charles . Dundas acquired the Carronhall lands in 1749 from his father-in-law. His life was closely linked to the economic success of his brother Lawrence, who acquired the Orkney and Shetland archipelagos in 1766 . In the 1770s, Thomas Dundas' economic situation began to deteriorate. As a result, he was forced to sell part of his property. He died on April 16, 1786.

Political career

After the Earl of Morton sold the Orkney and Shetland Islands to Thomas' brother Lawrence in 1766, his political interests in the islands ended. The officer he supported, Sir James Douglas, 1st Baronet , was therefore no longer elected in the subsequent general election in 1768. Lawrence, however, ran his brother Thomas, who, probably unopposed, received the mandate of the constituency of Orkney and Shetland and moved into the British House of Commons . After he assumed a high police office in December 1770, he gave back his mandate. His eldest son Thomas took over the mandate as his successor.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e information on Thomas Dundas of Fingask and Carronhall
  2. ↑ Thomas Dundas of Fingask on thepeerage.com , accessed August 19, 2015.
  3. ↑ Information on Lawrence Dundas
  4. ↑ Thomas Dundas of Fingask on thepeerage.com , accessed August 20, 2015.
personal data
SURNAME Dundas of Fingask and Carronhall, Thomas
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Dundas, Thomas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Scottish politician, member of the House of Commons
DATE OF BIRTH around 1708
DATE OF DEATH April 16, 1786