Baronets Campbell of Glenorchy
(1625)
1st Baronet Campbell, Duncan Campbell, b.c.1550, a.1625,
d.1631
The Campbells of Breadalbane
are descended from Sir Duncan Campbell, 1st Lord Campbell (for whom see the earls of Argyll) and
his second wife Margaret Stewart, who was a daughter of King Robert III’s youngest son Sir John Stewart of Ardgowan
and Blackhall. Their first son Sir Colin Campbell
(b.c.1406, d.c.1475), was granted the lands of Glenorchy
and built Kilchurn Castle. He married four times but
the mother of his heir was his second wife Janet Stewart, daughter of John
Stewart, 2nd Lord Lorn. Their son Duncan
Campbell (b.?, d.1513) married Margaret Douglas,
daughter of George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus.
Their son Colin Campbell (b.?, d.1523) married Marjory
Stewart (b.?, d.1524), daughter of John Stewart, 1st Earl of Atholl. Their third son Colin
Campbell (b.?, d.1583) married secondly Catherine
Ruthven, daughter of William Ruthven, 2nd Lord Ruthven (for whom see
the earls of Gowrie), and their son was created 1st
Baronet Campbell of Glenorchy, in the county of
Perth. Duncan Campbell was part of the conspiracy of Catholic lords to murder
the young Archibald Campbell, 7th Earl of Argyll. Although they
failed to killed him, they were successful in
murdering his guardian John Campbell of Cawdor.Campbell
avoided implication by submitting a written denial and implicating other senior
nobles who were then keen to avoid the inconvenience of a trial. Campbell,
known as Black Duncan, appears to have been an unscrupulous individual,
although successful in improving the estates under his command. Charles I
granted him the Hereditary Sheriffdom of Perthshire.
2nd Baronet Campbell, Colin Campbell,
b.c.1577, a.1631, d.1640
Son of the 1st Baronet and Lady Jean Stewart (b.?, d.1593), daughter of John Stewart, 4th Earl of
Atholl. He was a cultured
man who commissioned the painter George Jameson to paint a series of family
portraits for the renovated family seat of Balloch
Castle. He married Juliana Campbell, daughter of Sir Hugh Campbell, 1st
Lord Campbell of Loudoun (for whom see the earls of Loudoun),
but had no children.
3rd Baronet Campbell, Robert Campbel,l, b.c.1579, a.1640,
d.a.1657
Younger brother of the 2nd Baronet. He represented Argyllshire as an MP. He was a Covenanter and his lands
were substantially damaged by Montrose in 1645.
4th Baronet Campbell, John Campbell,
b.c.1615, a.a.1647, d.1686
Son of the 3rd Baronet and Isabel Mackintosh, daughter of Sir
Lachlan Mackintosh of Dunnachton, Captain of Clan Chattan.
5th Baronet Campbell, John Campbell,
b.c.1635, a.1677, d.1717
Son of the 4th Baronet and Lady Mary Graham (b?, d.1653), daughter of William Graham, 7th Earl
of Menteith. A colourful
and totally unscupulous character, he took part in
the Glencairn uprising of 1654, and was a supporter
of the Restoration of the monarchy under Charles II, persuading General Monck to declare a free Parliament to allow the necessary
voting to take place. He then served as a Member of Parliament for Argyllshire
from 1669 to 1674. In 1672 he obtained the lands and property of the earldom of
Caithness on the death of its incumbent George Sinclair, 6th Earl,
who had been heavily in debt to him. He later married the earl’s widow and led
a contingent of armed men to oust the Sinclair family from their domains,
styling himself Earl of Caithness and Viscount of Breadalbane.
However, in 1681 Parliament confirmed another George Sinclair as the rightful
heir and Campbell had to surrender the title. As a compromise, he was created 1st
Earl of Breadalbane & Holland (the second title
taken from his first wife’s father’s title of Earl of Holland in the Peerage of
England), 1st Viscount of Tay & Paintland
and 1st Lord Glenurchy, Benederaloch, Ormelie & Weick, with special provision to allow him to chose his own
heir from the sons of his first wife.
Earls of Breadalbane &
Holland (1681)
1st Earl of Breadalbane
and Holland, John Campbell, b.c.1635, a.1681, d.1717
An astute and able man, Breadalbane was able
to play at politics, and although nominally a Presbyterian, he also pretended
sympathy to the Jacobite cause. With equanimity, he
accepted honours from the Stewart Kings, becoming a Privy Counsellor under
James II in 1685, but without demur switched sides at the Revolution and was
Lord of the Treasury from 1692 to 1696 under William and Mary. During this time
he was implicated in the Massacre of Glencoe, having had direct responsibility
for negotiating peace with the unruly Jacobite clans
and a personal issue with the Macdonalds. He was
briefly imprisoned in 1695 following the Commissioner of Enquiry findings into
the massacre, although for supposed Jacobite leanings
rather than for having anything to do with the killings himself. He did not
vote for the Union in 1707 but served as a Representative Peer from 1713 to
1715. He would also have been investigated for supplying men to the failed 1715
uprising if he had not died soon after.
2nd Earl of Breadalbane
and Holland, John Campbell, b.1662, a.1717, d.1752
Son of the 1st Earl and Lady Mary Rich (b.?,
d.1666), daughter of Sir Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland. He
succeeded despite having an older brother, Duncan Campbell, Lord Ormelie (b.c.1660, d.1727). Lord Ormelie
was deliberately disinherited by their father on the grounds of incapacity in
order to ensure that his involvement in the 1715 Uprising could not be used to
deprive the family of their titles and estates. John Campbell was
Lord-Lieutenant of Perthshire between 1725 and 1752, and a Representative Peer
between 1736 and 1747.
3rd Earl of Breadalbane
and Holland, John Campbell, b.1695-1696, a.1752, d.1782
Son of the 2nd Earl and Henrietta Villiers
(b.?, d.1719-1720), who was related to the Dukes of
Buckingham on her father’s side and the Earls of Suffolk on her mother’s side. Educated
at Chist Church College Oxford, he became a career
diplomat, and was an envoy to Denmark between 1720 and 1730, and Ambassador to
the Russian Empire in 1931. He was invested as a Knight of the Bath in 1725 and
was a Whig MP for Saltash from 1727 to 1741 and for
Oxford from 1741 to 1746 and Lord of the Admiralty from 1741 to 1742. He was a
Representative Peer from 1752 to 1768, Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland
from 1765 to 1766, and he was made a Privy Counsellor in 1766. He was
Vice-Admiral of Scotland from 1776 to his death. He outlived all his male children,
none of whom had children of their own, and the heir-male was a distant cousin.
His daughter Lady Jemima Campbell (b.1723, d.1797) by his first wife Lady Amabel de Grey (b.1698, d.1726-1727), herself a daughter of
Henry de Grey, 1st & last Duke of Kent, inherited the title of Marquess Grey that had been created for the Duke with
specific remainder to his grand-daughter, and also the title of Baron Lucas of Crudwell. She married Philip Yorke,
2nd Earl of Hardwicke, and though her
titles and his both became extinct, her elder daughter Annabelle Yorke (b.1751, d.1833) was created 1st Countess
de Grey of Wrest, a title that passed on her death to the sons of her younger
sister Lady Mary Jemima Yorke (b.1757, d.1830), the
younger of whom. Frederick John Robinson (b.1782, d.1859), was created 1st
Earl of Ripon in 1833. His son was later raised as 1st Marquess of Ripon, consolidating several various family
titles in one person.
4th Earl of Breadalbane
and Holland, John Campbell, b.1762, a.1782, d.1834
Great-grandson of Colin Campbell of Mochaster (b.1616,
d.1668), the younger brother of the 4th Baronet Campbell of Glenorchy mentioned above and Margaret Menzies,
daughter of Sir Alexander Menzies of that Ilk,
grandson of Robert Campbell of Borland (b.1660, d.1704) and Janet Campbell,
daughter of Robert Campbell of Glenlyon, and son of
Colin Campbell of Carwhin (b.1704, d.1772) and
Elizabeth Campbell, daughter of Archibald Campbell of Stonefield.
Educated at Winchester College, he was a Representative Peer from 1784 to 1806
and was also made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1784. He reached the rank fo Lieutenant-Colonel in 1795,
serving with a regiment of fencibles he raised
himself, and was promoted to Colonel in 1802. In 1806 he was created 1st
Baron Breadalbane, of Taymouth
Castle, in the county of Perth, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. He
reached the ranks of Major-General in 1809 and Lieutenant-General in 1814. In 1831
he was created 1st Marquess of Breadalbane and 1st Earl of Ormelie
in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
Marquesses of Breadalbane (1831)
1st Marquess of Breadalbane, John Campbell, b.1762, a.1831, d.1834
Although not interested in politics, he made extensive efforts to
improve his estates, including substantial development at Taymouth.
2nd Marquess of Breadalbane, John Campbell, b.1796, a.1834, d.1862
Son of the 1st Marquess and Mary Turner
Gavin (b.b.1778, d.1845). Another career diplomat,
he was educated at Eton and then served as an MP for Okehampton
from 1820 to 1826, most Scottish nobles using English constituencies to gain
access to Parliament, and then for Perthshire from 1832 to 1834. He was for a
time Grand Master of the Freemasons in Scotland and he was Lord-Lieutenant of
Argyllshire from 1839 to 1862. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society in
1834 and a Knight of the Thistle in 1838, and was Governor of the Bank of
Scotland between 1861 and 1862. He was also invested as a Knight of the Order
of the Black Eagle of Prussia. He was made a Privy Counsellor in 1848 and was
Lord Chamberlain of the Household from 1848 to 1858. He married Lady Elizabeth Baillie,
sister to George Baillie-Hamilton, 10th Earl of Haddington, but he died
without issue and the UK honours obtained by his father became extinct.
Earls of Breadalbane and
Holland (1681, continued)
6th Earl of Breadalbane
and Holland, John Alexander Gavin Campbell, b.1824, a.1862, d.1871
A direct descendant six generations down, of William Campbell of Glenfalloch (b.c.1621, d.1648), another son of the 3rd
Baronet Campbell of Glenorchy mentioned above. He married
Jean Campbell, daughter of Colin Campbell of Ardkinglas.
Their son Robert Campbell (b.1647, d.?) married Susanne Menzies.
Their son Colin Campbell (b.c.1680, d.1737) married Agnes Campbell, daughter of
Robert Campbell of Auchlyne. Their son William
Campbell (b.1715, d.1791) married secondly Susanna Campbell (b.?, d.c.1793). Their son James Campbell (b.1754, d.1806)
married Elizabeth Maria Blanchard (b.?, d.1828). Their
son Lieutenant-Colonel William John Lamb Campbell (b.1788, d.1850) married
Rosanna Doughty, and their son succeeded as heir-male, decided in his favour by
the House of Lords in 1872 after his claim had been disputed by various other
candidates.
7th Earl of Breadalbane
and Holland, Gavin Campbell, b.1851, a.1871, d.1922
Son of the 6th Earl and Mary Theresa Edwards (b.?, d.1870). Born in Ireland and educated in St Andrews, he
served as a Lieutenant in the 4th Battalion, Argyll & Sutherland
Highlanders. After his father’s death he was created 1st Baron Breadalbane, of Kenmure, in the
county of Perth, in the Peerage of the united Kingdom.
He was a Lord-in-Waiting to Queen Victoria from 1873 under William Gladstone’s
administration until the Liberal’s were voted out the following year. With
their return to power in 1880, he was made a Privy Counsellor and held the post
of Treasurer of the Queen’s Household until 1885.. In
1885, he was created 1st Marquess of Breadalbane and 1st Earl of Ormelie
in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. He was Lord Steward of the Household from
1892 to 1895 and Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of
Scotland from 1893 and 1895. He was invested as a Knight of the Garter in 1894
and was Lord-Lieutenant of Argyllshire from 1914 to 1922. He was also the last
Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland, a post he held from 1907 to 1922. He
never married and his UK title became extinct at his death.
8th Earl of Breadalbane
and Holland, Iain Edward Herbert Campbell, b.1885, a.1922, d.1923
Nephew of the 7th Earl, being the son of Ivan Campbell
(b.1859, d.1917) and Lady Margaret Elizabeth Diana Agar (b.1863, d.1941),
daughter of James Charles Herbert Walpole Ellis Agar, 3rd Earl of
Normanton. Unfortunately he died young and unmarried.
9th Earl of Breadalbane
and Holland, Charles William Campbell, b.1889, a.1923, d.1959
We have already come across James Campbell (b.1754, d.1806), grandfather
of the 7th Earl. His younger brother John Campbell of Borland (b.1763,
d.1823) married Janet Butter and had two sons, the elder of whom, Charles
William Campbell (b.1789, d.1861) married Charlotte Olympia Cockburn Campbell
(b.?, d.1880), daughter of John Campbell of Kinloch,
and had three sons. The second of these, Major-General Charles William Campbell
(b.1836, d.1894) married Gwynedd Brinckman (b.?,
d.1948), a grand-daughter of Sir Theodore Henry Lavington
Brinckman, 1st Baronet Broadhead
of St Leonards, Windsor, and their son succeeded as
heir-male. He was a soldier, gaining the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the 8th
Battalion, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, and was decorated with the
Military Cross. He was a Representative Peer from 1924 to 1959 and was admitted
to the Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms in 1935 and the Royal Company of Archers in
1937.
10th Earl of Breadalbane
and Holland, John Romer Boreland
Campbell, b.1919, a.1959, d.1995
Son of the 9th Earl and Armorer Romer Williams (b.?, d.1987). Educated
at Eton and RMC Sandhurst, he reached the rank of
Lieutenant in the Black Watch, fought in the Second World War and was
invalided. He divorced his wife and did not have any children. With his death,
all of his titles became dormant. A number of very distantly related
individuals are in the course of petitioning to inherit, though the heir-male
appears to be one Huba Campbell (b.1945), another
descendant of John Campbell mentioned above, who is Hungarian by birth.
The courtesy title for the heir is Lord Glenorchy.
(last updated: 01/03/2012)