Viscounts Seafield (1698)
1st Viscount Seafield, James Ogilvy, b.1663, a.1698, d.1730
Son of the James Ogilvy, 3rd Earl of Findlater
and Lady Anne Montgomerie (b.?, d.1687), daughter of Hugh Montgomerie, 7th
Earl of Eglinton. He was a solicitor and politician,
joining the Faculty of Advocates in 1685. He became Solicitor-General for
Scotland in 1693, and served as Lord Chancellor. In 1698 he was created 1st
Viscount Seafield and 1st Lord Ogilvy of Cullen, and in 1701 he was
created 1st Earl of Seafield, 1st Viscount Reidhaven and
1st Lord Ogilvy of Deskford & Cullen.
Earls of Seafield (1701)
1st Earl of Seafield, James Ogilvy, b.1663, a.1701, d.1730
He was an active supporter for the Act of Union, but afterwards had a
change of heart and campaigned for its repeal. He was admitted into the Privy Council
in 1707 and served as a Representative Peer in the House of Lords on several
occasions. He was made Keeper of the Great Seal in 1713. His daughter Elizabeth
Ogilvy (b.1692, d.1778) married Charles Maitland, 6th Earl of Lauderdale. In 1711 he inherited his father’s titles.
2nd Earl of Seafield, James Ogilvy, b.?,
a.1730, d.1764
Son of the 1st Earl and Anne Dunbar (b.c.1672, d.1708),
daughter of Sir William Dunbar, 1st Baronet Dunbar of Durn. His daughter
Anne Ogilvy (b.?, d.1759) married the John Hope, 2nd Earl of Hopetoun. His first wife having died, he later married
Sophia Hope (b.?, d.1761), daughter of Charles Hope, 1st Earl of Hopetoun, so that his son-in-law became his
brother-in-law. He was a Representative Peer from 1734 and was Vice Admiral of
Scotland from 1737 until his death.
3rd Earl of Seafield, James Ogilvy,
b.c.1714, a.1764, d.1770
Son of the 2nd Earl and Lady Elizabeth Hay (b.?, d.c.1723),
daughter of Thomas Hay, 7th Earl of Kinnoull.
4th Earl of Seafield, James Ogilvy, b.1750,
a.1770, d.1811
Son of the 3rd Earl and Lady Mary Murray (b.1720, d.1795),
daughter of Sir John Murray, 1st Duke of Atholl.
Exiled from Scotland on account of certain unnatural transgressions, (that is,
he was a homosexual), he settled in Dresden, where he obtained several
vineyards and built a palatial residence for himself. He married Christina
Teresa Murray (b.c.1755, d.1813), daughter of Lieutenant-General Sir Joseph
Murray, 3rd Baronet Murray of Melgund, in the County of Forfarshire,
but had no children. On his death the Findlater titles became dormant as they
required an heir-male, as did the 1698 titles, while the Seafield titles of
1701 were inherited by his cousin.
Baronets Colquhoun of Luss (1625)
1st Baronet Colquhoun, John Colquhoun, b.?,
a.1625, d.c.1650
The Colquhouns of Luss were an old, well-established family from
Dunbartonshire, the laird of which would often marry into the nobility. John
Colquhoun was created 1st Baronet Colquhoun of Luss in the
Baronetage of Nova Scotia in 1625.
2nd Baronet Colquhoun, John Colquhoun, b.?,
a.c.1650, d.1676
Son of the 1st Baronet and Lady Lilias Graham, daughter of
John Graham, 4th Earl of Montrose.
3rd Baronet Colquhoun, James Colquhoun,
b.?, a.1676, d.1680
Son of the 2nd Baronet and Margaret Baillie (b.?, d.1679),
daughter of Sir Gideon Baillie, 1st Baronet Baillie of Lochend, in
the County of Haddington.
4th Baronet Colquhoun, James Colquhoun,
b.?, a.1680, d.1688
Younger brother of the 2nd Baronet.
5th Baronet Colquhoun, Humphrey Colquhoun,
b.?, a.1688, d.1718
Son of the 4th Baronet and Penuel Cunningham. He was MP for
Dunbartonshire. He married Margaret Houston, daughter of Sir Patrick Houston of
that Ilk, 1st Baronet. Having no sons, in 1704 he obtained a
re-grant of the title with remainder to his son-in-law and heirs-male of his
daughter Anne Colquhoun (b.1685, d.1724).
6th Baronet Colquhoun, James Grant, b.1679,
a.1718, d.1747
Son-in-law of the 5th Baronet, Sir James Grant of Pluscardine
was of the old family of Grant of Freuchie, a previous member of which had been
Sheriff of Inverness, and the family had extensive estates in Strathspey. He
originally changed his surname to Colquhoun to suit his new title, but on
realising that his son would inherit the Grant estates, changed his surname
back to Grant. He was an MP for Inverness-shire from 1722 to 1741 and then for
Elgin Burghs until 1747.
7th Baronet Colquhoun, Ludovick Grant,
b.1707, a.1747, d.1775
Son of the 6th Baronet and Anne Colquhoun, daughter of the 5th
Baronet. Having had his surname changed to Colquhoun along with his father, on
becoming heir-apparent to the Grant estates he reverted to the surname Grant
and was obliged to hand over the Colquhoun estates to his younger brother James
Grant (b.1714, d.1786), who then changed his own surname to Colquhoun and obtained
a new title of 1st Baronet Colquhoun of Luss in the Baronetage of
Great Britain, while Ludovick Grant continued as 7th Baronet Grant
of Colquhoun. Ludovick Grant was admitted to the Scots Bar in 1728 and was MP
for Elginshire from 1741 to 1761.
8th Baronet Colquhoun, James Grant, b.1738,
a.1775, d.1811
Son of the 7th Baronet and his second wife Lady Margaret
Ogilvy (b.?, d.1757), daughter of James Ogilvy, 2nd Earl of
Seafield. He was educated at Westminster School and then went to Cambridge
before travelling on the Continent, spending some time in Rome before returning
to Scotland. He founded the town of Grantown-on-Spey in 1766 in an attempt to
bring manufacturing to the area. In 1793 he raised a regiment known as the
Strathspey Fencibles, and another regiment of general troops, numbered the 97th,
which was later incorporated into the Black Watch. He was Lord-Lieutenant of
Inverness-shire from 1794, and was MP for Banffshire from 1790 to 1795.
9th Baronet Colquhoun, Lewis Alexander
Grant, b.1767, a.1811, d.1840
Son of the 8th Baronet and Jean Duff (b.?, d.1805), a
grand-daughter of William Duff, 1st Earl Fife.
He studied at the University of Edinburgh and was called to the Scottish Bar in
1789. He was elected MP for Elginshire in 1790 but had to retire in 1796 due to
ill-health. On the death of his cousin, James Ogilvy, 4th Earl of
Seafield, he inherited the earldom and extended his surname.
Earls of Seafield (1701, continued)
5th Earl of Seafield, Lewis Alexander
Grant-Ogilvy, b.1767, a.1811, d.1840
Since he was not in the remainder to the earldom of Findlater, that
title and its subsidiary became dormant for want of an heir-male. He never
married.
6th Earl of Seafield, Francis William
Ogilvy-Grant, b.1778, a.1840, d.1853
Younger brother of the 5th Earl. He joined the Strathspey
Fencibles as a lieutenant when only 15, and reached the rank of Colonel. He
followed his brother as an MP in 1802 for the Elgin Burghs, then in 1806 for the
Inverness Burghs, and then from 1807 to 1840 he represented Elginshire, after
which he became a Representative Peer on succeeding his brother as earl. He
also served as Lord-Lieutenant of Inverness-shire from 1809 to his death. He
made huge efforts to improve the estates of Grant and Seafield, enlarged the
family seat of Cullen House and extended the harbours at Cullen and Portsoy.
7th Earl of Seafield, John Charles Ogilvy-Grant,
b.1815, a.1853, d.1881
Son of the 6th Earl and Mary Anne Dunn (b.?, d.1840). He
served in the British Navy until becoming heir-apparent to the earldom. A
Representative Peer from 1853, in 1858 he was made 1st Baron
Strathspey, of Strathspey, in the county of Inverness, in the Peerage of the
United Kingdom, which allowed him a permanent position in the House of Lords.
He was made a Knight of the Thistle in 1879.
8th Earl of Seafield, Ian Charles
Ogilvy-Grant, b.1851, a.1881, d.1884
Son of the 7th Earl and Caroline Henrietta Stuart (b.?,
d.1911), daughter of Major-General Robert Walter Stuart, 11th Lord Blantyre. He was educated at Eton and then joined the
British Army in 1869, becoming a Cornet in the 1st Life Guards,
reaching the rank of Lieutenant in 1871 before retiring in 1877. He died young
and unmarried.
9th Earl of Seafield, James Ogilvy-Grant,
b.1817, a.1884, d.1888
Younger brother of the 7th Earl. He was educated at Harrow
and then joined the Army, becoming a Captain in the 42nd Foot
Regiment. He served as a Conservative MP for Elginshire and Nairnshire from
1868, and was made 1st Baron Strathspey, of Strathspey, in the
county of Inverness, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, reviving the title
first given to his older brother. He also reached the rank of
Lieutenant-Colonel in the Morayshire volunteers.
10th Earl of Seafield, Francis William
Ogilvy-Grant, b.1847, a.1888, d.1888
Son of the 9th Earl and his first wife Caroline Louisa Evans
(b.?, d.1850). Also educated at Harrow, he died in New Zealand.
11th Earl of Seafield, James Ogilvy-Grant,
b.1876, a.1888, d.1915
Son of the 10th Earl and Ann Trevor Corry Evans (b.1847,
d.1935), a niece of the previous earl’s mother. He served in the First World
War as a Captain in the 3rd Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders, and
died of wounds received in action.
12th Earl (Countess) of Seafield, Nina
Caroline Ogilvy-Grant, b.1906, a.1915, d.1969
Daughter of the 11th Earl and Mary Elizabeth Nina Townsend
(b.1876, d.1962). She inherited the Scottish peerage from her father, but the
barony and baronetcy, and the chiefdom of Clan Grant, requiring male heirs,
went to her father’s younger brother Trevor Ogilvy-Grant (b.1879, d.1948), who
became 4th Baron Strathspey and 16th Baronet Colquhoun of
Luss.
13th Earl of Seafield, Ian Derek Francis
Studley, b.1939, a.1969
Son of the Countess and Derek Herbert Studley (b.?, d.1960). As well as
being 13th Earl, he is also 13th Viscount Reidhaven and
13th Lord Ogilvy of Deskford & Cullen.
The courtesy title for the heir is Viscount Reidhaven.
(Last updated: 28/02/2012)