Richard Alexander Oswald
Richard Alexander Oswald | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Ayrshire | |
| In office 1832–1835 | |
| Preceded by | William Blair |
| Succeeded by | John Dunlop |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 February 1771 |
| Died | 19 June 1841 (aged 70) |
| Party | Whig Party |
| Spouse(s) |
Louisa "Lucy" Johnstone
(m. 1793; died 1797)Lady Lilias MacQueen
(m. 1817; died 1841) |
| Parents |
|
Richard Alexander Oswald (17 February 1771 – 19 June 1841) was a Scottish Whig Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1832 to 1835.
Early life
Oswald was the son of George Oswald, a merchant of Scotstoun, Rector of Glasgow University, and Margaret Smythe (1747–1791), daughter of David Smythe of Methven. He was also the grand nephew of Richard Oswald of Auchincruive.[1][2] Among his siblings were Maj. David Oswald of the 38th Regiment (who died in the West Indies), Capt. James Oswald of the Royal Navy,[3] Alexander Oswald (who married Anne Dalrymple, youngest daughter of Sir Hew Dalrymple Hamilton of Bargany House),[4] Catherine Oswald (who married Robert Haldane),[5] Margaret Oswald (who married Maj.-Gen. John Wilson), and Mary Ramsay (who married James Dennistoun).[6]
Career
At the 1832 general election Oswald was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayrshire. He held the seat until 1835.[7]
Personal life
Oswald married twice. On 23 April 1793 in Edinburgh Parish, he married Louisa "Lucy" Johnstone. The poet Robert Burns composed his verses, "O wat ye wha's in yon town?" to her. Before death of consumption at Lisbon in 1797,[8] they were the parents of:
- Richard Oswald (d. 1833), who married Lady Mary Kennedy, a daughter of Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa and Margaret Erskine of Dun.[1][9]
- Margaret Hester Oswald (d. 1855), whom married Thomas Spencer Lindsey of Hollymount, County Mayo, in 1818.[10]
After the death of his first wife, Oswald married Lady Lilias (née Montgomerie) MacQueen (d. 1845) in 1817. Lady Lilias, a daughter of Hugh Montgomerie, 12th Earl of Eglinton, was the widow of Robert Dundas MacQueen of Braxfield.[11][12]
Oswald died on 19 June 1841, at the age of 70. As his son Richard predeceased him, the family estates passed to a cousin, James Oswald, in 1841.[8] Margaret, who was described in an obituary as "the only daughter of the late Richard Alexander Oswald, Esq. of Auchencruive,"[13][14] Oswald's will shows that a beneficiary was a granddaughter Margaret Nina Lindsey.[15]
References
- ^ a b Smith, John Guthrie; John Oswald Mitchell (1878). "Old country houses of old Glasgow gentry: LXXXVII. Scotstoun [ebook chapter]". The Old Country Houses of the Old Glasgow Gentry. Glasgow: James MacLehose & Sons. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
- ^ Ayrshire History
- ^ Nicolas, Sir Nicholas Harris (1845). The Dispatches and Letters of Vice Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson: With Notes. H. Colburn. pp. 426 note. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
- ^ History of the Speculative Society of Edinburgh. The society. 1845. p. 205.
- ^ The Scots Magazine. Sands, Brymer, Murray and Cochran. 1786. p. 206.
- ^ Burke, Sir Bernard (1862). A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland. Harrison. p. 362.
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "A" (part 3)
- ^ a b The History of Glasgow Volume 3 – Chapter XXIX – A Typical Glasgow Family
- ^ Courthope, William (1839). Debrett's Complete Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland: With Additions to the Present Time and a New Set of Coats of Arms from Drawings by Harvey. J. G. & F. Rivington. p. 65. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
- ^ "Lindsey, Thomas Spencer (LNDY808TS)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ Burke’s Peerage Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 1, page 1284 cited on The Peerage [1]
- ^ "Summary of Individual, Lady Lilias Oswald ???? – 10th Sep 1845, Legacies of British Slave-ownership". Retrieved 25 July 2017.
- ^ Death Announcement Margaret Hester Lindsey nee Oswald, The Times, Thursday, 22 November 1855; pg. 1; Issue 22218; col A in on-line database [2] (subscription required) accessed 26 November 2011
- ^ Smith, John Guthrie & Mitchell, John Oswald "The Old Country Houses of the Old Glasgow Gentry" (James MacLehose & Sons, Glasgow, 1878)[3]
- ^ Will of Richard Alexander Oswald, "Prerogative Court of Canterbury wills (1384–1858)" [4] in National Archives on-line database (purchase required) purchased 22 November 2011