Sir Alexander Don, 6th Baronet
Sir Alexander Don, Bt | |
|---|---|
| Member of ParliamentforRoxburghshire | |
| In office 1814–1826 | |
| Preceded by | Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound |
| Succeeded by | Henry Hepburne-Scott |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 May 1780 |
| Died | 11 April 1826(aged 45) Kelso, Scottish Borders |
| Spouse(s) |
Lucretia Montgomerie
(m.1809; died 1817) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Sir Alexander Don, 5th Baronet Lady Harriet Cunningham |
Sir Alexander Don, 6th baronet(baptised 5 May 1780 – 11 April 1826), of Newton Don,Kelso, Scottish Borders,was a Scottish landowner, an officer in the British Army and a Member of Parliament (M.P.) forRoxburghshirefrom 1814 until 1826.
Early life[edit]
Alexander was baptised on 5 May 1780. He was the oldest son ofSir Alexander Don, 5th Baronet,and Lady Harriet Cunningham, daughter of William Cunningham, 13thEarl of Glencairn.[1]
Career[edit]
Alexander was a captain in theRoxburghmilitia in 1802 and from 1803 to 1810, he lived the high life inVerdunin France.[2]
He served in the Berwick Yeoman Cavalry from 1810 until 1813. He served as captain in the Roxburgh Yeomanry from 1814 and was promoted to major in 1821.[1]
On Kirkwood's map of Edinburgh dated 1817 he is marked as owner of West Coates House and a large area south of it (now an area north of Haymarket Station).[3]In 1820 he employedRobert Smirketo rebuild his mansion atNewton Don.[2]
Political career[edit]
He was a Catholic-sympathisingTorypolitician, and was elected to representRoxburghshireon theBuccleuch intereston 25 July 1814 (at his second attempt) and represented the burgh until 11 April 1826.[1]
He attended the Parliament erratically and made no major speeches.[1]
Personal life[edit]
Sir Alexander married first in 1809, Lucretia Montgomerie (died 1817), daughter of George Montgomerie (formerly Molineux) of Garboldisham Hall, Norfolk. She died without any surviving children.[1]
In 1824, Sir Alexander marriedGrace Jane Stein(1802-1878), who was twenty-two years his junior. Grace was a daughter ofJohn Stein,a banker and distiller, of 37 Heriot Row, Edinburgh.[4]Before his sudden death, they were the parents of two children:[1]
- Sir William Henry Don, 7th Baronet(1825–1862), the actor who married twice.[1]
- Alexina Harriet Don, who marriedSir Frederick Milbank, 1st Baronet,son ofMark Milbank,MP for Camelford, and Lady Augusta Vane (a daughter of the1st Duke of Cleveland).[1]
He died very suddenly of a stomach complaint at Newton Don House near Kelso on 11 April 1826. After his death Grace married SirJames Maxwell WallaceofAinderby HallnearNorthallerton.On his sons departure to Australia, his estates passed to John Wauchope of Edmonstone and Niddrie, who thereafter took the name ofDon-Wauchope.[1]
References[edit]
- ^abcdefghiEscott 2009.
- ^ab"DON, Sir Alexander, 6th bt. (?1780-1826), of Newton Don, Berwick | History of Parliament Online".historyofparliamentonline.org.
- ^"View map: This plan of the City of Edinburgh and its environs. - Town Plans / Views, 1580-1919".maps.nls.uk.
- ^Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1824
Other Sources[edit]
- Escott, Margaret (2009),"DON, Sir Alexander, 6th bt. (?1780–1826), of Newton Don, Berwick",in Fisher, D.R. (ed.),The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1820–1832,Cambridge University Press
External links[edit]
 | This article about aMemberof theParliament of the United Kingdom(since 1801), for aScottishconstituency is astub.You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
 | This biography of a baronet in the baronetage of Nova Scotia is astub.You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
- 1780 births
- 1826 deaths
- Military personnel from the Scottish Borders
- Nobility from the Scottish Borders
- Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia
- British Yeomanry officers
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies
- UK MPs 1812–1818
- UK MPs 1818–1820
- UK MPs 1820–1826
- UK MP for Scotland stubs
- Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia stubs