John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl
The Duke of Atholl | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Lord Lieutenant of Perthshire | |
| In office 1796–1830 | |
| Monarchs | |
| Preceded by | New office |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Kinnoull |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 30 June 1755 |
| Died | 29 September 1830 (aged 75) Dunkeld, Perthshire, Scotland |
| Nationality | British |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 10, including John, 5th Duke of Atholl, and James, 1st Baron Glenlyon |
| Parents |
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John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl, KT, PC, FRS (30 June 1755 – 29 September 1830), styled Marquess of Tullibardine from 1764 to 1774, was a Scottish peer.
Life and career
[edit]
Murray was the eldest son of John Murray, 3rd Duke of Atholl, and his wife, Charlotte, 8th Baroness Strange, daughter of James Murray, 2nd Duke of Atholl. Lord George Murray and Lord Charles Murray-Aynsley were his younger brothers. He became known by the courtesy title Marquess of Tullibardine when his father succeeded to the dukedom in 1764.[1]
Murray succeeded his father as fourth Duke of Atholl in 1774 and was elected a Scottish representative peer.[1][2] In 1786 he was created Baron Murray, of Stanley in the County of Gloucester, and Earl Strange in the Peerage of Great Britain,[3] which gave him an automatic seat in the House of Lords. He later served as Lord-Lieutenant of Perthshire from 1794 to 1830[1] and was sworn of the Privy Council in 1797.[1][4] In 1800 he was made a Knight of the Thistle.[1][5] In 1793 he was appointed Captain-General and Governor in Chief of the Isle of Man, his mother making over to him most of her rights in the Island.[6] He succeeded his mother in the barony of Strange in 1805. He was also Grand Master of the Antient Grand Lodge of England from 1775 until 1781 and again from 1791 until 1812.
During his control of the Blair Estate he planted over 20 million trees over an area of 16,000 acres, using cannon filled with seed to spread seed over the high hills. He earned himself the nickname "The Planting Duke".[7]
He introduced Japanese Larch into Britain, planting the trees at Dunkeld, where they hybridized with the first European Larch in Britain, planted by his uncle, the second duke, and gave rise to the Dunkeld Larch.[8] In 1796-97 he planted pine and larch around the Falls of Bruar as a tribute to the recently deceased Robert Burns, responding to his poem The Humble Petition of Bruar Water to the Noble Duke of Atholl (1787).[9] The Duke wrote "Observations on Larch" in 1807 encouraging further its cultivation, which he practiced on a large scale.[10]
Atholl's large-scale reforestation of the Blair Estate took place largely in Glen Tarf, which was set aside as grazing pasture for the people of Glen Tilt, to be held in common by the whole community. This led to the mass emigration of Glen Tilt cattle farmers; Highland historian Alexander Mackenzie attributes Atholl's reforestation efforts partially to his fondness for venison, and cites it as the first act of the Highland clearances.[11]
Atholl died in September 1830, aged 75, and was succeeded by his eldest son, John. The Duchess of Atholl died in October 1842, aged 81.[1] Athol, Nova Scotia is named after him.
Personal life
[edit]Atholl married the Honourable Jane Cathcart (24 May 1754 – 26 December 1790), daughter of Jane Cathcart and Charles Cathcart, 9th Lord Cathcart, on 26 December 1774. They had eight children:
- Lady Charlotte Murray (1775–1832), who married Sir John Menzies, 4th Baronet of Castle Menzies. After his death, she married Admiral Sir Adam Drummond, 7th of Megginch, a son of Colin Drummond (great-grandparents of John Drummond, 15th Baron Strange)
- John Murray, 5th Duke of Atholl (1778–1846)[1]
- James Murray, 1st Baron Glenlyon (1782–1837), who married Emily Frances Percy and had four children, including the 6th Duke.
- Lord Edward Murray (1783–1795), who died young.
- Lord Robert Murray (1785–1793), who died young.
- Lord Frederick Murray (1788–1789), who died young.
- Lady Amelia Sophia Murray
- Lady Elizabeth Murray
After his first wife's death in 1790 he married Marjory (née Forbes) Mackenzie, Lady MacLeod, daughter of James Forbes, 16th Lord Forbes, and Catherine Innes and widow of John Mackenzie, Lord MacLeod, on 11 March 1794. They had two children:
- Lady Catherine Murray (d. 1796), who died young.
- Lord Charles Murray (1799–1824), who died of disease at Gastouni, Peloponnese while contributing to the Greek War of Independence.[12][13]
Ancestry
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References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g thepeerage.com Sir John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl
- ^ leighrayment.com Representative Peers - Scotland[usurped]
- ^ "No. 12775". The London Gazette. 5 August 1786. p. 351.
- ^ leighrayment.com Privy Counsellors 1679-1835[usurped]
- ^ leighrayment.com Knights of the Thistle[usurped]
- ^ Train, Joseph (1845), History of the Isle of Man, 1, p. 250
- ^ Scottish Garden Buildings by Tim Buxbaum p.11
- ^ http://www.dunkeldandbirnam.org.uk/component/sobipro/3330-Grounds-of-Dunkeld-Hilton-House?Itemid=0 Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine; wrongly given as the 7th duke
- ^ Dingwall, Christopher (1994), Gardens in the Wild, Garden History 22, 2, p. 151
- ^ The Philosophical Magazine and Journal, Vol. 53, 1819
- ^ Mackenzie, Alexander. The History of the Highland Clearances, 1883
- ^ thepeerage.com Lord Charles Murray
- ^ Millingen, Julius (1831). Memoirs of the Affairs of Greece. London: John Rodwell. pp. 182–183.
Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Duke of Atholl
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
- 1755 births
- 1830 deaths
- Nobility from Perth and Kinross
- Dukes of Atholl
- Knights of the Thistle
- Lord-lieutenants of Perthshire
- Scottish representative peers
- Peers of Great Britain created by George III
- Grand masters of the United Grand Lodge of England
- Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain
- Fellows of the Royal Society
- Clan Murray
- Governors of the Isle of Man
- 18th-century Scottish people
- 19th-century Scottish people
- People of Byzantine descent
- Dukes of Rannoch
- Barons Strange