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Earls
and Dukes of Sutherland
The
first earl of Sutherland was a certain William (d. 1284), whose
father, Hugh Freskin (d. 1204), acquired the district of Sutherland
about 1197. Probably about 1230 William was created earl of
Sutherland. His descendant William, the 4th earl (d. 1370),
was a person of some importance in the history of Scotland;
he married Margaret (d. 1358), daughter of King Robert Bruce.
His descendant John, the gth earl, a man of weak intellect,
died unmarried in 1514.
John's
sister Elizabeth (d. 1535) married Adam Gordon (d. 1537), a
younger son of George Gordon, 2nd earl of Huntly, and a grandson
of King James I., and before 1516 Gordon became earl of Sutherland
by right of his wife. He was succeeded by his grandson John
(c. 1526-1567), the 2nd earl of his line, who played his part
in the turbulent politics of the time and was poisoned at the
instigation of George Sinclair, 4th earl of Caithness. His great-grandson
John, the 5th earl (1609-1663), was a strong Covenanter, being
called by his associates " the good Earl John "; he
fought against Montrose at Auldearn, but afterwards he rendered
good service to Charles II. John Gordon (c. 1660-1733), who
became the seventh earl in 1703, supported the revolution of
1688 and was a commissioner for the union of England and Scotland.
He was a Scottish representative peer in four parliaments, president
of the board of trade and manufactures, and lord-lieutenant
of the eight northern counties of Scotland. He was active in
putting down the rising of 1715. This earl, who took the name
of Sutherland instead of that of Gordon, was succeeded by his
grandson William a representative peer, who helped to suppress
the rebellion of 1745. William, the next earl, died without
male issue in 1766. This earls daughter Elizabeth (1765-1839)
claimed the peerage, and although her title thereto was contested
by Sir Robert Gordon, Bart., a descendant of the first Gordon
earl, it was confirmed by the House of Lords in 1771.
Established
in the possession of the title and the vast estates of the earidom,
the countess of Sutherland was married in 1785 to George Granville
Leveson-Gower (I 7581833), who succeeded his father as second
marquess of Stafford in 1803. In addition to the estates of
the marquessate of Stafford, Leveson-Gower inherited the Bridgewater
Canal and estates from his maternal uncle, Francis Egerton,
2nd duke of Bridgewater, and these properties, together with
his wifes estates, which included almost the whole of the county
of Sutherland, made him a leviathan of wealth, as he is called
by Charles Greville. In 1833 he was created duke of Sutherland.
Leveson-Gower was a member of parliament from 1778 to 1784 and
again from 1787 to 1798 and was British ambassador in Paris
from 1790 to 1792. From 1799 to 1810 he was joint postmaster-general.
He was a collector of paintings, and purchased Stafford House,
still the London residence of the dukes of Sutherland. As a
landlord he greatly improved his estates in Staffordshire and
Shropshire and then turned his attention to those of his wife
in Sutherlandshire. He was responsible for the construction
of about 450 miles of road and of many bridges, but his policy
of removing a large number of his tenants from the interior
to the coast aroused bitterness and criticism. However, he reduced
rents and brought thousands of acres into cultivation. He died
at Dunrobin Castle on the 5th of July 1833.
His elder
son, George Granville (1786-1861), became the 2nd duke, but
the valuale Bridgewater estates passed to his younger son, Lord
Francis Leveson-Gower, who was created earl of Ellesmere in
1846. The 2nd dukes wife, Harriet Elizabeth Georgiana (1806-1868),
a daughter of Gcorge Howard, 6th earl of Carlisle, was one of
Queen Victorias most intimate friends. She was mistress of the
robes to the queen, whose refusal to part with her in 1839 led
to a ministerial crisis. Some of her letters are published in
Stafford House Letters, edited by her son Lord Ronald Gower
(1891).
George Granville
William, the 3rd duke (1828f892), spent large sums in improving
his estates. His wife Anne (1829-1888), daughter of John Hay
Mackenzie, was created countess of Cromartie in 1861, and the
earldom descended to her second son Francis (1852-1893). When
he died without sons the earldom fell into abeyance, but this
was terminated in 1895 in favor of his (laughter Sibell Lilian
(b. 1878), the author of The Days of Fire and other books.
In 1892
Cromartie Leveson-Gower (b. 1851), who had been M.P. for Sutherlandshire,
became 4th duke of Sutherland. His wife, Millicent Fanny, daughter
of the 4th earl of Rosslyn, became well known in literary as
well as in social and philanthropic circles.
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