Richard Alexander Oswald

Richard Alexander Oswald (17 February 1771 – 19 June 1841) was a Scottish Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1832 to 1835.

Life

Oswald was the son of George Oswald, a merchant of Scotstoun, Rector of Glasgow University and the grand nephew of Richard Oswald of Auchincruive.[1][2]

At the 1832 general election Oswald was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayrshire. He held the seat until 1835.[3]

Oswald died at the age of 70.

Family

Louisa Johnston, portrait by Sir Henry Raeburn

Oswald married twice. His first wife was Louisa or Lucy Johnstone; the poet Robert Burns composed his verses, "O wat ye wha's in yon town?" to her. She died of consumption at Lisbon.[4] Oswald then married in 1817 Lady Lilias Montgomerie, daughter of Hugh Montgomerie, 12th Earl of Eglinton, who was widow of Robert Dundas MacQue(e)n.[5][6]

Oswald and Louisa had a son, Richard Oswald. He married Lady Mary Kennedy, daughter of Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa, and died in 1833.[1][7] The family estates passed to a cousin, James Oswald, in 1841.[4]

Thomas Spencer Lindsey married in 1818 Oswald's daughter Margaret Hester.[8] Margaret Hester Oswald was described in an obituary as "the only daughter of the late Richard Alexander Oswald, Esq. of Auchencruive"[9][10] Oswald's will shows that a beneficiary was a granddaughter Margaret Nina Lindsey.[11]

References

  1. 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.
  2. Ayrshire History
  3. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "A" (part 3)
  4. The History of Glasgow Volume 3 – Chapter XXIX – A Typical Glasgow Family
  5. 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
  6. "Summary of Individual, Lady Lilias Oswald ???? – 10th Sep 1845, Legacies of British Slave-ownership". Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  7. 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.
  8. "Lindsey, Thomas Spencer (LNDY808TS)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  9. Death Announcement Margaret Hester Lindsey nee Oswald , The Times, Thursday, 22 November 1855; pg. 1; Issue 22218; col A in on-line database (subscription required) accessed 26 November 2011
  10. Smith, John Guthrie & Mitchell, John Oswald "The Old Country Houses of the Old Glasgow Gentry" (James MacLehose & Sons, Glasgow, 1878)
  11. Will of Richard Alexander Oswald, "Prerogative Court of Canterbury wills (1384–1858)" in National Archives on-line database (purchase required) purchased 22 November 2011
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
William Blair
Member of Parliament for Ayrshire
18321835
Succeeded by
John Dunlop
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.