Mini Biographies of Scots and Scots Descendants

Patrick Ferguson was born on 24 May/4 June 1744. He was the second son of James Ferguson of Pitfour, an Aberdeenshire-born advocate, and his wife Anne Murray, sister of the noted literary patron, Patrick, Lord Elibank. The Fergusons lived mostly in and around Edinburgh - then "a hotbed of genius" according to their acquaintance, the novelist Tobias Smollett - and mixed with the leading figures in the Scottish Enlightenment. Other friends included John Home, David Hume, Adam Ferguson (no relation), Allan Ramsay, & c. Between 1764-76, James Ferguson served on the bench as 'Lord Pitfour', and as a judge was noted for clemency and wit. The Fergusons were a cultured and affectionate family. The three boys and three girls who reached adulthood all had lively and distinctive personalities. The eldest son, Jamie, was MP for Aberdeenshire for 30 years, dying as 'Father of the House of Commons' in 1820, aged 85, while the youngest, George, was, for a time, Lieutenant-Governor of Tobago.

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