CARNWATH,
earl of, a title in the peerage of Scotland, conferred in 1639, on Sir
Robert Dalzell, descended from Thomas de Dalzell, one of the great
barons who swore fealty to King Edward the First in 1296, and who was
afterwards one of the patriots that joined King Robert the Bruce. The
family possessed the lands and barony of Dalzell in Lanarkshire fro a
very early period, but which they forfeited in the fourteenth century.
For the origin of the name and family of Dalzell, see DALZELL, surname
of. Hamilton of Wishaw, in his ‘Description of the shires of Lanark and
Renfrew,’ says, that the parish and barony of Dalzell did formerly
belong to the Dalzells of that ilk, till the forfeiture of Sir Robert
Dalzell by King David the Second, for his remaining in England without
the king’s permission. Nisbet and others say that the lands were
bestowed by the king on Sir Malcolm Fleming, 20th June 1343,
but according to Hamilton, they were given to Robert the Steward of
Scotland, who granted them, with one of his daughters, to a knight of
the name of Sandilands, and by the marriage of the granddaughter of the
latter to the heir of Sir Robert Dalzell, they were restored to the
ancient proprietors.
The earls of
Carnwath (the name is derived from cairn, ‘a heap of stones,’ and
wath, ‘a ford,’) were, at all times, and to their own injury, –
the title having been for more than a hundred years attained, –
distinguished for their steadfast loyalty to the house of Stuart. Sir
Robert Dalzell, first earl of Carnwath, was the son of Robert Dalzell of
Dalzell, by Janet, his wife, daughter of Gavin Hamilton of Raploch,
commendator of Kilwinning. After having received the honour of
knighthood, he was, “in consideration of his own personal merits, as
well as of the constant loyalty of his ancestors in all times past,”
raised to the peerage by the title of Lord Dalzell, by patent dated at
Whitehall, 18th September, 1628, to him and his heirs male of
the name of Dalzell. The title of earl of Carnwath was conferred with
limitation to the heirs male of his body. The estate of Dalzell had
continued directly in the family, till the death of one of the young
lairds of Dalzell, leaving only two daughters, the eldest married to the
heir male of the family, and the other to a son of the laird of West
Nisbet, who got with her the one half of the lands, and, with his
successors, was commonly called the baron of Dalzell. Lord Dalzell,
however, purchased from the latter his half; and in 1634, his lordship
acquired the estate of Carnwath from James, earl of Buchan, eldest son
of the second marriage of John earl of Mar, treasurer of Scotland. In
1647 he sold the principal part of the Dalzell estate to James Hamilton
of Boggs, second son of John Hamilton of Orbieston, by his wife,
Christian Dalzell, the earl’s sister, and it still remains in the
possession of Hamilton’s descendants. The first earl died soon after. By
his countess, Margaret, daughter of Sir Robert Crichton of Cluny, he
had, with a daughter, Lady Mary, married to Sir James Muirhead of
Lachop, Lanarkshire, two sons, Robert, second earl, and the Hon. John
Dalzell of Glenae in Dumfries-shire, who was created a baronet, 11th
April, 1666, and died in September 1685. He married, first, Miss
Sandilands of the Torphichen family, by whom he had two daughters, both
married; secondly, Lady Margaret Johnston, third daughter of James, earl
of Hartfell, without issue; thirdly, Violet, daughter of Riddel of
Haining, by whom he had, with four daughters, two sons, of whom
afterwards, as his grandson, Sir Robert Dalzell succeeded as sixth earl.
Robert, the
second earl, adhered firmly to Charles the First, and was, with five
other earls, accused before the convention of estates of having written
a letter to the queen from Derby, informing her of the design of the
Scots to take up arms against Charles the First, for which they were
summoned before them in June 1643. They all obeyed the summons, except
the earl of Carnwath, who retired to England. On the 24th of
the same month, he was decerned to pay a fine of ten thousand pounds
Scots, for contumacy, in not entering his person in prison, on some
words spoken by him to his majesty, with which the estates were
dissatisfied, and on the 25th of the following February,
decreet of forfeiture was passed against him. He was at the battle of
Naseby, so disastrous to the king, fought on the 14th June,
1644, and according to Lord Clarendon, the loss of that battle was
mainly owing to Lord Carnwath. He rode next to his majesty, and when the
king was on the point of charging at the head of his guards, the earl,
(a man never suspected of infidelity, nor yet one from whom his majesty
would have taken counsel in such a case) on a sudden, laid his hand on
the bridle of the king’s horse, and “swearing two or three fullmouthed
Scottish oaths,” said, “Will you go upon your death in an instant?” and
before his majesty understood what he would have, turned his horse
round, on which the word ran through the troops that they should march
to the right and they all turned their horses, and rode, upon the spur,
off the field. His lordship died soon afterwards. By Christian, his
wife, daughter of Sir William Douglas of Drumlanrig, he had two sons,
Gavin, third earl, and the Hon. William Dalzell, who died unmarried
about the end of 1646.
Gavin, third
earl of Carnwath, was compelled to pay a hundred thousand merks for his
father’s liferent of his estates. He was served heir to his brother
William 19th January 1647. He accompanied King Charles the
Second into England in August 1651, was taken at the battle of Worcester
3d September of that year, and remained in prison for several years. He
died in June 1674. He sold the estate of Carnwath to Sir George
Lockhart, Lord President of the court of session, and it still remains
in the Lockhart family. The third earl was twice married, first, to
Margaret, the elder of the two daughters of David Lord Carnegie, son of
the first earl of Southesk, and by her had two sons, James and John,
successively earls of Carnwath, and a daughter, Lady Jean, married to
Claud Muirhead of Lachope; and secondly, to Lady Mary Erskine, eldest
daughter of Alexander third earl of Kellie, without issue.
James, fourth
earl of Carnwath, married Lady Mary Seton, youngest daughter of the
second earl of Winton, and by her he had one daughter, Lady Mary,
married to Lord John Hay, second son of the second marquis of Tweeddale,
without issue. He died in 1683, and was succeeded by his brother, John,
fifth earl of Carnwath, a nobleman eminent for his learning and for his
knowledge in the science of heraldry. He died, unmarried, in June 1703.
The first appearance of mantelés *a term in heraldry) in Scotland
was on his funeral escutcheon.
The title
reverted to the grandson of the Hon. Sir John Dalzell of Glenae,
baronet, already mentioned, as having three sons and four daughters. The
sons were, 1st, Sir John; 2d, James, an officer in the army
of King James the Seventh, but who, at the Revolution, quitted the
service. He engaged in the rebellion of 1715, and was taken at Preston,
in November of that year. He married a Miss Graham, by whom, with a
daughter, he had a son, John, who took to wife Harriet, daughter of the
sixth earl of Kenmure; and 3d, Colonel Thomas Dalzell of the Scots
guards, who died in 1743. The latter married Janet, only daughter of the
second son of Ferguson of Craigdarroch, by whom he had a son, David
Dalzell, a merchant in Glasgow, and three daughters.
Sir John
Dalzell of Glenae, the eldest son, was served heir to his father, 2d
September 1686, and died in 1689. By his wife, Henriet, second daughter
of Sir William Murray of Stanhope, baronet, he had two sons, namely, Sir
Robert, sixth earl of Carnwath, and John, and a daughter, Mary, married
to the sixth Viscount Kenmure, who was beheaded for his accession to the
rebellion of 1715. the Hon. John Dalzell, the second son, was a captain
in the army on half-pay, and on the rumoured arrival of the earl of Mar
in Scotland in the beginning of August of that year, he sent in a
resignation of his commission to the earl of Orkney, that he might join
the standard of the Pretender, and set off immediately to Elliock, the
residence of his brother, the earl of Carnwath, to apprize him of Mar’s
expected arrival. He advanced with the insurgent army into England, and
was at the battle of Preston. After their defeat there, while
negotiations were going on with General Wills, the English commander,
relative to a surrender, he appeared at Wills’ headquarters, and
requested to know what terms he would grant separately to the Scots.
Wills answered that he would not treat with rebels, nor grant any other
terms then those already offered, namely, unconditional surrender as
prisoners of war. He was among the prisoners taken on that occasion, and
was immediately tried by a court martial as a deserter, but acquitted,
having proved that previous to joining the rebels he had resigned his
commission in the service of government. He married a daughter of
William Tildesly of lodge, Esq., and had a son settled in St.
Christophers.
Sir Robert
Dalzell of Glenae, the elder son, on the death of John, fifth earl of
Carnwath, in 1703, became the sixth earl. He was early instructed by his
tutor in the now exploded doctrines of hereditary right, passive
obedience and non-resistance, which entailed so much misery and
misfortune on those who held them. He was educated at the university of
Cambridge, where he imbibed a strong affection for the services of the
Church of England. His disposition is described as having been naturally
sweet, and his address affable, and, with other gifts and graces, he
possessed a ready wit and considerable power of language. He engaged in
the rebellion of 1715 with great ardour. On receiving from his brother
notice of the expected arrival of the earl of Mar in Scotland, on 7th
August that year, to raise the standard of the Pretender, he despatched
expresses to the earl of Nithsdale, the viscount Kenmure, and other
Jacobite chiefs with the intelligence. He attended the grand hunting
match at Aboyne in Aberdeenshire, on 27th August, convened by
the earl of Mar, at which it was resolved to take up arms in support of
the Chevalier, and was one of those summoned by the Lord Advocate to
appear at Edinburgh to give bail for their allegiance to the government;
but he paid no attention to the summons. He joined the insurgent army,
on their advance into England, and on their arrival at Kelso, his
chaplain, Mr. William Irvine, an old episcopalian minister, delivered a
sermon, on the afternoon of Sunday, 23d October, full of exhortations to
his hearers to be zealous and steady in the cause of the Chevalier. This
discourse, he afterwards acknowledged, he had formerly preached in the
Highlands, about twenty-six years before, in presence of Lord Viscount
Dundee and his army. On the following Sunday, the 30th
October, the rebels, having arrived at Langholm, sent forward to
Ecclefechan, during the night, a detachment of four hundred horse, under
the earl of Carnwath, for the purpose of blocking up Dumfries till the
foot should come up. This detachment arrived at Ecclefechan before
daylight, and after a short halt, proceeded in the direction of
Dumfries, but they had not advanced far, when they learned that great
preparations had been made for the defence of the town. The earl
immediately forwarded the intelligence to Langholm, and in the meantime
halted his men at Blacket-ridge, a moor in the neighbourhood, till
further orders. His express was met by the main body of the insurgent
army about two miles west from Langholm, on its march to Dumfries, the
intended attack on which town was in consequence abandoned. He was taken
prisoner at Preston, 14th November, and on the 29th
January following, with Lords Derwentwater, Nithsdale, Wintoun, Nairn,
Widdringtonl, and Kenmure, he was brought before the House of Lords, on
an impeachment of high treason. Here his steadfastness failed him. He
pleaded guilty, and threw himself on the mercy of the king beseeching
their lordships to intercede for him with his majesty, assuring them
that if his life were granted, he should deem himself obliged to live
under the strictest ties of loyalty to King George for the future. He
was condemned, with six other lords and sentenced to be beheaded as a
traitor, his titles attainted, and his estate, which then amounted to
eight hundred and sixty-three pounds per annum, a considerable sum in
those days, forfeited to the crown. After being respited, he received a
pardon, so far as his life and estates were concerned, and died at
Kirkmichael in July 1737. He was four times married; first, to Lady
Grace Montgomery, third daughter of the ninth earl of Eglinton, by whom
he had two daughters; secondly, 3d June 1720, to Grizel, daughter of
Alexander Urquhart of Newhall, by whom he had a son, Alexander; thirdly,
to Margaret, daughter of John Hamilton of Bangor, by whom he had a
daughter; and fourthly, in July, 1735, to Margaret, third daughter of
Thomas Vincent of Bamburgh Grange, Yorkshire. By the last he had a son,
Robert, married to Miss Acklom of Wiseton, in the same county.
Alexander
Dalzell, the attainted earl’s elder son, assumed the title of earl,
after his father’s death. He died at Kirkmichael, 3d April 1787. By his
wife, Elizabeth Jackson, he had five sons, all of whom, except the
eldest, died young, and two daughters, styled Lady Mary and Lady
Elizabeth Dalzell, the former married to Sir Robert Grierson of Lagg,
baronet. The latter died unmarried.
Robert Dalzell
of Glenae, the eldest and only surviving son, studied for the bar, and
passed advocate in 1776. On his father’s death, he inherited the
estates, but did not assume the title. He died at Glenae house, 13th
February, 1808. he married, 18th march, 1783, Anne, daughter
of David Armstrong of Kirleton, Dumfries-shire, advocate, and by her had
two daughters, namely, Margaret, wife of Major Dougal Stuart-Dalziel,
and Elizabeth, of Henry Douglas, Esq., third son of Sir Charles Douglas,
baronet of Kelhead, and a son, John, the youngest of the family, born 18th
August 1795. He succeeded his father in 1808. He was an officer in the
royal navy, and fell in action off New Orleans, 10th October,
1814. As he died unmarried, the issue male of the attainted earl’s
eldest son, Alexander, styled the seventh earl, became extinct, and the
estates fell to Robert Alexander Dalzell, a lieutenant-general in the
army, born 13th February 1768, descended from the attainted
earl’s younger son, Robert. To General Dalzell, the earldom of Carnwath
was restored by act of parliament, 26th May 1826. He married,
first, 23d September 1789, Jane, daughter of Samuel Parkes, Esq. of
Cork, and by her, (who died 3d September 1791) he had a daughter,
Elizabeth, who died young; secondly, 26th April, 1794,
Andalusia, daughter of Lieutenant-colonel Arthur Browne, by whom he had
four sons and three daughters. This lady died in 1833, and the earl
married, thirdly, 11th October, 1838 Jane, relict of Major
Alexander Morison of Gunnersbury Park, Middlesex, and of John Carnell,
Esq. of Correnden and Hazel Hall, Kent. His lordship died January 1,
1839.
His
eldest son, Thomas Henry Dalzell, succeeded as eleventh earl in
succession (*including those who should have possessed the title during
the attainder). He was born in 1798; married, 1st, Mary Anne,
eldest daughter of Rt. Hon. Henry Grattan, widow of John Blashford,
Esq.; died in 1853, without issue; married, 2dly, in 1855, Isabella
Eliza, daughter of Colonel Eardley Wilmot, R.A., widow of J.H. Lecky,
Esq.; issue, a son, Henry Arthur Hew, Lord Dalzell.
