(363) Bannerman of Elsick and Crimonmogate, baronets

Bannerman of Elsick

According to tradition, this family derived their name from the hereditary office of being standard-bearers to the Kings of Scotland, an office which they lost after being accused of cowardice on the battlefield by King Malcolm III (or King Alexander I - versions of the story vary) in the 11th century. However this sounds like a story based on the associations suggested by the name which both imparts a desirable antiquity to the lineage and explains away the awkward fact that another family - the Scrymgeours - held the office of standard-bearer from at least 1384. The first Bannerman of whom any authentic historical record is known was in fact Donald Bannerman, one of the King David II's doctors in 1364, who had a grant of lands at Waterton (Aberdeens.) and elsewhere in 1368. His son, Alexander Bannerman (fl. 1387), had a charter of Elsick (Kincardines.) in 1387, and thereafter his descendants held both estates until Alexander Bannerman (d. c.1638), with whom the genealogy below begins, sold Waterton to the family of his first wife in 1611. Thereafter, the Bannermans were settled at Elsick only. 

Alexander Bannerman (d. c.1638) was succeeded by his son Alexander Bannerman (d. c.1666), who was a constant supporter of the Royalist cause during the Civil War, and whose estates were sequestrated until 1652. Little is known about his part in the war, but his sufferings were sufficiently remembered for Charles II to grant his son, Sir Alexander Bannerman (d. 1711), a baronetcy in 1682. Sir Alexander's brother, George Bannerman (d. 1691) was an advocate, and was also rewarded by being made one of two solicitors to the King in 1683. The family were thus closely identified with the Stuart cause, and seem to have found it difficult to reconcile themselves to the removal of King James II and his replacement by King William III and Queen Mary II in 1688-89. Another brother, the Rev. Robert Bannerman (d. 1719), who was minister of Newton and Woomet, was swiftly deprived for refusing to pray for the new king, and was obliged to take up a new career as a merchant in Edinburgh. There seems little doubt that Sir Alexander Bannerman (d. 1742), 2nd bt. had Jacobite sympathies, but I have not found clear evidence that he took up arms during the 1715 rebellion. His brother Patrick Bannerman (1678-1733) was, however, more actively involved, being appointed Provost of Aberdeen in 1714 as part of a Jacobite putsch of the city council. In 1715 he welcomed the Pretender to Scotland and was knighted on that occasion, although his knighthood was not recognised outside Jacobite circles. Following the failure of the rebellion, he was removed from office in Aberdeen, but he seems to have continued to operate as a merchant in the city and it is not clear that he suffered any further penalty.

Sir Alexander Bannerman (d. 1747), 3rd bt., was active in the 1745 rebellion, when he raised around 160 men for the Jacobite army and fought at Culloden. He is said to have fled from the battle to Elsick, where he was surprised and nearly captured by Hanoverian troops sent to arrest him, but he managed to hide from them and escape to France, where he died the following year.

Harlsey Hall, East Harlsey, recorded by Samuel Buck, c.1720.

In his absence, Sir Alexander was named in a bill of attainder, but he died before his estates could be seized. His property and his debts devolved upon his teenage son, Sir Alexander Bannerman (c.1731-73), 4th bt., who was eventually pressured into selling Elsick in about 1754, retreating to his mother's estate at East Harlsey in the North Riding of Yorkshire, where he died without surviving sons in 1773. His title then passed to his brother, Sir Edward Trotter Bannerman (d. 1796), 5th bt., who was a Major in the army until his retirement in 1780, and who was unmarried and without issue.

On the death of Sir Edward in 1796, the baronetcy passed to his kinsman, Professor Sir Alexander Bannerman (1741-1813), 6th bt. who was a grandson of Patrick Bannerman, the Jacobite Provost of Aberdeen and thus a great-grandson of the 1st baronet. The 6th baronet was a doctor in Aberdeen, and from 1793 professor of medicine at the University there, but his father and grandfather had been prosperous wine merchants in the city. He came into modest landed property at Kirkhill through his mother's family in 1777, and for a time took the name Burnett in recognition of this inheritance, but he reverted to Bannerman on inheriting the baronetcy. His eldest son, Thomas Bannerman, went to work for a London merchant house trading with China and India, and died in China at the age of 21, so when the Professor died in 1813 his property devolved on his oldest surviving son, Sir Alexander Bannerman (1769-1840), 7th bt., who may have been a merchant in Aberdeen. He left a substantial estate, but had no children, and when he died he left a complex and unusual will dividing his property among his relatives, the interpretation of which occupied the lawyers for four years before a final decision was made by the Court of Session in 1844.

The heir to the 7th baronet's title was his younger brother, Sir Charles Bannerman (1782-1851), 8th bt., who was explicitly excluded from the 7th baronet's will on the grounds that he was already much richer than his brother. This seems to have been less the result of his mysterious early career as a 'manufacturer' in Aberdeen, than of his inheritance in 1820 of the Crimonmogate estate and personal property of his cousin Patrick Milne. At the time of his inheritance, Milne had recently commissioned plans from the leading local architect, Archibald Simpson, for the erection of a new house at Crimonmogate, and Bannerman decided to proceed with the scheme, building the house which exists in altered form today. His son, Sir Archibald Bannerman (1823-77), 9th bt. inherited the house and enlarged it by building an attic storey concealed within a mansard roof. He also bought back part of the Elsick estate in Kincardineshire, sold by the 4th baronet in 1754, and enlarged this house too. Ironically, Sir Archibald had no son to succeed him, so on his death the baronetcy and the estates were again separated - the title passing to his cousin, Sir George Bannerman (1827-1901), 10th bt., while the estate passed to his daughter, later the Countess of Southesk. Her descendant, the 4th Duke of Fife, owns Elsick today, but Crimonmogate was sold out of the family in 1996. The Bannerman baronetcy still exists, being now held by a descendant of the youngest brother of the 6th baronet.

Elsick House, Kincardineshire

Elsick House: the rear (south elevation) contains walling from the house of the Bannermans.
Image: Anne Burgess. Some rights reserved.

The site of a fortified house built for Bannermans after they acquired the land in 1387, and perhaps altered or rebuilt after this became their sole estate in 1611. Only the thick masonry of the south wall and a resited 17th century doorway survive from this building, which was otherwise entirely rebuilt after a fire in 1754. The present house is a long low two-storeyed building consisting of the house of 1754 and a late 19th century cross-wing with single-storey canted bays and dormer windows breaking through the eaves line. The pedimented porch was built by Walker & Duncan in 1937. The house was restored and extended to the west by Thomson, Taylor, Craig and Donald in 1968-74, and is now marketed as a wedding venue. 

Elsick House: the house as rebuilt in 1754, with the porch added in 1937 and the late 19th century east wing on the left. Image: Elsick House.

Descent: Alexander Bannerman (d. c.1638); to son, Alexander Bannerman (d. c.1666); to son, Sir Alexander Bannerman (d. 1711), 1st bt; to son, Sir Alexander Bannerman (d. 1742), 2nd bt.; to Sir Alexander Bannerman (d. 1747), 3rd bt.; to son, Sir Alexander Bannerman (c.1731-73), 4th bt. who sold 1754 to Master & Brethren of Aberdeen Guild Hospital...James Monson, who sold 1775... sold to Sir Alexander Bannerman (1823-77), 9th bt.; to daughter, Ethel Mary Elizabeth (d. 1947), wife of Charles Noel Carnegie (1854-1941), 10th Earl of Southesk; to son, Charles Alexander Carnegie (1893-1992), 11th Earl of Southesk; to son, James George Alexander Bannerman Carnegie (1929-2015), 3rd Duke of Fife; to son, David Charles Carnegie, 4th Duke of Fife.

Crimonmogate House, Lonmay, Aberdeenshire

A Greek Revival house designed by Archibald Simpson for Patrick Milne (d. 1820), who made a fortune as a merchant trading with India and China, but Milne died before work began and it was built for his heir, Sir Charles Bannerman, 8th bt. It replaced an earlier three bay, three storey house of c.1760, parts of which are perhaps incorporated at the rear of the building. 

Crimonmogate House: an early photograph by Sir Alexander Bannerman, showing the house as first built.

The south-facing entrance front consists of a massive Greek Doric hexastyle portico projecting between two-storey end bays, executed in Kemnay granite. The hardness of this stone encouraged the architect to rely for his effect on the proportions of the design and the boldness of the forms, for there is almost no superficial decoration: the columns are unfluted, the entablature has no ornament, and the pediment has no sculpture. Under the portico, the central doorway and flanking windows have no architraves. The source of the design is thought to be Sir Robert Smirke's County Buildings, Perth, built in 1815-19, where there is a similar portico, originally carved for Broomhall (Fife). The six bay side elevations of the house are even plainer than the entrance front: the east side, behind which lie the principal reception rooms, is enlivened by a central bow, but the west side has a less successful two-bay projecting centre rising to a blank panel above the parapet. At the rear, there is an open service court. 

Crimonmogate House: the entrance front as altered in 1864. Photographed in 2013 by Sagaciousphil. Some rights reserved.

The roofs were originally shallow-pitched with low coped chimneystacks, but were replaced in 1864 with mansard roofs with richly detailed round-headed dormers that are uncomfortably juxtaposed with the spareness and horizontality of the original design. At the same time as the roofs were altered, the house was extended to the north to provide space for a new dining room-cum-ballroom and additional service accommodation.

Inside, the planning of the house is elegantly simple. The portico leads into a grand double-height entrance hall in the form of a cube, with the walls articulated by fluted pilasters that have only vestigial capitals, and a coffered ceiling with a shallow central cupola. This opens on the east and west sides into corridors which provide access respectively to the principal reception rooms and the private apartments. The reception rooms were originally a drawing room, morning room (behind the bow) and dining room, but after the additions of 1864 the original dining room was refurnished as a library. A large billiard room lay immediately behind the hall. The main stair, which is squeezed into a modest space, has very fine cast iron balusters.

The building programme continued after 1825 with the estate buildings. The octagonal dovecote, and the seven bay, one and a half storey stable block to the west, are survivals from the mid 18th century house, but the stables were remodelled and extended to the east by Simpson, c.1825. One of the first things to be built was the chunky obelisk east of the house, which commemorates Patrick Milne and was designed c.1821. Also by Simpson are the game larder, laundry, octagonal dairy, corn mill (and mill house), a bridge over the Logie Burn, and the two gate lodges, to the west and south-east of the house. The walled garden, south-west of the house, was not completed until about 1840.

The house fell into decay during the 20th century and was restored for Christopher Monckton after he bought it in 1996, with further work being done by the current owners. The house was operated for some years as a wedding and events venue, but this use has now ceased. It appears that some of the estate buildings are being converted into an hotel and restaurant.

Descent: John Hay (d. 1704), 12th Earl of Erroll; to son, Charles Hay (d. 1717), 13th Earl of Erroll; to sister, Mary Hay, 14th Countess of Erroll, who sold in 1730s to Abernethy family; sold to Alexander Milne, Aberdeen merchant; to son, Patrick Milne (d. 1820); to first cousin once removed, Sir Charles Bannerman (1782-1851), 8th bt.; to son, Sir Alexander Bannerman (1823-77), 9th bt.; to daughter, Ethel Mary Elizabeth (c.1869-1947), later the wife of Charles Noel Carnegie (1854-1941), 10th Earl of Southesk; to younger son, Cmdr. the Hon. Alexander Carnegie (1894-1989); to son, Maj. Raymond Alexander Carnegie (1920-99), second husband of Diana Hay (1926-78), 23rd Countess of Erroll; gifted to son, the Hon. Jocelyn Jacek Alexander Bannerman Carnegie (b. 1966), who sold 1996 to Christopher Monckton; sold 2001 to William Stanhope (b. 1967), Viscount Petersham and his wife, Candida Bond.

Bannerman family of Elsick, baronets

Bannerman, Alexander (d. by 1638). Only recorded son of George Bannerman (d. c.1608) of Waterton and his wife Elizabeth, apparently the daughter of John Johnstone of Caskieben. He married 1st, Margaret, daughter of William Forbes of Tolquhoun and 2nd, Marjory*, daughter of Sir John Leslie of Wardis, 2nd bt., and had issue:
(1.1) Alexander Bannerman (d. c.1666) (q.v.).
He inherited the Elsick estate from his father c.1608. In 1611 he was styled 'late of Wattertoun and now of Elsick'.
He died in or before 1638. His first wife's date of death is unknown. His widow married 2nd, Sir John Fletcher, advocate of New Cranston; her date of death is unknown.
*Some accounts give her name as Elizabeth.

Bannerman, Alexander (d. c.1666). Only recorded child of Alexander Bannerman and his first wife, Margaret, daughter of William Forbes of Tolquhon. He fought a duel with, and wounded, his cousin Sir John Gordon of Haddo in 1644. His estates were sequestrated following the Civil War but the sequestration was discharged in 1652. He married, May 1633, Marion, eldest daughter of Alexander Hamilton of East Binning (West Lothian) and had issue:
(1) Sir Alexander Bannerman (d. 1711), 1st bt. (q.v.);
(2) Rev. Robert Bannerman (d. 1719); educated at Edinburgh University (MA 1675); minister of Newton and Woomet (deprived for refusing to pray for King William and Queen Mary, 1689); afterwards a merchant in Edinburgh by 1694; burgess of Edinburgh in right of his wife, 1697; married Margaret (d. 1725), daughter of Sir Mark Carse of Cockpen, and had issue five sons and one daughter; died 24 January 1719;
(2) George Bannerman (d. 1691), of Dunboig (which he acquired in 1687); educated at Marischal College, Aberdeen (MA 1659); admitted advocate, 1671 and re-admitted 1676; chamberlain of Fife, 1682-91; solicitor to King Charles II, 1683-85; married Elizabeth, daughter of Laurence Oliphant of Bachilton (Perths.) (who m2, Henry Balfour of Dunboig), but had no issue; buried at Greyfriars, Edinburgh, 20 March 1690/1;
(4) William Bannerman (fl. 1661); apprenticed to George Jaffray of Edinburgh, merchant, 1661;
(5) John Bannerman (fl. 1715); apprenticed to William Patton of Edinburgh, merchant, 10 March 1669, but was afterwards an officer in the Earl of Orkney's royal regiment of foot (Capt.);
(6) Mary Bannerman; married George Leslie (fl. 1666) of Findrassie, but had no issue;
(7) Margaret Bannerman; married Sir Alexander Keith (d. c.1680), 2nd bt., of Ludquhairn, and had issue one son and one daughter;
(8) Elizabeth Bannerman; married, 11 September 1670 at Edinburgh, James Reid of Northbrae, son of William Reid, bailie of Edinburgh, and had issue.
He inherited the Elsick estate from his father and had a charter of Pitmedden (Kincardines.) in 1641. His estates were sequestrated following the Civil War but the sequestration was discharged in 1652.
He died about 1666. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Bannerman, Sir Alexander (d. 1711), 1st bt. Eldest son of Alexander Bannerman (d. c.1666) and his wife Marion, eldest daughter of Alexander Hamilton of East Binning (West Lothian). He registered his coat of arms with Lord Lyon about 1672, and added supporters in 1692, having been created a baronet, 28 December 1682, in recognition of "his constant loyalty during the rebellion and the heavy calamities he [but really his father] suffered on that account". He married, 1670 (contract 15 February), Margaret, second daughter of Patrick Scott of Thirlestaine (Selkirks.), and had issue:
(1) Sir Alexander Bannerman (d. 1742), 2nd bt. (q.v.);
(2) George Bannerman (fl. 1692); attended Marischal College, Aberdeen, 1688-92; died unmarried;
(3) Sir Patrick Bannerman (1678-1733), kt. (q.v.);
(4) Isabella Bannerman (fl. 1692); married, 1692 (contract 3 November), John Scott MP (1671-1732) of Logie and Castlested (Angus), son of James Scott of Logie, and had issue three sons and six daughters.
He inherited the Elsick estate from his father in about 1666 and Dunboig from his younger brother in 1691. He sold Dunboig to Maj. Henry Balfour of Starr, 1694.
He died 11 April 1711. His wife was living in 1691.

Bannerman, Sir Alexander (d. 1742), 2nd bt. Eldest son of Sir Alexander Bannerman (d. 1711), 1st bt., and his wife Margaret, second daughter of Patrick Scott of Thirlestaine, born c.1670-75. Educated at Marischal College, Aberdeen, 1688-92. He succeeded his father as 2nd bt., 11 April 1711, but accumulated enormous debts (totalling £35,413 by 1737). He married, 1699, Isabella (d. 1743), daughter of Sir Donald Macdonald of Sleat, 3rd bt. and had issue:
(1) Sir Alexander Bannerman (d. 1747), 3rd bt.;
(2) Isabel Bannerman (d. 1777); married John Hope (1707-80) of Edinburgh, merchant, second son of Sir Thomas Hope, 8th bt. of Craighall, and had issue five sons and three daughters; died 24 April 1777;
(3) Margaret Bannerman; married, before 1737, Peter? Turnbull of Stracathro (Angus);
(4) A daughter.
He inherited the Elsick estate from his father in 1711. 
He died 31 January 1742. His widow died 31 August 1743.

Bannerman, Sir Alexander (d. 1747), 3rd bt. Only son of Sir Alexander Bannerman (d. 1742), 2nd bt., and his wife Isabella, daughter of Sir Donald Macdonald of Sleat, 3rd bt, born c.1700-05.  He succeeded his father as 3rd bt., 31 January 1742. He pledged his support for the 1745 uprising soon after the battle of Prestonpans, and was appointed Lord Lieutenant of the Mearns, 1745-46; he then led a small regiment of 160 men to join the Jacobite army at Stirling, and fought in the second line of battle at Culloden, 1746, after which he fled to France; he was one of the forty-four Jacobite commanders named in a bill of attainder, 1746. He married, 5 September 1728 at Kirby Sigston (Yorks NR), Elizabeth Trotter (d. 1746?), heiress of the Trotter family of East Harlsey (Yorks NR), and had issue:
(1) Alexander Bannerman (b. & d. 1729), baptised at East Harlsey, 19 August 1729; died in infancy and was buried at East Harlsey, 19 December 1729;
(2) Eleanor Bannerman (b. 1730), baptised at Northallerton, 2 August 1730; died in infancy and was buried at Kirby Sigston, August 1730;

(3) Sir Alexander Bannerman (c.1731-73), 4th bt. (q.v.);
(4) Isabella Bannerman (b. 1732), baptised at Kinnell (Angus), 9 January 1732/3; mentioned in the will of her grandmother, Eleanor Trotter, in 1759;
(5) Sir Edward Trotter Bannerman (d. 1796), 5th bt. (q.v.).
He inherited the Elsick estate from his father in 1742, and the East Harlsey estate in right of his wife.
He died in Paris in about June 1747. His wife was probably the woman of this name buried at Northallerton, 13 February 1745/6.

Bannerman, Sir Alexander (c.1731-73), 4th bt. Elder son of Sir Alexander Bannerman (d. 1747), 3rd bt. and his wife Isabella, heiress of the Trotter family of East Harlsey (Yorks NR), born about 1731. He succeeded his father as 4th baronet, about June 1747. He married, 8 May 1764 at Brompton by Northallerton (Yorks NR), Elizabeth (1740-1812), daughter of Marmaduke Sedgewick, and had issue:
(1) Alexander Bannerman (b. & d. 1765), baptised at East Harlsey, 24 May 1765; died in infancy and was buried at East Harlsey, 27 May 1765;
(2) Elizabeth Bannerman (1766-1844), of Strachan, born 7 April and baptised at East Harlsey, 24 April 1766; inherited the East Harlsey estate from her uncle in 1796; married, 8 October 1782 at East Harlsey, Sir Alexander Burnett (later Ramsay) (1757-1810) of Balmain, 1st bt., advocate, son of Sir Thomas Burnett of Leys, 6th bt., and had issue nine sons and two daughters; died at Edinburgh, 11 December 1844;
(3) Mary Bannerman (1767-1838), born 30 August and baptised at East Harlsey, 1 September 1767; married, 27 January 1784 at Edinburgh, Francis Russell (d. 1806) of Blackhall (Kincardines.), advocate, and had issue one daughter; died at Finzean (the seat of her son-in-law), Kincardine O'Neil (Aberdeens.), 1 February 1838.
He inherited the Elsick and East Harlsey estates from his father in 1747, but after being involved in lawsuits and threatened  with forfeiture following the 1745 rebellion, he sold Elsick to Aberdeen Corporation.
He died 13 June, and was buried at East Harlsey near Northallerton (Yorks NR), 17 June 1773. His widow died at Montrose, 16 May 1812.

Bannerman, Sir Edward Trotter (d. 1796), 5th bt. Younger son of Sir Alexander Bannerman (d. 1747), 3rd bt. and his wife Isabella, heiress of the Trotter family of East Harlsey (Yorks NR). An officer in the army (Capt-Lt.; Capt., 1764; Major 1778; retired 1780). He succeeded his brother as 5th baronet, 13 June 1773. He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited the East Harlsey estate from his elder brother in 1773. At his death, it passed to his niece and her husband, who appear to have been living there by 1789.
He died at Kincardine Lodge, 1 October 1796, when the baronetcy passed to his second cousin, Sir Alexander Bannerman, 6th bt; his will was confirmed 28 January 1797. 

Bannerman, (Sir) Patrick (1678-1733), kt. Third son of Sir Alexander Bannerman (d. 1711), 1st bt., and his wife Margaret, second daughter of Patrick Scott of Thirlestaine, born 23 February 1678. Apprenticed to John Hay of Edinburgh, merchant, 31 January 1694. Merchant in Aberdeen; Provost of Aberdeen, 1714-15. A Jacobite in politics, he welcomed the Old Pretender on his landing in Scotland and was knighted by him. He was subsequently arrested by the Hanoverian authorities and imprisoned at Carlisle, but escaped to France, although he seems to have returned within a few months. He married, 18 April 1714 at Edinburgh, Margaret (1683-1750), daughter of Sir Charles Maitland of Pitrichie (Aberdeens.), and had issue:
(1) Alexander Bannerman (1715-82) (q.v.);
(2) Jean Bannerman (1718-88?), baptised at Aberdeen, 19 March 1718; declared to have been insane since 1746 and placed in the care of her elder brother, 3 July 1755; probably the lady of this name buried at New Machar, 6 May 1788;
(3) Charles Bannerman (1719-46), baptised at Aberdeen, 10 October 1719; apprenticed to George Chalmers WS; admitted to Society of Writers to the Signet, 5 July 1742; died unmarried and without issue at Edinburgh, 6 February 1746; will confirmed 17 July 1750;
(4) Clementina Bannerman (1721-87), baptised at Aberdeen, 5 September 1721; died unmarried, June 1787, and was buried at St Nicholas, Aberdeen;
(5) Margaret Bannerman (1723-88), baptised at Aberdeen, 24 August 1723; married, 1752 (contract 7 July) Alexander Milne of Aberdeen, merchant, and had issue (including Patrick Milne (d. c.1820), who bequeathed Crimonmogate to Sir Charles Bannerman, 8th bt.); died April 1788 and was buried at St Nicholas, Aberdeen.
He lived in Aberdeen.
He died 4 June 1733. His widow died at Aberdeen, 31 October 1750 and was buried at St Nicholas, Aberdeen.

Bannerman, Alexander (1715-82). Elder son of (Sir) Patrick Bannerman (d. 1733) and his wife Margaret, daughter of Sir Charles Maitland of Pitrichie, baptised at Aberdeen, 13 September 1715. A wine and spirit merchant in Aberdeen. He married, 1737, Margaret (1719-96), eldest daughter and heir of Thomas Burnett of Kirkhill, and had issue:
(1) Patrick Bannerman (b. 1739), baptised at Aberdeen, 9 April 1739; probably died young;
(2) Sir Alexander Bannerman (later Burnett then Bannerman) (1741-1813), 6th bt. (q.v.);
(3) Thomas Bannerman (1743-1820), baptised at Aberdeen, 19 May 1743; successful wine merchant in Aberdeen; a director of the Aberdeen Banking Company; married, 29 April 1779 at Aberdeen, Jean (1753-1817), daughter of George Simpson of Hazelhead and had issue five sons (from whom descended the 10th and 11th baronets) and one daughter; died 4 January 1820; will confirmed 8 February 1821;
(4) Mordaunt Bannerman (1746-66?), baptised at Aberdeen, 1 May 1746; possibly the person of this name who was buried at Minster (Kent), 9 October 1766;
(5) Anne Bannerman (1747-72), born 14 November and baptised at Aberdeen, 23 November 1747; married, 1767, Alexander Garioch (1742-1802) of Aberdeen and had issue one son and one daughter; died August 1772;
(6) Charles Bannerman (1750-1813), baptised at Aberdeen, 7 June 1850; educated at Marischal College, Aberdeen (MA 1767); apprenticed to William Thom; admitted advocate, 1776; practiced in Aberdeen in partnership with James Blaikie (Bannerman & Blaikie); joint Commissary Depute; director of Aberdeen Banking Company; guild burgess of Aberdeen from 1788; one of the assessors to the Rector of King's College, Aberdeen, 1798-1806; an officer in Royal Aberdeen Volunteers (Maj., 1806); a member of the Society of Advocates in Aberdeen, 1776-1813 (Treasurer, 1784-86; President, 1798-1800); married, 6 January 1785 at Aberdeen, Margaret (d. 1836), daughter of Patrick Wilson, formerly collector of customs on the island of St. Kitts, and had issue six sons (from whom descend the 12th and later baronets) and six daughters; died at Aberdeen, 24 September 1813.
He lived at Frendraught and later in Aberdeen. In 1748 he inherited part of the considerable property of Dr Charles Maitland of Aberdeen, physician.
He died in Aberdeeen, 27 June 1782. His widow died 31 August 1796.

Bannerman (later Burnett then Bannerman), Sir Alexander (1741-1813), 6th bt. Eldest son of Alexander Bannerman (1715-82) and his wife Margaret, daughter of Thomas Burnett of Kirkhill, baptised at Aberdeen, 22 December 1741. Educated at Aberdeen University (MD). A well-known physician in Aberdeen; Professor of Medicine at the University of Aberdeen, 1793-1813 (jointly with his third son from 1797). He took the name Burnett in lieu of Bannerman on inheriting the property of his mother's family at Kirkhill in 1777, but reverted to Bannerman in 1796 on inheriting the family baronetcy from his second cousin, 1 October 1796. He married, 25 January 1768 at Aberdeen, Mary, daughter of James Gordon of Banchory and sister and heir of Thomas Gordon of Heathcot, and had issue including:
(1) Thomas Bannerman (1768-89), baptised at Aberdeen, 19 November 1768; merchant in China; died unmarried in China in or about December 1789; will proved in PCC, 27 February 1793;
(2) Sir Alexander Bannerman (1769-1840), 7th bt. (q.v.);
(3) Maria Bannerman (1771-1826), baptised at Aberdeen, 18 March 1771; married, 18 June 1793 at Aberdeen, William Keith-Falconer (1766-1812), 6th Earl of Kintore, and had issue two sons and one daughter; died in Bath (Somerset), 30 June 1826 and was buried in Bath Abbey, 13 July 1826;
(4) Ann (aka Margaret?) Bannerman (b. 1773), baptised at Aberdeen, 15 January 1773; no marriage or burial for an Ann Bannerman can be found, but a list of children living in 1794 includes a Margaret but no Ann, and she may therefore possibly be the 'Margaret, daughter of Dr Bannerman' buried at Aberdeen 10 May 1795;
(5) Prof. James Bannerman (1774-1838), baptised at Aberdeen, 5 October 1774; professor of medicine at King's College, Aberdeen, 1797-1838 (jointly with his father until 1813); married, 26 April 1805, Helen (c.1784-1864), eldest daughter of Alexander Burnett of Kemnay, but had no issue; died at Balgowie Cottage, Aberdeen, 17 February 1838;
(6) George Bannerman (1776-before 1840), baptised at Aberdeen, 18 December 1776; died unmarried and without issue before 1840;
(7) Sir Charles Bannerman (1782-1851), 8th bt. (q.v.);
(8) Edward John Bannerman (1786-1818), baptised at Aberdeen, 1 January 1786; served in the 6th Native Cavalry; died at Nagpur County (India), of a fever, November 1818.
He inherited the property of the Burnett family at Kirkhill in 1777, but lived in Aberdeen throughout his life.
He died at his house in Marischal Street, Aberdeen, 29 December 1813. His widow died in Aberdeen, 23 November 1820.

Bannerman, Sir Alexander (1769-1840), 7th bt. Elder surviving son of Sir Alexander Bannerman, 6th bt. and his wife Mary, daughter of James Gordon of Banchory, born 19 December 1769. He succeeded his father as 7th baronet, 29 December 1813. A Whig in politics, 'but thoroughly independent, and as willing to censure the shortcomings of his own party as to blame the misdeeds of their opponents'. His diary for the years 1826-39 is in the National Library of Scotland. He married, 15 November 1800, Rachel (1779-1847), younger daughter of John Irvine of Aberdeen, a Gothenburg merchant, but had no issue.
He presumably inherited his father's property at Kirkhill.
He died 31 May 1840; he left an unusual and complex will which resulted in litigation over several years, finally determined by a ruling of the Court of Session in 1844. His widow died 13 November 1847 and was buried in Greyfriars kirkyard, Edinburgh, where she is commemorated by a monument.

Bannerman, Sir Charles (1782-1851), 8th bt. Fifth son of Sir Alexander Bannerman, 6th bt. and his wife Mary, daughter of James Gordon of Banchory, born 18 August and baptised at Aberdeen, 22 August 1782. Manufacturer in Aberdeen. He succeeded his brother as 8th baronet, 31 May 1840. A Conservative in politics. He married, 11 August 1821 at Old Machar (Aberdeens.), his cousin Anne (1791-1838), third daughter of Charles Bannerman (youngest brother of the 6th bt.), and had issue:
(1) Sir Alexander Bannerman (1823-77), 9th bt. (q.v.);
(2) Margaret Bannerman (1828-33); died young, 2 May 1833;
(3) Mary Elizabeth Bannerman (1830-38); died of scarlet fever at Crimonmogate, 30 August 1838.
(4) Anne Catherine Bannerman (1832-47), baptised at Lonmay (Aberdeens.), 25 February 1832; died young at Crimonmogate, 26 February 1847.
He also had issue an illegitimate son:
(X1) Charles Bannerman (fl. 1872?); living in Bombay (India), 1844, when he was mentioned in his father's will, and perhaps to be identified with the assistant chief engineer and inspector of machinery at HM Dockyard there, who retired to England; married and had issue; living in 1872.
He perhaps inherited the Kirkhill property from his brother in 1840. He inherited the Crimonmogate estate from Patrick Milne in 1820, and rebuilt the house there to the designs of Archibald Simpson.
He died in London, 18 June 1851 and was buried at Crimond, where he is commemorated by a monument; his will was proved 27 August 1851. His wife died of scarlet fever at Crimmondgate, 2 September 1838.

Sir Alexander Bannerman, 9th bt.

Bannerman, Sir Alexander (1823-77), 9th bt. Only son of Sir Charles Bannerman (1782-1851), 8th bt., and his wife Anne, daughter of Charles Bannerman, born 6 April and baptised at Old Machar (Aberdeens.), 9 April 1823. Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1841). Joined the diplomatic service and was attached to the Legation at Florence, 1844-47, when he resigned. He succeeded his father as 9th baronet, 18 June 1851. DL for Aberdeenshire, 1849 and for Kincardineshire, 1856, and acted as Vice-Lord Lieutenant for his cousin, Lord Kintore. He was a Whig in politics, and stood unsuccessfully for Parliament in Aberdeenshire in 1842 (when he was defeated) and 1860 (when he withdrew). He took a keen interest in the management of his estates, doing personally much of the work normally delegated to a factor, and undertaking several building projects, which included the restoration of the old parish church at Crimond as well as remodelling Crimonmogate and Elsick. He was also a keen amateur photographer and kept a before-and-after record of his changes to the buildings on the Crimonmogate estate. He married 1st, 26 September 1860 at Withyham (Sussex), Lady Arabella Diana Sackville West (1835-69), daughter of 5th Earl de la Warre, and 2nd, 20 January 1874 at St Peter, Eaton Sq., London, Lady Katherine (1841-85), eldest daughter of Bertram Ashburnham, 4th Earl of Ashburnham, and had issue:
(1.1) Ethel Mary Elizabeth Bannerman (c.1869-1947), born 9 February 1869; married, 1 August 1891 at St Peter, Eaton Sq., London, Charles Noel Carnegie (1854-1941), 7th bt. (later 10th* Earl of Southesk), and had issue three sons and two daughters; died 10 December 1947.
He inherited Crimonmogate from his father in 1851 and remodelled it c.1864. He also repurchased part of the Elsick estate, including Elsick House. In 1883 his daughter's estate consisted of 7,660 acres in Aberdeenshire and 500 acres in Kincardineshire. The Kincardineshire property has passed by descent to his daughter's descendant, the 4th Duke of Fife. He also had a house in Grosvenor Place, London.
He died in London, 21 April 1877, when the baronetcy passed to his cousin, Sir George Bannerman (1827-1901), 10th bt, and was buried at Lonmay (Aberdeens.), 27 April 1877; his will was confirmed in Scotland, 4 February 1878 and sealed in London, 28 February 1878 (estate £32,784). His first wife died in childbirth in London, 9 February 1869, and was buried at Lonmay. His widow died at Eastbourne (Sussex), 30 September 1885, and was buried at Crimonmogate; her will was proved 18 December 1885.
* 7th Earl by some reckonings.

Sources

Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 2003, pp. 246-47; C. McKean, Banff and Buchan: an illustrated architectural guide, 1990, pp. 143-44; J. Sharples, D.W. Walker & M. Woodworth, The buildings of Scotland: Aberdeenshire - North and Moray, 2015, pp. 139-41; D.W. Walker & M. Woodworth, The buildings of Scotland: Aberdeenshire - South and Aberdeen, 2015, pp. 480-81; G. MacGregor, The Red Book of Scotland, 2nd edn, 2018, vol. 1, pp. 389-409.

Location of archives

Bannerman family of Elsick, baronets: deeds, estate and family papers, 16th-19th cents. [Private collection; enquiries to National Register of Archives for Scotland, though some or all of this collection seems to have been sold in 2006.]

Coat of arms

Gules, a banner displayed argent, thereon a canton azure charged with St Andrew's Cross of the second (the badge of Scotland).

Can you help?

• Can anyone provide further information about the ownership of Elsick House between its sale by the 4th baronet in 1754 and its repurchase by the 9th baronet in the 19th century?
• The parish registers of Fetteresso parish, in which Elsick lay, are sadly lost for most of the period when the Bannerman family were resident there, so the genealogical part of this account is sadly deficient. If any reader has access to other records which would supply any of the missing information, such as family wills, marriage settlements or genealogies, I should be very pleased to hear from them. I would also be very pleased to receive additional information about the careers of the earlier generations of the family.
• I should also be most grateful if anyone can provide photographs or portraits of people whose names appear in bold above, and who are not already illustrated. 
• As always, any additions or corrections to the account given above will be gratefully received and incorporated.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 6 February 2019 and updated 27 August and 21 November 2021. I am grateful to Simon Barnard and Fiona Ligonnet for corrections and additional information and pictures.