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| Bertram of Kersewell |
William Bertram (fl. 1622) seems to have acquired the lands of Nisbet in Lanarkshire in the early 17th century, and established his family as minor gentry. His grandson, also William Bertram (d. 1685), expanded the estate and bequeathed it to his son, Alexander Bertram (d. 1742). The genealogy below begins with his son, William Bertram (c.1675-1759), who by virtue of being Chamberlain to the 1st Duke of Douglas and buying the Kersewell estate at Carnwath in 1702, took the family a step up the social hierarchy. It was William Bertram who rebuilt Kersewell as a modest, five-bay country house. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Archibald Bertram (1714-68), whose younger brothers became merchants in Edinburgh. Archibald married the daughter of an Edinburgh advocate, and they had four sons and four daughters. His eldest son, William Bertram (1754-1819), inherited Kersewell and was probably responsible for enlarging it into the seven bay house that existed later. The second son pursued a career in the colonies, which took him to Tobago and Bengal, but it is not clear whether he was a soldier or a merchant. The third son was educated at Edinburgh University and became a physician and surgeon, for many years based in Hull. The youngest son was, rather surprisingly, apprenticed to a Lancashire hatter, and after serving his articles became a hatter in Rochdale.
William Bertram was only fourteen when his father died. After reaching manhood, he spent ten years in the 7th Dragoon Guards, retiring in 1783, and a few years later, during the invasion anxiety of the 1790s, he was one of the moving spirits behind the formation of the Lanarkshire corps of fencible cavalry, of which he became Lieutenant Colonel. He seems to have initiated the military tradition in subsequent generations. At the end of his life he was appointed Secretary of the Order of the Thistle, but he died less than a year into this role. In 1777 he married his first cousin, Jean Lockhart (d. 1822) and they had eleven children. Tragically, his eldest son, Maj. Archibald Bertram (1780-1806) died during his father's lifetime, when the troop ship he was on sank in the Gulf of St Lawrence in Canada. Kersewell therefore descended to his second son, William Bertram (1788-1839), who was an officer in the East India Company's Bengal army from 1803 and retired as a major in 1829. It seems likely that Kersewell was rented out in the 1820s, although he may have lived there after leaving India. He married twice while in India, and died comparatively young, and his widow, who survived until 1897, seems to have spent her long widowhood in the milder climate of Ilfracombe (Devon). Their only surviving son, William Bertram (1826-1905), inherited as a minor and was briefly in the army before settling down at Kersewell to the archetypal life of a Victorian country squire. After his first wife died in 1882, however, he seems to have let Kersewell and gone to live in Ilfracombe with his mother. His eldest son, William Bertram (1859-1915), had a career in the army, and though he retired in 1899 he returned to service as a volunteer during the Boer War in 1900. He then commanded the Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers for some years, and at the start of the First World War he returned to his former regiment as an instructor, but died suddenly soon afterwards. Kersewell was let during his ownership, and burnt down in 1912, but although he rebuilt it he lived more modestly in St. Andrews (Fife). His widow moved to England and lived latterly in London and at Eggington House (Beds.), which she leased. Kersewell descended to their elder son, Lt-Col. William Robert Bertram (1888-1970), who continued to let the house. After service in the First World War, he and his wife lived in Australia for about ten years, although he returned to Britain in 1932. He finally sold the estate in 1944, when it was bought by Lanarkshire County Council for use as an agricultural college.
Kersewell House (now Bertram House), Carnwath, Lanarkshire
There was a tower house here in the 16th century, which was replaced soon after William Bertram bought the estate in 1702, by a five bay hipped-roof house with chimneystacks in the gable ends. The house was built of harled rubble stone, and had two storeys and attics on the north-west side, though the fall of the land exposing the basement on the south-east front gave that elevation an extra storey. The new house was extended to the north, perhaps in the late 18th century, by a two-bay block the same height as the main building and with matching windows, but having a separate roof. Rather later, the house was also extended to the south with a two-storey block that was given a bowed south end in the mid 19th century. The existence of the gable-end chimneystacks makes improbable the suggestion in The buildings of Scotland that the additions were enlargements of small wings contemporary with the main house. Later in the 19th century, a heated conservatory was built against the southern part of the north-west (entrance) front.
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| Kersewell House: the east front of the house shortly before the fire of 1912, from an old postcard. |
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| Kersewell House: entrance front from the south-west, as rebuilt after the fire of 1912. Image: RCAHMS. |
Descent: sold 1702 to William Bertram (c.1675-1759); to son, Archibald Bertram (1714-68); to son, William Bertram (1754-1819); to son, William Bertram (1788-1839); to son, William Bertram (1826-1905); to son, Col. William Bertram (1859-1915); to son, Lt-Col. William Robert Bertram (1888-1970); who sold 1944 to Lanarkshire County Council; sold c.1988 to PPD Development; sold 2004 for conversion to flats.
Bertram family of Kersewell House
Bertram, William (c.1675-1759). Only son of Alexander Bertram (d. 1742) of Nisbet (Lanarks) and his first wife Helen, daughter of Adam Murray of Cardon, born about 1675. Chamberlain to Archibald Douglas (1694-1761), 1st Duke of Douglas, of Douglas Castle (Lanarks). He married, 1 April 1705 at Edinburgh, Cecilia, daughter of Gilbert Kennedy of Auchtyfardle, Lesmahagow (Lanarks), and had issue:
(1) Euphan alias Euphemia Bertram (1706-62), baptised at Lesmahagow, 15 August 1706; married, 3 June 1731 at Edinburgh, George Baillie of Hardington; said to have died in 1762;
(2) Archibald Bertram (1714-68) (q.v.);
(3) Alexander Bertram (b. 1717), baptised at Douglas, 23 April 1717; perhaps died young;
(4) Gilbert Bertram (1720-76), baptised at Douglas, 31 January 1720; apprenticed to John Coutts, Lord Provost of Edinburgh; merchant and banker in Edinburgh and London; admitted a burgess of Edinburgh, 1743; died unmarried and was buried at Bunhill Fields Cemetery, London, 14 December 1776;
(5) William Bertram (c.1719-95), born about 1719; apprenticed to Patrick Manderson, merchant in Edinburgh, 1740; became a merchant in Edinburgh in his own right; married, 21 June 1767 at Edinburgh, Grisel (c.1732-1822), daughter of John Hay of Hayston, and had issue three sons and two daughters; died at Fountainbridge, 15 January, and was buried at Edinburgh, 16 January 1795;
(6) Anne Bertram (1722-97), baptised at Douglas, 30 April 1722; married, 30 September 1747 at Symington (Lanarks), Rev. John Brown (d. 1771) of Cultermains, minister of Culter (Lanarks), and had issue; died 11 October 1797;
(7) Cecilia Bertram (d. 1773); married, 10 August 1755 at Edinburgh, Hugh Mossman (1716-73), writer to the signet; said to have been killed, with her husband, by the collapse of their house in Edinburgh, 20 January 1773; they were both buried in Greyfriars Cemetery, Edinburgh, 22 January 1773;
(8) Jane Bertram (fl. 1766); married, 10 February 1766 at St Mary Abchurch, London, as his second wife, Henry Ferguson.
He purchased the Kersewell estate in 1702 and rebuilt the house there soon afterwards.
He died 23 May 1759. His widow's date of death is unknown: one account says she died in 1773 or 1774, but this may be a confusion with her daughter and namesake.
Bertram, Archibald (1714-68). Eldest son of William Bertram (c.1675-1759) and his wife Cecilia, daughter of Gilbert Kennedy of Auchtyfardle, Lesmahagow (Lanarks), baptised at Douglas, 4 February 1714. An elder of the Church of Scotland, summoned to General Assemblies of the church in 1762 and 1767. He married, 24 February 1751, Marion (c.1729-1814), daughter and co-heir of John Porterfield of Fulwood (Renfrews.), advocate, and had issue including:
(1) Jean Bertram (1752-1838), born 24 May 1752 and baptised at Carnwath the same day; married, 10 August 1770 at Kersewell, Allan Lockhart (d. 1805) of Cleghorn (Lanarks), and had issue at least one daughter; died at Cleghorn, 13 May 1838;
(2) Cecilia Bertram (b. 1753), born 6 August 1753; probably died young*;
(3) William Bertram (1754-1819) (q.v.);
(4) John Bertram (d. 1784); on the island of Tobago by 1777; died in Bengal (India), about April 1784;
(5) Alexander Bertram (1757-1836), born 21 June 1757; educated at Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh, 1772-76 and Edinburgh University (MD, 1777); surgeon to the 2nd Regiment of Dragoons, 1778-80 and later a physician in Hull (Yorks ER), Manchester and Edinburgh; appointed physician to the Manchester Infirmary, Dispensary, Lunatic Hospital and Asylum, 1794; admitted an honorary Member of the Royal Medical Soc. of Edinburgh, 31 January 1789; married 1st, 5 December 1780 at Greenwich (Kent), Mary Duke (d. 1804) and had issue one son and one daughter; married 2nd, 15 February 1827 at Smyllum Park, Lanark**, Mary, daughter of Patrick Honeyman of Graemesay (Orkney); died in Edinburgh, 19 December 1836;
(6) Mary Bertram (1761-1846), born at Carnwath, 26 November 1761; died unmarried at Westport, Lanark, 17 September 1846;
(7) Marion Bertram (b. 1764), born 5 April and baptised at Carnwath, 8 April 1764; probably died young before 1768;
(8) Archibald Bertram (1766-98), born 20 February 1766; apprenticed to John Fletcher of Oldham (Lancs), 1781; a hatter in Rochdale (Lancs) by 1788; married, 23 February 1792 at Edinburgh, Cecilia (d. 1833), daughter of Adam Keir, baker, and had issue one son; died, probably of tuberculosis, and was buried at Cross St. Presbyterian Church, Manchester, 26 April 1798.
He inherited the Kersewell estate from his father in 1759. In 1768 he made provision for his surviving children by a Bond of Provision, in which he assigned £600 to each of his sons and £1,000 to each of his daughters when they reached the age of 21.
He died in London, 25 September 1768. His widow died 11 December 1814.
* The Red Book of Scotland states she died unmarried, 1840, but I have not been able to trace any corresponding records.
** The banns were read, and the marriage recorded, at St Cuthbert, Edinburgh.
Bertram, William (1754-1819). Eldest son of Archibald Bertram (1714-68) and his wife Marion, daughter and co-heir of John Porterfield of Fulwood (Renfrews.), born 25 August and baptised at Carnwath, 26 August 1754. He succeeded his father in 1768 and was served heir to his grandfather, William Bertram of Nisbet, 28 March 1780, in half the lands of Nisbet (including the manor house). An officer in the 7th Dragoon Guards (Cornet, 1773; Lt., 1775; Capt-Lt., 1779; Capt., 1779; retired 1783) and later in the Lanarkshire corps of fencible cavalry (Capt., 1794; Lt-Col., 1796). Secretary to the Order of the Thistle, 1818-19. He married, 30 August 1777 at St Cuthbert, Edinburgh, his first cousin, Jean (d. 1822), daughter and heiress of Sir William Lockhart (d. 1758), 3rd bt., of Lockhart Hall, Carstairs (Lanarks), and had issue:
(1) Katherine Bertram (b. 1778), born 17 July 1778; died young, in or before 1786;
(2) Archibald Bertram (1780-1806), born 2 April 1780; an officer in army (Ensign, 1795; Lt., 1795; Capt., 1800; Maj., 1805); died unmarried in the lifetime of his father when a troop ship with 300 men of his regiment (the 100th foot) foundered on ice in the Magdalen Islands, Gulf of St Lawrence (Canada) and was lost with all hands, on or about 15 November 1806;
(3) Mary Bertram (1783-1827), born 20 October 1783; married, as his second wife, Thomas Brown of Symington (Lanarks); died 17 June 1827 and was buried at Symington;
(4) Marion Bertram (1785-1869), born 30 August 1785; lived with her spinster sisters at 21 Rutland Sq, Edinburgh; died unmarried in Edinburgh, 25 June 1869;
(5) Katherine Bertram (1786-1860), born 5 November 1786; lived with her spinster sisters at 21 Rutland Sq, Edinburgh; died unmarried in Edinburgh, 3 April 1860; will confirmed in Edinburgh, 3 July 1860;
(6) William Bertram (1788-1839) (q.v.);
(7) John Bertram (1789-1800), born 4 September 1789; died young and was buried at Edinburgh, 19 May 1800;
(8) Ann Bertram (1791-1853), born 10 April and baptised at Carnwath, 2 May 1791; lived with her spinster sisters at 21 Rutland Sq, Edinburgh; died unmarried in Edinburgh, 4 June, and was buried at Carnwath, 10 June 1853;
(9) Allan Bertram (1792-1834), born 14 July and baptised at Carnwarth, 21 July 1792; an officer in the Royal Navy (Lt., 1815; Cdr., 1827); died of a virulent fever at sea, off the Berry Islands (Bahamas), while commanding HMS Tweed, 29 July 1834;
(10) Jean Lockhart Bertram (1794-1825), born 8 January 1794; died unmarried in Edinburgh, 14 January 1825;
(11) Cecilia Bertram (1799-1870), said to have been born 31 October and baptised at Carnwath, November 1799; married, 27 July 1826 at Edinburgh, as his second wife, James MacAllan (1792-1868), writer to the signet, son of Thomas MacAllan of Edinburgh, excise officer, and had issue five sons and four daughters; died 7 June 1870 and was buried at St John's Graveyard, Edinburgh.
He inherited the Kersewell estate from his father in 1768.
He died at Kersewell, 18 July 1819, and was buried at Carnwath. His widow died at Kersewell, 8 November 1822.
Bertram, William (1788-1839). Second, but eldest surviving son of William Bertram (1759-1819) and his wife Jane, daughter and heiress of Sir William Lockhart, 3rd bt., of Lockhart Hall (Lanarks), born 11 July 1788. An officer in the East India Company's Bengal Army (Cadet, 1803; arrived in India, 1805; Ensign, 1805; Lt., 1805; Capt., 1823; Maj., 1826; retired 1829). He married 1st, 16 June 1811 at Meerut (India), Maria Raymus (d. 1823), and 2nd, 6 July 1825 at Meerut, Louise Caroline Clementine Delie Bertrand (c.1807-97), daughter of Dr Arnaud de Lapeijre, of Port Louis (Mauritius), and had issue:
(1.1) Marion Bertram (c.1812-69), 'eldest surviving daughter' when she died unmarried in Edinburgh, 25 June 1869;
(1.2) Henrietta Bertram (1813-81), born 10 April 1813 and baptised at Carnwath, 22 February 1814; married, 24 December 1840, as his second wife, George Crow Molle (1814-53), son of William Molle WS of Edinburgh, but had no surviving issue; died 19 October 1881; will confirmed 9 December 1881 (effects £645);
(1.3) Jane Cecilia Lockhart Bertram (1815-89), born in Calcutta (India), 22 September 1815 and baptised at Carnwath, 22 February 1818; died unmarried at Droylesden (Lancs), 25 January 1889; will confirmed at Edinburgh, 13 June 1889 (effects £1,808);
(2.1) William Bertram (1826-1905) (q.v.);
(2.2) Louisa Cecilia Evelina Bertram (1828-29), born in the Île de France (France), 6 September 1828 and died in infancy at sea on the Countess of Harcourt, 24 April 1829;
(2.3) Allan Arnaud Bertram (1829-42), born in Edinburgh, 14 October 1829 and baptised at Carnwath, 9 November 1829; said to have died young in London, 1842.
He inherited the Kersewell estate from his father in 1819 and was served heir general 23 July 1830. His widow lived latterly at Ilfracombe (Devon).
He died in Edinburgh, 11 June 1839. His first wife died at Purneah (India), 19 February 1823. His widow died aged 89 on 19 January, and was buried at Holy Trinity, Ilfracombe (Devon), 23 January 1897; her will was proved 5 March 1897 (effects £1,917).
Bertram, William (1826-1905). Elder and only surviving son of William Bertram (1782-1839) and his second wife, Louise Caroline Clementine Delie Bertrand, daughter of Dr Arnaud de la Peyjere of Port Louis (Mauritius), born in Mauritius, 23 April 1826 and baptised at Carnwath, 12 December 1827. An officer in the army (Ensign, 1844; Lt., 1846; retired c.1850) and later in the Royal Lanarkshire Militia (Capt., 1854) and Corps of Volunteers. JP and DL (from 1874) for Lanarkshire. He married, 1 October 1858 at Harperfield (Lanarks), Adelaide Mary (1832-82), daughter of John Batman alias Bateman (one of the founders of Melbourne (Australia)) and widow of John Daniel Collyer (1821-55) of Torrumbarry (Australia), and 2nd, 18 September 1886 at Rosneath Castle (Dumbartons.), Jessie Merry (c.1835-87), daughter of Robert Forrester. accountant, and widow of John Matheson of Cordale, and had issue:
(1.1) William Bertram (1859-1915) (q.v.);
(1.2) Adelaide Mary Bertram (1861-1944), born 25 April 1861; married, 21 October 1896 at Darjeeling (India), Percival Hennessy (1868-1929) of Narayanpur (India), indigo planter, third son of James Hennessy; as a widow, lived latterly at Bournemouth (Hants) and Bosham (Sussex); died at Bosham, 11 April 1944;
(1.3) Archibald Douglas Bertram (1862-1926), born at Kersewell, 17 October 1862; emigrated to Australia and died in Sydney (Australia), 1 December 1926 and was buried at Rookwood Cemetery there;
(1.4) Allan Lockhart Bertram (1864-1914), born 7 July and baptised at St Helier (Jersey), 3 August 1864; emigrated to Australia and died in Perth, Western Australia, 25 February 1914;
(1.5) Eliza Violet Bertram (1866-1929), born at Honfleur (France), 7 March 1866; died unmarried at Vanguard Farm, Sutton Valence (Kent), 7 February 1929; will confirmed, 25 May 1929 (estate £2,148);
(1.6) John Ross Bertram (1870-72), born 21 September 1870; died in infancy at Croydon (Surrey), 19 July 1872.
He inherited the Kersewell estate from his father in 1839 and came of age in 1847. After the death of his wife he seems to have let the house and moved to Ilfracombe (Devon), where his mother was living, but he was evidently living at Kersewell again before his death.
He died at Kersewell, 24 September 1905. His first wife died at Kersewell, 25 May 1882. His second wife died in Glasgow, 10 June 1887; her will was confirmed in October 1887 (effects £20,066).
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| Col. William Bertram (1859-1915) |
(1) Lt-Col. William Robert Bertram (1888-1970) (q.v.);
(2) Grizel Ethel Bertram (1890-1982), born at Prestwick (Ayrs.), 20 September 1890; served in First World War as a Red Cross nurse; died unmarried, aged 91, on 15 September 1982;
(3) Ian Anstruther Bertram (1897-1962), born 25 December 1897 and baptised at Ilfracombe (Devon), 18 February 1898; educated at Osborne and Royal Naval College, Dartmouth; an officer in the Royal Navy and later the Royal Air Force (Sq. Ldr.); married, 25 August 1925 at Christ Church, Lanark (Lanarks.), Dorothy Cecil, only daughter of Maj. Robert Henry Eliott-Lockhart of Cleghorn, and had issue one son; lived latterly at Golden Hills (Co. Tipperary); died 16 June 1962; will proved 18 February 1963 (estate in England, £1,577).
He inherited the Kersewell estate from his father in 1905 and rebuilt the house after a fire in 1912. He leased the property and lived latterly at St Andrews (Fife). His widow lived in London and later at Eggington House (Beds), where her daughter occupied the lodge.
He died suddenly at the Red Lion Hotel, Grantham (Lincs), while commanding a unit training in Belton Park (Lincs), 18 February 1915; his will was confirmed at Cupar (Fife), 18 January 1916 (estate £1,708). His widow died 5 November 1931.
Bertram, Lt-Col. William Robert (1888-1970). Elder son of Col. William Bertram (1859-1915) and his wife Ethel Angel, daughter of Robert Beckwith Towse, born in Edinburgh, 3 December 1888. Educated at Wellington and Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. An officer in the British army (2nd Lt., 1907; Lt., 1908; ret. 1911). Civil engineer, who emigrated to Canada before the First World War and served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1915-18 (Capt., 1914; Maj. 1915; Lt-Col., 1918; demobilised, 1919; mentioned in despatches, 1916, 1918; awarded DSO, 1917; CMG, 1919; and Belgian and French Croix de Guerre, 1918 and 1920). After the war, he and his wife settled in New South Wales (Australia), but he returned to England in 1932. He married, 6 October 1917 at Rotherfield Greys (Oxon) (but perhaps sep. c.1932), Zoë Weldon L'Estrange (1894-1979), second daughter of Col. William L'Estrange Eames CB CBE of Newcastle, New South Wales (Australia), and had issue:
(1) Mary Elizabeth Bertram (1920-67), born 24 June 1920; married, 13 December 1941 at St Mark, Darling Point, New South Wales, James Allnutt Walker, grazier, second son of Thomas Walker of Coolootai, Warialda, New South Wales; died in Sydney (Australia), 20 August 1967;
(2) Barbara L'Estrange Bertram (1922-2018), born 1 September 1922; air hostess; married, August 1951, Martin Martin (1922-82), real estate agent, son of George Martin (1893-1961) of Sydney, and had issue one son; died aged 95 in Sydney, 7 February 2018;
(3) Zoë Bertram (b. 1925), born 17 December 1925;
(4) Helen Rowan Bertram (b. 1931), born December 1931; married John Hinton Bassett Christian PhD AO (1925-2024), Australian microbiologist and science administrator, and had issue two sons and three daughters.
He inherited the Kersewell estate from his father in 1915, but leased it until he sold it in 1944.
He died in Penzance (Cornw.), 8 August 1970, was cremated at Penmount Crematorium, Truro (Cornwall) and his ashes were buried at Coulter (Lanarks). His widow died in Sydney, New South Wales (Australia), 26 September 1979.
Principal sources
Burke's Landed Gentry, 1952, p. 169; R. Close, J. Gifford & F.A. Walker, The buildings of Scotland: Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire, 2016, pp. 127-28; G. MacGregor, The Red Book of Scotland, 2022, vol. 1, pp. 682-91.
Location of archives
Bertram of Nisbet and Kersewell: deeds, estate and family papers, 16th cent-1886 [National Records of Scotland, GD5]
Coat of arms
Gules, on an inescutcheon or, between eight crosses pattée argent, an anvil proper.
Can you help?
- Can anyone provide portraits or photographs of the people whose names appear in bold above, for whom no image is currently shown?
- If anyone can offer further or more precise information or corrections to any part of this article I should be most grateful. I am always particularly pleased to hear from current owners or the descendants of families associated with a property who can supply information from their own research or personal knowledge for inclusion.
Revision and acknowledgements
This post was first published 9 April 2025.
