(599) Bertram of Nisbet and Kersewell

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.

Kersewell House: the east front of the house shortly before the fire of 1912, from an old postcard.

In April 1911, when the house was tenanted, it was extensively damaged by a fire which is thought to have originated in sparks from the conservatory chimney setting fire to the upper floors of the main block. The contents of the lower floors were largely saved, but those upstairs, including many pictures, were completely lost. Restoration was put in hand to designs by J.M. Dick Peddie and work began on site early in 1912, being sufficiently advanced for the house to be reoccupied in May 1913. In rebuilding, considerable changes were made to the design and plan: the north-west (entrance) front was given a new porch and the conservatory was replaced by a new shallowly-projecting wing. The harling was removed from the whole house - much to the detriment of its appearance - and a new hipped roof with dormers was constructed over the main block and the wing to its north, visually uniting the two for the first time.

Kersewell House: entrance front from the south-west, as rebuilt after the fire of 1912. Image: RCAHMS.

In 1944 the estate was acquired by Lanarkshire County Council for use as an agricultural college. After this closed in the late 1980s, it was sold a pharmaceutical research company, and when they moved to larger premises in 2004, the house was converted to flats to the designs of Drew Deans Design of Moodiesburn, and the adjacent land was developed for housing. The building is now known as Bertram House.

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).

Col. William Bertram (1859-1915) 

Bertram, Col. William (1859-1915). Eldest son of William Bertram (1826-1905) and his wife Adelaide Mary, daughter of John Bateman and widow of John Daniel Collyer, born in Edinburgh, 11 December 1859. Educated at Repton. An officer in the 2nd Lanarkshire militia (Lt., 1877) and then the Manchester Regiment (Lt., 1878; Capt., 1888; Maj., 1898; retired 1899 but volunteered for service in South Africa, 1900); he subsequently joined the Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers (Maj., 1905; Lt. Col., 1905; hon. Col. 1907; retired 1908) before rejoining the Manchester Regiment at the outbreak of the First World War (Maj., 1914). Appointed a Commissioner of Supply for Lanarkshire, 1886. He married, 24 January 1888 at St Stephen, Gloucester Rd., Kensington (Middx), Ethel Angell (1857-1931), daughter of Robert Beckwith Towse, solicitor, and had issue:

(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.

(328) Baird of Lochwood House, Cambusdoon House, Ury House, Rickarton House, Elie House and Wellwood House, Viscounts Stonehaven

Baird of Elie

Baird of Ury, Viscounts Stonehaven

A 19th century chronicler of the family found it reasonable to believe that the Baird family considered here had been 'settled for centuries in Lanarkshire' and were in all probability a cadet branch of the Barde or Baird family of Cambusnethan, who fell into obscurity in the 15th century. A number of later Baird families across Scotland claimed kinship with the Cambusnethan Bairds, among them the family of Baird of Auchmedden (Aberdeens.), although the link between Andrew Baird, who bought Auchmedden in 1534, and the Cambusnethan stem is as yet obscure. The Bairds of Auchmedden flourished down to the time of the Jacobite rising in 1745, when William Baird (1701-75) found the cost of his support of the Jacobite cause in addition to existing debts too much for the estate to bear, and he was obliged to sell Auchmedden to the Earl of Aberdeen in 1750. Although he had six sons, none of them left issue, and by the end of the 18th century the Bairds of Auchmedden had perhaps died out in the male line, at least in Scotland.

The family noticed here were tenant farmers at Old Monkland in north Lanarkshire throughout the 18th century, and lived in very humble circumstances. Even Alexander Baird (1765-1833), who became a coalmaster as well as a farmer on a large scale, and the confidant of several of his landlords, left a personal estate of less than £1,000 and lived most of his life in a single-storey farmhouse.

High Cross Farm, Old Monkland: the largest of the farms occupied
by Alexander Baird (1765-1833) before he bought Lochwood.

There can be no doubt, however, that both Alexander and his wife Jean Moffat were distinguished by the industry and capacity for hard work that lay behind the successful rise of so many families in the 19th century; nor that they successfully communicated the spirit of self-improvement to their children. When their eldest son, William Baird (1796-1864) decided that the farming life was not for him, his father took on the lease of a small coal mine and put him in as the manager at the tender age of 20. Shortly afterwards their third son, Alexander Baird (1799-1862), moved to Glasgow to take charge of marketing the coal produced by his brother. The business was a success and in 1820 they took on a larger mine adjacent to the farm which Alexander had leased for his fourth son, James Baird (1802-76), who soon joined the coal business, using his technical ingenuity to overcome  problems and improve efficiency. In 1826 they moved again to a larger and more productive colliery at Gartsherrie, and in 1828 also leased the adjacent ironstone mines. By 1830, when Alexander retired and his sons established William Baird & Co., the firm had built its first blast furnaces and was making pig-iron. Business boomed during the 1830s and 1840s, and the firm expanded rapidly, both at Gartsherrie and then by taking over or building plants elsewhere. In the end, seven of the eight brothers were brought into the business, with only John Baird (1798-1870), Alexander's second son, preferring to stick with farming. Janet Baird, the brothers' elder sister, also remained in farming, but two of her sons, Alexander Whitelaw and William Weir, were taken into the firm and were among its leading managers in the later 19th century.

All of the partners in William Baird & Co. made fortunes, and William Baird as the senior partner and James Baird as the technical mastermind became millionaires. Their wealth was on such a scale that the acquisition of landed estates did not require the withdrawal of capital from the business on a significant scale. The fact that several of the brothers bought estates within a year or two makes it look as though they acted in concert, although in most cases it would seem that the purchase of landed property did not imply retirement from the business. Robert Baird seems to have bought the Auchmedden estate (on which there was no house) essentially because it represented a connection with the earlier Baird gentry family, with whom there was believed to be a distant connection. Four of the brothers died without issue and passed their property either to a sibling to to nephews, creating a remarkably complicated pattern of ownership, which may most easily be summarized in a table.

Table 1: acquisition and descent of landed property in Baird family.

Few of these rapidly acquired properties remained the property of the brothers' descendants for more than a couple of generations, as their descendants proved better at spending money than at making it. William's son, William Baird (1848-1918) and grandson William James Baird (1893-1961) were both addicted to foxhunting, and moved to Rutland, where they both served as masters of the Cottesmore hunt. Cambusdoon and Elie House, which they held, were sold in 1926 and 1928 respectively. William's younger son, John George Alexander Baird (1854-1917) inherited the Muirkirk estate and built Wellwood House there, but before his death he had acquired Colstoun (East Lothian) from his wife's family, and his widow lived there and sold the Muirkirk estate in 1926.

John Baird's eldest son, Sir Alexander Baird (1849-1920), 1st bt., spent much of his life in the Middle East, although he did not neglect the Ury and Rickarton estates. His son, Sir John Lawrence Baird (1874-1941), 2nd bt. and later 1st Viscount Stonehaven, was a diplomat and politician and was also abroad for a good deal of his life. He too maintained Ury and Rickarton, but on his death Ury had to be sold to meet the death duties on the estate. Rickarton remains the property of his descendants. 

John's younger son, John Baird (1852-1900) inherited Lockwood, Easterhouse and Knoydart, but sold Knoydart soon afterwards, and let Lockwood and Easterhouse from the late 19th century onwards. At his death they passed to trustees, who appear to have sold the freehold in 1926. Douglas Baird (1808-54) left two daughters, who inherited Closeburn Hall jointly, but the house appears to have been abandoned before 1900. George Baird left one son, George Alexander Baird (1861-93), who inherited Auchmedden, Stichill and Strichen. He was well-known in his day as a racehorse owner, trainer and amateur jockey (riding as 'Mr. Abington'), but he is said to have made money from the turf rather than otherwise. His extravagances lay in other directions: he was an early promoter of prize-fighting and he was twice named as co-respondent in divorce proceedings, as well as having a long and expensive affair with Lillie Langtry. At his death he left no issue and his estates passed to trustees who sold them in about 1916 and 1925.

Thus only the modest Rickarton estate remained in Baird hands after the Second World War. After Lord Stonehaven died in 1941 it remained the home of his widow. In 1966 she succeeded her brother as Countess of Kintore in her own right, and the Keith Hall estate passed to her son and heir, the 2nd Viscount Stonehaven, who took the name Keith in preference to Baird. When she died, aged 100, in 1974, her son inherited as 12th Earl of Kintore and took possession of Rickarton. Lord Kintore lived, however, at Keith Hall (until the sold the house there to Kit Martin in 1984 for division into apartments) and he sold Rickarton to his son-in-law, John Francis Holman (1924-2015). Holman's son, Richard Ian Holman-Baird (b. 1958), and his family now live at Rickarton.

Lochwood House, Easterhouse, Lanarkshire

Lochwood House, Easterhouse in about 1906. Image: Mitchell Library, Glasgow

The house was built in about 1825 in a fine position above Bishop's Loch for Alexander Baird (1765-1833), and probably consisted at first only of the three-bay two storey block in the centre of the view above, and a service wing behind it. It was later extended at either end with taller wings having low-pitched gables with decorated bargeboards. The wing on the right was built first, as a new main block with reception rooms, the principal bedrooms, and an entrance porch. This was certainly in existence by 1858 and was probably built in the 1840s for John Baird. The wing on the left followed later but was in existence by 1897. The house was let from the late 19th century onwards, and by 1937 was a tenement building. The house was acquired by the National Coal Board in the 1940s and used as a home for pensioned mineworkers until the Easterhouse estate was built and they were rehoused there. The house was derelict by 1962 and was demolished soon afterwards.

Descent: sold 1825 to Alexander Baird (1765-1833); to son, William Baird (1796-1864), who gave it to his brother, John Baird (1798-1870); to son, John Baird (1852-1900) who let it from 1888; to trustees who appear to have sold in 1926... sold 1940s to National Coal Board; dem. c.1963.

Cambusdoon House, Ayrshire

Cambusdoon House: entrance front as first built for James Baird. Image: Glasgow School of Art. Some rights reserved.

The house was built in a Scots Baronial style in 1853 for James Baird (1802-76), whose interests extended into Ayrshire. The house has been plausibly attributed to David Bryce, but is not included on the standard list of his works. The only archival evidence seems to be plans for the addition of a vinery in c.1855, by William Clarke & George Bell. Since they had both previously been in the office of William Burn, they must also be plausible candidates for the main building. 

Cambusdoon House: entrance front in 1885, from Millar's Castles and Mansions of Ayrshire.

The turreted two-storey entrance block in the foreground of the 1885 view above was an addition presumably made for William Baird after he inherited the house. The house became a preparatory school in 1926, and soon after this closed in 1967 the house was burned out in 1970. The ruins were left standing until 1976, when they were deemed to be dangerous and demolished. The landscaped grounds remain a public park. 

Descent: built c.1853-54 for James Baird (1802-76); to nephew, William Baird (1848-1918); to son, William James Baird (1893-1961); who sold 1926 for use as a prep school; sold 1968 to Ayr Council; burnt 1970 and demolished 1976. 

Ury House, Kincardineshire

Ury House: the 17th century house shown in an early 19th century engraving.

The ancient castle of Ury was apparently burnt by Royalist troops in 1645 during one of the Scottish campaigns of the Civil War. The ruins seem to have been patched up sufficiently for Col. Robert Barclay (1610-86), who bought the estate in 1647-48, to live there in the 1650s and 1660s, but in 1670 he built a new three-storey L-plan house. It was subsequently converted to the Z-plan by the addition of round towers at two of the diagonally opposite angles, and is said to have been vaulted throughout. In 1679 the architect James Smith was paid to 'cover with freestone the house of Urie', and the towers may have been added at the same time. A 19th century source records that the houe 'was decorated inside by frescoes in the Italian fashion'.

Ury House: proposal by James Playfair for remodelling, 1788. The elements
in yellow wash indicate the form and extent of the old house. Image: Soane Museum

In 1789 James Playfair made proposals for remodelling the house in either the Gothic or the classical style for Robert Barclay (1731-97), but nothing seems to have been done, and the 17th century house survived until 1855, when it was pulled down to clear the site for a new building designed by John Baird I of Glasgow for Alexander Baird (who appears to have been no relation). 

The new house was in the neo-Jacobean style made popular by William Burn in the 1820s, and was distinctly old-fashioned by the standards of 1855. The house was generally of two and three storeys, but had a tall square off-centre entrance tower with a big porte-cochere. The windows were a characteristically varied mix of mullioned and canted or oriel windows, many of them with hood moulds. An enormous mullioned and transomed window to the  right of the tower probably lit a great hall. The gabled dormer heads reach above eaves, and bays set forward from main wall-planes are also gabled. The double-gabled, return elevation to right is almost villa-like. 

Ury House: the garden front as built in 1855.

Ury House: the entrance front as extended in 1883-84, from an old postcard.

In 1882-84 the house was extended at the left-hand end of the main front by the addition of a huge east wing with a second tower rising to pair of crow-stepped gables designed by Alexander Ross for Sir Alexander Baird, 1st bt. The house seems to have remained in use until the 1940s when it was abandoned, and in 1959 it was deliberately unroofed to avoid property taxes. The solidity of construction was such, however, that the shell of the building survived decades of neglect. 

Ury House: the ruined shell in 2007. Image: Brideshead via Wikipedia

In 1990 Ury Estates Ltd. made an application to demolish the ruin, which was refused; instead a Building Preservation Notice was served on the owners and the house was listed (at Grade B). The house was subsequently sold in 2002 to developers with a view to restoration and conversion to hotel use, but more than a decade of further decay lay ahead before a commercially viable scheme was finally agreed. Since 2015 repair and reconstruction work has been underway to turn the house into the centrepiece of a new golf club and resort complex, which is due to open in 2020. A great deal of 'enabling development' will also place within the estate to make the development a commercial proposition.

Descent: sold 1647 to Col. David Barclay (1610-86); to son, Robert Barclay (1648-90); to son, Robert Barclay (1672-1747); to son, Robert Barclay (1699-1760); to son, Robert Barclay (later Barclay-Allardice) (1731-97); to son, Capt. Robert Barclay-Allardice (1779-1854); sold after his death to Alexander Baird (1799-1862), who rebuilt the house; to brother, John Baird (1798-1870); to son, Sir Alexander Baird (1849-1920), 1st bt.; to son, Sir John Lawrence Baird (1874-1941), 2nd bt. and 1st Viscount Stonehaven; to son, Sir James Ian Baird (later Keith) (1908-89), 2nd Viscount Stonehaven and later 12th Earl of Kintore; sold 1944 to Earl of Mansfield; sold 1947 to John Bisset & Sons Ltd. of Aberdeen for the timber, much of which was felled; sold to Ury Estates Ltd.; sold 2002 to FM Developments; sold by administrators 2012 to FM Group.

Rickarton House, Kincardineshire

Rickarton House: entrance front, 2006. Image: Alan Thomson. Some rights reserved.

The house was begun as a small gable-ended villa built in about 1804 for Col. Hepburn, and was given its present wider front entrance range by John Smith of Aberdeen in 1829-32. This has a plain five bay, two-storey front with a minimally advanced centre and floor-length windows on the ground floor. The overhanging roof gives the house a faintly Italianate air and may have been altered later. Smith's porch was removed in 1975 and now stands detached, like a folly, on the lawn south-east of the house. A better image of the house can be found here.

Descent: built for Col. William Rickart Hepburn (d. 1807); to son, Robert Rickart Hepburn (c.1803-37) ... sold c.1854 to Alexander Baird (1765-1833); to son, John Baird (1798-1870); to son, Sir Alexander Baird (1849-1920), 1st bt.; to son, Sir John Lawrence Baird (1874-1941), 2nd bt. and 1st Viscount Stonehaven; to son, James Ian Baird (later Keith) (1908-89), 2nd Viscount Stonehaven and later 12th Earl of Kintore; sold to son-in-law, John Francis Holman OBE (1924-2015); to son, Richard Ian Holman-Baird (b. 1958).

Elie House, Fife

An account of this house will be found in my previous post on the Carmichael-Anstruther family of Elie House and Carmichael House, baronets.

Wellwood House, Muirkirk, Ayrshire

Wellwood House, Muirkirk. Image: reproduced with permission from Jimmy Taylor's Ayrshire History.

A large but rather plain Victorian mansion built by an unknown architect in 1878 for John Baird of Muirkirk on the site of a much smaller earlier house of the Campbell family, which reputedly bore the date 1600. The new house was L-shaped and built of stone, and was of three storeys, with a projecting four-storey tower at the angle between the two main ranges. The gables of the tower and a subsidiary gable to its left were crow-stepped. A lower service wing projected at the rear. The house was demolished in 1928 or 1936.

Descent: built for John Baird (1854-1917); to widow, Susan Georgiana Baird (1861-1951), who sold 1925; demolished 1928 or 1936.

Baird family of Lochwood, Cambusdoon, Ury and Rickarton, Viscounts Stonehaven

Alexander Baird (1765-1833)

Baird, Alexander (1765-1833). Son of William Baird (d. c.1775) of Woodhead, Old Monkland, and his wife Jean Baillie, born 12 May 1765. Educated at Old Monkland parish school. He became a tenant farmer on a steadily increasing scale, leasing land from several different proprietors, and he was also a miller for some years, leasing a corn mill at Mill of Langloan. From 1816 he began to lease coal mines for his sons to operate, taking on Rochsolloch, Airdrie, 1816-20; Merryston, 1820-26 and Gartsherrie from 1826. In 1828 he also leased the iron mines near Gartsherrie in partnership with his sons and a piece of land on which to built blast furnaces, but he retired in 1830. He was one of those who formed the Langloan Company of Volunteers, c.1818. He married, August 1794, 'a woman of extraordinary energy', Jean (d. 1851), daughter of James Moffat of Airdrie, and had issue:
(1) Janet Baird (1794-1880), born at Woodhead, 6 December 1794; as a girl assisted her mother with the family and farm; married 1st, 15 December 1821 at Old Monkland, Alexander Whitelaw (d. 1826), son of Thomas Whitelaw, farmer, and had issue two sons and two daughters; after his death, managed their farm alone until she married 2nd, 2 December 1834, John Weir (d. 1885), and had further issue one son and one daughter (twins); her children played a large part in the later management of William Baird & Co. and the Eglinton Ironworks; died at Dumbeth House, Old Monkland, 9 December 1880; will confirmed 11 January 1881 (estate £12,333);
(2) William Baird (1796-1864) [see below, Baird of Elie House and Wellwood House];
(3) John Baird (1798-1870) (q.v.);
(4) Alexander Baird (1799-1862) (q.v.);
(5) James Baird (1802-76) (q.v.);
(6) Jane Baird (1804-82), born at Kirkwood, 24 August 1804; educated at Old Monkland and in Glasgow; married, 6 December 1831, Thomas Jackson (d. 1863) of Coats (Lanarks) and had issue three sons and six daughters; died 6 October 1882; will confirmed 8 January 1883 (estate £8,419);
(7) Robert Baird (1806-56) of Auchmedden, born at Kirkwood, 16 April 1806; educated at Glasgow University (MA 1828); apprenticed to James Taylor, WS, of Glasgow; set up in practice as a solicitor at Glasgow, but subsequently joined the office staff of William Baird & Co. (partner from 1840); managed Thankerton Colliery; a deputy governor of the Forth & Clyde Canal; a Conservative in politics; Dean of Guild of Glasgow at the time of his death; lived at Cadder House; bought the Auchmedden estate (Aberdeens.) in 1854; died unmarried and without issue at Cadder House, 7 August 1856 and was buried at the Glasgow Necropolis;
(8) Douglas Baird (1808-54), born at Kirkwood, 31 March 1808; educated at Old Monkland school and in Glasgow; a partner in George Baird & Co.; he managed the office at Gartsherrie and the Thankerton colliery; purchased the Closeburn Hall (Dumfriess.) estate, 1848, and retired from direct involvement in the family firm; married, 28 July 1851 at St George, Hanover Sq., London, Charlotte (c.1815-68), daughter of Capt. Henry Acton of 12th Lancers, and had issue two daughters; died suddenly, 7 December 1854, and was buried at Closeburn; will confirmed 21 December 1855 (estate £224,864);
(9) George Baird (1810-70), born at High Cross, 28 July 1810; educated at Old Monkland School; suffered an accident in childhood and afterwards was subject to epileptic fits for ten or twelve years; an officer in the Lanarkshire Yeomanry Cavalry (Capt.); from the 1830s, became a partner in William Baird & Co., and managed the colleries at Gartsherrie and from 1846 the Eglinton ironworks in Ayrshire; purchased the Strichen estate (Aberdeens.) in 1855 and succeeded his brother David at Stichill (Roxburghs) in 1860; DL for Berwickshire (form 1866); married, 15 November 1858 at St George, Hanover Sq., London, Cecilia (c.1827-95), daughter of Vice-Adm. Villiers Francis Hatton MP of Clonard (Wexford), and had issue one son; died at Strichen, 24 August 1870, and was buried at Stichill; will confirmed 8 October 1870 (estate under £1,000,000);
(10) David Buchanan Baird (1816-60), born at High Cross, 18 November 1816; educated at Old Monkland and Langloan schools and after his father's death at Edinburgh and in Paris (France); entered William Baird & Co. and became a partner in 1840; hunted with the Glasgow Hunt; purchased the Stichill estate (Roxburghs.) in 1853; suffered from mental illness from 1857 and died unmarried and without issue at Highgate Hall (Essex), 18 October 1860; he was buried with his parents at Old Monkland/Coatbridge; will confirmed 29 March 1861 (estate £156,434).
He lived as a tenant farmer at Woodhead, 1785-98, Kirkwood, 1798-1808 and High Cross, 1808-25, until he purchased Lochwood House, Old Monkland (Lanarks) in 1825.
He died at Newmains Farm, 23 December 1833 and was buried at Old Monkland/Coatbridge; his will was confirmed 25 July 1835 (effects £886). His widow died 8 July 1851 and was buried in the same place; her will was confirmed 18 August 1851 (effects £1,272).

James Baird (1802-76)

Baird, James (1802-76). Fourth son of Alexander Baird (1765-1833) and his wife Jean Moffat, born at Kirkwood, Old Monkland, 5 December 1802. Educated at Old Monkland parish school, but left at the age of 12 for a career in farming, and afterwards educated himself. From 1820, farmer at Newmains Farm, and from 1822 joined his brothers in managing the adjoining Merryston colliery. From 1826 he became principally involved in the management of the Gartsherrie coal and ironworks, and from his mechanical skill and inventiveness, he became the superintendent of the works, leaving the book-keeping to his brother William and the sales operation in Glasgow to his brother Alexander. Throughout his life he acquired land in Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and Fife, all primarily for mining purposes. In 1826 his father, two brothers and himself leased coalfields at Gartsherrie and in the vicinity, and in 1828 iron mines near by. After his father retired in 1830, the family's large ironworking interests were reorganised as William Baird & Co, with James in overall control. His improvements in machinery largely increased the output of his blast furnaces, which by 1864 had grown in number to nearly fifty, producing 300,000 tons annually and employing 10,000 hands. He was also a director of the Forth & Clyde Canal and invested heavily in railways, both in the UK and North America. He was Conservative MP for Falkirk Burghs, 1851-57; DL (from 1868) and JP for Ayrshire and DL for Inverness-shire (from 1859). He was for many years a member of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and invested some of his profits in public benefactions, founding schools to educate his workers, the Baird Lectures for the defence of orthodox theology, and the Baird Trust, which he endowed in 1873 with £500,000 to help the Established Church of Scotland to expand its mission. From 1844 he suffered from rheumatism, and in 1846 he travelled on the Continent in search of a cure. He married 1st, 10 February 1852 at Old Monkland, Charlotte (d. 1857), daughter of Robert Lockhart of Castlehill (Lanarks) and 2nd, 8 December 1859, Isabella Agnew (d. 1904), daughter of Adm. James Hay of Belton (East Lothian), but had no issue.
He bought the Greenfield estate (Ayrs.) in about 1853, built a new house there and named it Cambusdoon. In 1857 he bought , Knoydart (Inverness) as a retreat. He also bought Auchendrane (Ayrs.) in 1862, Muirkirk in 1863, and Drumellan in 1864. On the death of his brother Robert in 1856 he succeeded to Auchmedden (Aberdeens.).
He died 20 June 1876; his will was confirmed 31 August 1876 (estate £1,190,868). His first wife died in Nice (France), 29 December 1857. His widow died at Cambusdoon, 7 December 1904; her will was confirmed 18 February 1904 (estate £42,668).

Alexander Baird (1799-1862)

Baird, Alexander (1799-1862). Third son of Alexander Baird (1765-1833) and his wife Jean Moffat, born at Kirkwood, 29 December 1799. Educated at Old Monkland and Langloan schools. Soon after his brother William began managing a coalfield at Airdrie, he was established a Glasgow as a coal merchant to build the market for the firm's coal, and he later also undertook the same function in marketing the iron produced by William Baird & Co. He was a man of strongly Conservative opinions, and took a keen interest in politics. He was noted for his shrewdness in business and for his witty and sarcastic sayings. He was unmarried and without issue.
He purchased Ury House in 1854 and built a new house there in 1855. At his death the estate passed to his elder brother, John Baird.
He died in London, 2 March 1862, and was buried at Ury; his will was confirmed 19 March 1862 (estate £694,630).

John Baird (1798-1870)

Baird, John (1798-1870). Second son of Alexander Baird (1765-1833) and his wife Jean Moffat, born at Woodhead, 19 February 1798. Educated at Old Monkland, Langloan and New Monkland schools and at Glasgow University, where he did not complete his studies. Farmer at High Cross, Old Monkland, from 1830. A member of the Lanarkshire Yeomanry Cavalry, 1819-20. He was the only one of the Baird brothers who stuck to farming and did not join the family firm of ironmasters. DL for Kincardineshire; JP for Kincardineshire and Lanarkshire. He was described as 'a man of contented and joyous disposition..., great wit and readiness of repartee... good temper and kindliness'. In the 1860s, his health gave way and he was obliged to spend the winters on the Continent. He married, 5 December 1848, Margaret (1790-1883), daughter of John Findlay of Springhill (Lanarks), and had issue:
(1) Sir Alexander Baird (1849-1920), 1st bt. (q.v.);
(2) John Baird (1852-1900) of Lochwood, born 17 February 1852; educated at Harrow and Christ Church, Oxford; inherited Lochwood House from his father in 1870 and the Knoydart estate from his uncle James Baird in 1876, which he later sold; Unionist MP for NW Lanarkshire, 1885-86; DL and JP for Inverness-shire; married, 23 April 1878 at Henbury (Glos), Constance Emelia (c.1854-1914), second son of John Harford Battersby Harford of Blaise Castle (Glos) and had issue two sons and two daughters; died 8 July 1900 and was buried at Old Monkland; his will was confirmed 27 October 1900 (estate £63,560);
(3) Janet Findlay Baird (1861-1928), born 12 November 1861; married, 9 January 1884 at St George, Hanover Sq., London, Col. George Chalmer (d. 1895) of Tuchdairnie; died 21 April 1928 and was buried at Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh; will confirmed in Scotland, 7 June 1928 (estate £21,461) and sealed in London, 15 June and 30 August 1928.
He was gifted Lochwood by his brother in 1839 but did not move there until 1847. He purchased the adjoining Easterhouse estate in 1861. He inherited Ury House and Rickarton from his younger brother in 1862. At his death, Ury House passed to his elder son and Lochwood and Easterhouse to his younger son.
He died in Naples (Italy), 29 January 1870, but was buried at Ury; his will was confirmed 31 March 1870. His widow died 14 July 1883; her will was confirmed 20 October 1883 (estate £11,833).

Baird, Sir Alexander (1849-1920), 1st bt. Elder son of John Baird (1798-1870) and his wife Margaret, daughter of John Findlay of Springhill (Lanarks), born 22 October 1849. Educated at Harrow. As a boy his health was not robust and he first went abroad almost immediately after leaving school, and thereafter usually spent the winters abroad. He spent a large portion of his life in the Middle East, and especially in Egypt, where he later served as president of the Permanent Arbitration Board. He spoke fluent Arabic and was heavily involved in philanthropic projects in that country. Lord Lieutenant of Kincardineshire, 1889-1918. President of Kincardineshire Territorial Forces Association; DL for Aberdeenshire and Inverness-shire; JP for Inverness-shire. He was created a baronet, 8 March 1897 and appointed GBE, 1920, and also held the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Nile. He married, 16 July 1873, the Hon. Annette Maria (1851-84), daughter of Sir Lawrence Palk, 4th bt. and later 1st Baron Haldon, and had issue:
(1) Sir John Lawrence Baird (1874-1941), 2nd bt. & 1st Viscount Stonehaven (q.v.);
(2) Evelyn Margaret Baird (1875-1944), born 25 April 1875; JP for Wiltshire; married, 5 December 1907 at St George, Hanover Sq., London,, Lt-Col. Albert Edward Stanley Clarke DSO MVO (1879-1926), Scots Guards, only son of Maj-Gen. Sir Stanley Astel de Calvert Clarke GCVO and had issue one son and one daughter; died 12 October 1944; will proved 3 May 1945 (estate £16,648);
(3) Brig-Gen. Alexander Walter Frederick Baird (1876-1931), born 2 October 1876; educated at Eton and New College, Oxford; an officer in the Gordon Highlanders (2nd Lt., 1897; Capt., 1902; Lt-Col., 1914; Brig-Gen., 1916), who served in South Africa, 1899-1902 (despatches four times; DSO, 1902) and First World War, 1914-18 (despatches nine times; commanded 100th Infantry Brigade, 1916-19); appointed CB, CMG and a commander of the Legion d'honneur; as well as holding several other foreign orders; head of British military mission in Bulgaria, 1919; military attaché in Madrid, 1920 and at Constantinople and Sofia, 1921-24; secretary of the Carlton Club, London; married, 16 February 1907 (sep. c. 1920), Maud Constance (d. 1952), daughter of Charles William Waylen and formerly wife of Francis Carbutt Bell, and had issue one son; died as the result of a head-on collision between his MG and a bus, in which a passenger was also killed, 20 February 1931, and for which the bus company was later required to pay damages of £9,000 in a civil case; his will was proved 23 July 1931 (estate £6,089);
(4) Janet Norah Baird (1878-1943), born 7 January and baptised at St Saviour, Chelsea, 6 February 1878; married, 1 October 1902 at St Peter, Eaton Sq., London, Lt-Col. Sir Arthur George Ferguson CBE (1862-1935), HM Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland, son of Col. George Arthur Ferguson of Pitfour (Aberdeens) and had issue four sons and one daughter; died in Aberdeen, 15 October 1943; will proved 4 February 1944 (estate £3,811);
(5) Edith Annette Baird (1880-81), born in Cairo, 6 January 1880; died in infancy, 20 October 1881, and was buried at Ury;
(6) Nina Isabel Baird (1882-1919), born 20 March 1882; travelled extensively with her father in the Middle East and worked to improve the conditions of Bedouin women in Egypt; died unmarried of typhoid at Alexandria (Egypt), 10 August 1919; will confirmed 3 December 1919 (estate £14,540);
(7) Muriel Jane Baird (1884-1968), born 4 April 1884; married, 17 July 1909, Byron Vyner Basil Noel (1880-1959) of Brown's Hill, Instead (Norfk), but had no issue; died 31 December 1967; will confirmed in Scotland and sealed in London, 2 May 1968. 
He inherited Ury House and Rickarton House from his father in 1870, and extended Ury House in 1883-84.
He died at Matarieh, Cairo (Egypt), 20 June 1920; his will was confirmed 1 March 1921 (estate £285,805). His wife died 21 May 1884 and was buried at Ury; administration of her goods was granted, 6 March 1886 (effects £1,285).

Sir John Baird (1874-1941),
1st Viscount Stonehaven

Baird, Sir John Lawrence (1874-1941), 2nd bt. & 1st Baron and 1st Viscount Stonehaven. Elder son of Sir Alexander Baird (1849-1920), 1st bt. and his wife, the Hon. Annette Maria, daughter of Sir Lawrence Palk, 4th bt., 1st Baron Haldon, born 27 April 1874. An officer in the Diplomatic Corps, 1896-1908; MP for Rugby, 1910-22 and for Ayr, 1922-25. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Rt. Hon. Andrew Bonar Law, 1911-16; Under-Secretary of State for Air, 1916-18 and at the Home Office, 1919-22; First Commissioner of Works and Public Buildings and Minister of Transport, 1922-24; Governor-General of Australia, 1925-30 and Chairman of the Conservative Party, 1931-36. He served in the First World War as a Staff Captain in the Intelligence Corps (mentioned in despatches). DL for Kincardineshire; JP for Kincardineshire and Warwickshire. He was awarded the CMG, 1904; DSO 1915; and GCMG, 1925; and the Croix de Guerre and the Legion d'honneur (France), the orders of Leopold of Belgium, St Stanislaus of Russia; and of the Crown of Italy. He succeeded his father as 2nd baronet, 20 June 1920, and was appointed to the Privy Council, 1922; he was raised to the peerage as 1st Baron Stonehaven, 12 June 1925 and subsequently advanced to a viscountcy, 27 June 1938. He was awarded honorary degrees by the Universities of Aberdeen and Sydney (Australia), 1930. Major in the Scottish Horse (TF). and hon. Air Commodore No. 602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron, RAF, 1936. He married, 15 February 1905, Lady Ethel Sydney Keith-Falconer (1874-1974) (who succeeded her brother as 11th Countess of Kintore in 1966), elder daughter of Algernon Hawkins Thomond Keith-Falconer, 9th Earl of Kintore, and had issue:
(1) Hon. Annette Sydney Helen Mary Baird (1905-50), born 19 November 1905; married, 17 August 1925 at Fetteresso (Kincardines.), Lt-Cdr. Michael Henry Mason DL (1900-82), only son of James Mason of Eynsham Hall (Oxon), but had no issue; died 1 February 1950 and was buried at Ury; will proved 1 February 1951 (estate £16,603);
(2) James Ian Baird (later Keith-Falconer) (1908-89), 2nd Viscount Stonehaven and later 12th Earl of Kintore (q.v.);
(3) S/Ldr. Hon. Robert Alexander Greville Baird (1910-43), born 15 April 1910; educated at Eton and Royal Military College, Sandhurst; an officer in the Gordon Highlanders (Lt.) and later in the Royal Air Force (Pilot Officer, 1939; Fl. Lt., 1941; S/Ldr, 1942); acted as ADC to Governor-General of Australia, 1933; married, 30 March 1939, Dorviegelda Malvina (who m2, 15 November 1947, S/Ldr. Algernon Ivan Toby Sladen DSO (d. 1976), only son of Maj. Algernon Ryder Lambert Sladen of Virginia Water (Surrey) and died 1997), daughter of Alexander Ronald MacGregor of Cardney, Dunkeld (Perths) and had issue two sons and one daughter; killed in action at the Battle of the Ruhr, 14 July 1943 and buried at Les Hayons churchyard, Luxembourg; will confirmed in Scotland and sealed in London, 7 October 1943;
(4) Lady Ariel Olivia Winifred Baird CVO (1916-2003), born 16 August 1916; appointed a Lady in Waiting to HRH Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, 1940; appointed CVO, 1980; married, 25 April 1946 at St Mark, North Audley St., London (div., 1958), as his first wife, Lt-Col. Sir Kenneth Alexander Keith (created a life peer as Lord Keith of Castleacre, 1980) (1916-2004), elder son of Edward Charles Keith of Swanton Morley House (Norfk), and had issue one son and one daughter (twins); died 29 April 2003; will proved 24 July 2003;
(5) Lady Hilda Ava Fiona Nancy Baird (1919-2001), born 20 April 1919; married, 12 June 1945 in London, Lt-Col. Ronald Fulton Lucas Chance MC (1911-96) of Hill House, Twyford (Berks), eldest son of Walter Lucas Chance of Millgreen House, Wargrave (Berks), and had issue one son and one daughter; died 18 April 2001; will proved 24 September 2001.
He inherited Ury House and Rickarton House from his father in 1920. 
He died of a heart attack, 20 August 1941; his will was confirmed in Scotland and sealed in London, 12 August 1942. His widow died aged 100, 21 September 1974; her will was proved 19 November 1974 (estate £19,110).

(James) Ian Keith (né Baird)
2nd Viscount Stonehaven &
12th Earl of Kintore

Baird (later Keith), James Ian (1908-89), 2nd Viscount Stonehaven & 12th Earl of Kintore. Elder son of Sir John Lawrence Baird (1874-1941), 1st Viscount Stonehaven, and his wife, Lady Ethel Sydney Keith-Falconer (who succeeded her brother as 11th Countess of Kintore in 1966), elder daughter of Algernon Hawkins Thomond Keith-Falconer, 9th Earl of Kintore, born 25 July 1908. Educated at Eton and Royal School of Mines. An officer in the Royal Mechanical Engineers (Maj.) who served in Second World War; member of the Royal Company of Archers. Associate of the Royal Institution of Structural Engineers. He succeeded his father as a baronet and 2nd Viscount Stonehaven, 20 August 1941. After the Second World War he emigrated to South Africa, where he was a partner in an engineering firm in Johannesburg, returning in 1952. He changed his name to Keith in 1967 after he became heir apparent to the Earldom of Kintore, and succeeded his mother as 12th Earl of Kintore, 21 September 1974. Served as a British delegate to Council of Europe and Western European Union, 1955-58, 1961-65. Member of Kincardineshire County Council, 1954-75 (Vice-Convenor, 1967-73 and Convenor, 1973-75) and of Grampian Council, 1974-78. DL for Kincardineshire from 1959 (Vice-Lieutenant, 1965-76). He married, 5 March 1935, Delia Virginia (1915-2007), daughter of William Lewis Brownlow Loyd of Upper House, Shamley Green, Guildford (Surrey) and had issue:
(1) Lady Diana Elizabeth Virginia Sydney Baird (b. 1937) (q.v.);
(2) Michael Canning William John Baird (later Keith) (1939-2004), 13th Earl of Kintore [of whom an account will be given in a future post on the Keith-Falconer family, Earls of Kintore];
(3) The Hon. Alexander David Baird (later Keith) (b. 1946) of Banchory (Kincardines.), born 21 April 1946; educated at Tabley House School, Knutsford (Cheshire).
He inherited Ury House and Rickarton House from his father in 1941, but sold the Ury estate to meet death duties in 1944. On his return to England in 1952 he became the manager of the Ury estate. He inherited Keith Hall (Aberdeens.) from his maternal uncle in 1966, but sold it in 1984 to Kit Martin, who divided it into apartments. He lived subsequently in the former stables. The Rickarton House estate was occupied by his mother until 1974 and then sold to his son-in-law.
He died 1 October 1989. His widow died aged 91 at Inchmarlo House (Aberdeens.), 10 January 2007.

Baird, Lady Diana Elizabeth Virginia Sydney (b. 1937). Only daughter of James Ian Baird (later Keith), 2nd Viscount Stonehaven and later 12th Earl of Kintore, and his wife Delia, daughter of William Lewis Brownlow Loyd of Upper House, Shamley Green (Surrey), born 22 June 1937. She married, 20 July 1957, John Francis Holman OBE (1924-2015), farmer, eldest son of Alexander McArthur Holman of Springland, Millbrook (Jersey), and had issue:
(1) Richard Ian Holman (later Holman-Baird) (b. 1958) (q.v.);
(2) Edward Alexander Holman (b. 1960), born 15 February 1960; educated at Gordonstoun; entrepreneur; resident at Cuenca (Ecuador); 
(3) Georgina Mary Holman (b. 1962), born 4 October 1962; married, 1989, Jeremy Charles Hayward Stirrup (b. 1961), son of John Stirrup, and had issue two sons and one daughter;
(4) Emma Charlotte Holman (b. 1966), born 11 April 1966; teacher; married, 1990, Benjamin  Charles Cole (b. 1963), son of Anthony Brian Cole, and had issue one son and one daughter.
Her husband bought Rickarton House from her father in 1974.
Now living. Her husband died 3 February 2015.

Holman-Baird, Richard Ian (b. 1958). Elder son of John Francis Holman OBE (1924-2015) and his wife Lady Diane, daughter of James Ian Baird (later Keith), 2nd Viscount Stonehaven and 12th Earl of Kintore, born 2 September 1958. Educated at Gordonstoun. Took the additional name of Baird.  Farmer and landowner; huntsman for the Kincardineshire Hunt. He married 1st, Apr-Jun 1985, Saragh Evelyn (1959-87), daughter of Maj. Robert Wood of Glassonby (Cumbld), and 2nd, Apr-Jun 1996, Polly Sophia (b. 1958), daughter of Angus Thomson of London, and had issue:
(1.1) Louise Saragh Holman-Baird (b. 1986), born 21 December 1986; educated at Newcastle University; tour operator specialising in safaris in Africa;
(2.1) Angus John Holman-Baird (b. 1997), born 14 January 1997;
(2.2) Amelia Jo Holman-Baird (b. 1998), born 29 December 1998.
He inherited Rickarton House from his father in 2015.
Now living. His first wife died 7 May 1987 and was buried at Banchory (Aberdeens.). His second wife is now living.

Baird family of Elie House and Wellwood House

William Baird (1796-1864)

Baird, William (1796-1864). Eldest son of Alexander Baird (1765-1833) and his wife Jean Moffat, born at Woodhead, 23 April 1796 and baptised at Old Monkland/Coatbridge the following day. Educated at Old Monkland parish school, and was then sent to Berwickshire to learn the rudiments of farming, but he did not take to farming as a career. In 1816, therefore, his father rented a coalfield (Rochsolloch) near Airdrie, which he was sent to manage, and the scale of the operation was increased after they took Merryston (1820-26) and Gartsherrie (from 1826), where he rapidly expanded the works. After his father retired in 1830, he and his brothers formed William Baird & Co., with himself as senior partner. In about 1846 the firm's Ayrshire operations were transferred to a separate firm, the Eglinton Ironworks Co., which developed ironworks at Eglinton (from 1844), Muirkirk and Lugar (from 1856), and of which he also became the senior partner. He was a member of the Council of the Forth & Clyde Navigation and Chairman of the Caledonian Railway Co. He was described by his obituarist as 'a shrewd businessman, [with] great insight into character and the faculty of managing men and making them work well'. Conservative MP for Falkirk Burghs, 1841-46. DL for Ayrshire (from 1863). He married, 14 July 1840 at Scotch National Church, St Peter's Sq., Manchester, Janet (d. 1886), daughter of Thomas Johnston of Prestwich (Lancs) and Gartcloss, coal merchant, and had issue:
(1) Jane Baird (1842-1916), born in London, 6 February 1842; inherited Rosemount after the death of her mother; married, 17 June 1862 at St James, Piccadilly, London, Capt. James George Hay (1826-1913) of Belton (E. Lothian), eldest son of Rear-Adm. James Hay of Belton, but had no issue; died 26 June 1916; will confirmed, 28 November 1916 (estate £18,053);
(2) Alexander Baird (1846-50), born 24 February and baptised at New Monkland/Airdrie, 17 March 1846; died young, 17 August 1850 and was buried with his grandparents at Old Monkland/Coatbridge;
(3) William Baird (1848-1918) (q.v.);
(4) Janet Ann Baird (1850-68), born 5 July and baptised at Symington, 5 September 1850; died unmarried at Rosemount, 14 February 1868;
(5) Charlotte Baird (1852-1923), born 24 March and baptised at Symington, 6 May 1852; married, 25 October 1882 at St George, Hanover Sq., London, Capt. William George [k/a Bay] Middleton (1846-92), son of George Middleton of Barony (Lanarks), and had issue one daughter; died 30 September 1923; will proved 1923 (estate £85,546);
(6) John George Alexander Baird (1854-1917) (q.v.);
(7) James Douglas Baird (1856-1909), born at Rosemount, Symington (Ayrs.), 13 May 1856; an officer in the militia, 1877-78 and the army (2nd Lt., 1878; Lt., 1879; resigned 1884); died at Cap Martin, Mentone (France), 17 February 1909; died intestate; administration of goods granted to his brother, William, 27 July 1909 (estate £120,571);
(8) Mary Elizabeth Baird (1858-1943), born 26 March 1858; married, 30 June 1880, Col. Frederick Gordon Blair CB CMG (1853-1943) of Blair (Ayrs.), and had issue one daughter; died 23 October 1943;
(9) Cecilia Margaret Baird (1859-1940), born 20 September 1859; married, 6 July 1886, Henry Burn-Callander (1862-1928), of Westertown and Preston Hall, Dalkeith, and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 11 May 1940; will confirmed in Scotland and sealed in London, 11 January 1941.
(10) Henry Robert Baird (1861-1929) of Durris (Kincardines.), born at Rosemount, Symington (Ayrs.), 8 January 1861; an officer in the army (2nd Lt., 1880; Capt., 1884); one of the promoters of the Glasgow District Subway network, 1889; DL (from 1892), JP and County Councillor for Kincardineshire; President of the Deeside Agricultural Assoc., 1904; married, 31 August 1893 at Holy Trinity, Ayr, Florence Katherine, daughter of Frederick Villiers of Ayr and Chelsea (Middx), and had issue three sons; died 12 February 1929 and was buried at Symington (Ayrs.); will confirmed in Scotland, 25 February 1929 (estate £125,569) and sealed in London, 11 March and 31 May 1929;
(11) Brig-Gen. Edward William David Baird CBE (1864-1956), born 29 June 1864; educated at Eton and Royal Military College, Sandhurst; an officer in the army, 1885-92, 1896-1901, 1914-18 (Lt., 1885; Capt., 1891; Maj., 1896; Lt-Col., 1901; Col., 1906; Brig-Gen., 1915) who served in the Boer War (mentioned in despatches) and the First World War, when he commanded 179th Brigade; hon. Col. of Suffolk Hussars Imperial Yeomanry; appointed CBE, 1919; having been captain of his regimental polo team, in the intervals of his military career he was a successful racehorse trainer, winning the Grand National in 1888 and the St. Leger in 1907; he was a member of the Jockey Club for sixty-two years (steward, 1904-06); DL for Caithness (from 1920); JP for Caithness and Kincardineshire; he had houses at Kelloe, Edrom (Berwicks), at Forse, (Caithness), and Exning House (Suffk); married 1st, 17 October 1893, Millicent Bessie (d. 1936), second daughter of Maj-Gen. Sir Stanley Clarke GCVO CMG, and had issue four sons and three daughters; married 2nd, 28 April 1939, Helen Cicely (fl. 1967), daughter of Charles William Rudolph Kerr and widow of Maj. Archibald Edward Butter CMG of Faskally (Perths.); died aged 92, 8 August 1956; will confirmed in Scotland and sealed in London, 5 March 1957.
He leased Rosemount (Ayrs.) from 1845 and bought the freehold in 1853. In the same year he purchased Elie House (Fife) and with it the Barony of Pittenweem.
He died in Edinburgh, 8/15 March 1864 and was buried at Symington (Ayrs.); his will was confirmed 31 March 1864 and sealed in London, 19 April 1864; he was said to have left a fortune of £2m. His widow died 15 November 1886; her will was confirmed 29 December 1886 (estate £38,722).

William Baird (1848-1918)

Baird, William (1848-1918). Eldest surviving son of William Baird (1796-1864) of Elie House and his wife Jane, daughter of Thomas Johnstone, born 2 September 1848. Educated at Harrow School. His ruling passion was hunting to foxhounds, and he was Master of the Cottesmore Hunt, 1880-1900. JP for Ayrshire, Fife and Rutland and DL for Fife; High Sheriff of Rutland, 1894. An officer of Fife Artillery, 1889-96 (Lt-Col. and hon. Col.). In 1903 his wife founded Oakham Cottage Hospital with the primary aim of treating those injured while hunting, although it was open to the general population as well. He married, 19 July 1883 at St George, Hanover Sq., London, Caroline Muriel (1861-1932), only daughter of John Alexander Burn-Callandar of Preston Hall (Midlothian), and had issue:
(1) Ethel Mary Baird (1884-1969), born 31 December 1884; lived latterly at Windrush Manor (Glos); married, 27 February 1908, Lt-Col. James Huntley Dutton (1873-1949), 6th Baron Sherborne, of Sherborne Park (Glos) and later Lodge Park, Aldsworth (Glos), and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 30 September 1969; will proved 20 August 1970 (estate £6,285);
(2) Janet Muriel Baird (1891-1960), born Jan-Mar 1891; married, 7 August 1926, Capt. Henry Cecil Noel (1868-1931) of Catmose, Oakham (Rutland), second son of Rt. Hon. Gerald James Noel, but had no issue;  lived latterly at Croft House, Fairford (Glos); died 15 July and was buried at Fairford, 18 July 1960; will confirmed in Scotland and sealed in London, 12 October 1960;
(3) William James Baird (1893-1961) (q.v.).
He inherited Elie House and the Barony of Pittenweem from his father in 1864 and Cambusdoon (Ayrs.) from his uncle James Baird in 1876. However, he seems to have lived chiefly at Dean's Croft, Oakham (Rutland).
He died 29 June 1918; will confirmed 17 January 1919 (estate £654,461). His widow died at Forbes House, Ham (Surrey), 17 December 1932; her will was confirmed 22 February 1933 (estate £7,217).

Baird, William James (1893-1961). Only son of William Baird (1848-1918) of Elie House and Cambusdoon, and his wife Caroline Muriel, only daughter of John Alexander Burn-Callandar of Preston Hall (Midlothian), born 8 November 1893. Educated at Harrow and Royal Military College, Sandhurst. An officer in the 12th Lancers (2nd Lt., by 1914; Lt, 1915; retired 1920), who served in the First World War as an Aide de Camp. High Sheriff of Rutland, 1925. Member of Rutland County Council, 1931-45. Master of the Cottesmore Hunt, 1921-31 (jt, 1928-30). He married 1st, 28 May 1918 (div. 1936), Audrey Josephine Helen (1887-1952), younger daughter of John Porter Porter of Belle Isle (Fermanagh) and 2nd, 26 January 1937, Hon. Barbara Vernon OBE (1905-61), youngest daughter of Lewis Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt and formerly wife of Capt. Robert Charles Horace Jenkinson, and had issue:
(1.1) Lavinia Enid Muriel Baird (1923-2004), born 26 March 1923; County Superintendent of St John's Ambulance Brigade, 1955-57; Staff Officer to Superintendent-in-Chief, 1959-60; appointed OStJ, 1956; succeeded her father in the barony of Pittenweem, 1961, but sold it to William Ronald Crawford Miller WS in 1978; died unmarried, 26 October 2004, and was buried at Great Durnford (Wilts).
He inherited Elie House and the Barony of Pittenweem from his father in 1918 but sold the House in 1928. He also owned Ranksborough Hall, Oakham (Rutland) and Langston House, Chadlington (Oxon).
He died 2 February 1961; his will was proved in Scotland and sealed in London, 15 May 1961. His first wife died 22 February 1952; her will was proved 24 June 1952 (estate £3,825). His widow committed suicide, 19 May 1961; her will was proved 9 October 1961 (estate £204,454).

John George Alexander Baird (1854-1917)
by Frederick Sargent. Image: NGS.

Baird, John George Alexander (1854-1917). Second surviving son of William Baird (1796-1864) of Elie House and his wife Jane, daughter of Thomas Johnstone, born 31 May 1854. Educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1873). An officer in the Army, 1877-82 (Lt.) and the Ayrshire Imperial Yeomanry (Lt-Col.). Unionist MP for Glasgow Central, 1886-1906. DL for Ayrshire and JP for Ayrshire and City of Glasgow. Editor of The private letters of the Marquess of Dalhousie, 1910. He married, 10 November 1880 at Mahableshewar, Bombay (India), Susan Georgiana JP (1860-1951), daughter of Sir James Fergusson, 6th bt., of Kilkerran (Ayrs.) and his wife, Edith Christian, younger daughter of James Andrew Ramsay of Colstoun (East Lothian), and  had issue:
(1) Edith Christian Broun Baird (1893-1981), born 13 June 1893; inherited freehold of Colstoun (East Lothian) in 1898 and was given the remaining life-rent by her mother in 1930; appointed OBE, 1965; married, 26 July 1921 at St Peter, Eaton Sq., London, Maj. Sir Humphrey George Maurice Lindsay (later Broun-Lindsay) DSO MP (1888-1964), son of Alfred Lindsay, and had issue one son; died 4 April 1981;
(2) Mary Janet Baird (1895-1930), born 18 May 1895; married, 24 January 1925, Maj. Richard Alexis Downing Fullerton (1893-1965) of Hambleton Place (Oxon), younger son of George Frederick Downing Fullerton of Ballintoy (Antrim), Alveston (Glos) and Purley Park (Berks), and had issue one son; died 16 February 1930 and was buried at Purley (Berks); will confirmed in Scotland, 20 June 1930 (estate £3,816) and proved in England, 28 August 1930 (estate £6,080).
He inherited the Muirkirk estate from his uncle James Baird of Auchmedden in 1876 and built Wellwood House there. He purchased the life-rent of Colstoun from his wife's aunt's second husband. His widow sold Wellwood in 1925 and it was demolished in 1928 or 1936. She lived subsequently at Colstoun until 1930 when she made over the remainder of the life-rent to her elder daughter.
He died 6 April 1917; his will was confirmed in Scotland, 9 April 1918 (estate £157,668) and sealed in London, 17 April 1918. His widow died from injuries received in a fall, 13 July 1951; her will was confirmed in Scotland and sealed in London, 30 October 1951.

Sources

Burke's Peerage & Baronetage, 1967, pp. 2377-78; Burke's Peerage & Baronetage, 2003, pp. 2194-97; Burke's Landed Gentry, 1898, i, p. 56; Burke's Landed Gentry, 1952, p. 1527;  Burke's Landed Gentry, 1965, p. 33; "A. M." [Andrew McGeorge], The Bairds of Gartsherrie, 1875; J.M. Bullock, The Bairds of Auchmedden and Strichen, 1934; M.C. Davis, The castles and manors of Ayrshire, 1991, pp. 195, 399-400; J. Sharples, D.W. Walker & M. Woodworth, The buildings of Scotland: Aberdeenshire - South and Aberdeen, 2015, pp. 708, 760.

Location of archives

Baird family of Elie House: muniments, 1172-20th cent. [National Records of Scotland, GD147]
Baird family of Knoydart: estate papers, 1890-20th cent. [Highland Archives, Lochaber: L/D235]
Baird family of Ury and Rickarton, Viscounts Stonehaven: estate and legal papers and personal and business correspondence, 1824-20th century [Private collection: for access contact National Register of Archives, Scotland]
William Baird & Co. Ltd., iron and coal masters: company records, 1824-1971 [Glasgow University Archives UGD 164/1; Strathclyde University Archives T-BA and acc. 1485; North Lanarkshire Archives U8]

Coat of arms

Baird of Elie: Per pale, gules and or, a boar passant counterchanged.
Baird of Ury: Per pale engrailed, gules and or, a boar passant counterchanged.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 21 April 2018 and was updated 19 August 2018, 1 April 2019 and 30 May 2022.