Tomas Kirkpatrick

Abt 1704 - 1771  (67 years)    Has more than 100 ancestors and 52 descendants in this family tree.

• Name	Tomas Kirkpatrick
  Birth	Abt 1704
  Gender	Male
  Death	Oct 1771
  Siblings	4 Siblings
  + 1. Tomas Kirkpatrick,   b. Abt 1704   d. Oct 1771  (Age 67 years) ▻ Susanna Grierson   2. James Kirkpatrick   d. Calcutta, Bengal, India + 3. William Kirkpatrick   d. 1777 ▻ Jean Erskine   4. Robert Kirkpatrick   d. Yes, date unknown   5. NN Kirkpatrick
  Person ID	I244109	Geneagraphie
  Last Modified	14 Jun 2001

  
  

  Father	Thomas Kirkpatrick   d. 1720
  Mother	Isabel Lockhart   d. Yes, date unknown
  Family ID	F98874	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Susanna Grierson   d. Yes, date unknown
  Children	1. Thomas Kirkpatrick + 2. James Kirkpatrick   d. 7 Jun 1840   3. George Kirkpatrick   d. Yes, date unknown + 4. William Kirkpatrick   d. Yes, date unknown   5. Isabella Kirkpatrick   d. Yes, date unknown + 6. Grizzel Kirkpatrick   d. Yes, date unknown   7. Jean Kirkpatrick   d. Yes, date unknown   8. Christian Kirkpatrick   d. Yes, date unknown
  Family ID	F98867	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	14 Jun 2001

  
  

• Notes

  3rd Baronet, succeeded his father in 1720 In an old seal of Sir Thomas' we find the Grierson arms borne on an escutcheon of pretence. Came into possession of his patrimony when quite young, and wasted his property in the most thoughtless extravagance. He travelled on the Continent spending profusely; on his return home he lived in a style of lavish recklessness. But the most ruinous expenditure was incurred in political contests. Various members of the family and their connections had so frequently sat in parliament for the County or Borough, that they thought themselves entitled to control the elections; but they now found their claim disputed by their powerful neighbour, the Duke of Queensbury, who determined to secure a seat for his own family. It appears from Oldfield’s Parliamentary History, that the contests were constant and severe. In 1725 there was a double return for the Borough, William Kirkpatrick, Esq. and Sir John Douglas, Bart.; but the latter waived his return. In 1735 there was a petition against the return, which was withdrawn. In 1741 there was another petition, but no proceedings on it. The County was also contested in 1735, by Alexander Ferguson, Esq., and in 1741 by Matthew Sharpe, Esq., connections of the family, and into all these contests Sir Thomas plunged, with a disregard to expense, which ultimately involved the family in very serious difficulties. In connection with these contests may be mentioned an anecdote told by Chambers in his Picture of Scotland. He says, “The Baronial family of Kirkpatrick, which is represented by Sir Thomas, the fifth Baronet, present Sheriff of Dumfriesshire, is the oldest in the County. Charles the good Duke of Queensbury once testified his respect in a remarkable manner. He was proceeding in his carriage with the eccentric Duchess Catherine towards Dumfries, in order to exert his influence at an election, when just as he approached the head of Closeburn avenue, the coach of Sir Thomas Kirkpatrick, who had taken a different side in politics, was observed to leave the house on its way to the same place for the same purpose. The Duchess felt great alarm at this, and thinking that priority of appearance at the market place would be favourable to the Queensbury influence, called out in her usual lusty way to the coachman, to drive with all his might, ‘else Tam of Closeburn will get in before us and lick the butter off our bread.’ The Duke was scandalized at the nickname she gave his friend Sir Thomas, and said, ‘Let me tell you, my Lady Duchess, this Gentleman’s ancestor was Knight of Closeburn, when mine was only Gudeman of Drumlanrig.’” This Duchess was The Lady Catherine Hyde, daughter of the Earl of Clarendon, celebrated by Pope, Swift, Prior, and Gay, for her beauty, wit, and sprightliness. On the night of Monday, 29th August, 1748, the house of Closeburn, built by the first Baronet, partly with the materials of the old Castle, of which he left nothing but the Keep, was burned to the ground, through the carelessness of a drunken servant of Sir Alexander Jardine of Applegarth, then a guest at Closeburn. The Jardines were neighbours and old friends of the family. Sir John Jardine, the second Baronet, married first, Catherine daughter of Sir William Lockhart of Carstairs, Bart., aunt of Sir Thomas Kirkpatrick, and niece of the Duke of Queensbury; and, secondly, Jane daughter of Charteris of Amisfield, into whose family the ancestor of Sir Thomas married in 1628, as above mentioned. In that fire were consumed all the family portraits, the greater part of the plate, all the furniture, and, with the exception of the few Charters quoted above, the whole of the documents and papers of any use or curiosity. After the destruction of Closeburn House Sir Thomas took up his abode in the old Keep. And now became too apparent the fact that his extravagance had involved him in serious difficulties. The blow was too heavy to be retrieved. There were no means for rebuilding the family mansion, and he died in the old Tower, in October, 1771. Grose, in his Antiquities of Scotland, published 1789, vol. i. p. 150, says, Closeburn Castle is situated about twelve miles north of Dumfries, and on the east side of a lough of eight acres. It is perhaps the oldest inhabited Tower in the south of Scotland. From the plan on which it was built, and the style of the mouldings of the door, which are the only ancient ornaments now remaining about the building, it seems that the date cannot be later than the beginning of the 12th century, probably earlier. The building is a lofty quadrilateral tower, all vaulted; the lower apartment was a Souterrain; the only communication with the hall or ground floor was by a trap-door; the walls twelve feet thick. The entrance door is under a circular arch, with the zigzag or dancette moulding rudely cut out of the hard granite. The approach to it was by a ladder, that could be taken in at any time, the present outer stairs being a very modern erection. The old iron door is still remaining. The hall was probably the dining-room, the guard-chamber, and the dormitory of the garrison when invested by an enemy. A small turnpike stair built in the wall led to the principal apartments. There is one stack of chimneys in the centre of the building. Above the hall there are two series of chambers with oaken floors. An Arched roof crowns the whole, and a way fenced with a parapet goes round the top. There is not any kind of escutcheon or armorial bearings on it, an additional proof of its antiquity. Although Sir Thomas by his recklessness involved his family in difficulties amounting to comparative ruin, and is therefore remembered by the succeeding generations with embittered feelings, it cannot be denied that he had his merits as well as his faults. He was talented and accomplished, highly popular in his manners, a good neighbour, and a warm friend. The family still possess letters addressed to him, subsequent to his misfortunes, manifesting the attachment and esteem of his correspondents. One dated the 20th of December, 1770, only a few months before his death, commences:- MY DEAR SIR THOMAS, My time since my return to town has been so entirely devoted to Indian despatches, that I have not yet found leisure to pay or receive personal visits. Even this on paper to you is amongst my first, and I beg you will accept it as expressive of that esteem and respect, which I can never separate from my idea of your character. The writer of this letter, Colonel James Kirkpatrick, son of James Kirkpatrick, M.D., was an officer of the East India Company’s Madras Establishment. He published in 1769 a pamphlet on the use of Light Troops, of which the Monthly Review of that date observes, ‘The proposal appears important and very judiciously planned. The author is an experienced Commander of Horse.’ He married Katherine, daughter of Andrew Munro, 1762, at Madras. He commanded the forces at Fort Marlborough, Sumatra, 1777. He returned home about 1779, and died at his seat, Hollydale, Kent, in 1818, in his 89th year. His father, James Kirkpatrick, M.D., the author of some poetical and medical works, died in 1770, in his 69th year. In the Middlesex Journal of that day he is thus noticed, ’Dr. Kirkpatrick, a gentleman who has left behind many proofs of a fine imagination in his poetical, and of great genius and learning in his physical productions.’ Colonel James Kirkpatrick left three sons, William, George, and James Achilles. William entered the East India Company’s Military Service, and soon distinguished himself by his professional talents and literary acquirements. He published a Vocabulary, Persian, Arabic, and English, 1785; selected Letters of Tippoo Sultaun, 1811; and in the same year ‘An Account of the Kingdom of Nepaul, being the substance of Observations made during a Mission to that Country in the year 1793,’ the preface of which commences, ‘No Englishman had hitherto passed beyond the range of lofty mountains, which separates the secluded valley of Nepaul from the north-eastern parts of Bengal.’ The Court of Nepaul, alarmed by an invasion from China, implored assistance from the Bengal Government, who sent Colonel Kirkpatrick (assisted by three other officers and a surgeon) as Envoy to the Court. His report was written for Government, and not for publication; and it was not till several years after it was written, that, on his return to England, he was reluctantly induced to publish the work, under the patronage of the Court of Directors. He had already distinguished himself when Lord Wellesley went out as Governor in 1798. In a dispatch to the Right Honourable Henry Addington, First Lord of the Treasury, dated Cawnpore, 10th of January, 1802, Lord Wellesley writes (see Introduction to the third volume of the Wellesley Dispatches, p. x.), ‘I fortunately found him at the Cape, on my way to India, and I have no hesitation in declaring, that to him I am indebted for the seasonable information which enabled me to extinguish the French influence in the Deccan, and to frustrate the vindictive projects of Tippoo Sultaun.’ He filled the offices of Resident at the Court of Scindiah, at Nepaul, and at Hyderabad; Commissioner for the Affairs of Mysore; Confidential Military Secretary; and Secretary to the Military Department of the Government. He was also appointed Resident at Poonah, when failing health obliged him to return to England in 1801, at the early age of forty-seven. Lord Wellesley, in his dispatch to Government, says, that he had served his country with the greatest honour and ability, and sums up his character in these words: ‘Lieutenant-Colonel Kirkpatrick’s skill in the Oriental languages, and his extensive acquaintance with the manners, customs, and laws of India, are not equalled by any person whom I have met in this country. His perfect knowledge of the native Courts, of their policy, prejudices, and interests, as well as of all the leading political characters among the inhabitants of India, is unrivalled in the Company’s civil or military service; and his integrity and honour are as universally acknowledged as his eminent talents, extraordinary learning, and political experience.’ Lord Wellesley offered in the handsomest terms to apply on his behalf for the English honours, which however he courteously declined. The correspondence is still preserved by the family. He died Major-General, in August, 1812, in his 58th year, leaving four daughters. Clementina, married to Admiral Sir John Louis, Baronet; Barbara, married Charles Buller, M.P., father of the late Charles Buller, Member for Liskeard, and of Sir Arthur Buller, Judge of the Supreme Court at Calcutta; Julia, married to Edward Strachey, late father of the present Sir Edward Strachey, Baronet; and Eliza, who died unmarried. George, the second son of Colonel James Kirkpatrick, was in the Company’s Civil Service at Bombay, and returned home in bad health in 1799. He died in Hollydale in 1838, in his 75th year, leaving two sons, the Rev. James Kirkpatrick of Hollydale, and John Kirkpatrick of Horton Park, Kent, and one daughter, Eleanor, married to Captain D. West. James Achilles, the third son of Colonel James Kirkpatrick, succeeded his brother William as Resident of the Court of the Nizam, and under his immediate command the French forces were compelled to lay down their arms, and the French influence in the Deccan was finally and totally destroyed. On this occasion Lord Wellesley wrote to him, ‘I am happy to express my entire approbation of the judgement, firmness, and discretion, which you have manifested during the important transaction, which have passed since the ratification of the new subsidiary treaty with the Nizam, and which have terminated so satisfactorily in the complete execution of the secret and separate articles of that engagement. Your conduct in the negociation of the treaty has already received my approbation.’ He died Lieutenant-Colonel at Calcutta in 1805, leaving one son, William, who died in 1828, and a daughter, Catherine Aurora, married to Captain James Winslow Phillips, 7th Hussars. Had his father’s life been spared a few years till his character was fully formed, and his expensive tastes controlled, the third Baronet would probably have proved, an ornament to the family, and have been remembered with pride and affection. Unfortunately, while yet a boy, he found himself in a position which flattered his imagination and dazzled his judgment. As not unfrequently happens, too much prosperity was the parent of misfortune. When altered circumstances put an end to the employments and excitements of his youthful career, he turned his attention to the cultivation of his paternal estates, and commenced that series of improvements by which their value has been enhanced tenfold; but unfortunately the fruits of these ameliorations were reaped by other hands, and the family now sees with feelings more painful than regret, the inheritance of their ancestors, the property of strangers.