Earl of Glencairn
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Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
of Scotland
Peerage of Scotland
The Peerage of Scotland is the division of the British Peerage for those peers created in the Kingdom of Scotland before 1707. With that year's Act of Union, the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England were combined into the Kingdom of Great Britain, and a new Peerage of Great Britain was...
in 1488 for the first Lord Kilmaurs (created 1450).
On the death of the fifteenth earl in 1796, there existing no original Letters Patent
Letters patent
Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...
of the creation nor a given remainder in the various confirmations in title of previous earls the title became dormant.
The earldom was claimed by Sir Adam Fergusson of Kilkerran, Bt., as heir of line of Alexander 10th, Earl of Glencairn and was opposed by Sir Walter Montgomery Cunningham of Corshill, Bt., as presumed heir male along with Lady Henriet Don, sister of the last earl, and wife of Sir Alexander Don of Newton Don, Roxburghshire
Roxburghshire
Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh is a registration county of Scotland. It borders Dumfries to the west, Selkirk to the north-west, and Berwick to the north. To the south-east it borders Cumbria and Northumberland in England.It was named after the Royal Burgh of Roxburgh...
. The House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
Committee of Privileges on July 14, 1797, chaired by the Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
(Lord Rosslyn
Alexander Wedderburn, 1st Earl of Rosslyn
Alexander Wedderburn, 1st Earl of Rosslyn was Lord Chancellor of Great Britain from 1793 to 1801.-Life:He was the eldest son of Peter Wedderburn , and was born in East Lothian....
), in deciding the claim of the first-named, took a view unfavourable to all the claimants, and adjudged, that while Sir Adam Fergusson had shown himself to be the heir-general of Alexander, 10th Earl of Glencairn who died in 1670, he had not made out his right to the title.
The current pretenders to the Earls of Glencairn are the Montgomery-Cuninghame Baronets, although no claim has as yet been forthcoming. However, it may be, pursuant to the Entail Act (1685) that under the terms of the 1709 entail of William, Earl of Glencairn, by which the Finlaystone Estates
Finlaystone House
Finlaystone House is a mansion and estate near Langbank, in Inverclyde, Scotland. It is located on the Firth of Clyde in the former county of Renfrewshire. Finlaystone was a property of the Dennistoun family, and passed to the Cunninghams in the 15th century. It was the seat of the Earl of...
along with the undifferenced arms of the Earls passed to Cunninghame Graham of Gartmore and Ardoch, that they have a better claim to the dignity, though, likewise, they have never petitioned for it.
Lords Kilmaurs (1450)
- Alexander Cunningham, Lord KilmaursAlexander Cunningham, 1st Earl of GlencairnAlexander Cunningham, 1st Earl of Glencairn, 1st Lord Kilmaurs was a Scottish nobleman.He was firstly created a Lord of Parliament in 1450, with the title Lord Kilmaurs....
(1426–1488) created Earl of Glencairn in 1488.
Earls of Glencairn (1488)
- .
- Alexander Cunningham, 1st Earl of GlencairnAlexander Cunningham, 1st Earl of GlencairnAlexander Cunningham, 1st Earl of Glencairn, 1st Lord Kilmaurs was a Scottish nobleman.He was firstly created a Lord of Parliament in 1450, with the title Lord Kilmaurs....
(1426–1488) - Robert Cunningham, 2nd Earl of Glencairn, was affected by the Act Rescissory of October 1488 and so was de jure Earl of Glencairn. He married **
- Cuthbert Cunningham, 3rd Earl of Glencairn (1470–1541), restored to the Earldom by the 1503 Act Revocatory.
- William Cunningham, 4th Earl of Glencairn (c. 1490-1547)
- Alexander Cunningham, 5th Earl of GlencairnAlexander Cunningham, 5th Earl of GlencairnAlexander Cunningham, 5th Earl of Glencairn was Scottish nobleman and Protestant reformer, prominent in the Scottish Reformation.-Biography:...
(d.1574) - William Cunningham, 6th Earl of GlencairnWilliam Cunningham, 6th Earl of Glencairn-Biography:He was the son of Alexander Cunningham, 5th Earl of Glencairn and Janet Hamilton, daughter of James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran. He married sometime before 24 August 1549 to Janet Gordon of Lochinvar . She was the daughter of Sir John Gordon of Lochinvar and Margaret Crichton...
(1526–1580) - James Cunningham, 7th Earl of GlencairnJames Cunningham, 7th Earl of GlencairnJames Cunningham, 7th Earl of Glencairn was a Scottish peer and member of the Privy Council of Scotland.-Early life:The eldest son and heir of William Cunningham, 6th Earl of Glencairn by his spouse Janet, daughter of Sir John Gordon of Lochinvar, James was engaged in the notorious Raid of Ruthven...
(1552–1630) - William Cunningham, 8th Earl of GlencairnWilliam Cunningham, 8th Earl of GlencairnWilliam Cunningham, 9th Earl of Glencairn , was a Scottish nobleman, Lord Chancellor of Scotland, and a cavalier. He was also the chief of Clan Cunningham....
(1575–1631) - William Cunningham, 9th Earl of Glencairn (1610–1664)
- Alexander Cunningham, 10th Earl of Glencairn (died without male issue, 1670).
- John Cunningham, 11th Earl of Glencairn (d.1703) succeeded his brother and matriculated the arms in 1672.
- William Cunningham, 12th Earl of Glencairn (d.1734)
- William Cunningham, 13th Earl of Glencairn (d.1775)
- James Cunningham, 14th Earl of Glencairn (1749–1791) unmarried; succeeded by his brother.
- John Cunningham, 15th Earl of GlencairnJohn Cunningham, 15th Earl of GlencairnJohn Cunningham, 15th Earl of Glencairn was a Scottish nobleman, cavalry officer, and finally a priest.The younger son of William Cunningham, 13th Earl of Glencairn John Cunningham, 15th Earl of Glencairn (1749 – September 24, 1796) was a Scottish nobleman, cavalry officer, and finally a...
(1750–1796) died without issue.