Sir Archibald Edmonstone, 1st Baronet

Who was Sir Archibald Edmonstone, 1st Baronet?

Sir Archibald Edmonstone, 1st Baronet, also 11th of Duntreath, was a Scottish politician.

Born at Dumbarton, Silver Banks, he was the son of Archibald Edmonstone, 10th of Duntreath, and his wife Anne Campbell. He was Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod in Ireland from 1763 to 1765. He succeeded his father in 1768. By the time of his inheritance he was Member of Parliament for the Dumbartonshire, to which seat he was elected in 1761, 1768, and 1774. In 1780 he was chosen for Ayr Burghs but was again Member for Dumbartonshire in 1790, and continued to hold this office until he retired from Parliament in 1799. A staunch Tory supporter, he upheld Lord North's government during the American War of Independence, and due to his public services, he was created a baronet on 20 May 1774.

Edmonstone married firstly October 1753, Susanna Mary Harenc, daughter of Roger Harenc, a French gentleman from Paris who had settled in England around 1720, and wife Susanna Hays. They had five sons and three daughters. Secondly he married Hester, daughter of Sir John Heathcoate, who died without children in 1797.