Sir James Fergusson of Kilkerran


(Lord Kilkerran)

1688 - 1759

Jurist. Born into an Ayrshire family, Fergusson was most-likely educated at the University of Edinburgh and in Leyden. He was admitted as an advocate in 1711. In 1726 he was to marry well - Lady Jean Maitland was a grand-daughter of both the Earl of Lauderdale and the Earl of Sutherland - and the couple had fourteen children. Fergusson succeeded his father as a Baronet in 1729. He served as the Member of Parliament for Sutherland (1734-35), was appointed a Lord of Session in 1735, taking the title Lord Kilkerran, and created a Lord of Justiciary in 1749.

He spent his final years in the Pear Tree House on Edinburgh's South Side and is remembered as one of the most able lawyers of his time. His youngest son, George Fergusson (1743 - 1827), was also a successful lawyer, becoming Lord Hermand.


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