Noble and mason. Ramsay studied law and was admitted as an Advocate in 1757. He succeeded his brother Charles, becoming the 8th Earl of Dalhousie in 1764. He married in Edinburgh in 1767. As a result of the death of his maternal cousin, General William Maule, the Earl of Panmure (1700-82), Ramsay inherited the bulk of the Panmure estates, with the remainder given to his second son, William Ramsay (1771 - 1852).
Ramsay was notable as the Grand Master of Masons in Scotland. He was also a High Commissioner of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. He died in Abbeville (France).