Alexander Duff, 3rd Earl Fife

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The Earl Fife
Born
Alexander Duff

(1731-04-18)18 April 1731
Died17 April 1811(1811-04-17) (aged 79)
Duff House, Banff, Scotland
Spouse
Mary Skene
(m. 1775; died 1790)
Children6, including James, Alexander
Parent(s)William Duff, 1st Earl Fife
Jean Grant
RelativesJames Duff, 2nd Earl Fife (brother)

Alexander Duff, 3rd Earl Fife (18 April 1731 – 17 April 1811) was a Scottish nobleman.

Early life[edit]

Duff was born on 18 April 1731. He was a son of William Duff, 1st Earl Fife, and, his second wife, Jean Grant. Among his siblings were brothers James Duff, 2nd Earl Fife and Arthur Duff, MP for Elginshire. His sister, Hon. Helen Duff, married their father's cousin, Vice-Admiral Robert Duff. Before his parent's marriage, his father was married to Lady Janet Ogilvy (a daughter of the 4th Earl of Findlater).[1]

His paternal grandparents were merchant William Duff of Braco and the former Helen Gordon (a daughter of Sir George Gordon, Shire Commissioner in the Parliament of Scotland).[1] His maternal grandparents were Sir James Grant, 6th Baronet and the former Anne Colquhoun (a daughter of Sir Humphrey Colquhoun, 5th Baronet).[2]

Career[edit]

Upon the death of his elder brother, James, in 1809, he succeeded to the title of Earl Fife. In addition to that title, he succeeded as the 3rd Viscount MacDuff and the 2nd Baron of MacDuff.[3]

Personal life[edit]

On 17 August 1775 he married Mary Skene (1754–1790), daughter of George Skene, 18th of Skene, at Carriston, Angus.[4] Together, they were the parents of two sons and four daughters, including:[5]

Lord Fife died on 17 April 1811 at Duff House in Banff. He was succeeded by his eldest son, James.

Descendants[edit]

Through his second son, Alexander, he was a grandfather of James Duff, 5th Earl Fife, who married Lady Agnes Georgiana Elizabeth Hay (a daughter of William Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll and Lady Elizabeth FitzClarence, an illegitimate daughter of King William IV),[10] and George Skene Duff, an MP for Elgin Burghs.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Foster, Joseph (1882). Members of Parliament, Scotland: Including the Minor Barons, the Commissioners for the Shires, and the Commissioners for the Burghs, 1357-1882. On the Basis of the Parliamentary Return 1880, with Genealogical and Biographical Notices. Hazell, Watson and Viney. p. 106. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  2. ^ Fraser, Sir William (1869). The Chiefs of Colquhoun and Their Country. T. and A. Constable. p. 22. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  3. ^ Mosley, Charles (2003). Burke's Peerage Baronetage & Knightage: Clan Chiefs, Scottish Feudal Barons, 107th Edition, Volumes I-III. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke’s Peerage and Gentry LLC. pp. I., 1759.
  4. ^ G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume V, page 378.
  5. ^ a b c d e Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, page 1426.
  6. ^ Fisher, David R. "DUFF, Hon. Alexander (?1777-1851), of Delgaty Castle, nr. Turriff, Aberdeen". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  7. ^ "James Duff, 5th Earl of Fife". www.npg.org.uk. National Portrait Gallery, London. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  8. ^ "History of Kennetpans". Kennetpans Trust. 5 September 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  9. ^ "ORTON HOUSE (LB15828)". portal.historicenvironment.scot. Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  10. ^ Tayler, Alistair; Tayler, Henrietta (August 2001). Lord Fife and His Factor Being the Correspondence of James Second Lord Fife, 1729 - 1809. The Minerva Group, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89875-571-8. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Earl Fife
1809–1811
Succeeded by