Alexander Balfour (2 September 1824 – 16 April 1886) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

merchant and founder of the

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

shipping company

Balfour Williamson Balfour Williamson & Co was a shipping company based in Liverpool, England, and later an export confirming house and freight forwarding company. Latterly a subsidiary of Lonmin (formerly Lonrho). In October 2016 the company returned to famil ...

Early life

Balfour was born in Leven,

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

, as the eldest of three sons of Henry Balfour of Dawyck (1796–1854), member of the

landed gentry The landed gentry, or the gentry (sometimes collectively known as the squirearchy), is a largely historical Irish and British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a country estate. It is t ...

and a foundry owner, by his wife, Agnes Bisset (1804–1881).

Biography

He was educated at the

High School of Dundee The High School of Dundee is a private, co-educational, day school in Dundee, Scotland, which provides nursery, primary and secondary education to just over one thousand pupils. Its foundation has been dated to 1239, and it is the only private sc ...

and

St Andrews University The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, following the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, t ...

, and in 1844 moved to Liverpool, where in 1851 he founded Balfour Williamson with

Stephen Williamson Stephen Williamson (28 June 1827 – 16 June 1903) was a founder of the Liverpool shipping company Balfour Williamson & Co. and a Scottish Liberal Party politician. Biography He was born in Cellardyke, Fife in 1827, the son of Archibald Will ...

and David Duncan. He was a committed

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

, and founded the Duke Street Home, to provide better conditions for sailors, and orphanages for seamen's children. He co-founded

Edge Hill University Edge Hill University is a campus-based public university in Ormskirk, Lancashire, England. The university, which originally opened in 1885 as Edge Hill College, was the first non-denominational teacher training college for women in England, befo ...

(then Edge Hill College) in 1885, the first

non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. The term has been used in the context of various faiths, including Jainism, Baháʼí Faith, Zoro ...

teacher training college for women in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. There is a Halls of Residence called Balfour in his honour. He bought a country estate at Mount Alyn, at

Rossett Rossett ( or ) is a village, Community (Wales), community and electoral ward in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. Rossett is served by the A483 road. At the time of the 2001 United Kingdom Census, 2001 census, Rossett community (including Rosset ...

, south of

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

. He died there in 1886. Alexander is buried at Christchurch Cemetery, Rossett, Wrexham which is near to his former home

There is a statue of him by

Albert Bruce-Joy Albert Bruce-Joy (21 August 1842 – 22 July 1924) was an Irish sculptor working in England. His original surname was Joy but he became known under his hyphenated name Bruce-Joy later in life. He was the brother of the painter George W. Joy. B ...

in St John's Gardens, Liverpool.

Personal life

He was married to Janet Roxburgh (1844–1923), daughter of John Roxburgh, minister of the

Free Church of Scotland In contemporary usage, the Free Church of Scotland usually refers to: * Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), that portion of the original Free Church which remained outside the 1900 merger; extant It may also refer to: * Free Church of Scotland (1 ...

. Their offspring were: * Katherine Gray Balfour (18 January 1865 - 8 August 1865) * Agatha ''Agate'' Henrietta Balfour (1866-1958); married

Diarmid Noel Paton Diarmid Noël Paton (19 March 1859 – 30 September 1928), known as Noël Paton, was a Scottish physician and academic. From 1906 to 1928, he was the Regius Professor of Physiology at the University of Glasgow. Personal life and education Pat ...

, son of

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part ...

Joseph Noel Paton Sir Joseph Noel Paton (13 December 1821 – 26 December 1901) was a Scottish artist, illustrator and sculptor. He was also a poet and had an interest in, and knowledge of, Scottish folklore and Celtic legends. Early life Paton was born in W ...

; had issue * Alexander Balfour (1870–1876), died in infancy * Frederick Robert Stephen Balfour (1873–1945); married Gertrude Collet Norman (1878–1970) and had issue * Ernest Roxburgh Balfour (1874–1897) * Vera Balfour (1878–1965); married

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Angus Mathieson Stewart, M.B.E.; had issue * Margaret Balfour (1881–1967); married firstly

Thomas Arthur Nelson Captain (British Army and Royal Marines), Captain Thomas Arthur Nelson, (22 September 1876 – 9 April 1917) was a Scottish international rugby union player, soldier and publisher in his family's firm of Thomas Nelson (publisher), Thomas Nelson ...

. After his death in 1917, she married Paul Lucien Maze (1887–1979), an artist. * Archibald Balfour (1883–1958); married firstly to Pearl Isabel Alice Price (1882–1952). He married secondly to Lilian Helen Cooper (d. 1989). He had issue from both marriages. Among them is Neil Roxburgh Balfour, former husband of

Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia ( sr-Latn-Cyrl, Jelisaveta Karađorđević, Јелисавета Карађорђевић; born 7 April 1936) is a member of the royal House of Karađorđević, a human rights activist and a former presidential ...

and husband of Serena Mary

Spencer-Churchill Spencer-Churchill is a British double-barrelled surname of a branch of the Spencer family, a British noble family associated with the Marlborough dukedom. Notable members * Lord Alan Spencer-Churchill (1825–1873), British Army officer * Albe ...

Russell (b. 1944), daughter of

Edwin F. Russell Edwin Fairman Russell (July 15, 1914 – December 22, 2001) was an American newspaper publisher who had joined the Royal Navy to fight Germany before the United States entered World War II. Early life Russell was born on July 15, 1914, in Elizabe ...

, granddaughter of

John Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough John Albert Edward William Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough, (18 September 1897 – 11 March 1972), styled Marquess of Blandford until 1934, was a British military officer and peer. Early life He was born in London on 18 September ...

and a relative of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

References

*Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Balfour, Alexander 1824 births 1886 deaths People from Leven, Fife People educated at the High School of Dundee Alumni of the University of St Andrews 19th-century Scottish merchants Scottish philanthropists Scottish businesspeople in shipping Scottish company founders Businesspeople from Liverpool 19th-century Scottish businesspeople