Earl of Stirling was a title in the

Peerage of Scotland The Peerage of Scotland (; ) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and for those peers created by the King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Union 1707, Treaty of Union, the Kingdom of Scots and the ...

. It was created on 14 June 1633 for William Alexander, 1st Viscount of Stirling. He had already been created a

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, of Menstrie,

Clackmannanshire Clackmannanshire (; ; ), or the County of Clackmannan, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, Council areas of Scotland, council area, registration counties, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland ...

in the

Baronetage of Nova Scotia Baronets are hereditary titles awarded by the Crown. The current baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier, existing baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland and Great Britain. To be recognised as a baronet, it is necessary ...

on 12 July 1625, then Lord Alexander of Tullibody and Viscount of Stirling on 4 September 1630, then Earl of Dovan in 1639. He was made Viscount of Canada at the same time that he was granted the earldom of Stirling. The other peerage titles were also in the Peerage of Scotland. The titles became dormant upon the death of the fifth Earl in 1739.

Earls of Stirling (1633)

William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling PC (c. 156712 February 1640) was a Scottish courtier and poet who was involved in the Scottish colonisation of Charles Fort, later Port-Royal, Nova Scotia in 1629 and Long Island, New York. His litera ...

(1576–1640) *William Alexander, 2nd Earl of Stirling (d. 1640) *Henry Alexander, 3rd Earl of Stirling (d. 1644) *Henry Alexander, 4th Earl of Stirling (d. 1691) *Henry Alexander, 5th Earl of Stirling (1664–1739)

Later claimants

William Alexander

William Alexander, a military officer from

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

who was a major-general in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

during the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, pursued a claim to succeed to the dormant earldom from 1756 to 1759. The claim from senior male descent from the first Earl's grandfather was ultimately turned down by the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

in 1762, although he was allowed to vote in the election of the

Scottish representative peers This is a list of representative peers elected from the Peerage of Scotland to sit in the House of Lords after the Acts of Union 1707 abolished the unicameral Parliament of Scotland, where all Scottish Peers had been entit ...

Alexander Humphrys-Alexander

In the 19th century, there was an attempt to assert that there was a new grant of the title of Earl of Dovan connected with the title of Earl of Stirling, and a new destination of descent for the title of Earl of Stirling, with the title claimed by Alexander Humphrys-Alexander (1783–1859).

Mary Hill, Marchioness of Downshire Mary Hill, Marchioness of Downshire and ''suo jure'' 1st Baroness Sandys (19 February 1764 – 1 August 1836), was a British peeress. She was born Mary Sandys, daughter of Colonel Martin Sandys (fourth son of Samuel Sandys, 1st Baron Sandys) an ...

brought a petition before the

in 1832, claiming that she would be the rightful heir as the descendant of Judith Alexander, sister of Henry Fifth Earl of Stirling. A court case filed in 1839 ruled that at least two of the seventeen documents in support of the case were forgeries; Humphrys-Alexander himself was acquitted of personal responsibility for making them. The case and the associated forgery was one inspiration for the very popular three-volume novel '' Ten Thousand a-Year'', by Samuel Warren (1807–1877). Warren also wrote directly of the case in his "Miscellanies", titling the article "The Romance of Forgery".

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stirling 1633 establishments in Scotland Noble titles created in 1633 Dormant earldoms in the Peerage of Scotland Alexander family (British aristocracy)

Earls of Stirling (1633)

Later claimants

William Alexander

Alexander Humphrys-Alexander

See also

References