James Fraser Tytler of Woodhouselee WS

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

(1780–1862) was a 19th-century Scottish lawyer and Depute to the

Lord Lyon The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new gran ...

, dealing with heraldic matters.

Life

He was born in or near

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

on 9 October 1780, the son of the eminent judge, Alexander Fraser Tytler, Lord Woodhouselee, and his wife, Ann Fraser of Balnain, and paternal grandson of William Tytler. In 1794 he was apprenticed as a lawyer to Richard Hotchkiss WS in offices on the south side of the

Grassmarket The Grassmarket is a historic market square, market place, street and event space in the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. In relation to the rest of the city it lies in a hollow, well below surrounding ground levels. Locati ...

, under the shadow of

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age. There has been a royal castle on the rock since the reign of Malcol ...

. He qualified as a

Writer to the Signet The Society of Writers to His Majesty's Signet is a private society of Scottish solicitors, dating back to 1594 and part of the College of Justice. Writers to the Signet originally had special privileges in relation to the drawing up of documen ...

in 1803 and set up practice in the

New Town New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...

at 9 Duke Street (later renamed Dublin Street). He was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

in 1821. His proposer was William Arbuthnot. At this stage he acted as legal advisor to the Scottish Tax Office at 12 North St David Street and lived in at 34

Charlotte Square file:Charlotte Square - geograph.org.uk - 105918.jpg, 300px, Robert Adam's palace-fronted north side Charlotte Square is a garden square in Edinburgh, Scotland, part of the New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site ...

, one of Edinburgh's most exclusive addresses. In 1827 he became Depute and legal advisor to the

and in 1829 he became Crown Agent and principal legal advisor to the

Lord Advocate His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate (), is the principal legal adviser of both the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolution, devolved powers of the Scottish P ...

. In later life he shared legal chambers with his son at 19 Castle Street. He died on the day following his 82nd birthday, on 10 October 1862. He is buried on the family estate at Woodhouselee near

Roslin, Midlothian Roslin (formerly spelt Rosslyn or Roslyn) is a village in Midlothian, Scotland, 11 kilometres (7 mi) to the south of the capital city Edinburgh. It stands on high ground, near the northwest bank of the river River Esk, Lothian, North Esk. ...

. The house is now demolished. He is also memorialised on the family vault in

Greyfriars Kirkyard Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 1 ...

, but the vault lies within the section known as the Covenanters Prison which is generally closed to the public.

Family

In 1810 he married Elizabeth Carmichael (d.1845). They were parents to James Stuart Fraser Tytler WS. He was brother of

Patrick Fraser Tytler Patrick Fraser Tytler FRSE FSA (Scot) (30 August 179124 December 1849) was a Scottish advocate and historian. He was described as the "Episcopalian historian of a Presbyterian country". Life The son of Alexander Fraser Tytler, Lord Woodho ...

. His uncle was Col Patrick Tytler.

References

1780 births 1862 deaths People from Midlothian Scottish lawyers Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh {{Scotland-bio-stub