John Cornelius Fordyce (1735–1809) was Member of Parliament for

New Romney New Romney is a market town in Kent, England, on the edge of Romney Marsh, an area of flat, rich agricultural land reclaimed from the sea after the harbour began to silt up. New Romney, one of the original Cinque Ports, was once a sea port, w ...

from 1796 to 1802, and for

Berwick-Upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

from 1802 to 5 April 1803. He was the son of Thomas Fordyce of Ayton, an Edinburgh lawyer and Elizabeth Whitefoord, daughter of Adam Whitefoord, 1st Baronet. Fordyce became a banker and by the age of 24 was a Director of the Royal Bank. His own bank, Fordyce, Malcolm and Co., collapsed in 1772. He entered

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in 1796, sitting for New Romney until 1802 and then Berwick-Upon-Tweed until 1803. He was appointed Surveyor General of the Land Revenues of the Crown in 1794. He married Catharine, the daughter of

Sir William Maxwell, 3rd Baronet There have been seven baronetcies created for persons with the surname Maxwell, six in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia, and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. * Maxwell baronets of Calderwood (1627): see Baron Farnham * Maxwell baronets ...

of Monreith, Wigtown, and elder sister of

Jane Gordon, Duchess of Gordon Jane Gordon, Duchess of Gordon (''née'' Maxwell; 1748 or 1749 – 14 April 1812) was a Scottish Tories (British political party), Tory political hostess. Together with her husband Alexander, 4th Duke of Gordon, and son George, Marquess of Huntl ...

. The Fordyces had at least two sons and four daughters. One of their daughters, Magdalen, married William Blair, who went on to become the MP for Ayrshire. Another daughter, Jean, died suddenly and unwed in 1798. ''Bell's Weekly Messenger'', 4 Feb. 1798. Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Burney Newspapers Collection.

References

1735 births 1809 deaths Scottish bankers Scottish politicians Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1796–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub