Sir James Cockburn, 8th Baronet (1729 – 26 July 1804) was a
Member
Member may refer to:
* Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon
* Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set
* In object-oriented programming, a member of a class
** Field (computer science), entries in ...
of the
Parliament of Great Britain
The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union 1707, Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a ...
for
Linlithgow Burghs
Lanark Burghs (also known as Linlithgow Burghs) was a district of burghs constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (at Westminster) from 1708 to 1832, representing a seat for one Member of Parliament (MP).
T ...
from 1772 to 1784 and a Director of the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
.
Family
He was a son of William Cockburn of Berwickshire and his wife and first cousin Frances Cockburn. His paternal grandparents were Sir Alexander Cockburn, 6th Baronet and his wife Mary Ancrum. His maternal grandfather was Dr James Cockburn of
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
.
Alexander and Dr James Cockburn were brothers. They were both sons of Sir Archibald Cockburn, 4th Baronet and his wife Marion Sinclair.
Marion Sinclair was a daughter of John Sinclair and Isabel Boyd. Her paternal grandfather was John Sinclair (d. 1649) and his wife Marion McCath .
Career
Cockburn joined the London firm of Henry Douglas, a wealthy merchant and his future father in law. He was a commissary to the Army in Germany during the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
and appointed Commissary General in 1762, after which he returned to London and became involved in the purchase of West Indian plantations and in East India politics.
In 1767 he was elected a Director of the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
(until 1769). He was re-elected in 1770 and in the following two years.
In 1772 he was also elected to Parliament to represent
Linlithgow
Linlithgow ( ; ; ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a historic route between Edi ...
, a seat he retained until 1784. He had bought the heritable position of Principal Usher of the White Rod in Scotland in 1766.
Baronetcy
His paternal grandfather Sir Alexander Cockburn, 6th Baronet died in May, 1739. Having survived his oldest son Archibald Cockburn, Alexander was succeeded by the eldest son of Archibald as Sir Alexander Cockburn, 7th Baronet.
The 7th Baronet died childless in 1745. James was his closest surviving male relative and thus succeeded his first cousin as the 8th Baronet.
Marriages and children
In 1755 James married his first wife Mary Douglas, the daughter of his business partner Henry Douglas of Friarshaw. They had three daughters:
*Frances Cockburn.
*Harriet Jane Cockburn, who married James Nicholas Duntze, son of
Sir John Duntze, Baronet
''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 of ...
*Mary Cockburn.
His first wife died on 5 April 1766. He remained a widower for three years. On 10 October 1769), Cockburn married his second wife Augusta Anne Ayscough. She was a daughter of
Francis Ayscough
Francis Ayscough (19 December 1701 – 16 August 1763) was an English tutor who taught George III and Clerk of the Closet to George's father Frederick, Prince of WalesSir James Cockburn, 9th Baronet (1771–1852),
Governor of Bermuda
The governor of Bermuda (officially Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Somers Isles (alias the Islands of Bermuda)) is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Bermuda.
For the purposes of this arti ...
.
*
Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet
Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet, (22 April 1772 – 19 August 1853) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. As a captain, he was present at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in February 1797 during the French Revolutionary ...
Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom
Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom is a now honorary office generally held by a senior (possibly retired) Royal Navy admiral, though the current incumbent is a retired Royal Marine General. Despite the title, the Rear-Admiral of the United Ki ...
,
Admiral of the Fleet
An admiral of the fleet or shortened to fleet admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to field marshal and marshal of the air force. An admiral of the fleet is typically senior to an admiral.
It is also a generic ter ...
and
First Sea Lord
First Sea Lord, officially known as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS), is the title of a statutory position in the British Armed Forces, held by an Admiral (Royal Navy), admiral or a General (United Kingdom), general of the ...
.
*
Sir William Cockburn, 11th Baronet
Sir William Cockburn, 11th Baronet (2 June 1773 – 30 April 1858) was a Church of England clergyman. He was Dean of York (1823–1858) and was famously defended on a charge of simony by his nephew Sir Alexander Cockburn, 12th Baronet in 1841.
B ...
(1773–1858),
Dean of York
The Dean of York is the member of the clergy who is responsible for the running of the York Minster cathedral. As well as being the head of the cathedral church of the diocese and the metropolitical church of the province, the Dean of York holds ...
, who married Elizabeth (died 1828), daughter of Sir
Robert Peel
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850), was a British Conservative statesman who twice was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835, 1841–1846), and simultaneously was Chancellor of the Exchequer (1834–183 ...
.''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'', 10 April 1841, p.6 col.b, reprinted from the ''Cambridge Advertiser''
* Alexander Cockburn (1776–1852) served as British Consul to Hamburg and the Hanse towns and later as
envoy extraordinary
An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...
and minister
plenipotentiary
A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of a sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word can als ...
to
Württemberg
Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart.
Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...
and the Republic of
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
. He married Yolande, daughter of the René Michel de Vignier de La Saline, vicomte de Vignier, of
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...
.
*Sir
Francis Cockburn
Lt-Gen. Sir Francis Cockburn (; 10 November 1780 – 24 August 1868) was a British colonial administrator who served in the British Army, and played an important role in the early settlement of eastern Canada.
Early life and marriage
Cockburn w ...
(1780–1868), a Lieutenant-General in the Army.
*Anna Augusta Cockburn. Married Charles Hawkins, Rector of
Kelston
Kelston is a small village and civil parish in Somerset, north west of Bath, and east of Bristol, on the A431 road. It is situated just north of the River Avon, close to the Kelston and Saltford locks. The parish has a population of 248.
...
and Prebendary of
York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...