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| {{Short description|Earldom in the Peerage of Scotland}} | |||
| The title of Earl of Stirling was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1633. It became dormant upon the death of the fifth earl in 1739, although one William Alexander of New York; known to history as Major General Lord Stirling of the American Revolutionary Army pursued a claim to succeed to the dormant earldom in the early 1760s, which was ultimately turned down by the House of Lords. The earls bore the subsidiary titles of Viscount of Stirling (1630), Viscount of Canada (1633), Lord Alexander of Tullibody (1630), and Lord Alexander of Tullibody (1633). The earls were also Baronets Alexander, of Menstrie, in Logie, co. Clackmannan (Nova Scotia, 12 July 1625). Several hereditary Great Offices-of-State and related titles in Canada were/are held by the Earls of Stirling including Lieutenant-General of Nova Scotia 10 Sept 1621, Lord of Nova Scotia 10 Sept 1621, Lord High Admiral of Nova Scotia 28 May 1625, Lord Lieutenant of Nova Scotia 19 July 1625, Lord of Canada 2 Feb 1628, Lord Lieutenant of Canada 14 June 1633 (The Register of the Great Seal of Scotland). | |||
| {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} | |||
| {{Infobox nobility title | |||
| | name = Earldom of Stirling<br/><small>''Held with''</small><br/>Earldom of Dovan | |||
| | image = ]<br>] | |||
| | image_size = | |||
| | alt = | |||
| | caption = <div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> | |||
| ''']''' | |||
| <div class="mw-collapsible-content"> | |||
| '''Arms:''' ''Quarterly, 1st & 4th: Per pale argent and sable a chevron and a crescent in base counterchanged'' (Alexander of Menstrie); ''2nd & 3rd: Or, a lymphad sable between three crosses crosslet bottony fitchée gules 2 and 1'' (Stirling). ''In the point of honour, an escutcheon argent, a cross saltire azure charged with an escutcheon of the arms of Scotland (Nova Scotia)'' | |||
| </div> | |||
| </div> | |||
| | creation_date = 14 June 1633 | |||
| | creation = | |||
| | monarch = ] | |||
| | peerage = ] | |||
| | baronetage = | |||
| ⚫ | | first_holder = ] | ||
| ⚫ | | last_holder = Henry Alexander, 5th Earl of Stirling | ||
| | present_holder = | |||
| | heir_apparent = | |||
| | heir_presumptive = | |||
| | remainder_to = | |||
| | subsidiary_titles = Viscount of Canada<br>Lord Alexander of Tullibody<br>] | |||
| | status = Dormant | |||
| | extinction_date = 1739 | |||
| | family_seat = ] | |||
| | former_seat = | |||
| | motto = | |||
| | footnotes = | |||
| }} | |||
| ] | |||
| '''Earl of Stirling''' was a title in the ]. It was created on 14 June 1633 for ].<ref name = Grosart>{{DNB Cite|wstitle=Alexander, William (1567?-1640)|last=Grosart|first=Alexander Balloch|authorlink=Alexander Balloch Grosart|volume=01|pages=275}}</ref> He had already been created a ], of ], ] in the ] on 12 July 1625, then '''Lord Alexander of Tullibody''' and '''Viscount of Stirling''' on 4 September 1630, then '''Earl of Dovan''' in 1639.<ref name = Grosart/><ref>{{cite news|title=NOTES AND COMMENTS - Canada and the Peerage|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19080901.2.19?query=tullibody|access-date=2017-10-30|work=Volume XLV|agency=New Zealand Herald|issue=13843|date=1 September 1908}}</ref> He was made '''Viscount of Canada''' at the same time that he was granted the earldom of Stirling.<ref name="Britannica.com">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Alexander-1st-Earl-of-Stirling |title=William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling |encyclopedia=Britannica.com |access-date=2017-10-30}}</ref> The other peerage titles were also in the Peerage of Scotland. The titles became dormant upon the death of the fifth Earl in 1739. | |||
| There was an attempt to assert that there was a new grant of the title of Earl of Dovan in 1637 connected with the title of Earl of Stirling, and a new destination of descent for the title of Earl of Stirling, but the court case against Alexander Humphrys-Alexander (1783-1859) filed in 1839 ruled that the documents in support of such case were forgeries. | |||
| ⚫ | ==Earls of Stirling (1633)== | ||
| In August 1999 an American, Timothy Alexander of Greenan, Baron of Greenan in Scotland and former Scottish Editor of Burke's Peerage, used the ancient Scots Peerage Law process of an Assumption-at-Law to assume the titles. This is the normal process used for succession to dormant Scottish Peerage titles and the holder of an assumed title remains the title holder until and unless successfully challenged in a proper legal venue. No such legal action has been undertaken, nor is one possible under current law (House of Lords Act of 1999; Royal Warrant of June 2004 establishing the Roll of the Peerage). Scots Peerage Law differs on several major points from English Peerage Law and the process of succession is one of the most important differences, with English (and GB and UK) title holders having to first prove their claim, whereas Scottish title holders first assume their titles and are subject to a legal challenge only thereafter ("Hewlett on Scottish Dignities"; "The Sixteen Peers of Scotland"). In December 1999, the current Lord Stirling sat in the Peers Gallery on the floor of the House of Lords, as the Earl of Stirling, sitting as the guest of the then Leader of the House of Lords (House of Lords). | |||
| ⚫ | *] (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== | |||
| The current Earl of Stirling has petitioned for a resettlement-by-letters patent to eliminate the rules of male primogeniture with regard to the succession to his family's titles. This has not been approved by the present British Government and the current Earl lost an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (European Court of Human Rights, Alexander v. United Kingdom, #23913/04) over this issue on a legal point in 2005. | |||
| ===William Alexander=== | |||
| ], a military officer from ] who was a ] in the ] during the ], 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 ] in 1762, although he was allowed to vote in the election of the ].{{fact|date=October 2022}} | |||
| ===Alexander Humphrys-Alexander=== | |||
| ⚫ | Earls of Stirling (1633) | ||
| 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 ] (1783–1859). ] 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.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=House of Lords Journal |volume=64 |date=16 March 1832 |title=Marchss of Downshire's Petition respecting Assumption of Title of Earl of Stirling |first=A. H. |last=Alexander |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/lords-jrnl/vol64/pp100-103#h3-0003 |via=British History Online |access-date=13 July 2020 |page=100}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YkVKoWtpGOUC&q=The%20Stirling%20Peerage&pg=PP11 |title=The Stirling Peerage: Trial of Alexander Humphrys |publisher=William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh |date=1839 |access-date=February 24, 2012 |others=Macgregor, Simon (stenographer) and |editor-last=Turnbull |editor-first=William}}</ref> | |||
| ⚫ | |
||
| ⚫ | |||
| The case and the associated forgery was one inspiration for the very popular three-volume novel '']'', by ] (1807–1877). Warren also wrote directly of the case in his "Miscellanies", titling the article "The Romance of Forgery". | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| ⚫ | |
||
| *]: in 1664, the Duke of York, James II of England, purchased Long Island and other lands granted to Stirling in 1635 | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ==References== | |||
| *{{Rayment|date=February 2012}} | |||
| <references /> | |||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Stirling}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
Latest revision as of 22:20, 7 January 2024
Earldom in the Peerage of Scotland
| Earldom of Stirling Held with Earldom of Dovan | |
|---|---|
 
Arms: Quarterly, 1st & 4th: Per pale argent and sable a chevron and a crescent in base counterchanged (Alexander of Menstrie); 2nd & 3rd: Or, a lymphad sable between three crosses crosslet bottony fitchée gules 2 and 1 (Stirling). In the point of honour, an escutcheon argent, a cross saltire azure charged with an escutcheon of the arms of Scotland (Nova Scotia) | |
| Creation date | 14 June 1633 |
| Created by | Charles I of England |
| Peerage | Peerage of Scotland |
| First holder | William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling |
| Last holder | Henry Alexander, 5th Earl of Stirling |
| Subsidiary titles | Viscount of Canada Lord Alexander of Tullibody Baronet Alexander of Menstrie |
| Status | Dormant |
| Extinction date | 1739 |
| Seat(s) | Menstrie Castle |
Earl of Stirling was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created on 14 June 1633 for William Alexander, 1st Viscount of Stirling. He had already been created a Baronet, of Menstrie, Clackmannanshire in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia 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 (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 who was a major-general in the Continental Army during the American War of Independence, 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 in 1762, although he was allowed to vote in the election of the Scottish representative peers.
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 brought a petition before the House of Lords 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".
See also
- Province of New York: in 1664, the Duke of York, James II of England, purchased Long Island and other lands granted to Stirling in 1635
References
- ^ Grosart, Alexander Balloch (1885). "Alexander, William (1567?-1640)" . In Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 01. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 275.
- "NOTES AND COMMENTS - Canada and the Peerage". Volume XLV. No. 13843. New Zealand Herald. 1 September 1908. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
- "William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling". Britannica.com. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
- Alexander, A. H. (16 March 1832). "Marchss of Downshire's Petition respecting Assumption of Title of Earl of Stirling". House of Lords Journal. 64: 100. Retrieved 13 July 2020 – via British History Online.
- Turnbull, William, ed. (1839). The Stirling Peerage: Trial of Alexander Humphrys. Macgregor, Simon (stenographer) and. William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh. Retrieved 24 February 2012.