| Administrative History | Alexander Gordon, fourth Duke of Gordon, was born in June 1743 and inherited the dukedom on the death of his father in 1752. An easy-going man, he cared mainly for field sports and rural pursuits and he had Gordon Castle rebuilt. The size of his estate and the number of people dependent on it for their livelihood meant he was a significant figure in public life. He was made Knight of the Thistle, lord keeper of the great seal of Scotland, and lord-lieutenant of Aberdeenshire. He raised two fencible infantry regiments, both raised and disbanded in the 1790s, and also aided his son in raising the regiment later known as the Gordon Highlanders, with recruitment to which his first wife (Jane Maxwell) is supposed to have assisted. He was married twice, the second time to his long-term mistress, Mrs Jane Christie, and fathered a large number of children. Gordon died on 17 June 1827. George Gordon, 5th Duke of Gordon, was born in Edinburgh in 1770, the eldest son of the 4th Duke. As the Marquis of Huntly, he had an active military career, which led to the raising of the 100th Gordon Highlanders in 1794. The regiment was later renumbered as the 92nd., then formed the second battalion of the Gordon Highlanders following the Cardwell reforms of 1881. The regiment was amalgamated with the Queen's Own Highlanders in 1994 to form the Highlanders Regiment. The Marquis rose to the rank of Lieutenant General in 1808 and General in 1819, by which time he had also embarked on a conservative political career. He became Duke of Gordon on his father's death in 1827, and continued to serve in a number of public and military offices, as well as giving substantially to charities. He married Elizabeth Brodie in 1813 but they had no children, and on his death in 1836 the dukedom became extinct.
Consequently, the Marquisate and Earldom of Huntly passed to his kinsman, George Gordon, who became 9th Marquis of Huntly and 5th Earl of Aboyne. Charles Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond and Lennox (1791-1860), his nephew, assumed the additional surname of Gordon in 1836 and his son, Charles Henry Gordon Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond and Lennox (1818-1903), was created Duke of Gordon in 1876, being known thereafter as Duke of Richmond and Gordon. |
| Custodial History | MS 907 has the name Rev. Stephen Ree on it (he found it and gave it to J. M. Bulloch). The manuscript was presented by Rev. Stephen Ree to J. M. Bulloch in June 1906 and was apparently presented in turn by J. M. Bulloch to the University Library before December 1909. |
| Source | Bulloch; John Malcolm (1867-1938); literary critic. John Malcolm Bulloch was born in Aberdeen in 1867, the son of John Bulloch who edited 'Scottish Notes and Queries'. He contributed to 'Scottish Notes and Queries' from an early age, and graduated MA from Aberdeen in 1888. Active in student affairs, he was one of the originators of the Students’ Song Book in 1891 and worked on student magazines, thus paving the way for a career in journalism. Though he edited several illustrated papers, he eventually found his niche as a literary and theatrical critic in London, donating most of the books he reviewed to Aberdeen University Library. He also maintained his interest in the history of the North-East and produced scholarly works on the family of Gordon and the Territorial Army. He died in 1938, and his funeral took place in King’s College Chapel, Aberdeen. |
| Description | 1827-1906
Volume containing papers relating to the funerals of Alexander, 4th Duke of Gordon and George, 5th Duke of Gordon.
Detailed manuscript description of funeral procession of 4th Duke of Gordon as it passed through Edinburgh, with sketches of insignia worn, 12 July 1827 (folios 1-4)
Cutting from unidentified newspaper: gives account of death and procession of 5th Duke of Gordon (d. London, 28 May 1836; buried Elgin, 10 June 1836), followed by comment on end of the ducal line, undated. (folios 5 - 7)
Letter dated 7 June 1906 from Reverend Stephen Ree, Boharm, Banffshire to J. M. Bulloch. Encloses folios 1-4 which he had purchased from a second-hand bookseller; he knows nothing of its provenance. (folio 8) |