George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland
Encyclopedia
Background
Sutherland was the son of George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of SutherlandGeorge Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland
George Granville Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland KG , styled Viscount Trentham until 1803, Earl Gower between 1803 and 1833 and Marquess of Stafford in 1833, was a British peer....
. He was educated at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
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Political career
Sutherland was Member of ParliamentMember of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Sutherland
Sutherland (UK Parliament constituency)
Sutherland was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918. It represented essentially the traditional county of Sutherland, electing one Member of Parliament...
from 1852 until he succeeded his father as Duke in 1861.
Role in the Highland Railway
The Third Duke played a key role in the early history of the Highland RailwayHighland Railway
The Highland Railway was one of the smaller British railways before the Railways Act 1921; it operated north of Perth railway station in Scotland and served the farthest north of Britain...
, being a founder board member of the company and contributing extensively towards the Sutherland Railway
Sutherland Railway
The Sutherland Railway was a railway worked by, and later absorbed in 1884 by the Highland Railway running through Sutherland, Scotland. Sutherland is a former county, and former districts of the Highland region....
, building the Duke of Sutherland's Railway
Duke of Sutherland's Railway
The Duke of Sutherland's Railway was a railway built by the Duke of Sutherland when the Sutherland Railway which had powers to build north to Brora, stopped at Golspie...
out of his own pocket and also supporting the Sutherland and Caithness Railway
Sutherland and Caithness Railway
The Sutherland and Caithness Railway was a railway worked by, and later absorbed by the Highland Railway running through Sutherland and Caithness, Scotland. Caithness and Sutherland are former counties, and former districts of the Highland region.- History :...
. The Highland Railway operated these lines, absorbing them in 1884.
Family
He married, firstly, Anne Hay-MackenzieAnne Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland
Anne Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland , 1st Countess of Cromartie in her own right and known as the Marchioness of Stafford from 1849 to 1861, was a British peeress....
(1829–1888), later created Countess of Cromartie in her own right, on 27 June 1849, at Cliveden House in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
. They had five children:
- George Granville Sutherland Leveson-Gower (27 July 1850 – 5 July 1858), died young.
- Cromartie Sutherland Leveson-Gower, 4th Duke of Sutherland (20 July 1851 – 27 June 1913)
- Francis Mackenzie Sutherland Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl of Cromartie (3 August 1852 – 24 November 1893)
- Lady Florence Sutherland Leveson-Gower (died 10 October 1881), married Henry Chaplin, 1st Viscount ChaplinHenry Chaplin, 1st Viscount ChaplinHenry Chaplin, 1st Viscount Chaplin PC was a British landowner, racehorse owner and Conservative Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1868 until 1916 when he was raised to the peerage....
and had issue. - Lady Alexandra Sutherland Leveson-Gower (died 16 April 1891), died unmarried.
Sutherland married, secondly, Mary Caroline Blair, nee Michell, widow of Captain Arthur Kindersley Blair of the 71st Highland Light Infantry (died in a hunting accident in 1883 near Pitlochry) and daughter of Rev. Richard Mitchell, DD , Principal of this marriage caused a scandal because it took place less than four months after his first wife died, and the lady had been living with the Duke before marriage. (At the time of the marriage, the Duke had been living quietly in Tampa, Florida, for two months with Mrs Blair. At his death in 1892, the 3rd Duke tried to leave all his money to his second wife, who was later found guilty of destroying documents and was imprisoned for six weeks. The family later made a substantial settlement in her favour, enabling her to build Carbisdale Castle
Carbisdale Castle
Carbisdale Castle was built in 1907 for the Duchess of Sutherland and is now used as a youth hostel, operated by the Scottish Youth Hostels Association. It is located on a hill above the Kyle of Sutherland in the region of Ross and Cromarty in the Highlands. The castle is situated north of Culrain,...
between 1906 and 1917. Her first husband was apparently a dependent of the 3rd Duke, and was accidentally shot by him in 1883. He died at Dunrobin Castle
Dunrobin Castle
Dunrobin Castle is a stately home in Sutherland, in the Highland area of Scotland. It is the seat of the Countess of Sutherland and the Clan Sutherland. It is located north of Golspie, and approximately south of Brora, on the Dornoch Firth close to the A9 road. Nearby Dunrobin Castle railway...
, and was buried on 29 September 1892 at Trentham
Trentham, Staffordshire
Trentham is a suburb of Stoke-on-Trent, located to the south-west of the city centre and to the south of the neighbouring town of Newcastle-under-Lyme. Although the majority of Trentham is within the city limits, it is mostly separated from the main urban area by surrounding open space and the...
in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
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His widow, known as Duchess Blair, married thirdly on 12 November 1896 (sep 1904) as his second wife Sir Albert Kaye Rollit
Albert Rollit
Sir Albert Kaye Rollit was a British politician, lawyer, and businessman.Born in Hull, he became a solicitor and went on to become president of the Law Society. He later became a shipowner. In 1886 he was elected as a Conservative Member of Parliament for the South Islington constituency...
(1842–1922), MP for South Islington. She enjoyed an income of 100,000 pounds until her death according to one source.
Historical trivium
In 1871 the Duke of Sutherland sent a wild cat with a badly injured foreleg trapped in Sutherlandshire to the first Crystal Palace Cat Show held in July and organized by Harrison WeirHarrison Weir
Harrison William Weir , known as "The Father of the Cat Fancy", was an English gentleman and artist.He organized the first cat show in England, at The Crystal Palace, London, in July 1871. He and his brother, John Jenner Weir, both served as judges in the show...
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