Peter Blackburn (MP)

Peter Blackburn (1811 – 20 May 1870)[1][2] was a British Conservative Party politician.

Peter Blackburn
Member of Parliament
for Stirlingshire
In office
5 February 1855 – 19 July 1865
Preceded byWilliam Forbes
Succeeded byJohn Erskine
Personal details
Born1811
Died (aged 58)
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative
Spouse
Jean Wedderburn
​
(m. 1835)​
Children13
Parent(s)John Blackburn
Rebecca Louise Gillies
RelativesColin Blackburn (brother)
Hugh Blackburn (brother)

Family and early life

Blackburn was the son of Jamaica proprietor John Blackburn of Killearn and Rebecca Louise Gillies, and the brother of Scottish Law Lord Colin Blackburn and mathematician Hugh Blackburn.[3][4] In 1835, he married Jean Wedderburn, daughter of James Wedderburn and Isabella Clerk, and they had at least eight sons and five daughters, including: John (born 1843); James (1845–1892); Peter (born 1847); Andrew Cathcart (1851–1887); Colin George (1853–1888); Hugh (born 1855); Adam Gillies (1858–1891); Arthur Octavius (1862–1889); Isabella; Rebecca Marion (died 1914); Jean; Helen Agnes; and Mary.[5][6][2][7][8][9]

Blackburn started his career in the military as a cornet in the 2nd Regiment of Life Guards in 1830, before retiring as a lieutenant in 1837. He then became a Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant for Stirlingshire. In 1846, he became chairman of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway.[10][8][9]

Political career

A Liberal-Conservative, Blackburn was elected MP for Stirlingshire at a by-election in 1855, caused by the death of William Forbes. In 1859, he was appointed a junior Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, although with little enthusiasm. In correspondence between the-then Chancellor of the Exchequer Benjamin Disraeli and Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, sent in August 1858, Smith-Stanley said: "Blackburn would be a respectable appointment, but there is no particular reason for him."[10][11][4]

He held the seat until 1865 when he was defeated by the Liberal John Erskine.[11] While being recognised as "shrewd, energetic and practical" in his role, his defeat was credited to impolite actions regarding the commercial treaty, the county franchise, and game laws.[8]

References
  1. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 5)
  2. "Peter Blackburn". The Peerage. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  3. Jones, Gareth H. (2004). "Blackburn, Colin, Baron Blackburn of Killearn". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/2510. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  4. "Peter Blackburn". Legacies of British Slave-ownership. University College London. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  5. Wedderburn, Alexander Dundas Ogilvy (1898). The Wedderburn book. A history of the Wedderburns in the counties of Berwick and Forfar, designed of Wedderburn, Kingennie, Easter Powrie, Blackness, Balindean and Gosford ... 1296-1896. [With plates, including portraits, facsimiles and genealogical tables.]. p. 314. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  6. Foster, Joseph (1886). The royal lineage of our noble and gentle families. Рипол Классик. pp. 50–51. ISBN 9785871806173. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  7. "Peter Blackburn". The Peerage. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  8. Nimmo, William; Gillespie, Robert (1880). "Titled and Untitled Aristocracy". The History of Stirlingshire (3rd ed.). London: Hamilton Adams and Co. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  9. Walford, Edward (1882). The county families of the United Kingdom. Рипол Классик. p. 55. ISBN 9785871943618.
  10. Disraeli, Benjamin (1982). Gunn, John Alexander Wilson; Wiebe, Melvin George (eds.). Benjamin Disraeli Letters: 1857-1859 (Illustrated ed.). University of Toronto Press. p. 230. ISBN 9780802087287. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  11. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
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