William Grant, Lord Prestongrange

Wikipedia Biographical Summary

"William Grant, Lord Prestongrange (1701–1764), was a Scottish politician and judge...

...Grant was procurator for the Church of Scotland and Clerk to the General Assembly in 1731. He campaigned against patronage in the Church. He was appointed Solicitor General for Scotland in 1737 and promoted to Lord Advocate in 1746. He was Member of Parliament for Elgin Burghs from 1747 to 1754, and carried bills for the abolition of heritable jurisdictions, wardholding and for annexation of forfeited estates to the Crown. He was appointed a Lord of Session and Justiciary as Lord Prestongrange in 1754, and a Commissioner of annexed estates in 1755...

...William Grant was the second son of Sir Francis Grant, Lord Cullen, by his second wife, Sarah, daughter of the Rev. Alexander Fordyce of Ayton, Berwickshire. He was admitted an advocate on 24 February 1722, and on 13 May 1731 was appointed procurator for the church of Scotland, and principal clerk to the general assembly...

...He was for the third time returned for the Elgin burghs at the general election in May 1754, but vacated his seat on his appointment as an ordinary lord of session and a Lord of Justiciary in the place of Patrick Grant, Lord Elchies. He took his seat on the bench on 14 November 1754, and assumed the title of Lord Prestongrange. In the following year he was appointed one of the commissioners for the annexed estates. Grant died at Bath on 23 May 1764, aged 63, and was buried on 7 June following in the aisle of Prestonpans Church, Haddingtonshire, where a monument in the churchyard was erected to his memory...

...Grant married Grizel (died 1792), daughter of the Rev. — Millar. They had four daughters."

SOURCE: Wikipedia contributors, 'William Grant, Lord Prestongrange', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 13 July 2012, 18:19 UTC, <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Grant,_Lord_Prest...> [accessed 3 September 2012]