Captain William Lindsay, RN

CAPTAIN WILLIAM LINDSAY RN

Captain William Lindsay RN, here treated, is not the same as William Lindsay of Pitcarity of Forfar RN (of Woodend)

Bogus Genealogy

Darryl Lundy's Peerage claims that Captain William Lindsay, RN., here treated, is the same person as William Lindsay of Pitcarity, who floruit 1753-82, but evidence which proves this, or would tend to suggest that it might be the case is not provided. Darryl Lundy's Peerage

Darryl Lundy's proposal totally ignores the fact that Captain William Lindsay was heir apparent to the Earldom of Crawford during his lifetime, and that he did not succeed when his elder brother John, the twentieth Earl, died without issue on 24 December 1749. The possibility, not to say probability of William having predeceased his elder brother is also suggested, if not actually confirmed by the fact that the Earl's only known heirs were his sisters, viz. the Lady Catherine Lindsay and the lady Mary Lindsay. NRS: GD20/1/828 Additional support for this proposition is provided by a decreet dated 4 March 1775, wherein the Lady Mary Lindsay is referred to as the only surviving co-heir of her deceased brother. The Scots Peerage III: 39

The Question of Identity

William Lindsay, here treated, is the son of John Lindsay, Earl of Crawford, and his wife Lady Emilia Stewart. The Scots Peerage III: 38 He was born before 3 April 1705, the date upon which his baptism was registered at Ceres in Fife, Scotland. His baptismal Record reads as follows: "3rd Aprile 1705. John Earle of Crawfurd & Dame Emillia Stuart his lady had a son bapt : William [Witness] Sir William Hope of Craighall WS". [National Records of Scotland, Ceres Baptisms, 1700-63, reference OPR.415/2] Image of Baptismal Record

Preferments

William Lindsay is said to have become a captain in the Royal Navy. The Scots Peerage III: 38

Death

A date and place of death has not been identified for Captain William Lindsay, although, according to William A. Lindsay, Rothesay Herald, writing in his account of the Lindsay Earls of Crawford, he died before 1 May 1755. The Scots Peerage III: 38

Rothesay Herald did not say what it was that led him to this conclusion, but we do know for certain that Captain William's elder brother John, the nineteenth Earl of Crawford, who died on 24 December 1749, had no male heir to succeed him. Captain William probably predeceased his brother the Earl, whose only surviving heirs were his sisters, the Lady Katharine Lindsay and the Lady Mary Lindsay. NRS: GD20/1/828 In a deed dated 4 March 1775 Lady Mary Lindsay is referred to as the only surviving co-heir of her deceased brother. The Scots Peerage III: 39

The Earldom of Crawford

John Lindsay, twentieth Earl of Crawford, died on 24 December 1749, and it is noteworthy that the Earldom of Crawford did not pass to his younger brother, Captain William Lindsay, RN. The Scots Peerage IV: 177

According Alexander Crawford, Earl of Crawford Lindsay: "John Earl of Crawford left no children, and his cousin George, fourth Viscount of Garnock, only surviving son of Patrick, the second Viscount, succeeded on his death ast the twenty-first Earl of Crawford. Lives of the Lindsays, Volume II, p. 250

Lady Catherine Lindsay and Lady Mary Lindsay, were co-heirs of John Lindsay, twentieth Earl of Crawford. On 4 March 1775, following the death of Lady Catherine, Lady Mary Lindsay is identified as the only surviving co-heir of her deceased brother.The Scots Peerage IV: 177

Evidence from the National Records of Scotland

12 February 1752: Decree of adjudication at the instance of Patrick Lindsay junior and William Douglas, merchants in Edinburgh, against Lady Katharine Lindsay, eldest sister of deceased John, Earl of Crawfurd, and spouse of Lieutenant John Wemyss of General Oglethrop's late Regt, and Lady Mary Lindsay, sister of the said deceased earl and spouse of [ Dugald ] Campbell of Glensaddell, in respect of the lands of Cassindillie and many others in the sheriffdom of Fife, dated 12 February 1752. National Records of Scotland, Papers of the Earls of Glasgow, reference GD20/1/828

Genealogy

1. The Scots Peerage. Founded on Wood's ed. of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland; containing an Historical and Genealogical Account of the nobility of that Kingdom. Edited by Sir James Balfour Paul, Lord Lyon King of Arms. Volume III (David Douglas, Edinburgh, 1906), 617 pp. plus errata
2. The Scots Peerage. Founded on Wood's ed. of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland; containing an Historical and Genealogical Account of the nobility of that Kingdom. Edited by Sir James Balfour Paul, Lord Lyon King of Arms. Volume IV (David Douglas, Edinburgh, 1907), 597 pp.
3. Stirnet: Lindsay 05