William Adam of Blair Adam facts for kids
William Adam (born August 2, 1751, died February 17, 1839) was an important Scottish lawyer, politician, and judge. He held several key roles, including being the main legal advisor for Scotland (Solicitor General for Scotland) from 1802 to 1805. Later, he became the Lord Chief Commissioner of the Jury Court from 1815 until his death. This court was very important for introducing a new way of handling legal cases in Scotland.
William Adam's family sometimes had money problems. This meant he had to work very hard in his legal career. He eventually became the Lord Lieutenant of Kinross-shire, a high position in that area. One of his biggest contributions to Scottish law was helping to bring in trial by jury for civil cases. These are cases about disagreements between people, not about crimes.
William Adam's Life Story
William Adam was the only son of Jean Ramsay and John Adam. His father was an architect and master builder in Scotland. William's famous uncle was the architect Robert Adam.
William was born at Blairadam House, which is in Fife, Scotland. He went to the High School in Edinburgh. Then he studied law at the University of Edinburgh and Christ Church, Oxford. He continued his legal training in London to become an English lawyer. He became a lawyer in Scotland in 1773 and in England in 1782.
William Adam was a Member of Parliament (MP) for several areas. An MP is a person elected to represent a group of people in the country's government. He was an MP for Gatton from 1774 to 1780. This was a "rotten borough," meaning it had very few voters but still had a representative in Parliament. He also represented Wigtown Burghs and Elgin Burghs.
Later, he was an MP for Ross-shire and then Kincardineshire. He stayed in Parliament until 1812 when he became a judge.
Early in his political life, William Adam had very strong views on issues with America. He thought his political leader, Lord North, was too soft before the American War of Independence began. However, he later decided to support Lord North and became a loyal friend to him.
William Adam did not like another important politician named Charles James Fox. They even had a serious disagreement that led to a duel, which was a formal fight. He also spoke against Fox in Parliament.
Adam was given a government job called Treasurer of the Ordnance. This role involved managing money for military supplies. He held this job twice.
Even after his past disagreements with Charles James Fox, Adam later supported the idea of two political groups, the Fox-North Coalition, working together. He believed this was the best way to keep Lord North's party important. Adam also helped his political friends by gathering information about different voting areas in Scotland.
After this, he focused more on his legal career in England. Because he was friends with the Prince of Wales (who later became King George IV), he received more important jobs. He became the main legal advisor for Scotland (Solicitor General for Scotland) from 1802 to 1805. Then he was the legal advisor to the Prince of Wales himself. From 1806 to 1815, he was in charge of the Duchy of Cornwall, another role given by the Prince.
William Adam was the Lord Lieutenant of Kinross-shire from 1802 until he died. He also became friends with the famous writer Sir Walter Scott. In 1812, William Adam published a book called Vitruvius Scoticus. This book contained architectural drawings by his grandfather, William Adam, who had started the project in 1727.
When the Prince of Wales was ruling for his sick father (this time was called the Regency), William Adam received important judicial roles in Scotland. From 1814 to 1819, he was a judge in the Scottish Court of Exchequer, which dealt with government money. He became a member of the Privy Council in 1815. This is a group of important advisors to the monarch. He then became the main judge of the Scottish jury court from 1815 until his death.
William Adam lived at 31 Charlotte Square in Edinburgh in the early 1830s.
He passed away in Edinburgh on February 17, 1839. He was buried at Greyfriars Kirkyard in a large family tomb built for his architect grandfather, William Adam. His father, John Adam, is also buried there.
William Adam's Family
On May 7, 1777, William Adam married Eleanora Elphinstone. She was the daughter of Charles, the 10th Lord Elphinstone. They had six children:
- John (1779–1825): He worked for the East India Company and was acting Governor-General of India in 1823.
- Charles (1780–1853): He became an Admiral in the Royal Navy and was also an MP.
- William George (1781–1839): He was a lawyer and worked as the Accountant-General of the Court of Chancery.
- Frederick (1784–1853): He was a General in the British Army and served as the Governor of Madras from 1832 to 1837.
- Francis James (1791–1820): He died at sea from yellow fever.
- Clementina (died 1877): She married John Anstruther-Thomson in 1807.
