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James Tod of Deanston

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

James Tod of Deanston and Hope Park WS FRSE (c.1795–1858) was a 19th-century Scottish lawyer, antiquary and landowner.

Life

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Great King Street, Edinburgh

He was born around 1795 the eldest son of James Tod of Hope Park, on the south-east side of the Meadows, Edinburgh.[1]

His mother was living as a widow at Hope Park in south Edinburgh in 1813/14.[2]

He was apprenticed to David Wemyss WS from around 1811. The office was at 55 George Street in Edinburgh's First New Town.[3]

He qualified as a Writer to the Signet in 1820. He then set up his own offices at 21 Dublin Street.[4]

Around 1830 he acquired the large estate of Deanston west of Stirling.

In 1848 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers was James David Forbes.[5]

By 1855 he was living in a huge Georgian townhouse at 55 Great King Street in Edinburgh's Second New Town.[6]

He died on 26 March 1858.

Recognition

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The name of Hope Park survives in the street-names Hope Park Terrace and Hope Park Crescent.[7]

Artistic Recognition

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His photograph (an early calotype of 1844 by Hill & Adamson) is held by the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.[8]

Family

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In 1830 he married Susan Mercer, daughter of James Mercer of Scotsbank.[9] Her brother Robert Mercer married Elizabeth Scott-Moncrieff (1802-1871), daughter of Very Rev Henry Moncrieff of Tullibole Castle near Fossoway.[10]

References

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  1. ^ Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1800
  2. ^ Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1814
  3. ^ Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1815
  4. ^ Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1825
  5. ^ Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002 (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. ISBN 0-902-198-84-X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  6. ^ Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1855
  7. ^ Edinburgh Street Atlas
  8. ^ "James Tod, d. 1858. Of Deanston; solicitor [c]".
  9. ^ Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine September 1830
  10. ^ Honest George, by Eileen Stewart