Acheson+family

[|The Acheson noble pedigree] [|The Nova Scotia connection]

//[|Gosford Castle, Northern Ireland]//

//The Acheson noble pedigree//
The title Earl of Gosford was created in 1806 for Arthur Acheson, 2nd Viscount Gosford. The subsidiary titles held along with the Earldom are: Viscount Gosford (created 1785), Baron Gosford (1776), Baron Worlingham of Beccles (1835) and Baron Acheson (1847). The barony, viscountcy and earldom of Gosford are in the Peerage of Ireland, while the remaining baronies are in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The Earl is also a baronet, of Glencairny, Armagh, in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia. This was created on 1 January 1628.

//Baronets of Glencairny (1628)//
 * Sir Archibald Acheson, 1st Baronet (died 1634)
 * Sir Patrick Acheson, 2nd Baronet (c.1611-1638)
 * Sir George Acheson, 3rd Baronet (1629-1685)
 * Sir Nicholas Acheson, 4th Baronet (c.1656-1701)
 * Sir Arthur Acheson, 5th Baronet (1688-1749)
 * Sir Archibald Acheson, 6th Baronet (1718-1790) (created Viscount Gosford in 1785)

//Viscounts Gosford (1785)//
 * Archibald Acheson, 1st Viscount Gosford (1718-1790)
 * Arthur Acheson, 2nd Viscount Gosford (c. 1745-1807) (created Earl of Gosford in 1806)

//Earls of Gosford (1806)//
 * Arthur Acheson, 1st Earl of Gosford (c. 1745-1807)
 * Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford (1776-1849), elected a Representative Peer in 1811
 * Archibald Acheson, 3rd Earl of Gosford (1806-1864)
 * Archibald Brabazon Sparrow Acheson, 4th Earl of Gosford (1841-1922)
 * Archibald Charles Montagu Brabazon Acheson, 5th Earl of Gosford (1877-1954)
 * Archibald Alexander John Stanley Acheson, 6th Earl of Gosford (1911-1966)
 * Charles David Alexander John Sparrow Acheson, 7th Earl of Gosford (b. 1942)

The Heir Presumptive is The Hon Patrick Bernard Victor Montagu Acheson, (b. 1915) His heir is Nicholas Hope Carter Acheson (born 29 Oct 1947)

The Nova Scotia connection
In America in 1621 there was a New England, a New France, and a New Spain. An enterprising Scot, Sir William Alexander of Menstrie who was made a Knight in 1609, proposed that it might encourage development of a New Scotland if King James (VI of Scotland and I of England) were to offer a new order of baronets. The King who held court regularly at nearby Stirling, acted upon Sir William's idea. Cash for peerages was all the rage. His creation of clutches of Baronets of England in 1611 and the Baronets of Ireland in 1619 had raised £225,000 for the Crown.

At Windsor Castle on September 10, 1621 King James signed a grant in favour of Sir William Alexander taking up all of the lands ' between '//our Colonies of New England and Newfoundland, to be known as New Scotland// ' (Nova Scotia in Latin). This was an area larger than Great Britain and France combined. On October 18, 1624 the King announced his intention of creating a new order of baronets to Scottish ' //knichts and gentlemen of cheife respect for the birth, place, or fortounes// ',

James I died on March 27, 1625 but his heir, Charles I, lost no time in implementing his father's plan. By the end of 1625 the first 22 Baronets of Nova Scotia were created and, as inducements to settlement of his new colony of Nova Scotia, Sir William offered tracts of land totalling 11,520 acres ' //to all such principal knichts & esquires as will be pleased to be undertakers of the said plantations & who will promise to set forth 6 men, artificers or laborers, sufficiently armed, apparelled & victualled for 2 yrs// '.

Baronets could receive their patents in Edinburgh rather than London, and an area of Edinburgh Castle was declared Nova Scotian territory for this purpose. In return they had to pay Sir William 1000 merks for his ' //past charges in discoverie of the said country// '.

The harsh climate killed many of the early settlers but the fatal blow for those who remained came in 1632 when Charles I ceded the lands to Louis XIII of France and ordered the removal of the colony and destruction of Charles Fort at Port Royal. Sir William Alexander, who was born at Menstrie Castle in 1567, was by now Earl of Stirling and Viscount of Canada. He died bankrupt in London in 1644 and his embalmed body is interred in the family vault in the High Kirk of Stirling. In Halifax's Victoria Park a cairn dedicated to Sir William Alexander, often referred to as the "//Founder of Nova Scotia//", stands at one end, with a statue of Robert Burns at the other.

The Order of Baronets continued and grants of land were made until the end of 1639, by which time 122 baronetcies had been created, 113 of whom were granted lands in Nova Scotia. The Order continued until 1707, by which time 329 baronetcies were made. None of the 207 Baronets created after 1639 received land grants in Nova Scotia.

There are still about 100 Baronets of Nova Scotia in existence, many of them descendants of those who once owned land there - land which they never set foot upon.

//[|with acknowlegements to Marie Frazer]//