Wedderburn book; a history of the Wedderburns in ... - waughfamily.ca

INTRODUCTION.
l„iii.
Wedderburn, eldest son of his brother David. Sir James was, however, not a introi
pereona grata to liis uncle, by whose settlements, nuich to the disappoiutment
of his uephew, Pear.-sie was entailed on some of the descendants of Charles' sisters.
Of these, the eldest was Elizabeth, who had married James Graham of Jleathie
and Balmuir, and had issue, including two younger sons David (died 1858) and
John Graham (died 1870), who each in turn succeeded to Pearsie and assumed
the name of Wedderburn. Neither of them married, so that on the death of
the survivor of them iu 1870 the estate of Pearsie passed to Katharine
Stormonth, eldest daughter of Elizabeth Stewart (only surviving ciiild of
Charles Wedderburu's second sister Katharine, wife of Robert Stewart of
Dundee), who had married her first cousin, Alexander Stormonth (only son
of Charles' remaining sister, Isabel, wife of James Stormonth of Kmclune). I
I have (post, pp. .S^i-Gii) given in detail the descents from three married
daughters of Isabel Wedderburn (Mrs. Stormonth), and from a sister of
Katharine Stormonth, who succeeded to Pearsie, but here I refer only to the
possessors of the estate. Katharine Stormonth, who succeeded to ifc, as I have
shown, in 1870, had married in 1834 the Rev. James Maclao-an,
'^"'^ ^^ ^^ ''''.'^. ^ ""merous family, the whole of whom
Wedde^rbura"
of Pearsie. assumed the additional name of Wedderburn on their mother's
succession, although only the heir in possession was required to
do so by the entail. Mrs. Maclagan- Wedderburn died in 1891, when she was
succeeded by her eldest surviving son, Alexander Stormonth Maclagan-Wedderburn,
the present proprietor of the estate of Pearsie.
The male line of old Robert Wedderburn of Pear.sie is not, however,
extinct, but survives in the de.scendants of his third and youngest
The Webster- son, David Wedderburn, or Webster, for he a.ssunied the laUer
Wedderburns. name. He was born in 1757, and came south to euter the
mercantile house of the Websters, with wiiom he was connected
by marriage, though not by blood, his maternal grandmother, Beatrix Proctor,
having married secondly Mr. Webster, a merchant in Dundee, some of wimso
sons established themselves successfully in London as a firm of Ea,st ami West
India merchants. It was this firm which was subsequently carried ou by various
members of the Wedderburn family in later years, and it was thus that D.ivid
Wedderburn and his family, as well as James Graham of Mcathie (eldest
son of David's sister Elizabeth), came to assume the name of Webster. David
Wedderburn, who took the name of Webster in 1790, became chief j)artiier in
the house of Webster & Co., his co-partner in later years being iiis first
cousin, John Wedderburn of Spring Garden. He lived at Claphain, and later
at Shenley Hill, co. Herts, but did not survive till old age. dying of a decline
at Bath in 1801. He had married in 1785 Elizabeth Read, and by her (who
married secondly Robert Douglas of Brigton, co. Forfar, and died iu 1857) had
issue three sons, James, Charles, and David (born 1801, died 1816), and two
daughters, Anne (married Captain Douglas) and Mary (married George
Hawkins). These children were, on their father's death, left under the charge
of his surviving partners, John Wedderburn of Spring Garden and young .Sir
David Wedderburn, and it was thus that there ultimately arose the great suit
of Wedderburn v. Wedderburn, which lasted for over a quarter of a century,
and of which I have given a detailed history in the chapter of Part v.
entitled "The Wedderburn Firm and Suit." Shortly put, it may be thus
summed up. When David Webster died, John Wedderburn and Sir D.ivid
were at once executors of his will, interested to assess his share in the business
as high as possible, and his surviving partners, personally interested to a.s.st.-s it
as low as possible, and there were other complications owing to the nature
and condition of the business. They at once, however, nuuie
Wedderburn,'^' their valuation with absolute good faith, and, as it turned out.
1831-1856.
^j^}, absolute accuracy. Each of David's children was jjaid oti'