James Lindsay 7th Earl of Balcarres and 24th Earl of Crawford 1783 - 1869

James Lindsay 7th Earl of Balcarres 1783 - 1869, declared 24th Earl of Crawford in 1848,

Coutts Lindsay 2nd Baronet Trotter of Westville was cured by Samuel Hahnemann when he was taken ill at school in Versailles, and subsequently Antoine Henri Petroz became the family physician to the entire Lindsay family.

It has been written that James Lindsay was interested in astronomy and that he was a member of the Theosophical Society, though this cannot be correct as he died in 1869 and the Theosophical Society was founded in 1875.

However, Rosicrucian literature had been in the family library since the time of Alexander Lindsay 1st Earl of Balcarres, the family have long held Masonic connections and Rosicrucian connections dating back to David Lindsay 1st Lord Balcarres,

Edzell Castle is considered to have links to esoteric traditions, including Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry.

James Lindsay, 24th Earl of Crawford was born on 23 April 1783 at Balcarres, Fife, Scotland. He was the son of Alexander Lindsay 6th Earl of Balcarres and Elizabeth Dalrymple. He was baptised on 16 June 1783 at Kilconquhar, Fife, Scotland.

He married Hon. Maria Margaret Francis Pennington, daughter of John Pennington, 1st Baron Muncaster and Penelope Compton, on 21 November 1811 at Muncaster, Cumberland, England.

He died on 15 December 1869 at age 86 at Dun Echt, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. He was buried on 23 December 1869 at All Saints’ Church, Wigan, Lancashire, England. His will was probated on 14 March 1870, at under £7,000.

James Lindsay, 24th Earl of Crawford held the office of Member of Parliament (M.P.) (Tory) for Wigan between 1820 and 1825. He succeeded to the title of 7th Lord Lindsay and Balneil on 27 March 1825. He succeeded to the title of 8th Lord Lindsay of Balcarres on 27 March

1825. He succeeded to the title of 24th Earl of Crawford on 27 March
1826. He succeeded to the title of 7th Earl of Balcarres on 27 March
1827. He was created 1st Baron Wigan of Haigh Hall, co. Lancaster [U.K.] on 5 July 1826. In 1853 he unsuccessfully claimed the Dukedom of Montrose.

Children of James Lindsay, 24th Earl of Crawford and Hon. Maria Margaret Francis Pennington: **Alexander William Crawford Lindsay 25th Earl of Crawford 8th Earl of Balcarres**; Lt.-Gen. Hon. Sir James Lindsay+2 b. 25 Aug 1815, d. 13 Aug 1874; Colonel Hon. Charles Hugh Lindsay+2 b. 11 Nov 1816, d. 25 Mar 1889; Hon. Colin Lindsay+3 b. 6 Dec 1819, d. 28 Jan 1892.

At the death of Ludovic Lindsay, 16th Earl of Crawford, the title was passed, despite senior heirs, to a cousin, John, who had already been created Earl of Lindsay. The earldoms of Crawford and Lindsay continued to be united until George Lindsay Crawford, 6th Earl of Lindsay died unmarried in January 1808.

The two earldoms then became dormant until the respective heirs could prove their claims to the titles. In 1843, James Lindsay 7th Earl of Balcarres put forward his claim to the Earldom of Crawford; in 1848, the House of Lords allowed it.

The claim was based on the extensive research of his son **Alexander William Crawford Lindsay 25th Earl of Crawford 8th Earl of Balcarres**. It was held that the seventh Earl’s father, Alexander Lindsay 6th Earl of Balcarres, was the lawful successor to the earldom of Crawford (though he did not claim it); therefore, Alexander Lindsay, 6th Earl of Balcarres was posthumously declared the twenty third Earl of Crawford, and his son, the seventh Earl of Balcarres, became the twenty fourth Earl of Crawford. Thereafter, these two earldoms have remained united.

The subsidiary titles associated with the Earl of Crawford and Balcarres are: Lord Lindsay of Crawford (created 1398), Lord Lindsay and Balniel (1651) and Baron Wigan of Haigh Hall (1826). The former two subsidiary titles, as well as the two Earldoms, are in the Peerage of Scotland. The Barony is in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. By virtue of the title of Baron Wigan of Haigh Hall, the Earls of Crawford and Balcarres sat in the House of Lords until the passage of the Peerage Act 1963.

The present Earl sits in the House of Lords as Anthony Robert Lindsay Baron Balniel, a life peerage conferred on him in 1974 after he left the House of Commons and before the death of his father.

The Earl of Crawford is the hereditary Clan Chief of Clan Lindsay. The family seat is Balcarres House in Colinsburgh, Fife.

Of interest:

Alexander William Crawford Lindsay 25th Earl of Crawford 8th Earl of Balcarres 1812 - 1880, son of James Lindsay 7th Earl of Balcarres and 24th Earl of Crawford,was a Scottish peer and book collector. He was the author of the three volume Lives of the Lindsays genealogy.

Alexander William Crawford Lindsay was also an advocate of homeopathy, Vice President of the Liverpool Hahnemann Hospital and Homeopathic Dispensaries,, and a principle sponsor of homeopathy,

Coutts Lindsay 2nd Baronet Trotter of Westville 1824 – 1913

Emily Florence, the wife of James Lindsay 26th Earl of Crawford, opened the North of England Southport Children’s Sanatorium in 1878,