Thomas Cochrane acceded to the title of Earl of Dundonald on the death of his distant cousin, William Cochrane, the seventh earl, on 9 July 1758.[2] William, an army officer, had been killed at the Siege of Louisbourg, and died without issue.[1] As the eldest surviving son by then of William Cochrane of Ochiltree, Thomas had already inherited the family estates at Culross and Ochiltree.[1]
Family and issue
Cochrane was married twice, firstly to his cousin, Elizabeth Kerr, in 1721. They had two children, a son Thomas who died young, and a daughter Grizel.[1][4] Elizabeth died in 1743.
On 6 September 1744, Cochrane married Jane Stuart. They had a number of children, firstly Archibald, born in 1748, who became an inventor and succeeded his father in the earldom, and secondly Charles, born in 1749. He had an army career.[1] Charles married Catherine Pitcairn, the daughter of Major John Pitcairn. He distinguished himself during the American War of Independence by carrying despatches from Sir Henry Clinton to Lord Cornwallis at the Siege of Yorktown. Cornwallis made him his aide-de-camp. Charles Cochrane was killed shortly before the surrender.[1]
Thomas and Jane Cochrane's third son, John, was born in 1750; he became a prosperous contractor for the British army and navy. Their fourth, James Atholl, was born in 1751; he entered the church, becoming vicar for Mansfield and writing a number of books on various subjects.[5] Their fifth son Basil was born in 1753. He made a fortune supplying the Royal Navy in India. Their sixth son Alexander Forrester (later Alexander Inglis) was born in 1758, and entered the Royal Navy. He rose to be admiral of the white, an MP, and a Knight Grand Cross of the Bath.[1][5]
^ abcPaterson. History of the County of Ayr. p. 27.
^ abThorne. The House of Commons 1790-1820. p. 461.
References
Boswell, James; Temple, William (1997). Thomas Crawford (ed.). The Correspondence of James Boswell and William Johnson Temple: 1756 – 1777. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN0-7486-0758-7.
Cochrane, Thomas (1860). The Autobiography of a Seaman. Richard Bentley.
Dewar, Peter Beauclerk (2001). Burke's Landed Gentry of Great Britain: Together with Members of the Titled and Non-Titled Contemporary Establishment. Burke's Peerage. ISBN0-9711966-0-5.
Paterson, James (1852). History of the County of Ayr: With a Genealogical Account of the Families of Ayrshire. Vol. 2. J. Dick.
Salmon, Nathaniel (1759). A Short View of the Families of the Scottish Nobility: Their Titles, Marriages, Issue, Descents; ... To Which are Added, a List of All Those Peers who have Served in Parliament Since the Union. W. Owen.
Thorne, Roland G. (1986). The House of Commons 1790-1820. Boydell & Brewer. ISBN0-436-52101-6.