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Heir of the Fleming estates - Admiral Charles Elphinstone-Fleming of Cumbernauld
(1774 - 1840)
Basic information about this person: \click here\
Charles Elphinstone, a younger son of the 11th Lord Elphinstone, inherited the Fleming estates from his great-grandmother Lady Clementina Fleming, won them in the courts against his elder brother, and took the surname Fleming. A naval officer, he ended his career as Governor of Greenwich Hospital.
Family background
Charles was born in June 1774, the second son of John Elphinstone, 11th Lord Elphinstone, and Ann Ruthven. His grandmother was Lady Clementina Fleming, the heiress of the Earls of Wigtown, and his uncle was Admiral George Keith Elphinstone, Viscount Keith. Like his uncle, Charles made his career in the Royal Navy, eventually reaching the rank of admiral.
Winning the inheritance
In 1788, when Charles was fourteen, his grandmother conveyed the Fleming estates to him, passing over his elder brother John. She later appeared to change her mind, and after her death in 1799 the brothers contested the estates. On 19 January 1804 the Court of Session affirmed Charles’s title to Biggar and Cumbernauld, and when the House of Lords confirmed it in 1805 he took the additional surname of Fleming.
Selling the inheritance
After 1804 Charles sold most of his Fleming inheritance. In 1809 Biggar and Boghall produced a rental of about 955 pounds a year, but in 1826 he obtained an Act of Parliament allowing him to sell them. He kept Cumbernauld. In 1830 he voted at Dumbarton for the Whig candidate in an election that ended in a tie, decided by the presiding officer’s casting vote for the Tory.
Greenwich and death
In 1840 Charles was appointed Governor of the Royal Hospital for Seamen at Greenwich, but he died at Leamington on 30 October 1840.
Family and legacy
Charles married Donna Catalina Paulina Alessandro, a Spanish lady. Their children were John, later 14th Lord Elphinstone; and daughters Ann Elizabeth, Mary Keith, Maria Carlotta and Clementina. Clementina, as Viscountess Hawarden, became one of the most celebrated photographers of the Victorian age, and through her the Fleming inheritance passed to the Maude-Flemings.