|
|
|
|||||||||
 |
||||||||||
| (2256.2) | ||||||||||
| Robert
Ferguson
(1769–1840) Biographical MP for Kirkcaldy District 1837–40 Lord Lieutenant of Fife 1837–40† MP for Haddingtonshire (East Lothian) 1835–37 MP for Kirkcaldy District 1832–34 MP for Dysart Burghs 1831–32 MP for Fifeshire 1806–07 Ferguson, son of a wealthy and politically active Whig merchant, inherited strong party loyalties and eventually followed his father’s path into politics. Detained in France during the Napoleonic Wars, Ferguson expressed admiration for Charles James Fox, whose influence aided his eventual release. Upon returning to Britain, he stood for Parliament as a Whig, supported by party grandees despite controversy over his parole status, and won the seat for his county. Though not active in debate, he reliably backed key Whig causes, including abolition. After a brief withdrawal from politics and a scandalous marriage to Lady Elgin, Ferguson returned to public life, securing the Dysart Burghs seat in 1831 and maintaining his allegiance to the Whigs until his death in 1840. He was a member of the Royal Company of Archers in 1792. Son of William Ferguson (formerly Berry) and Jean Craufurd, he married Mary Nisbet in 1808, and had no issue. |
||||||||||
| |
||||||||||
 |
||||||||||
| |
||||||||||
 |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
