Alexander Smith, 4th of Glassingall

1770 - 1849  (78 years)

• Name	Alexander Smith
  Suffix	4th of Glassingall
  Residence	1770	Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland   [1]
  Born	4 Feb 1770	Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Baptism	Edinburgh Parish, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland   [1]
  Died	1849	Glassingall, Dunblane, Perthshire, Scotland
  Person ID	I21720	Brown Genealogy
  Last Modified	19 Sep 2024

  
  

  Father	Thomas Smith, Sr.,   b. Abt 1740, Scotland ,   d. UNKNOWN
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Helen Jaffrey, Heiress of Glassingall,   b. 3 Feb 1740, Stirling, Stirlingshire, Scotland ,   d. UNKNOWN
  Relationship	natural
  Married	12 Jul 1761	Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland   [2, 3]
  Family ID	F7356	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Alexander was the younger son of Thomas Smith and Helen Jaffrey, Heiress of Glassingall. As the younger son, the estate of Glassingall should have passed to his older brother, Thomas. However the estate went to Alexander instead. Allegedly, Thomas and Alexander fell in love with the same woman and struck a deal whereby Thomas gave up his rightful interest in the estate of Glassingall in exchange for Alexander withdrawing his love interest in the woman. Her name is lost to history. Their alleged real-life love triangle provided some of the inspiration for author Robert Louis Stevenson for the story in his novels, Kidnapped and Catriona, in which Alexander is portrayed very unflatteringly as the villanous and miserly character of Ebenezer Balfour of Shaws. The fictional estate of Shaws is based on the real life estate of Glassingall. Alexander also owned a townhouse, called Glassingall House, at 30 Bow Street in the town of Stirling. Alexander has not been identified in the 1841 census Alexander died intestate and without children in 1849 so the estate of Glassingall reverted to the Crown. 18 people laid claim to the estate, most of whom were distant relatives from among various descendant branches of the Stewarts of Annat. The ultimus haeres hearings lasted from 1849-1856. Ultimately, the court found in favour of his illegitamite nephew, Thomas Stuart Smith, whose real-life persona provided the inspiration for the central character of Davie Balfour in Kidnapped and Catriona.

  
  

• Sources

  [S380] Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Lehi, UT, USA; Date: 2014;). https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XT5C-ZMK [S1378] Scotland, Extracted Parish Records, 1571-1997, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Lehi, UT, USA; Date: 2017;), Extracted Church of England Parish Records; Title: Various publications of parish and probate records. [S1378] Scotland, Extracted Parish Records, 1571-1997, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Lehi, UT, USA; Date: 2017;).