- Yes, date unknown
-
| Name |
William Ramsay |
| Gender |
Male |
| Death |
Yes, date unknown |
| Person ID |
I91940 |
My Genealogy |
| Last Modified |
2 Jul 2017 |
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| Notes |
- William Ramsay was a banker
- (Research):?? 1732-1807
There was a tradition in the family that John Ramsie (Ramsay) of Alloa was connected to the Ramsays of Barnton who bought Sauchie near Bannockburn. He might have been a brother of George Ramsay, Merchant and Stabler in Edinburgh who married Agnes Thom about 1745. They were the parents of the banker, William RAMSAY of Barnton.
It seems he bought Barton in 1785. Ramsay was a director of the Royal Bank of Scotland, and around 1794 commissioned Robert Adam to remodel and extensively extend King's Cramond for his son, George Ramsay. Once the work was complete Barnton was no longer required, and around 1800 it was demolished.
The Children of William Ramsay of Barnton, by the artist Alexander Nasmyth (1758-1840) is a vitally important example of the 18th century cult of child portraiture and one of the key works in Nasmyth's oeuvre. Redolent with detail and symbolism, it has not been seen on the market since it was commissioned in 1782 by the Edinburgh banker William Ramsay, (whose portrait by Raeburn was sold by Lyon & Turnbull in May 2008).
Pictured against the backdrop of Warriston House, each of William Ramsay's six children is identified by the initials painted beneath their likenesses: From left to right these are: MB, WW, PR, AN (Alison), GR (George) and WR (William).
An inscription on the reverse of the painting further identifies the sitters as, from left to right:
Agnes, wife of Col Matthew Baillie of Cairnbrae
Mary, wife of Captain Charles Hope Watson RN
Peter Ramsay
Alison, wife of Sir John Marjoribanks Bt of Lees
George Ramsay
William Ramsay
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