Biography

Patrick Heron. (ca. 1736-1803)

of Heron and Kirroughtrie (Kerrouchtree ?). Married (1761) to Jean Home, daughter of Henry Home, Lord Kames. They divorced in 1772 following Home's adulterous affair with a young officer. Married (1775) to Elizabeth Cochrane (1745-1811), Boswell's cousin.

Co-founder, with Archibald Douglas, of the Ayr bank Douglas, Heron & Company which went bankrupt in 1773, resulting in heavy financial losses for depositors and shareholders. Whig MP for the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright (1794-1803)

He was inherited by his only surviving child, his daughter, Mary (d. 1856), and son-in-law Lieutenant-General Sir John Maxwell (d. 1830), 4th Bart of Nova Scotia, who assumed the surname and arms of Heron.¹

The Kirroughtrie estate had been in the family's possession since 1465. Heron's Court in Edinburgh is named after Patrick Heron, who owned a building on or near the premises. (Link)

Possibly son of Patrick Heron, MP and Margaret McKie (Link). (see notes below)

Life with James Boswell:

Boswell stayed with the Herons at Kirroughtrie in late September and early October 1762. Boswell described Patrick Heron as "sensible, genteel, well-bred, has an uncommon good temper, and, at the same time, has all the spirit that becomes a man".

This article was last updated at January 31 2008 22:49:40 CET

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