Thomas Cochrane, tenth earl of Dundonald (1775-1860)

Naval Officer

Thomas Cochrane joined the Royal Navy aged 17 where he gained skills and displayed a natural ability in seamanship. In 1802 he attended lectures at the University of Edinburgh given by Dugald Stewart and others. A year later he was assigned to protect fisheries north-east of Orkney. From the Azores station he gained many prizes from the war with Spain. He commanded an attack at the Battle of the Basque Roads in 1809. As Member of Parliament for Honiton and then for Westminster he spoke out against corruption and for reform. Conviction at the Great Stock Exchange Fraud trial of 1814, despite his plea of innocence, forced him to leave the Royal Navy. In 1822 he was invited to command the Chilean Navy against Spain. Success led to further commissions for the navies of Peru, Brazil and Greece. He succeeded to his father’s title on 1 July 1831. Queen Victoria reappointed him Knight of the Order of the Bath and from 1854 he held the honorary office of Rear Admiral of the United Kingdom. Thomas Cochrane, tenth earl of Dundonald, died in London on 31 October 1860 and was buried at Westminster Abbey.

Birth in 1775

Thomas Cochrane was born on 14 December 1775, the lawful son of The Right Hon[oura]ble Archibald Lord Cochrane and Ann Gilchrist his Lady. The entry in the Old Parish Register (OPR) for Hamilton gives the date of baptism as 1 January 1776.

Birth and baptism entry for Thomas Cochrane (66 KB jpeg)
National Records of Scotland, OPR 647/30, page 122

Marriage in 1825

The Honourable Thomas Cochrane, commonly called Lord Cochrane, married Catherine Corbet Barnes both of St Andrews parish. The entry in the Old Parish Register for Edinburgh states that they were married on 16 October 1825. There had been three pro[clamation]s of marriage and no objections. This follows their secret marriage at Annan in Dumfriesshire on 8 August 1812.

Proclamation and marriage entry for Thomas Cochrane (32 KB jpeg)
National Records of Scotland, OPR 685/1, page 288

Valuation Roll of 1855

In 1855 Thomas Cochrane, The Earl of Dundonald, is recorded in the valuation roll for Dundonald in the County of Ayr as proprietor of the Lands of Castlehill, tenanted and occupied by the heirs of Robert Faulds, Laurieston.

1855 valuation roll for the earl of Dundonald (42 KB jpeg)
National Records of Scotland, VR1855/90/4, folio 59