William Duff, 1st Earl Fife
William Duff, 1st Earl Fife (1696 – 30 September 1763) was a Scottish nobleman.
The son of William Duff of Dipple, in 1719 he married Lady Janet Forbes, second daughter of James Ogilvy, Earl of Findlater and widow of Hugh Forbes, Younger of Craigievar. She died in 1720 and in 1723 he married Jean Grant, second daughter of Sir James Grant of Pluscardine, Bt. He inherited substantial estates from his father on his death in 1722.
He was Member of Parliament for Banffshire from 1727–34, and was created Lord Braco of Kilbryde in the Peerage of Ireland on 28 July 1735, and Earl Fife and Viscount Macduff, also in the peerage of Ireland, by letters patent dated 26 April 1759, after proving his descent from the MacDuffs, Earls of Fife.
He commissioned the construction of Duff House in Banff in 1740. He died in 1763, and was buried in the parish church of Grange, before being moved to the mausoleum at Duff House.
By the Countess Jean he had five sons and six daughters. The eldest, James, succeeded his father as Earl. On his death without issue in 1809, he was succeeded by his younger brother Alexander. Another son, Arthur, became a member of Parliament.
References
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Alexander Abercromby |
Member of Parliament for Banffshire 1727 – 1734 |
Succeeded by James Abercromby |
| Peerage of Ireland | ||
| New creation | Earl Fife 1759 – 1763 |
Succeeded by James Duff |
| Baron Braco 1735 – 1763 | ||
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