A collection of correspondence, manuscripts and documents related to Sir William Pulteney, 5th Bart.; material deals primarily with his family, business dealings and political work.

William Johnstone, afterward Sir William Pulteney (1729-1805), 5th Bart., M.P. for Cromartyshire (1768-1774) and for Shrewsbury (1885-1805), and the author of several political pamphlets. He was the son of Sir James Johnstone, Bart. of Westerhall Co. Dumfries; in 1760 he married Frances Pulteney, the heiress of the estates of Sir William Pulteney, Earl of Bath (d. 1764) and General Harry Pulteney (d. 1767). After her death in 1782, Sir William Pulteney married Margaret, widow of Andrew Stewart of Castlemilk. Pulteney's "principal interests were in financial and economic matters, which encompassed American and East Indian affairs, agriculture, fisheries, and transport throughout Great Britain" (DNB); at the time of his death, William Pulteney was reputedly the wealthiest man in Great Britain. After Pulteney's death in 1805, his fortune passed to Henrietta Laura Pulteney, Countess of Bath, his only daughter and heir; in 1794 she married her cousin, Sir James Murray of Hillhead Co. Midlothian, Bart. (ca. 1751-1811) who assumed the additional name of Pulteney.

2,087 items in 36 boxes

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