7. The Wardlaw Quest

When William Wardlaw married Elizabeth Balfour, he was required to adopt the name Ramsay, and resorted to the combination Wardlaw-Ramsay. Generations of Wardlaws were in service with the East India Company and the British Navy, a tradition that persisted until the 20th century. Many of their ships notes and other records have been preserved. As an ancient Scottish family, they held on to their King James Bible and gloves as family treasures.

Wardlaw Ramsay book plate

This book plate is inside the fine two-volume Dore bible that was presented to Robert by his mother, Lady Anne, on the occasion of his…

Wardlaw Bible and Gloves

Among the treasures handed down by the Wardlaw side of the family were a precious Bible and gloves presented by King Charles I to Sir…

Mrs Wardlaw

Robert’s mother with her grandson, William, sketched by Lady Anne. A charming scene from the early years of Anne’s marriage to Robert. She can’t have…

Sketch of a group of ladies clustered around a fireplace

Anne Ramsay Wardlaw

Anne was the daughter of William Wardlaw, Captain with the Royal Navy. She lived in St John’s St, in the Canongate, Edinburgh, before settling in…

Ships’ logs and letters

Two pages from the ship’s log of William Wardlaw, master of HM Apollo. Dated July 1798, while sailing the Caisson Routes, presumably to the shipyards….

Miniature of John Wardlaw, by George Englehart painted in 1811,

John Wardlaw, General

The youngest of Captain William Wardlaw and Elizabeth Balfour’s sons, John opted for a military career. After the male heirs on the Balfour side had…