Frederick Lewis Maitland (Royal Navy officer, born 1730)

Frederick Lewis Maitland
Born	1730
Died	1786
Allegiance	Great Britain
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	– 1786
Rank	Captain
Commands held	HMS Lively HMS Elizabeth
Relations	Frederick Lewis Maitland (son)

Frederick Lewis Maitland (20 Jan 1730 – 16 Dec 1786)^[1] was a distinguished officer of the Royal Navy.

Maitland was born the sixth son of , the sixth earl of Lauderdale and Lady Elizabeth Ogilvie. His younger brother Col the Hon. John Maitland successfully defended Savannah against a combined French and American siege in 1779. He was named after his godfather, Frederick, Prince of Wales.^[1]

Naval career[]

He entered the Navy in 1748 serving as a midshipman on HMS Tavistock and He was promoted to lieutenant in June 1750, joining in Barbados. and commanding HMS Lively with distinction in October 1760 at the Battle of the Windward Passage. He moved to take command of HMS Elizabeth in 1778, and in 1782 found himself serving under Admiral George Rodney. His capable command of several Navy ships led to a period commanding the Royal yacht between 1763 and 1775. He was promoted to Rear admiral in 1786, but died before the news reached him.

Family life[]

Jamaica[]

His first family was in Jamaica, while he was stationed at Port Royal during the Seven Years' War (1754-1763). He formed a relationship with Mary Arnot.^[1]

Scotland[]

He had married Margaret Dick, the heir in tail general to James Crichton, Viscount Frendraught, of Clan Crichton, who in turn was heir to Clan Makgill of Rankeilour. Through her the family came into the possession of the estates of Nether-Rankeillor. They had a number of children. The eldest son, Charles went on to inherit the estates on his father's death and assumed the surname Makgill. He married a woman named Mary Johnston and the union produced a son, David Maitland-Makgill-Crichton (1801–1851). This son had assumed the name Crichton in 1837, in recognition of his ancestor, James Crichton. He became a lawyer, and was called to the Scottish bar in 1822. He eventually played an important part in the formation of the Free Church of Scotland.

His third son, also named Frederick Lewis Maitland, went on to follow his father in having a distinguished career in the Royal Navy, becoming a rear admiral, the post his father was never able to take up.

References[]

• Entry of Frederick Maitland and his son at the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
• The History of the Maitlands