Note 269 — JAMES DRUMMOND, STYLED DUKE OF PERTH. (continued 2)
Reading edition
In 1816, another appeal, and a fresh claim to the Drummond estates, and to the Earldom of Perth, were brought forward by the descendant of John Drummond, the great-uncle of James, Duke of Perth. The said John Drummond was raised to the dignity of the English peerage in 1685, by James the Second, by the title of Viscount Melfort; in 1686 he was raised to the dignity of Earl of Melfort; and afterwards, following the monarch to St. Germains, was created Duke of Melfort.
The great-grandson of the Duke of Melfort was a Roman Catholic priest, who officiated some years back at the chapel in Moorfields; he was living in 1831 in France, at a very advanced age.
The pamphlet in which, in 1816, he asserted his claim, and which was laid before the House of Lords, was professedly written "by an unfortunate nobleman;" with the appeal of Charles Edward (Drummond), Duke of Melfort, heir male, and chief representative of the House of Drummond of Perth, submitted to the United Kingdom of Great Britain, &c., 8vo., London, 1816.