Johnstone Baronets

The Johnstone, later Pulteney, later Johnstone Baronetcy, of Westerhall in the County of Dumfries, is a title in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia. It was created on 25 April 1700 for John Johnstone, one of the Scottish representatives to the 1st Parliament of Great Britain, with remainder to his heirs male. He was eighth in descent from Matthew Johnstone, who is said to have been a younger son of Sir Adam Johnstone (d. 1454), ancestor of the Earls and Marquesses of Annandale. The second Baronet sat as a Member of Parliament for Dumfries and Dumfriesshire. The third Baronet represented Dumfries, while the fourth Baronet sat as Member of Parliament for Dumfries and Weymouth. The fifth Baronet, Sir William, was Member of Parliament for Cromarty and Shrewsbury. He married Frances, daughter of Daniel Pulteney and niece and heiress of William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath, through which marriage vast estates came into the family. On his marriage Sir William assumed the surname of Pulteney in lieu of Johnstone. His only child, Laura, inherited the Pulteney estates and was created Countess of Bath in 1803 (see this title for more information). The sixth, seventh and eighth Baronets all represented Weymouth in Parliament. The sixth Baronet twice declined a peerage offered to him by Spencer Perceval.