John Leslie-Melville, 9th Earl of Leven


John Thornton Leslie-Melville, 9th Earl of Leven, 8th Earl of Melville DL JP was a Scottish peer and soldier.

Early life

John Thornton was born on 18 December 1786. He was the son of Alexander Leslie-Melville, 7th Earl of Leven and the former Jane Thornton. His siblings included the Hon. William Leslie-Melville, the Hon. and Rev. Robert Leslie-Melville, the Hon. Alexander Leslie-Melville of Branston Hall, Lady Lucy Leslie-Melville, Lady Jane Leslie-Melville, and Lady Marianne Leslie-Melville.
His paternal grandfather was David Melville, 6th Earl of Leven, and his maternal grandfather was merchant and philanthropist John Thornton.

Career

As his brother, David Leslie-Melville, 8th Earl of Leven, died without surviving male issue, he succeeded as the 11th Earl of Leven in 1860. The Earldom of Melville has been held by the Earls of Leven since 20 May 1707.
He was Deputy Paymaster to the Forces in the Peninsula in 1809; he was a founding partner in the banking partnership Williams, Deacon, Labouchere, Thornton & Co; he was a Representative Peer for Scotland from 1865 to 1876.

Personal life

On 15 September 1812, he married his cousin, Harriet Thornton, daughter of Samuel Thornton, MP and Elizabeth Thornton. Together, they were the parents of:
After the death of his first wife, he married another cousin, Sophia Thornton on 23 April 1834. Sophia, who was also a cousin of his first wife Harriet, was the fourth daughter of reformer Henry Thornton. Together, they were the parents of the following children:
Lord Leven died on 16 September 1876 and was succeeded in the earldoms by his eldest surviving son, Alexander. He is buried with his second wife Sophia on the south side of the southern roundel in Brompton Cemetery in London.