Alexander Boswell, Lord Auchinleck

Alexander Boswell, Lord Auchinleck, 8th Laird of Auchinleck was a Scottish judge who served in the supreme courts of Scotland. He was the father of the author and biographer James Boswell, and grandfather of songwriter Sir Alexander Boswell. Boswell was the eldest son of James Boswell, 7th Laird of Auchinleck. He attended the University of Edinburgh, read Civil Law at the University of Leyden and was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1727. He was appointed Sheriff of Wigtown in 1748 but resigned the position in 1750 after inheriting the Auchinleck estate in Ayrshire on the death of his father. There he built the present Adam-style Auchinleck House. In 1754, he built a new aisle in Auchinleck church for Rev. John Dun who was also the family tutor.