A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Balfour, William
BALFOUR. (Ret. Capt., 1840. f-p., 11; h-p., 40.)
William Balfour was born 8 Dec. 1781, and died in 1846. He was only surviving son of the late Thos. Balfour, Esq., of Elwick, a Colonel in the Army, by Frances Ligonier, niece of Field-Marshal John Earl Ligonier, Commander-in-Chief of the British forces, and only sister of Edward, second Earl Ligonier. His elder brother, Capt. John Edw. Ligonier Balfour, of the 9th foot, fell at Alkmaar, 19 Sept. 1799. Capt. Balfour was the representative of a family of high antiquity and large possessions in Scotland, whose chiefs, long heritable Sheriffs of Fife, were directly traceable to Siward, of Balfour Castle, in that county, who flourished so early as the reign of Duncan I.
This officer entered the Navy, 9 July, 1795, as Midshipman, on board the Malabar, Capt. Thos. Parr. From that year, until the receipt of his first commission, 4 Sept. 1801, he served, on the Home, Mediterranean, and Baltic stations, in the Magicienne 32, Irresistible and Northumberland 74’s, Seahorse 38, Royal William guard-ship, and Vengeance 74, Capts. Geo. Martin, Edw. Jas. Foote, Fras. Pickmore, and Geo. Duff. While in the Irresistible, besides being wounded in the action off Cape St. Vincent,[1] Mr. Balfour assisted, in company with the Emerald 36, at the capture, 26 April, 1797, after a smart contest of an hour and a half, of the two Spanish frigates Ninfa and Santa Elena. He also, when in the Northumberland, witnessed the surrender, during the blockade of Malta in 1800, of the French 74-gun ship Le Généreux and frigate La Diane. Between Sept. 1801, and April, 1805, we find him further employed, on the Home and North America stations, in the Hound and Lynx sloops. Amethyst 38, and Cleopatra 32, Capts. Geo. Sarradine, John Willoughby Marshall, Alex. Campbell, and Sir Robt. Laurie. On the occasion of the capture, 16 Feb. 1805, of the last-mentioned ship, by the 46-gun frigate Ville de Milan, after a self-sought action of nearly three hours, in which the British sustained a loss of 22 men killed and 36 wounded, he bore a distinguished part as First Lieutenant, and was again wounded,[2] The Cleopatra being soon, however, re-taken, Mr. Balfour obtained for a few months the acting-command of the Bermuda sloop. He was officially promoted 22 Jan. 1806; but from that period, with the exception of a brief command, in 1808, of the Cockatrice sloop, was not afterwards employed. His retirement with the rank of Captain took place 10 Sept. 1840.
Capt. Balfour was twice awarded a gratuity for his wounds by the Patriotic Society. He married, first, in 1806, his cousin, Mary Balfour, only child of Wm. Manson, Esq., of Kirkwall; and, secondly, in 1823, Mary Margaret, daughter of Andrew Baikie, Esq. He has left issue five sons and six daughters. His eldest son, the late Thos. Balfour, Esq., was M.P. for Orkney. Another son, William, was recently a Lieutenant in the 79th Highlanders. Agent – J. Hinxman.