Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Kinnaird, Arthur Fitzgerald
KINNAIRD, ARTHUR FITZGERALD, tenth Baron Kinnaird (1814–1887), philanthropist, third son of Charles Kinnaird, eighth baron Kinnaird [q. v.], was born at Rossie Priory, Perthshire, on 8 July 1814, and entered at Eton in 1829. Receiving an appointment in the foreign office, he was attached to the embassy at St. Petersburg from July 1835 to September 1837, and was for a time private secretary to the ambassador, the Earl of Durham. In 1837 he became a partner in the banking-house of Ransom & Co., Pall Mall East, London, in succession to his uncle, the Hon. Douglas James William Kinnaird [q. v.] He ultimately became head of the firm, which latterly was styled Ransom, Bouverie & Co. As a liberal he sat in the House of Commons for Perth from 29 July 1837 till August 1839. He was re-elected for that city on 15 May 1852, and continued to represent it until 7 Jan. 1878, when he succeeded his brother, George William Fox Kinnaird [q. v.], as Baron Kinnaird. While in the House of Commons he spoke frequently on Indian questions, of which he had a special knowledge, and he was a strong opponent of the bill for legalising marriage with a deceased wife's sister. He was keenly interested in all movements concerning the well-being of the working classes. There was no more familiar figure at the May meetings. In all efforts for raising women in the social scale he took a special interest, actively labouring in their behalf in connection with homes, refuges, and reformatories. Among the public institutions with which he was more especially connected were the Church Missionary Society, the Malta Protestant College, the Lock Hospital, Dr. Barnardo's Homes, the London City Mission, and the Aged Christians Society. He died at 2 Pall Mall East, London, on 26 April 1887, leaving issue one son, Arthur Fitzgerald, the present Baron Kinnaird, and five daughters.
Kinnaird was the author of: 1. ‘Bengal; its Landed Tenure and Police System,’ speech in the House of Commons, 11 June 1857. 2. ‘Nine Months in the United States during the Crisis,’ by G. Fisch, with an introduction by the Hon. A. Kinnaird, 1863. 3. His speech at the meeting of the Columbia mission, 27 Feb. 1862, was also printed.
His wife, Mary Jane, Lady Kinnaird (1816–1888), philanthropist, daughter of William Henry Hoare of the Grove, Mitcham, Surrey, a London banker, was known for the interest she took in religious and educational works at home and missionary efforts abroad. She was born at Blatherwick Park, Northamptonshire, on 14 March 1816, and in 1821 went to reside with her maternal uncle, the Hon. and Rev. Baptist W. Noel, at Hornsey. In 1841 she instituted the St. John's Training School for Domestic Servants, with a branch at Brighton, an institution which was very successful. After her marriage, 28 June 1843, she held meetings in conjunction with her husband for philanthropic and religious purposes at 2 Pall Mall East. In 1848 she edited a volume of ‘Servants' Prayers.’ With Lady Canning she was associated in sending nursing and other aid to the wounded in the Crimean war. She was one of the founders of the British Ladies' Female Emigration Society, of the Foreign Evangelisation Society, of the Calvin Memorial Hall at Geneva, of the Union for Prayer, of the Zenana Bible and Medical Mission, and the Young Women's Christian Association. She died at Plaistow Lodge, near Bromley, Kent, on 1 Dec. 1888.
[Times, 27 April 1887, p. 9, 4 Dec. 1888, p. 10; Illustrated London News, 7 May 1887, p. 520; Foreign Office List, 1874, p. 125; Rock, 29 April 1887, p. 5; Record, 29 April 1887, p. 400; Fraser's Mary Jane Kinnaird, 1890, with portraits of Lord and Lady Kinnaird.]