Alexander Cumming-Gordon
Scottish politician

Sir Alexander Penrose Cumming-Gordon, 1st Baronet (19 May 1749 – 10 February 1806) was a Scottish politician.
Early life
Alexander was born on 19 May 1749 into Clan Cumming. He was the eldest son of Alexander Cumming of Rosehill and Penrose, Cornwall. Among his siblings was brother George Cumming, also MP for Inverness Burghs.
Career
In 1761, he succeeded to his father's estates; in 1775, he succeeded to Altyre, Forres, his great-uncle George Cumming's estate; and in 1795, he then succeeded to Gordonstoun, the estate of his cousin Sir William Gordon, 6th Baronet, after which he took additional surname of Gordon.
Cumming-Gordon sat as member of parliament for Inverness Burghs from 1802 to 1803 after which he was succeeded by his younger brother George Cumming. In 1804 he was created a baronet, of Altyre near Forres.
Personal life
On 9 September 1773, he was married to Helen Grant, a daughter of Sir Ludovick Grant, 7th Baronet, of Castle Grant, and the former Lady Margaret Ogilvy (a daughter of James Ogilvy, 2nd Earl of Seafield). Together, they were the parents of seven sons and nine daughters, including:
Sir William Gordon Gordon-Cumming, 2nd Baronet (1787–1854), MP for Elgin Burghs, who married Eliza Maria Campbell, eldest daughter of Col. John Campbell.
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This entry incorporates text from “Alexander Cumming-Gordon” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.