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Rediscovery of the grave of Sir Alexander Nisbet (1795-1874), M.D., Inspector-General of Hospitals and Fleets
 A note from Dr June Slee:
In 1989 I discovered a manila folder in the State Archives of Tasmania, Australia. It contained a number of A3 pages of fine copper plate writing describing the most extraordinary story written by Dr Alexander Nisbet.
As Surgeon superintendent on the convict ship Frances Charlotte, Nisbet had designed a program to manage the educational, behavioural, social and emotional needs of 140 young male convicts being transported from England to Point Puer in Tasmania in 1836-1837. This was a trial voyage, in as much as it was the first to separate convict boys under transportation from convict men.
Nisbet’s philosophy of behaviour management gave me “goose bumps” for its sheer intellectual wholeness. It still does. At the time, I was halfway through writing a PhD on a related topic, but changed my course completely and wrote about Nisbet and his program instead.
My doctorate, Dr Nisbet’s Report. 1836-1837: A Study of a Behavioural Program, was published in 1993, and I am still waiting to find a spell in my busy life to write the book!
This however became a step closer with the visit I made to England this year. Dr Mark Nesbitt, the archivist of the Nisbet/Nesbitt Society in Great Britain alerted me some time ago to the fact that Sir Alexander Nisbet was buried in the Brockley Cemetery in London and sent me very detailed instructions of how to find the cemetery and the grave.
There, by the pathway going to the Commomealth War Graves was a grey coffin-like tomb, covered in some places with lichen and with leaves from the trees that stand over it.
Here Sir Alex lies with three other members of his family – his wife Lucy, his son Alexander and his half-sister Jane Findlater. The inscriptions to each one have helped fill in some of the gaps about this man’s personal life.
Let me reproduce what is written on each side of the tomb.
 In Memory of Sir Alexander Nisbet
MD Inspector General Royal Navy
Honorary Physician to the Queen
Born 10th April 1795
Died 22 June 1874
Also of Lucy Susanna his Wife
Daughter of the Revd E.S. Davenport of Davenport House Shropshire
Born November 1819
Died 27 November 1891
 Also of Jane
Daughter of Alexander Findlater of Glasgow
And half sister of Sir Alexander Nisbet
Born 4th June 1812
Died 7th November 1892
Alexander Cockburn Nisbet
Son of Alexander Nisbet MD
Inspector General Royal Navy
Died 17?th May 1867
Aged 10 Years and 10 months
A dearly loved and only son
Sir Alex’s daughter Lucy is not buried there, according to the extant inscriptions.
Sir Alexander Nisbet was a remarkable person and I will produce a book on his life. I am travelling to England next year and should arrive in London about 7th May so if there are Nisbet people reading this who have something they could tell me about an ancestor they should be truly proud of, I would welcome this information so that I can follow it up in 2008.
June Slee
If you have any information on Sir Alexander Nisbet, or are a relative, please contact June via the Nesbitt/Nisbet Society website. Added 20 September 2007
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Interesting eBay playbill for Mrs Nisbett
Theatre Royal, Edinburgh, 21 March 1849
Louisa Cranstoun Nisbett (1812-1858) was one of the leading actors on the British stage between 1830-1850. She is variously described as handsome, delicious or beautiful.
Louisa Cranstoun Nisbett (1812 - January 15, 1858), English actress, was the daughter of Frederick Hayes Macnamara, an actor, whose stage name was Mordaunt.
eBay record for this item
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As Miss Mordaunt she had considerable experience, especially in Shakespearean leading parts, before her first London appearance in 1829 at Drury Lane as Widow Cheerly in Andrew Cherry's Soldier's Daughter. Her beauty and high spirits made her at once a popular favourite in a large number of comedy parts, until in 1831 she was married to Captain John Alexander Nisbett and retired. Her husband, however, was killed the same year by a fall from his horse, and she was compelled to reappear on the stage in 1832. She was the original Lady Gay Spanker of London Assurance (1841).
In 1844 she withdrew again from the stage to marry Sir William Boothby, Bart., but on his death (1846), returned to play Lady Teazle, Portia, Constantine in the Love Chase, Helen and Julia in the Hunchback. It was in the first of these parts that she made her final appearance in 1851. Wikipedia Added 14 August 2007
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 Pewter Nisbet/Nesbitt badge
At our request, a Scottish manufacturer have added N/N cap badges and kilt pins to their range. Avance Highland make these in Scotland, to authentic designs approved by the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs. Until now, it has been necessary to order these from North America, so the arrival of a supplier in Europe is very welcome. Note that Nesbitt appears at the bottom of the list of clan names, after Young. added 26 March 2007
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Six important paintings by Noel Laura Nisbet (1887-1956), at auction 30 March 2007
Tennants Auctioneers Leyburn, North Yorkshire. From the collection of Tina and Graham Thornton, York Click pictures for details added 24 March 2007  
Prices fetched:1036 (Procession) £600; 1032 (Pan) £1800; 1033 (Classical figures) £1800.
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Recognise these? A fine set of family portraits, mostly unnamed, from a member. If you have pictures of the same people in your family, please contact us. Added 20 March 2007
George Nisbett 1756-1842 Catherine Nisbett 1768-1858
 
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 Sad news: John Cairns-Smith-Barth, Honorary Member and Archivist of the Australian N/N Society, died 16 August 2007, aged 56. John was editor of the N/N Biographical Directory - a standard research resource for us - and advisor on historical matters and friend to many Scottish clans. A London-based member writes “he was a delightful man and a great pleasure to be with... he had a great knowledge of genealogy not only of the Nesbitt/Nisbet family but other clans and families.” Added 22 August 2007
- Colebrooke Nesbitt - I thank Jerome Lantz of Paris for this image of a laisser-passer from the British and French Royalist war against the French revolutionaries. It was signed in 1795 by Colebrooke Nesbitt, as Inspector-General of British forces on the Continent. Little is known about Colebrooke Nesbitt except that he was a natural son of the well-known merchant Arnold Nesbitt (whose family is documented in the History of the family of Nesbitt or Nisbet, and came from Lismore, Co. Cavan). Colebrooke N’s will was proved in 1798 and is available online from The National Archives, and some of his letters to General Don are in the British Library. More information would be welcome to marknesbittuk {at} yahoo.com. Added 6 April 2005
- An important online resource for the First World War is now online - the National Archive’s records of 5 million medal holders are now available. Over a thousand Nesbitt/Nisbets feature. This is an excellent supplement to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Debt of Honour Register which records all those Commonwealth civilians and armed forces who died in both wars. Added 19 November 2004
 The new biography of Mary Nisbet by Susan Nagel is now out! It’s a fascinating survey of the life of Mary, Countess of Elgin, married to the Lord Elgin who brought the marbles from Athens to London. It is well researched and well written, drawing on the important and almost entirely unknown archives at Biel. Not only a fine biography, but also important for all interested in the Dirleton Nisbets. Details at the publishers's websites: William Morrow (USA) and John Wiley (UK). For those interested in buying the book, discounts are available at Amazon.co.uk and elsewhere Added 18 October 2004
- Nesbitt/Nisbet Website moves we have moved the UK site from angelfire.com to this dedicated domain name. Use of new software will make it much easier to expand and update the site. Please excuse the occasional incomplete page. Suggestions & contributions of new content are always welcome to the webmaster Added 13 September 2004
- On the subject of landed families (see item below), a reminder that Burke's Landed Gentry: the Kingdom in Scotland is now available from the Heraldry Today at the even further reduced price (good for such a big book) of 48 pounds. Added 9 September 2004
- An important new book on Border history I'm delighted to see Maureen Meikle's important study on the "Lairds and Gentlemen" of the Borders has been published. It covers landed families on both sides of the border in the late 16th century, showing friendly relations rather than border reiving. Nisbets pop up from time to time and, of course, the Home family dominates the region and the book. There is a mass of detail on how landed estates functioned. A British Frontier? Lairds and Gentlemen in the eastern Borders, 1540-1603 is available from Tuckwell Press and (discounted) from Amazon Added 9 September 2004
- Two important reprints on Nesbitt/Nisbet history The enterprising Grimsay Press have reprinted
- Order this, and other books on Borders history, from the Grimsay Press Added 28 June 2004
- Discount on Nisbet of that Ilk This classic book on the Nesbitt/Nisbet families was first published in an edition of 250 in 1941, and reprinted in 1994 as a handsome hardback. Copies are still available from the publisher at a discount of 10%, with free postage worldwide Added 15 June 2004
- Another Nisbet House! In Nisbet Country, just north of Coldstream, Mrs Sheila Pile runs a very comfortable Bed and Breakfast establishment. Her 18th century house is named after its former owner, Peggy Nisbet. Peggy Nisbet established the well-known doll-making business that bore her name Added May 31 2004
- The 2004 gathering took place in Duns on Saturday 15 May added 17 May 2004
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