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Stair Agnew

1831 – 1916

Scottish public official and rower

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About Stair Agnew

Lived 1831 – 1916 (aged 84). Stair Agnew was a British rower.

Sir Stair Agnew (6 December 1831 – 12 July 1916) was a Scottish public official. He served as Registrar General for Scotland.

Life He was born at Lochnaw Castle in the parish of Leswalt in Dumfries and Galloway, the fifth son of Sir Andrew Agnew of Lochnaw, 7th Baronet and his wife, Madeline Carnegie.

He studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating in 1855. He rowed in the Oxford and Cambridge boat race in 1854.

He worked as an Advocate from 1860, and was Legal Secretary to the Lord Advocate from 1861–1866 and 1868–1870, Queen's Remembrancer for Scotland from 1870–1881, and Registrar-General for Scotland and Keeper of the Records of Scotland and Deputy Clerk Register from 1881–1909.

In 1871 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, his proposer being Philip Kelland.

Agnew married a woman named Georgina More Nisbett (1838-1916), Georgina Constance Maxwell (born 1877) and Dora Charlotte (born 1879). and promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 1895 Birthday Honours, thereby receiving a knighthood.

In 1905 he is listed as living at 22 Buckingham Terrace, just west of Dean Bridge in Edinburgh.

He is buried with his wife (who had died only a few weeks earlier) and daughters in Dean Cemetery in western Edinburgh. The grave is on the north wall of the north extension of the original cemetery, near the north-west corner.

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Important facts

Birth century
Occupation
Education
Trinity College
Awards
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath; Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Also known as
Sir Stair Agnew, Sir Stair Andrew Agnew, Stair Andrew Agnew

People in Stair Agnew's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Stair Agnew's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Stair Agnew?

Scottish public official and rower (1831-1916)

When was Stair Agnew born?

Stair Agnew was born on 6 December 1831 in Leswalt.

When did Stair Agnew die?

Stair Agnew died on 12 July 1916.

What was Stair Agnew's occupation?

Stair Agnew was a rower.

What nationality was Stair Agnew?

Stair Agnew was British.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Stair Agnew

· Wikidata: Q7597081

· DBpedia: Stair Agnew

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Stair Agnew. https://biography.guide/stair-agnew/

MLA: "Stair Agnew." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/stair-agnew/.

Chicago: "Stair Agnew." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/stair-agnew/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

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