John Stroyan (1856 – 5 December 1941) was a Scottish industrialist and businessman. He was a Liberal Unionist Member of Parliament (MP) for West Perthshire from 1900 to 1906.
John Stroyan | |
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| Born | 1856 |
| Died | 5 December 1941 (aged 84–85) Lanrick Castle, Doune |
| Occupation(s) | Businessman, politician |
| Spouse | Edith Dean |
| Children | John Robert Stroyan (b 1890) Ronald Strathearn Stroyan (b 1890) |
| Parent | John Stroyan |
Biography edit
Stroyan was born in 1856, the eldest son of John Stroyan of Kirkchrist,[1] a Galloway gentleman-farmer.[2]
In South Africa, he became a merchant and was due to return to Scotland aged 32 having made a small fortune when he heard of the discovery of gold in the Rand. Staying on, he became associated with Cecil Rhodes and Barney Barnato and amassed a vast fortune.[2] He was "known to be a lecher and a financial swindler, attracting investments to useless mining propositions".[3]
After returning from Africa, he was selected to succeed Sir Donald Currie as candidate for West Perthshire at the 1900 general election. A report at the time described him thus:
Mr. John Stroyan is a sturdy, stalwart, rubicund Scotsman of about forty-five years of age. For about twenty years he was a merchant in South Africa, and was interested with the late Mr. Barnato in many of his most successful enterprises. He is a very rich man, but modest withal, and now that he has retired from business, he intends to devote himself to parliamentary life and the recreations of a country gentleman. He is an ardent sportsman, a good man after the hounds, a more than average shot, an expert fisherman, and no mean golf player. He has yet to make his mark as a public speaker but he has very decided opinions, and no lack of language wherewith to express them.[4]
He won the election, after which he was consulted by Joseph Chamberlain on reconstruction measures after the Boer War.[2] At the following general election, in 1906 he lost the seat to David Charles Erskine in a Liberal landslide.[3]
He died, aged 85, on 5 December 1941, at his home, Lanrick Castle, in Doune,[5] previously the property of the Liberal MP, Sir Robert Jardine.[6] He left an estate of over £200,000.[7][8]
Family edit
Stroyan married Edith Dean in 1889. They had two sons, John Robert Stroyan (b 1890) and Ronald Strathearn Stroyan (b 1890). His granddaughter was Sheila Stroyan, a well-known golfer,[2] who with her father, John Robert Stroyan, won the inaugural "Family Foursomes" contest over the Old Course at Burhill Golf Course.[9] She was British girls' champion,[10] and held the Dutch title for two years before competing in the US women's championships at Noroton, Connecticut, in 1939.[11]
References edit
- ^ Walter H. Wills, Stroyan" in The Anglo-African Who's Who and Biographical Sketchbook, 1907
- ^ a b c d "London Topics – Virile Pioneer", Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 4432, 5 September 1939, page 4
- ^ a b John M. MacKenzie, Nigel R. Dalziel, The Scots in South Africa: Ethnicity, identity, gender and race, 1772–1914, p243, Manchester University Press, 2007, ISBN 9780719076084
- ^ "Sir Donald Currie's Successor". Mainly About People. Vol. 50, no. 2. 27 May 1899. p. 5. Retrieved 19 September 2023 – via NewspaperArchive.
- ^ "Death of Former Perthshire M.P.". Dundee Evening Telegraph. 6 December 1941. p. 5. Retrieved 19 September 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Groome, Francis H., ed. (1885). "Lanrick Castle". Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland. Thomas C. Jack.
- ^ "Former Perthshire M.P.'S Estate". Dundee Courier. 29 April 1942. p. 3. Retrieved 19 September 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Recent Wills". Liverpool Daily Post. 30 May 1942. p. 2. Retrieved 19 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mother and son duo crowned champions of Burhill Golf Club's 75th Family Foursomes", Golf Today, 11 September 2012
- ^ "Record field of Women Golfers tee Off in national Tournament", Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Texas), 21 August 1939
- ^ "Girl Challenger for U.S. Golf Title", The Straits Times, 11 August 1939, Page 18