Biography

Christian Ramsay (née Broun), Countess of Dalhousie, was known as a society hostess and botanical collector in Canada and India.

Lady Dalhousie was born Christian Broun at Coalstoun, near Lochamben, Dumfriesshire. Her father was a legal advocate in Edinburgh. She married George Ramsay (1770-1838) in 1805, who succeeded to the earldom of Dalhousie ten years later. They had three sons, two of whom died as young men.

In 1816 the couple moved to Halifax, Canada, Lord Dalhousie having been appointed lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia. Lady Dalhousie devoted herself to promoting science education and made botanical collections. She sent many living specimens and seeds to their home near Edinburgh, Dalhousie Castle, where they were grown in the gardens.

Within two years, Lord Dalhousie was appointed governor-in-chief of British North America, and the family moved to Quebec. On their estate, Lady Dalhousie established a botanical garden. She was also involved in the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec, to which she presented a paper on Canadian plants.

The Dalhousies returned to Scotland in 1824 and Lady Dalhousie now turned her attentions to improving the castle gardens. The family suffered serious financial losses shortly after their return, however, and they spent another period in Nova Scotia from 1826-1828. In 1829 they moved to India, where Lord Dalhousie took up the post of commander-in-chief of the British Army.

Stopping at Madeira, St. Helena and the Cape of Good Hope on the voyage out, Lady Dalhousie collected plants, and continued this work in India. Entering into correspondence with Sir William Hooker at Kew, she was able to send him large collections from Simla and Penang, where they travelled in 1831. Joseph Hooker later referred to these when compiling Flora Indica. Dalhousie also presented more than a thousand plants to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, which made her an honorary member in 1837.

Lord Dalhousie's command in India lasted three years and the couple settled at Dalhousie Castle permanently in 1834. Lady Dalhousie became a prominent member of Edinburgh Society. She died suddenly in 1839, a year after her husband. The tropical shrub genus Dalhousiea was named in her honour.

Sources:
J. Archibald, 1826, "Dalhousie Castle and Garden", Gardener's Magazine, 1: 251-258
J. Browne, 2010, "Ramsay, Christian, countess of Dalhousie (1786-1839)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, online edn:
www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/57840, accessed 17 October 2012.