Tour Scotland travel video, with Scottish music, of the gallery in Leith Tower on visit to Fyvie Castle near Turriff in Aberdeenshire. Alexander John Forbes Leith was born on 6 August 1847, in Aberdeen. He was the youngest son of Rear Admiral John James Leith and his wife Margaret Forbes, daughter and heiress of Alexander Forbes, a descendant of Duncan Forbes, second son of the second Lord Forbes. He was the grandson of General Alexander Leith Hay and the nephew of Sir Andrew Leith Hay. He was educated at Berlin, Prussia, the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr and Dr. Burney's Naval Academy at Gosport, Hampshire, England. He later assumed the additional surname of Forbes. Alexander Forbes Leith joined the Royal Navy in 1860 with the rank of naval cadet. He was rated midshipman in 1861 and fought in the New Zealand Wars between 1864 and 1865. He married the daughter of a director of an Illinois steel mill in 1871 and worked his way up in to become president of the Joliet Iron and Steel Company, which later merged into Illinois Steel and eventually the United States Steel Corporation, of which Leith became a director. He was also a partner in a merchant bank. In 1889, Forbes Leith used the fortune he had made in the steel industry to acquire Fyvie Castle in Aberdeenshire for £175,000 and invested large sums in its restoration. He transformed it into a lavish home and venue for visiting parties of distinguished guests that included in 1906, King Alfonso XIII of Spain. Money was spent on an organ, tapestry, stained glass, furniture, arts and antiques. He was also a Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant of Aberdeenshire. In 1905 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Leith of Fyvie, of Fyvie in the County of Aberdeen. Leith died at Hartwell House, Buckinghamshire, England, in November 1925, aged 78, and was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium. The barony died with him. Lady Leith of Fyvie died at Hartwell House in June 1930, aged 82. Lord Leith's estates, including Fyvie Castle, passed to his daughter and only surviving child, the Honourable Ethel, wife of the former Conservative Member of Parliament Sir Charles Rosdew Burn, 1st Baronet. In 1925, the latter assumed the surname and arms of Forbes-Leith of Fyvie, for himself, his wife and son, according to the terms of his father in law's will. This castle is closed at present due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The surname Leith was first found in the county of Edinburgh at Leith, a burgh and seaport town. Spelling variations of this family name include: Leith, Leyth, Lethe and others. Frederick Leith arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship John in 1840; William Leith, aged 27, arrived in South Australia in 1854; George Leith, aged 27, was a labourer, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand in 1864; Henry Leith, aged 30, arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, aboard the ship Leslie Gault in 1834; James Leith, arrived in Maryland, America, in 1665; William Leith arrived in Virginia, America, in 1714; Alexander Leith landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, America, in 1746; James and John Leith settled in Boston, Massachusetts, America, in 1768;
It is believed that the Leiths that migrated to Scotland originated from France. The name then being De Leyth. During the Fourteenth Century they appeared around Midlothian and almost certainly took their name from the port at Edinburgh. William Leith of Barnis was Provost of Aberdeen in 1350, and his descendants acquired and held at various times the lands of Edingarrock, Kirkton de Rain, and New Leslie.
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