IRVING, ALEXANDER [SSNE 2715]
- Surname
- IRVING, IRVINE, IRWIN, IRWING, IRVIN
- First name
- ALEXANDER
- Title/rank
- COLONEL
- Nationality
- SCOT
- Region
- TULLOCH, ABERDEENSHIRE
- Social status
- NOBILITY
Text source
Alexander Irving was the son of George Irving, the laird of Tulloch. He was born in Scotland on 4 August 1593 and came to Sweden in 1608 with his father. He was allegedly a commander in the Narke regiment by 1614 though usually listed as a private in 1616 in most sources. Irving served with the Uppland regiment in 1624 before moving to the Närke och Värmland's regiment where he served between 1627 and 1629. Irving was certainly a lieutenant in the Uppland regiment by 1630, a reformed captain with Donald Mackay's regiment, and then a captain in Lars Kagg's German regiment the same year. He was then a captain in duke Bernhard's recruited regiment in 1632 and a lieutenant colonel in the Green regiment in 1633. Irving is listed as the city major in Regensburg in 1634 and a lieutenant colonel with Norrländska infantry in 1639 (in some sources he is given as a lieutenant colonel with Västerbotten regiment in 1639 though both could be correct). Other sources say he was the same as Alexander Irving of Drum who fought for the Royalists in Aberdeen in 1639-1640. In anycase, he approached the Swedish treasury in March 1642 requesting funds to pay his troops, but the Crown apparently was short on money and needed to find a wealthy merchant who would provide the funds. On 16 May the same year he received his birthbrieve from Scotland. Having settled in Narke, Irving sought colonelcy of the Narke och Varmland regiment after the death of Colonel Thomas Thomson in 1643. He travelled to Stockholm to pursue the matter with Axel Oxenstierna, though his request was turned down. By this time he had received 4 farms (in Narke) in compensation for wages (1644) and, by 1645, he became colonel of the Småland Knektar and in 1646 he became colonel and chief of the Kalmar regiment, with which he was sent to Demmin in 1648, although they returned to Sweden after the Peace of Westphalia. In 1647 Irving became ennobled in Sweden. In 1650 he was told to inform his officers by the military college in Stockholm that the regiment recruited for French service had its full complement of officers. He continued in a military capacity and in 1654 he took over as commandant in Stade. He left military service in 1656 to retire to Irwingsholm in Tysslinge, where he died in 1659. His funeral service was conducted by Jonas Billovius from Örebro. Irving was married to the chief lady at Queen Kristina's Court, Agneta Patkull. He had two sons and two daughters.
Sources: Riksarkivets ämnessamlingar. Personhistoria https://sok.riksarkivet.se/bildvisning/A0069760_00195#?c=&m=&s=&cv=194&xywh=3151%2C2724%2C1995%2C1150
For correspondence from his widow see: https://sok.riksarkivet.se/bildvisning/A0069760_00201#?c=&m=&s=&cv=200&xywh=1362%2C751%2C5949%2C3431
Swedish Krigsarkiv, Muster Roll, 1626/8; 1627/12; 1629/12,15,17; 1630/3,37,38; 1632/30; 1639/9,19,20; 1640/8,15-20; 1641/3,9,17; 1642/8; 1643/10; 1644/11; 1645/12; 1646/7; 1647/8; 1648/8,17,18; 1649/4,11; 1650/4,8; 1651/4; 1652/4; 1653/2; 1654/3,6; 1655/3; 1657/4; Swedish Krigsarkiv, katalog over rullor, vol.3, p.1064; Swedish Rigsarkiv, Axel Oxenstiernas samlingen, E632. Undated letter, c. 1643-44. Alexander Irving to Axel Oxenstierna; C.O. Nordensvan, (ed.), Värmlands Regementes [Närkes och Värmlands Regementes] Historia: Andra Delen, Personal Historia (Stockholm, 1911), 34; Uppsala University Library, Svenska Biografi Samlingen, 42; Several letters can be found in 'Krigskollegium Kancelliet; Adressatregistratur till Krigskollegiets Registratur 1631-1654' from 22/3/1642 - including "23/4/1650 om vissa rullor på värvnings folket åt kronan Frankrike jämte underskrivna och förseglade rullor på hela sitt reg hit med forderigaste förskicka obs postskriptum"; "17/4/1650 svar på brev att notificera oficerarna att alla platser under det värvade regementet åt kronan Frankrike är med officerare besatta"; "2/1/1652 att låta genmaj och krigsrådet Robert Douglas avfölja till arbete på sina gods så många man soldater av sitt reg som han behöver vilka krigsrådet skall giva 12 öre om dagen". The last letter is dated 16/6/1654; S. Hedar, Kammarkollegiets Protokoll med bilagor, vol. 3 (Stockholm, 1941), pp.115-6; National Archives of Scotland, RH16/207/2-3:
Notes on and copy of birth-brief of Lieutenant-colonel Alexander Irving, issued by Alexander Irvine of Drum, in support of Irving's application to Swedish Council of the Realm for naturalisation as a Swedish nobleman. Contains details of related families of Irving of Tulloch, Seton of Meldrum, Abernety of Netherdale, Stewart of Atholl, Machisson, Keith of Inverugie, Duncan of Meldrum and Gordon of Coclairachie [1642]; This was discussed in the Swedish state council - see SRP, X, 309-310. 10 and 20 October 1643. For the donation of 4 farms see the same volume, p.534. 22 May 1644. See also NAS, RH16/207/3 Extracts from Elgenstierna's `Den introducerade svenska adelns attartavlor' relating to Swedish noble families of Scottish origin, including Irvings, Stuarts, Setons and Stewardts. With notes by translator, Dr Yngve Olsen, clarifying various linguistic points [n.d.]; F. Rudelius, 'Kalmar Regementes Personhistoria 1623-1927 (2 vols., Norrköping, 1952) I, pp.79-82; G. Elgenstierna, Svenska Adelns Ättartavlor, vol. 4, p.15; Svenska Riksrådets Protokoll, vol. 7; Register till Sveriges Ridderskaps och Adels Riksdags-Protokoll (17 vols, Stockholm, 1910), vols. for 1643, 1644, 1647, 1649, 1650 and 1652; H. Marryat, One Year in Sweden, including a visit to the isle of Gotland (London, 1862), p.490; Otto Donner, A brief sketch of the Scottish families in Finland and Sweden (Helsingfors, 1884), p.30; F. Rudelius, 'Kalmar Regementes Chefer, 1623-1907' in Personhistorisk Tidskrift, vol. 9, 1907, appendix, pp.10-12; H.O. Prytz, Historiska Upplysningar om svenska och norska armeernas regementer och kårer jemte flottorna, II, (Stockholm, 1868), p.595-6; Bertil Steckzén, Västerbottens Regementes Officerare till år 1841 (Umeå, 1955), p.80.
Service record
- SWEDEN, NARKE OCH VARMLAND
- Arrived 1614-01-01, as PRIVATE
- Departed 1629-09-15, as LIEUTENANT
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- SWEDEN, MACKAY'S REGIMENT
- Arrived 1630-01-01, as CAPTAIN
- Departed 1632-12-31, as CAPTAIN
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- SWEDEN, GREEN REGIMENT
- Arrived 1633-01-01, as LT. COLONEL
- Departed 1633-12-31, as LT. COLONEL
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- SWEDEN, REGENSBURG
- Arrived 1634-01-01, as LT. COLONEL
- Departed 1638-12-31, as LT. COLONEL
- Capacity MAJOR, purpose CIVIC
- SWEDEN, VASTERBOTTEN
- Arrived 1639-01-01, as LT. COLONEL
- Departed 1638-05-31, as LT. COLONEL
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- STUART KINGDOMS, ABERDEEN, ROYALIST ARMY
- Arrived 1639-02-01, as LIEUTENANT COLONEL
- Departed 1641-07-31, as LIEUTENANT COLONEL
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- SWEDEN, NORRLANSKA
- Arrived 1639-06-01, as LT. COLONEL
- Departed 1644-12-31, as LT.COLONEL
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- SWEDEN, SMALAND
- Arrived 1645-01-01, as COLONEL
- Departed 1645-12-31, as COLONEL
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- SWEDEN, KALMAR REGIMENT
- Arrived 1646-01-01, as COLONEL
- Departed 1653-12-31, as COLONEL
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- SWEDEN, STADE
- Arrived 1654-01-01, as COMMANDANT
- Departed 1656-12-31, as COMMANDANT
- Capacity COMMANDANT, purpose MILITARY
- SWEDEN, IRVINSHOLM ESTATE, TYSSLINGE, ÖREBRO LÄN
- Arrived 1656-12-31
- Departed 1659-01-12
- Capacity ESTATE OWNER, purpose MISC.