Anne Stewart, Countess of Galloway


Anne Stewart, Countess of Galloway, formerly Anne Dashwood, was the wife of John Stewart, 7th Earl of Galloway.
Anne Dashwood was born at Kirtlington Park, Oxfordshire, the family home of her parents Sir James Dashwood, 2nd Baronet, and his wife, the former Elizabeth Spencer.
On 13 June 1764, she married the future earl, when he was an MP and heir to his father's earldom. His first wife, Lady Charlotte Greville, had died in 1763, leaving him with no living children. In the year of their marriage, Sir Joshua Reynolds painted Anne in the guise of a shepherdess; the portrait is now held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
They had sixteen children:
John Stewart inherited the earldom of Galloway in 1773, making his wife a countess. He died in 1806, at which point she became Dowager Countess of Galloway. Two years later, a court case ensued over a trust deed set up by the earl in 1804, whereby the trustees were authorised to sell property and appoint additional trustees. The dowager countess having declined to accept nomination as a trustee, a Mr Forbes, who had purchased part of the estate, took the trustees to the Court of Session, claiming he was not bound by the terms of the purchase; the Court of Session found against him.
The countess died, aged 86, at Davies Street, Westminster, London.