Early life Ian Charles Ogilvie-Grant was born at
Moray Place, Edinburgh, the only child of
John Charles Ogilvie-Grant, 7th Earl of Seafield and his wife the
Hon. Caroline Stuart, daughter of
Lord Blantyre. He was educated at
Eton College. During his minority, he was titled
Lord Reidhaven and the
Master of Grant. The main residence for Ian growing up, as for his father and mother, was
Cullen House in
Cullen;
Castle Grant, the traditional seat of the Clan Grant, was also occupied when his
Strathspey estates were visited. Ian and his mother were very close, with her obituary stating that the "bond of affection which united him and his mother was of a strength and tenderness almost passing belief".
Public life On 8 December 1869, Lord Reidhaven was commissioned as a cornet and sub-lieutenant into the
1st Regiment of Life Guards; he was promoted lieutenant in October 1871 and retired from the army in 1877. He held the office of
Deputy lieutenant (DL) of
Inverness-shire. He succeeded his father as Earl of Seafield and Chief of Clan Grant in 1881. On succeeding to his father's seat in the House of Lords, Seafield adhered to the
Conservatives. In the pamphlet published 'In Memoriam' on his death, the editors wrote: Though a constitutionalist, he was by no means a Tory of the old school. From his earliest years he took a most active part, in every political movement. He knew we live in a progressive age, and that as the nation advances in intelligence, by means of education, certain reforms become necessary, and when the proper time arrives, ought to be carried out. What he did most strenuously object to was hasty legislation, and especially legislation which might lead to the disintegration of the Empire, and to lowering of the National prestige abroad. The attempt to admit an avowed Atheist to the House of Commons was utterly repugnant to his whole nature, and no one rejoiced more than he did at the exclusion of that Atheist. Like his father, Lord Seafield was ordained as an elder of the
Church of Scotland for the Parish of
Inverallan and in the
Presbytery of Abernethy. He was due to attend the General Assembly of 1884 as a Commissioner for Abernethy when he died. 'In Memoriam' covered this area of his life: On many public occasions he avowed his adherence to the principle involved in a National recognition of Religion. His regard for the Church of Scotland was profound. It was evidenced by his becoming one of her active Office-bearers, and, had his life been spared, he would during the past Session of the General Assembly, have taken his seat therein, as a member of that Venerable House.
Death and succession . On 31 March 1884, Lord Seafield died in London following an operation for
aneurysm. His unexpected death occurred several days after the equally unexpected death of Seafield's good friend,
Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany. As Ian was unmarried and had no children, by a will made in 1882 Ian left his mother as the heir to his estates: Caroline, the Countess Dowager, therefore was proprietor of the Seafield and Grant Estates until her death in 1911. Meanwhile, the 8th Earl's titles of honour were inherited by his uncle,
James Ogilvie-Grant, who was otherwise the nearest male heir. The Seafield title was thus for some generations separated from the lands and properties that had maintained it. This situation had been made possible because the 7th Earl had completed the legal procedure of disentailing the estate. == Memorials ==