William Wallace Hozier, Baron Newlands of Newlands and Barrowfield in the County of the City of Glasgow, and of Mauldslie Castle, Lanarkshire, was born in 1825, his father being the late James Hozier, Esq. of Newlands and Mauldslie, while his mother was a daughter of Sir William Feilden, of Feniscowles. On completing his education he joined the Army, and was for a time Lieutenant in the Royal Scots Greys. In 1849 he married Miss Frances Anne O’Hara, daughter of the late John O’Hara, Esq. of Raheen, County Galway. Lord Newlands’ only son is the Hon. James Hozier, the popular M.P. for South Lanarkshire, while his eldest daughter is the wife of Sir W. J. G. Baird, of Saughtonhall, and another is the wife of Lord Lamington. In 1890 a baronetcy was conferred on Mr William Hozier by the late Queen Victoria in recognition of his services to the County, and in 1898 Her Majesty was pleased to bestow a further mark of favour by raising him to the peerage as Baron Newlands. It is doubtful if there is another man in Lanarkshire so universally esteemed as Lord Newlands. He early interested himself in the administration of public affairs, and it was not long till he was elected Convener of the County in succession to his father. Lord Newlands possesses many other qualifications which have endeared him to the people, and among these must be numbered his genial manner, his frank and open nature, and his generous and philanthropic disposition.
Lord Newlands at the present time occupies the positions of President of the London Coaching Club, Member of the London Four-in-Hand Club, and President of the Lanarkshire Four-in-Hand Club. His Lordship attends the meetings of the London Clubs with unbroken regularity, and can handle the ribbons with the skill of an accomplished driver. He has in his possession many choice and rare prints of old Metropolitan meets; indeed, not a few of these specimens of old-time engravings are to be found on the walls of Mauldslie Castle. His Lordship himself has at Mauldslie a splendid stud of dark browns, and he enjoys nothing better than to drive along the beautiful valley of the Clyde when the hawthorns are in blossom and the air is laden with their delicious fragrance. Lord Newlands is a loyal Churchman, and he has done much for that historic edifice, Dalserf Parish Church, which is in the immediate vicinity of his residence. While at Mauldslie he is, on the Sabbath, seldom absent from the family pew. To the poor he is a generous benefactor, and his name is held in high regard in the district.