Paternally, he claimed to be a near relation of the essayist and politician, the Right Honourable Sir James Mackintosh, who was member of the Kellachie branch of the Inverness-shire-based Clan Mackintosh, part of the Scottish Highlands Chattan Confederation.
He was the second son and third child of four of Thomas Farrer, 1st Baron Farrer (who was raised to the peerage but only in 1893 after Claude's death, so Claude was not styled "the Honourable") and his wife Frances Erskine (1825–1870), daughter of the historian and orientalist William Erskine (1773–1852) and his wife Maitland Mackintosh daughter of James Mackintosh by his first wife.
It was preceded by an 1843 edition of a work on international law by Sir James Mackintosh, with reading list, and an 1846 Catalogue of the Harvard Law Library including recent accessions.
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