[1] He was the son of John Nasmyth and his wife, Isabella, daughter of Sir James Murray, Lord Philiphaugh.
He acquired the estate of Dawick from the last of the Veitch family.
He had a crown charter of the barony of Dawick in 1703, ratified in parliament in 1705, and was created a baronet of Scotland on 31 July 1706.
He undertook a new phase of planting on the Dawyck estate, including the introduction of European larch (Larix decidua).
[3] Nasmyth married three times:[3] Sir James Nasmyth, 2nd Baronet was the eldest son by the third marriage.