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THE Erskines of
Kellie trace their descent from Sir Alexander Erskine of Gogar,
a younger son of the fourth Lord
Erskine, and brother
of the Regent Mar. The title of Earl of Kellie was conferred by
James VI., in 1619, on Sir Thomas Erskine, the eldest surviving
son of Sir Alexander, who had been the King’s schoolfellow, and
was through life regarded by him with great favour. He assisted in
rescuing James from the Ruthvens at Gowrie House, in the year 1600, and was rewarded with the
grant of a portion of the fine estate of Dirleton, which had
belonged to the Earl of Gowrie. Erskine accompanied James to
England, and in 1606 was created Viscount Fenton. He received
from the King at various times liberal grants of lands, including
the barony of Kellie, in Fifeshire, from which his title was taken
when he was advanced to the dignity of Earl. He died in 1639, and
was succeeded by his grandson, THOMAS, who died unmarried in 1643.
His brother, ALEXANDER, became third Earl. He was a zealous
supporter of King Charles during the Great Civil
War, was in consequence
imprisoned in the Tower of London, was excepted from Cromwell’s
Act of Grace and Pardon, and deprived of nearly the whole of his
extensive estates. He was allowed, however, to retire to the
Continent, but returned to Scotland after the Restoration, and
died in May, 1677. His son, ALEXANDER, fifth Earl, took part in
the Jacobite rebellion of 1745, and was imprisoned in the castle
of Edinburgh for upwards of three years. He was a person of weak
intellect, and, in all probability for that reason, was set at
liberty without being brought to trial. He brought new talent into
the family, however, by marrying a daughter of Dr. Pitcairne, the
celebrated Jacobite physician, and poet. The eldest son of this
marriage was—
THOMAS ALEXANDER,
sixth Earl, the well-known
musical composer, who succeeded his father in 1756. He was a
remarkably amiable person, and possessed a considerable share of
the wit and humour for which both his maternal grandfather and the
Erskines were noted; but he is now chiefly remembered for his
extraordinary proficiency in musical science. His convivial
habits, however, which widely prevailed at that time, weakened his
constitution, and impaired his property. He was obliged to dispose
of the Kellie estate, retaining only the old castle and a few
fields surrounding it. He died unmarried in 1781. A younger
brother of this Earl was the Honourable Andrew Erskine, whose
vers de société and witty conversation are still traditionally
remembered in Scotland.
The ‘Musical Earl’
of Kellie was succeeded by his brother ARCHIBALD, who was an
officer in the army. He was for a number of years one of the
Scottish representative peers, and it was chiefly owing to his
exertions that the legal restraints imposed upon the Scottish
Episcopalians were removed. Like his brothers, he was unmarried,
and at his death the title devolved on SIR CHARLES ERSKINE of
Cambo. He, too, was unmarried, and his two uncles, who held the
earldom in succession, died without issue. The title was claimed,
in 1829, by the fifteenth Earl of Mar, as heir-male general. His
right was allowed by the House of Lords, and the earldom is now
conjoined with that of Mar. |
