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ELPHINSTONE,
anciently spelt Elfynyston, a surname assumed from the lands of
Elphinstone in Mid Lothian.
According to
tradition, the first of this name in this country was a German who came to
Scotland in the reign of Robert the Bruce, and marrying Margaret, daughter
of Sir Christopher Seton, by Lady Christian, his wife, the sister of King
Robert, received with her lands in Mid Lothian, to which he gave his own
name, Elvinton; but for this tradition there is no foundation. Another
version makes the Elphinstones to be descended from the counts of
Helpheinstein in Germany.
John de
Elphinstone, possessor of the lands and barony of Elphinstone, the first
of the name who appears on record, flourished under Alexander II. and
Alexander III.
His grandson,
Sir John de Elphinstone, married the lady above mentioned, Margaret de
Seton, the niece of King Robert Bruce, and by her he had Alexander de
Elphinstone, who took to wife Agnes de Airth, with whom he acquired Airth-Beg,
and several other lands in Stirlingshire.
Alexander’s
great-grandson, Sir Alexander Elphinstone, knight, was succeeded by his
only child Agnes, who, marrying Sir Gilbert Johnston, second son of Adam
Johnston of Johnston, carried the estate of Elphinstone, in Mid Lothian,
into that family.
Her uncle, Henry
Elphinstone of Pittendriech, succeeded his brother in the Stirlingshire
property, which, with some lands in the counties of Perth and Aberdeen was
subsequently called the barony of Elphinstone.
Henry’s nephew,
by a younger brother, William, was William Elphinstone, bishop of
Aberdeen, and chancellor of Scotland under James the Third, of whom a
notice is subsequently given.
Sir Alexander
Elphinstone, of Elphinstone, knight, the great-grandson of Henry, was at
the baptism of Prince Arthur, in 1509, raised to the peerage by James the
Fourth, by the title of Lord Elphinstone. In September 1513 he accompanied
James to Flodden, where he was slain. He bore a striking resemblance to
that monarch, and is supposed to have been mistaken for him in that fatal
field.
His only son,
Alexander, the second Lord Elphinstone, was slain in the battle of Pinkie,
in 1547. By the Hon. Catherine Erskine, daughter of John Lord Erskine,
earl of Mar, he had five sons and three daughters.
The eldest son,
Robert, third Lord Elphinstone, married Margaret, daughter of Sir John
Drummond of Inverpeffrey. His third son, Sir James Elphinstone of
Innernochtie, knight, created 20th February 1604 Lord
Balmerinoch, was the ancestor of the noble house of Balmerino forfeited in
1746, in the person of Arthur, the sixth lord (a notice of whom is given
below), on account of his participating in the rebellion. The Balmerinoch
branch of the Elphinstones has been already noticed, [See BALMERINOCH.]
Alexander,
fourth Lord Elphinstone, the eldest son of the third lord, was in 1599,
while still master of Elphinstone, appointed one of the lords of session,
and lord high treasurer of Scotland. He succeeded his father in 1602, and
died in 1648. By the Hon. Jean Livingston, daughter of William, sixth Lord
Livingston, he had four sons and five daughters.
His son,
Alexander, fifth Lord Elphinstone, married Elizabeth Drummond, sister of
James first earl of Perth, and had only one surviving daughter, Lilias.
She married her cousin Alexander, sixth Lord Elphinstone; and was the
mother of Alexander, seventh lord, and of John, the eighth lord.
The latter
nobleman married Lady Isabel Maitland, daughter of Charles, third earl of
Lauderdale, and had by her five sons and three daughters. The eldest son
died in infancy.
The 2d son,
Charles, 9th Lord Elphinstone, had 4 sons and 2 daughters.
His 3d son,
Charles, succeeded as tenth Lord Elphinstone. He married Lady Clementina
Fleming, only surviving child and heiress of John, sixth earl of Wigton,
by Lady Mary Keith, eldest daughter of William, ninth Earl Marischal, and
had by her six sons and four daughters. He died in 1781.
John, the eldest
son, 11th Lord Elphinstone, was lieutenant-governor of
Edinburgh castle, and died in 1794. One of his brothers was the Hon.
William Elphinstone, well known in his time as chairman of the India
house, and another was admiral the Hon. George Keith Elphinstone, created,
for his naval services, Lord Viscount Keith, a notice of whom is given in
its place. The 11th lord married a daughter of James, third
Lord Ruthven, and had by her John, 12th Lord Elphinstone; the
Hon. Charles Elphinstone of Cumbernauld, an admiral in the navy, who, on
inheriting the estates of the Wigton family, assumed the name of Fleming,
and died in 1840; the Hon. Mount Stewart Elphinstone, sometime governor of
Bombay, and author of an interesting statistical work on the kingdom of
Caubul (published, 1815); another son and 4 daughters.
John, 12th
lord, a lieutenant-general in the army, died in 1813. His only son, John,
13th lord, born in 1807, was for some years governor of Madras.
He returned in 1842, and in Dec. 1847 was appointed a lord in waiting to
the Queen, an office which he held till Feb. 1852; also from Jan. to Oct.
1853, when he was appointed governor of Bombay; Baron Elphinstone, United
Kingdom, 1859; privy councillor 1836; G.C.B. 1859. He died July 19, 1860;
succeeded in his Scottish title by his cousin, John Elphinstone-Fleming,
14th lord, born at Glasgow 1819, son of Admiral Fleming of
Cumbernauld.
Sir Howard
Elphinstone, b. 1773, a major general in the army, eighth in descent from
John Elphinstone of Baberton, 2d son of Robert, 2d Baron Elphinstone, was
created a baronet April 3, 1815, for his distinguished services during the
whole of the Peninsular war, and particularly at the battles of the
Nivelle and Nive. He died in 1826. His son, Sir Howard Elphinstone, of
Sowerby, Cumberland, b. 1804, succeeded as 2d baronet; m. with issue.
_____
A baronetcy is
also possessed by the family of Dalrymple Horn Elphinstone, of Logie
Elphinstone and Westhall, Aberdeenshire, descended from the Hon. Sir Hew
Dalrymple of North Berwick, 3d son of 1st Viscount Stair. Sir
Hew’s third son, Hew Dalrymple of Drummore, a lord of session, 1726, and
of justiciary 1745, as Lord Drummore, m. Anne, daughter and heiress of
John Horn, Esq. of Horn and Westhall, Aberdeenshire; issue, 7 sons and 3
daughters. Died 1755. His 3d son, Robert, a general in the army, succeeded
him, and assumed his mother’s surname of Horn. He married Mary, daughter
and heiress of Sir James Elphinstone of Logie, and assumed also that
additional surname. Died 1794, issue 2 sons, and 6 daughters. The eldest
son, Sir Robert Dalrymple Horn Elphinstone, b. 1766, lieutenant-colonel
Scots Fusilier guards, was created a baronet, Dec. 19, 1827. Died Oct. 11,
1848, and was succeeded by his 3d son, Sir James Dalrymple Horn
Elphinstone, b. 1805, 2d baronet; M.P. for Portsmouth, 1857; m. with
issue.
ELPHINSTON, WILLIAM,
an eminent prelate, founder of King’s college, Old Aberdeen, was born at
Glasgow in 1431, or 1437. His father, Mr. William Elphinston, was the
first of the Elphinstons of Blythswood in Lanarkshire. He became, at the
age of 25, rector of the parish of Kirkmichael, where he remained four
years, and then went to Paris, to study the civil and canon law. Three
years thereafter, he was appointed professor of law, first at Paris, and
afterwards at Orleans. In 1471 he returned home, and by Bishop Muirhead
was made parson of Glasgow, and official of his diocese. In 1473 he was
appointed official of Lothian by the archbishop of St. Andrews, and
admitted a member of the privy council. He was afterwards sent on a
political mission to the king of France, and on his return in 1479 was
made archdeacon of Argyle, and soon after bishop of Ross. In 1484 he was
translated to the see of Aberdeen, and the same year was one of the
commissioners from Scotland to treat of a truce with England, and a
marriage between the son of James III. and the Lady Anne, niece of Richard
III. On the accession of Henry VII. he was again sent to London, with
other ambassadors, to arrange the terms of a truce, which was accordingly
concluded for three years, July 3, 1486. In February 1488 he was
constituted lord high-chancellor of the kingdom, a post which he enjoyed
till James’ death in the following June. He was subsequently sent to
Germany as ambassador to the emperor Maximilian, on a proposal of marriage
betwixt his youthful sovereign and Margaret, the emperor’s daughter, who,
however, was united to the prince of Spain before his arrival in Vienna.
On his return homeward, he concluded a treaty of peace between the States
of Holland and Scotland. In 1492 he was made lord privy seal. In 1494 he
obtained a Bull from Pope Alexander VI. for founding a university at
Aberdeen, and built the King’s college in Old Aberdeen in 1500. Besides
the erection and endowment of this college, Bishop Elphinston left large
sums of money to build and uphold the bridge across the Dee. After the
death of James IV, on the fatal field of Flodden, the venerable bishop
quitted his diocese, and, anxious to assist with his advice in restoring
peace to his distracted country, proceeded to Edinburgh to attend
parliament. But the fatigue of the journey exhausted his strength, and he
died a week after his arrival in the capital, October 25, 1514.
Bishop
Elphinston wrote the Lives of Scottish Saints, which are now lost. In the
college of Old Aberdeen are two series of large MS. folio volumes of his
compilations on the canon law. He also wrote a History of Scotland, which
till lately was believed to be preserved among the Fairfax manuscripts in
the Bodleian Library, at Oxford. This manuscript history, which was early
discovered to be a mere transcript of the Scotichronicon, with some
interpolations, Lord Fairfax, in a note in his own h and-writing, states
that he had got from the widow of Drummond of Hawthornden; and a
memorandum in it attributes its authorship to Elphinston, but it is now
believed not to have been his production at all. An engraving of the
bishop, from his portrait in the hall of King’s college, Old Aberdeen, is
given in Pinkerton’s collection, of which a woodcut is subjoined:
[Bishop Elphinston]
ELPHINSTONE, ARTHUR,
sixth and last Lord Balmerino, was born in 1688. He had the command of a
company of foot in Lord Shannon’s regiment in the reign of Queen Anne; but
at the accession of George the First resigned his commission, and joined
the earl of Mar, under whom he fought at Sheriffmuir. After that
engagement he escaped out of Scotland, and entered into the French
service, in which he continued till the death of his brother Alexander in
1733. His father, anxious to have him settled at home, obtained for him a
free pardon from government, of which he sent notice to his son, then
residing at Berne, in Switzerland. He thereupon, having obtained the
Pretender’s permission, returned to Scotland, afte3r an exile of nearly
twenty years, and was joyfully received by his aged father. When the young
Chevalier arrived in Scotland in 1745, Mr Arthur Elphinstone was one of
the first who repaired to his standard, when he was appointed colonel and
captain of the second troop of life-guards attending his person. He was at
Carlisle when it surrendered to the Highlanders, marched with them as far
as Derby, from whence he accompanied them in their retreat to Scotland,
and was present, with the corps de reserve, at the battle of Falkirk. He
succeeded his brother as Lord Balmerino, January 5, 1746, and a few weeks
thereafter was taken prisoner at the decisive battle of Culloden. Being
conducted to London, he was committed to the Tower, and brought to trial
in Westminster Hall, July 29, 1746, along with the earls of Kilmarnock and
Cromarty, both of whom pleaded guilty. Before pleading to his indictment,
Lord Balmerino stated that he was not at Carlisle at the time specified in
it, being eleven miles off when that city was taken, and he requested to
know if it would avail him anything to prove that fact. Lord Hardwicke
said that such a circumstance might, or might not, be of use to him, but
he informed him that it was contrary to form to permit him to put any
questions before pleading to the indictment, by saying whether he was
guilty, or not guilty. He was then desired to plead, when, apparently not
understanding the meaning of that legal ter, Balmerino exclaimed, with
great animation, “Plead! why, I am pleading as fast as I can.” The lord
high steward having explained the import of the phrase, his lordship
answered “not guilty.” He was remanded to the Tower, and brought back next
day, when, after a short trial, he was found guilty of high treason; and,
on August 1, sentence of death was passed upon the two earls and his
lordship. The high-minded Balmerino disdained to compromise his principles
by suing for pardon, and when he heard that his fellow-prisoners had
petitioned for mercy, he sarcastically remarked that, as they must have
great interest at court, they might have squeezed his name in with their
own. He never entertained any hopes of pardon, for he said he considered
his case desperate, as he had been once pardoned before. The earl of
Cromarty obtained a pardon, but the other two suffered decapitation of
Tower Hill, August 18, 1746. Lord Balmerino’s behaviour at his execution
was marked with unusual firmness and intrepidity. His last words were –
“Oh. Lord! Reward my friends, forgive my enemies, bless King James, and
receive my soul!” He had no issue by his wife Margaret, daughter of
Captain Chalmers, who died at Restalrig, August 24, 1765; and at his death
the male line of this branch of the Elphinstone family became extinct.
ELPHINSTONE, JAMES,
a miscellaneous writer, the son of an episcopalian clergyman of Edinburgh,
was born in that city, December 6, 1721. He was educated at the high
school and university of Edinburgh, on leaving which he was, in his 17th
year, appointed tutor to Lord Blantyre. When of age, he accompanied Thomas
Carte, the historian, afterwards secretary to Bishop Atterbury, in a tour
through Holland and the Netherlands, and at Paris acquired a thorough
knowledge of the French language. On his return home he became private
tutor to the son of Mr. Moray of Abercairney. In 1750 he superintended an
edition of the Rambler, published at Edinburgh, with English translations
of the mottoes, which were approved of by Dr. Johnson, who became the
friend and correspondent of the author. In 1751 he married Miss Gordon,
niece of General Gordon of Auchintool, and in 1753, removing to London,
established an academy, first at Brompton, and afterwards at Kensington.
In the year last mentioned he published a poetical translation of the
younger Racine’s poem of ‘Religion,’ and in 1763 he brought out
‘Education,’ a poem, neither of which works displayed talent above
mediocrity. An English grammar, which he composed for the use of his
scholars, and afterwards enlarged and published in 2 vols. 12mo, was the
most useful of his works, and received the approbation of Mr. Walker,
author of the ‘Pronouncing Dictionary,’ In 1776 he retired from his
school, and, losing his wife, in 1778 he visited Scotland, and delivered a
course of lectures on the English language at Edinburgh and Glasgow. In
1782 appeared his translation of Martial, in one volume 4to, which showed
a total want of judgment, and was received with ridicule. In 1786 he
published ‘Propriety ascertained in her Picture,’ 2 vols. 4to, in which he
endeavoured to establish a new mode of orthography, by spelling all words
as they are pronounced, a project which he still farther explained and
recommended in his ‘English Orthography Eptomised,’ and ‘Propriety’s
Pocket Dictionary.’ In 1794 he brought out, in 6 vols. 4to, a Selection of
his Letters to his Friends, with their Answers, entirely spelt in the new
way; the reading of which was so difficult and tiresome that the work
found few purchasers. Mr. Elphinstone married, a second time, a niece of
Bishop Falconer, and died at Hammersmith, October 8, 1809. His sister was
the wife of Mr. William Strahan, the celebrated printer, who, at his
death, left him a small annuity.
ELPHINSTONE, GEORGE KEITH, VISCOUNT KEITH,
a distinguished naval commander, fourth son of Charles, tenth Lord
Elphinstone, was born in 1747, and entered the navy early in life. In 1773
he was promoted to the rank of commander, and in 1775 made post-captain.
In the same year he was returned member of parliament for Dumbartonshire,
in which county his family possessed considerable property. During the
American war, Captain Elphinstone served with great credit at the attack
on Mud island and Charlestown, and in 1778 commanded the Berwick, 74, in
the action off Brest. In 1782 he was again on the American station, when
he captured l’Aigle, a French frigate of 40 guns and 600 men. In August
1793 he assisted Rear-admiral Goodall in the reduction of Toulon, and
received the red riband of the Bath as a reward for his services. In 1795
he was made vice-admiral, in which year he commanded the fleet destined
for the capture of the Cape of Good Hope; in the object of which
expedition he not only succeeded, but compelled the Dutch, who advanced to
the relief of the colony, to surrender at discretion, without firing a
gun. On this occasion, he was rewarded with an Irish barony, by the title
of Baron Keith of Stonehaven-Marischal, March 7, 1797. His services on
other occasions were highly important and meritorious, and his gallant
exertions in the Foudroyant, on the coast of Egypt, during the campaign of
1801, which year he was promoted to the rank of admiral of the Blue,
caused his elevation to the peerage of the United Kingdom in 1803, by the
title of Baron Keith of Banheath, in the county of Dumbarton. In 1814 he
was created a viscount. Lord Keith died in the spring of 1823, and was
succeeded by his only daughter, Margaret Mercer, married to the count de
Flahault, in France.
Memoir
of the Honourqble George Keith Elphinstone. K.B.
Viscount Keith, Admiral of the Red by Alexander Allardyce (pdf)
ELPHINSTONE, WILLIAM GEORGE KEITH, C.B.,
a major-general in the army, was the third son of the Hon. William
Fullerton Elphinstone, and Elizabeth, daughter of William Fullerton of
Carstairs in Lanarkshire, and grandson of the tenth Lord Elphinstone. He
was born in 1782, and early in life he entered the army as ensign in the
24th regiment of infantry. After serving with much distinction
in various parts of the globe, he became lieutenant-colonel of the 33d
foot in 1813, and being present with his regiment at the battle of
Waterloo, his services were rewarded by his being created a commander of
the Bath. He was also a knight of the order of St. Wilhelm of Holland. In
1837 he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and was
commander-in-chief of the Bengal army when the British arms received so
disastrous a check in Afghanistan in 1841. He was at this period enfeebled
by long service and by the climate of India, and was, moreover, almost
helpless from the effects of gout. He was to be tried by court martial,
had not his death taken place while proceedings were pending. He died
April 23, 1842, aged 60. |
