John Erskine of Cardross
Encyclopedia
Colonel
The Honourable
John Edmund Erskine (30 March 1662 – January 1743), of Cardross, was a Scottish
soldier and politician.
, Erskine was a younger son of David Erskine, 2nd Lord Cardross
, by his first wife Anne, daughter of Sir Thomas Hope, 1st Baronet.
sympathies led him to choose the winning sides during the Glorious Revolution
of 1688 and the deliberations prior to the Act of Union
of 1707. He fled from Scotland
to join the army of William of Orange
, where he was given command of a Regiment of Foot
. He landed in England
with William's invading army in 1698, the beginning of the Glorious Revolution. In return for his service, he was given further commands in William's army, made governor of Stirling
and Dumbarton
castles. In 1695, he was appointed a director of the Company of Scotland
, and, in the following year, was sent to Holland and other parts of the continent, to manage the affairs of the company.
He sat for Stirling
Burghs in the last sovereign Scottish Parliament
, where he later argued in favour of Union with England. He subsequently sat in the Parliament of Great Britain
, also for Stirling Burghs
.
, father to John Erskine DD
, leader of the Evangelical Party
in the 18th Century Scottish Church
. After Anna's death in June 1723 he married thirdly Lilias, daughter of Sir George Stirling of Keir and widow of John Murray, in 1725. There were no children from this marriage. After Lilias's death in March 1729 he married as his fourth wife Mary, daughter of Charles Stewart of Duncarn, in November 1729. They had at least one son, Charles, who died unmarried. Erskine died in January 1743, aged 80. His fourth wife died in September 1772.
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
The Honourable
The Honourable
The prefix The Honourable or The Honorable is a style used before the names of certain classes of persons. It is considered an honorific styling.-International diplomacy:...
John Edmund Erskine (30 March 1662 – January 1743), of Cardross, was a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
soldier and politician.
Background
The member of a cadet branch of the Earls of BuchanEarl of Buchan
The Mormaer or Earl of Buchan was originally the provincial ruler of the medieval province of Buchan. Buchan was the first Mormaerdom in the High Medieval Kingdom of the Scots to pass into the hands of a non-Scottish family in the male line. The earldom had three lines in its history, not counting...
, Erskine was a younger son of David Erskine, 2nd Lord Cardross
David Erskine, 2nd Lord Cardross
David Erskine, 2nd Lord Cardross , was a Scottish Royalist.Erskine was the only son of Henry Erskine, second son of the second marriage of John Erskine, 18th Earl of Mar, and heir to the Barony of Cardross, by his wife Margaret, only daughter of Sir James Bellenden of Broughton, near Edinburgh...
, by his first wife Anne, daughter of Sir Thomas Hope, 1st Baronet.
Career
Erskine's strongly PresbyterianChurch of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
sympathies led him to choose the winning sides during the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
of 1688 and the deliberations prior to the Act of Union
Acts of Union 1707
The Acts of Union were two Parliamentary Acts - the Union with Scotland Act passed in 1706 by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland - which put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had been agreed on 22 July 1706,...
of 1707. He fled from Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
to join the army of William of Orange
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
, where he was given command of a Regiment of Foot
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
. He landed in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
with William's invading army in 1698, the beginning of the Glorious Revolution. In return for his service, he was given further commands in William's army, made governor of Stirling
Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles, both historically and architecturally, in Scotland. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological formation. It is surrounded on three sides by steep...
and Dumbarton
Dumbarton Castle
Dumbarton Castle has the longest recorded history of any stronghold in Great Britain. It overlooks the Scottish town of Dumbarton, and sits on a plug of volcanic basalt known as Dumbarton Rock which is high.-Iron Age:...
castles. In 1695, he was appointed a director of the Company of Scotland
Company of Scotland
The Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies, also called the Scottish Darien Company, was an overseas trading company created by an act of the Parliament of Scotland in 1695...
, and, in the following year, was sent to Holland and other parts of the continent, to manage the affairs of the company.
He sat for Stirling
Stirling
Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...
Burghs in the last sovereign Scottish Parliament
Parliament of Scotland
The Parliament of Scotland, officially the Estates of Parliament, was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland. The unicameral parliament of Scotland is first found on record during the early 13th century, with the first meeting for which a primary source survives at...
, where he later argued in favour of Union with England. He subsequently sat in the Parliament of Great Britain
Parliament of Great Britain
The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland...
, also for Stirling Burghs
Stirling Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)
Stirling Burghs was a district of burghs constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1708 to 1918. The constituency comprised the burghs of Stirling in Stirlingshire, Dunfermline, and Inverkeithing in Fife, Queensferry, in Linlithgowshire , and Culross, which...
.
Family
Erskine was married four times. He married as his first wife Jane, daughter of William Mure of Caldwell, in 1690. After Jane's early death the same year he married as his second wife Anna, daughter of Sir William Dundas of Kincavel. They had four sons and a daughter. One of his sons was the great jurist John Erskine of CarnockJohn Erskine of Carnock
John Erskine of Carnock was a Scottish jurist and professor of Scottish law at the University of Edinburgh...
, father to John Erskine DD
John Erskine (theologian)
John Erskine , the Scottish theologian, was born near Dunfermline at Carnock, on 2 June 1721. His father was the great Scottish jurist John Erskine of Carnock and his grandfather was Colonel John Erskine of Cardross who had been in William of Orange's army when it invaded England in the Glorious...
, leader of the Evangelical Party
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
in the 18th Century Scottish Church
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
. After Anna's death in June 1723 he married thirdly Lilias, daughter of Sir George Stirling of Keir and widow of John Murray, in 1725. There were no children from this marriage. After Lilias's death in March 1729 he married as his fourth wife Mary, daughter of Charles Stewart of Duncarn, in November 1729. They had at least one son, Charles, who died unmarried. Erskine died in January 1743, aged 80. His fourth wife died in September 1772.