James Erskine of Grange, Lord Grange

JAMES ERSKINE OF GRANGE

Advocate; Burgess of Glasgow; Chief Factor for the Earl of Mar; Senator of the College of Justice, where he sat as Lord Grange; Lord Justice-Clerk; Member of Parliament for Stirling; Secretary to Frederick, Prince of Wales

James Erskine of Grange is the second son of Charles Erskine, 22nd and 5th Earl of Mar and his wife Lady Mary Maule The Scots Peerage V: 627 He was born before 11 October 1679, the date upon which his baptism was registered at Alloa in Clackmannanshire, Scotland. [National Records of Scotland, Alloa Baptisms, reference 465/1]

First Marriage

James Erskine of Grange, Lord Grange, married Rachel Chieslie, Lady Grange The Scots Peerage V: 628

Second Marriage

James Erskine of Grange, Lord Grange had a long running affair with Fanny Lindsay, Lady Grange a coffee shop proprietor in Edinburgh’s High Street. Legal News After the death of his first wife Rachel Chieslie, Lady Grange James Erskine of Grange married Fanny Lindsay, Lady Grange Catherine Curzon: Lord and Lady Grange

Evidence from the National Records of Scotland

                   1

10 October 1707: Letter to the Earl of Mar from James Erskine, Lord Grange, his brother. Stirling Castle. Valuation of Mar's estates to be made. Recommends his brother-in-law, Mr Chiesley, as First Lt in the ship 'Dumbarton Castle'. National Records of Scotland, Papers of the Erskine Family, Earls of Mar and Kellie, reference GD124/15/491/32

                   2

23 December 1707: Letter to James Erskine, Lord Grange, from Col John Erskine, his step-father. Whitehall. The fashionable size of ear-rings. Alarming prospects of government for Scotland. National Records of Scotland, Papers of the Erskine Family, Earls of Mar and Kellie, reference GD124/15/510/8

                   3

1708: Burgess ticket of Glasgow granted to James Erskine, Lord Grange. National Records of Scotland, Papers of the Erskine Family, Earls of Mar and Kellie, reference GD124/18/51

                   4

1716-28: Forfeited Estates: Mar: Papers relating to annuity of £1000 stg. granted to Frances [Pierrepont], second wife of John, earl of Mar, for her life, and thereafter to Frances Erskine, their daughter, later wife of James Erskine, third son of James Erskine of Grange. National Records of Scotland, Exchequer Records: Forfeited Estates Papers 1715: Particular Estates: Mar, reference E646/68

                   5

21 August 1729: Extract ante-nuptial contract of marriage between John, Earl of Kintore, and Mary Erskine, eldest daughter of James Erskine of Grange, Senator of the College of Justice. Reg Books of Council and Session, 30 Jun 1755. Also, envelope, annotated to printer. National Records of Scotland, Papers of the Erskine Family, Earls of Mar and Kellie, reference GD124/3/90

                   6

16 December 1735: Letter to James Erskine of Grange from John Erskine, his son, on family matters. National Records of Scotland, Papers of the Erskine Family, Earls of Mar and Kellie, reference GD124/15/1451

                   7

11 April 1738: Letter to James Erskine of Grange from John Hamilton, WS, in Edinburgh, asking Grange to signify his consent, as a trustee of Col John Erskine, to the marriage contract of Effie Erskine, daughter of Col Erskine, and Mr Alexander Boswell, yr of Auchinleck. Enclosure. Note of heads of the contract of marriage. National Records of Scotland, Papers of the Erskine Family, Earls of Mar and Kellie, reference GD124/15/1489

                   8

1732 x 1739: Copy of letter written by Rachel, wife of James Erskine of Grange, on the island [of St Kilda] describing her abduction in 1732 and later sufferings. National Records of Scotland, Papers of the Erskine Family, Earls of Mar and Kellie, reference GD124/15/1506

                   9

20 August 1740 - 4 September 1740: Letters to James Erskine of Grange from James Erskine, his son, on miscellaneous business. National Records of Scotland, Papers of the Erskine Family, Earls of Mar and Kellie, reference GD124/15/1512

Biographical Summary by Wikipedia

James Erskine, Lord Grange, was the son of Charles Erskine, Earl of Mar, by his spouse Lady Mary, eldest daughter of George Maule, 2nd Earl of Panmure, he was also brother of John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar. Educated as a lawyer, he was raised to the bench on 18 October 1706. He was nominated a Lord of Justiciary in place of Lord Crocerig on 6 June the same year, and took the title Lord Grange. On 27 July 1710 he succeeded Adam Cockburn of Ormiston as Lord Justice Clerk . . . . . He took no part in the rising of 1715, although there is little doubt that at times he was in communication with the Jacobites; but was rather known for his piety and for his sympathy with the Presbyterians . . . . . In 1724 he, and David Erskine, Lord Dun purchased the forfeited Earldom of Mar from the government, which they promptly reorganised, and sold off. . . . . . He is more famous, however, owing to the story of his wife's disappearance. This lady, Rachel Chiesley, was a woman of disordered intellect; probably with reason she suspected her husband of infidelity, and after some years of unhappiness Grange arranged a plan for her seizure . . . . . In January 1732 she was conveyed with great secrecy from Edinburgh to the Monach Islands for two years, thence Hirta in St Kilda, where she remained for about ten years, thence she was taken to Assynt in Sutherland, and finally to Skye. To complete the idea that she was dead her funeral was publicly celebrated, but she survived until May 1745 . . . . . Meanwhile in 1734 Grange resigned his offices in the Court of Session and Justiciary, and became a Member of Parliament where he was a bitter opponent of Sir Robert Walpole. His objective of being appointed Secretary of State for Scotland was a failure. For a short time after leaving parliament he returned to the Bar . . . . .He died in London on 20 January 1754, aged 75 years."

Genealogy

1. The Scots Peerage : founded on Wood's ed. of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland; containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom. Edited by Sir James Balfour Paul, Lord Lyon King of Arms. Volume V. (David Douglas, Edinburgh, 1908), 639 pp.
2. An Historical Account of the Senators of the College of Justice. From Its Institution in MDXXXII. By George Brunton (David Haig; 1832), pp. 484-5.
3. Wikipedia