Historical records matching John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar
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About John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar
JOHN ERSKINE, EARL OF MAR
Bobbing John
ERSKINE
JOHN
CHARLES EARL MAR ERSKINE MARY MAULE FR221 (FR221)
M
21/01/1675
465
10 / 381
ALLOA
Biographical Summary by Wikipedia
John Erskine, 22nd and de jure 6th Earl of Mar, KT (1675 – May 1732), Scottish Jacobite, was the eldest son of the 21st Earl of Mar (who died in 1689), from whom he inherited estates that were heavily loaded with debt. By modern reckoning he was 22nd Earl of Mar of the first creation (from c. 1114) and de jure 6th Earl of Mar of the seventh creation (from 1565). He is sometimes also termed the 11th Earl of Mar in the Scottish Peerage, which was reckoned from the second creation (from 1426). He was nicknamed "Bobbing Jock" for his tendency to shift back and forth from faction to faction, whether from Tory to Whig or Hanoverian to Jacobite. Deprived of office by the King in 1714, John raised the standard of rebellion against the Hanoverians; at the battle of Sheriffmuir in November 1715, Mar's forces outnumbered those of his opponent, but victory eluded him. At Fetteresso his cause was lost, and Mar fled to France where he would spend the remainder of his life. The Hanoverian court passed a Writ of Attainder for treason against Mar in 1716 as punishment for his disloyalty, which was not lifted until 1824. He died in 1732.
Life
He was associated with a party favourable to the Government, was one of the Commissioners for the Union, and was made a Scottish Secretary of State; becoming, after the Union of 1707, a representative peer for Scotland, Keeper of the Signet and a Privy Counsellor. In 1713 Mar was made a British Secretary of State by the Tories, but he seems to have been equally ready to side with the Whigs and, in 1714, he assured the new King, George I, of his loyalty. However, like the other Tories, he was deprived of his office, and in August 1715 he went in disguise to Scotland and placed himself at the head of the Jacobite adherents of James Edward, the Old Pretender.
Meeting many Highland chieftains at Aboyne, he avowed an earnest desire for the independence of Scotland and, at Braemar on 6 September 1715, he proclaimed James VIII King of Scotland, England, France and Ireland, thus beginning the '15 Jacobite rising. Gradually the forces under his command were augmented, but as a general he was a complete failure. Precious time was wasted at Perth, a feigned attack on Stirling was resultless, and he could give little assistance to the English Jacobites. At Sheriffmuir, where a battle was fought in November 1715, Mar's forces largely outnumbered those of his opponent, the Duke of Argyll. The battle was actually a draw (each army's right wing defeated the other's left wing). However, Mar's indecisiveness meant that the aftermath of the battle was strategically a decisive defeat for the Jacobites. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sheriffmuir
Mar then met James Edward at Fetteresso; the cause however was lost, and Mar and the Prince fled to France, where he would spend the remainder of his life. The Hanoverian court passed a Writ of Attainder for treason against Mar in 1716 as punishment for his disloyalty; this was not lifted until 1824.
Mar sought to interest foreign powers in the cause of the Stuarts; but in the course of time he became thoroughly distrusted by the Jacobites. In 1721 he accepted a pension of £3500 a year from George I, and in the following year his name was freely mentioned in connection with the trial of Bishop Atterbury, whom it was asserted that Mar had betrayed. This charge may perhaps be summarised as not proven. At the best his conduct was highly imprudent, and so in 1724 the Pretender finally broke with Mar. His later years were spent in Paris and at Aix-la-Chapelle, where he died in 1732.
Marriage, issue and descendants
Mar first married Lady Margaret Hay in 6 April 1703. She bore him a son, Thomas, in 1705. Lady Margaret died four years later on 26 April 1707. Mar married for his second wife Lady Frances Pierrepont, daughter of the 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull. The match was excellent, as it provided Mar with the funds to finally begin to clear his inherited debts. Lady Frances went mad in 1728 due to the stress of his exile in France. She outlived Mar by 35 years, dying on 4 March 1767.
Notable relatives
Through his marriage to Lady Frances Pierrepont, Mar was a brother-in-law of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu.
Mar's brother James Erskine, Lord Grange was a noted judge.
Mar's son Thomas Erskine, Lord Erskine served as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Scotland (1749–1750).
In popular culture
The progressive rock band Genesis wrote a song, "Eleventh Earl of Mar" (found on their Wind & Wuthering album), about Mar and the 1715 Jacobite Rising.
He was mentioned in a contemporary folk song "Cam Ye O'er Frae France", which was recorded by the British electric folk band Steeleye Span.
Rumored children
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Erskine-637
John Erskine was not a man noted for high morals. Certainly King George I, for one at least, questioned his loyalty and integrity when he removed him from office. There is consistent conjecture, as yet unproven, that he had a number of illegitimate children. A number of these migrated to the British Colonies in North America around the time of the clearances arising from the 1st Jacobite revolt, when John Erskine was indicted for treason, and are subject to ongoing research. Of these:
John Marr; stated in some research[5] to have been born in 1694 at Hillston Park in Monmouthshire thus placing the birth prior to his first marriage, to Margaret, and during his days of his "tour", the liaison seemingly occurring just after he had taken title to the estates but prior to his grant. He would have been about 20 at the time. John is understood to have migrated to the colonies and have been a mariner. He was wrecked off Cape Cod in 1750. However, a John Marr, with the same history, is also stated as a son of Edward Erskine, believed to be a scion of the Erskines of Alva.
William Marrs; stated in some research[6] to have been born at Balmoral castle in 1710. If so it would suggest an affair after the death of Margaret, his first wife, but prior to his second marriage, to Frances. It is highly unlikely the birth occurred at Balmoral as this property was in the hands of the Farquarson family at the time; it is more likely that the birth occurred at Braemar castle. Braemar, less than 10 Km from Balmoral, was in the hands of the Earl of Mar. While the castle had been destroyed during the Highland Rebellion of 1688 the estate would have been used as a hunting estate.
It can be noted that the use of the surname of the estate was common for illegitimate children of the landholders and the name of Erskine, at the time after the Rebellion, was attainted.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Erskine-6th-earl-of-Mar
Title of Nobility •
23 May 1689 He succeeded as the 11th Lord Erskine [created Scotland, 1438] Title of Nobility • 23 May 1689 He succeeded as the 6th Earl of Mar [created Scotland, 1565] Title of Nobility • 23 May 1689 He succeeded as the 23rd Earl of Mar [created Scotland, c. 1115] Occupation • 1697 He was appointed Privy Counsellor (P.C.) [Scotland] Military Service • between 1702 and 1706 He was Colonel of Foot Title of Nobility • 1706 He was appointed Knight, Order of the Thistle (K.T.) Occupation • between 1705 and 1709 He held the office of Secretary of State for Scotland Occupation • 1707 He was appointed Privy Counsellor (P.C.) Occupation • between 1707 and 1713 He was appointed Representative Peer [Scotland] Occupation • from 1713 to 1714 He held the office of Secretary of State for Scotland Occupation • 1715 Scotland He joined the Jacobites Title of Nobility • 22 October 1715 He was created 1st Earl of Kildrummie [Scotland], Jacobite Title of Nobility • 22 October 1715 He was created 1st Marquess of Erskine [Scotland], Jacobite Title of Nobility • 22 October 1715 He was created 1st Duke of Mar [Scotland], Jacobite. Title of Nobility • 22 October 1715 He was created 1st Lord of Alloa, Ferriton and Forest [Scotland], Jacobite. Title of Nobility • 22 October 1715 He was created 1st Viscount Gairloch [Scotland], Jacobite. Military Service • 13 November 1715 He fought in the Battle of Sheriffmuir, as Commander-in-Chief. Title of Nobility • 17 February 1715/1716 He was attainted, with his titles and lands forfeited Title of Nobility • 1716 He was appointed Knight, Order of the Garter (K.G.) [Jacobite] Title of Nobility • 10 November 1717 He was created 1st Earl of Mar [England], Jacobite Occupation • between 1715 and 1724 Scotland He was chief advisor to James III, when he ended his support for the Jacobites Title of Nobility • 13 December 1722 He was created 1st Duke of Mar [Scotland], Jacobite. Custom Event • Other
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John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar's Timeline
| 1675 |
January 21, 1675
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Alloa, Clackmannanshire, Kingdom of Scotland (not yet part of the United Kingdom)
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January 21, 1675
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Alloa, Clackmannanshire, Kingdom of Scotland (not yet part of the United Kingdom)
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| 1705 |
1705
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| 1715 |
April 20, 1715
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Alloa, Clackmannanshire, Scotland, United Kingdom
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| 1732 |
May 1732
Age 57
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Aix la Chapelle, France
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