Thomas Erskine, Lord Erskine

Thomas Erskine, Lord Erskine (1705 – 16 March 1766) was the son of John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar. He could not inherit the title of Earl of Mar due to the Writ of Attainder for treason passed against his father in 1716 for his role in the First Jacobite Rebellion (1715).[1]

Thomas, Lord Erskine, son of John, 6th and 23rd Earl of Mar was initiated in Lodge Kilwinning Scots Arms, Edinburgh, No.3, in 1736. His name is second on the list of registrations in Grand Lodge made by Kilwinning Scots Arms in 1739. This Lodge had large military personnel and is now defunct. Lord Erskine, being under the shadow of his father's attainder, and being denied succession to the title of Earl of Mar, led the quiet life of a country gentleman and had more time to devote himself to the study of Freemasonry. He was elected Grand Master Mason of Scotland in 1749. This undoubtedly led to a quickening of interest in the Craft in Alloa. Thereafter stray names of Alloa men begin to appear in the minutes of the Lodge of Stirling. Within five years a Depute Lodge was regularly meeting in Alloa. [2]

On 1 October 1741, he married Charlotte Hope, daughter of the Charles Hope, 1st Earl of Hopetoun. He died without issue.[1]

Origins

John Erskine, Earl of 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.

• Wikipedia contributors. "Thomas Erskine, Lord Erskine." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.