James St Clair-Erskine, 2nd Earl of Rosslyn

Prime MinisterThe Duke of WellingtonPreceded byThe Lord EllenboroughSucceeded byThe Lord DurhamLord President of the CouncilIn office
15 December 1834 – 8 April 1835MonarchWilliam IVPrime MinisterSir Robert Peel, BtPreceded byThe Marquess of LansdowneSucceeded byThe Marquess of LansdowneMember of the House of Lords
Lord TemporalIn office
2 January 1805 – 18 January 1837
Hereditary PeeragePreceded byThe 1st Earl of RosslynSucceeded byThe 3rd Earl of Rosslyn Personal detailsBorn(1762-02-06)6 February 1762Died18 January 1837(1837-01-18) (aged 74)NationalityBritishPolitical partySpouse ChildrenJames St Clair-Erskine, 3rd Earl of RosslynParent(s)Sir Henry Erskine, 5th Baronet
Janet WedderburnRelativesAlexander Wedderburn, 1st Earl of Rosslyn (uncle)

James St Clair-Erskine, 2nd Earl of Rosslyn, GCB, PC (6 February 1762 – 18 January 1837), known as Sir James Erskine, Bt, between 1765 and 1789 and as Sir James St Clair-Erskine, Bt, between 1789 and 1805, was a Scottish soldier, politician, slave holder, and Acting Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, on behalf of King George IV.

Background and education

Erskine was the son of Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Erskine, 5th Baronet, and Janet, daughter of Peter Wedderburn (a Lord of Session under the judicial title of Lord Chesterhall) and sister of Alexander Wedderburn, 1st Earl of Rosslyn. Lord Rosslyn's earldom had been created with special remainder to his nephew, Erskine. Erskine succeeded as sixth baronet in 1765, at the age of three, on the death of his father.^[1] He was educated at Edinburgh High School and Eton, and was commissioned in the 21st Light Dragoons in 1778.

Military career

Erskine was assistant Adjutant-General in Ireland in 1782. In 1793, he became Adjutant-General, in which capacity he served at the Siege of Toulon and Corsica. In 1795, he was promoted to colonel and appointed Aide-de-Camp to King George III. He became a major-general in 1798, lieutenant-general in 1805, and general in 1814. In 1806, he was a member of the special mission to Lisbon, which resulted in Sir Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington) being sent to the Peninsular. He also saw action in Denmark^[2]

Slave holder

Rosslyn was associated with "Antigua no. 79 T71/877 claim by Bethell Walrond", he owned 233 slaves in Antigua and received a £3,626 payment at the time (worth £366,100 in 2024^[3]).^[4]

Political career

Erskine was a member of the House of Commons for the English pocket boroughs of Castle Rising between 1782 and 1784^[5] and Morpeth between 1784 and 1796.^[6] Initially a Whig, an adherent of Edmund Burke and an active supporter of Charles James Fox against William Pitt the Younger in the debates over the East India Company, he was one of the managers of the Impeachment of Warren Hastings. In 1789, on inheriting the Rosslyn and Dysart estates from his cousin James Paterson St Clair, he adopted the name St Clair before his own surname.^{[citation needed]} In 1796, he was elected for the Dysart Burghs in Fife,^[7] a constituency traditionally under the St Clair influence.^{[citation needed]}

In January 1805, he succeeded his uncle as Earl of Rosslyn according to the special remainder,^[1] being by this time considered a Tory,^{[citation needed]} and, after the end of the Napoleonic Wars, continued his political career in the House of Lords. He was a member of the cabinet as Lord Privy Seal from 1829 to 1830^[8] under the Duke of Wellington's and Lord President of the Council under Sir Robert Peel from 1834 to 1835.^[9] In 1829, he was sworn of the Privy Council.^[8]

Family

Lord Rosslyn married Harriet Elizabeth, daughter of the Hon. Edward Bouverie, in 1790. She died in August 1810. Rosslyn remained a widower until his death in January 1837, aged 74. He was succeeded by his son, James.^[1]

References

• Military service
• Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807) [1]
• Concise Dictionary of National Biography (1930)
• Lewis Namier & John Brooke, The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1754-1790 (London: HMSO, 1964)

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Rosslyn
• "Archival material relating to James St Clair-Erskine, 2nd Earl of Rosslyn". UK National Archives.
• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Rosslyn, Earls of" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 752–753.

Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Robert Mackreth John Chetwynd-Talbot	Member of Parliament for Castle Rising 1782–1784 With: Robert Mackreth	Succeeded by Charles Boone Walter Sneyd
Preceded by Peter Delmé Anthony Morris Storer	Member of Parliament for Morpeth 1784–1796 With: Peter Delmé 1784–89 Francis Gregg 1790–95 Viscount Morpeth 1795–96	Succeeded by Viscount Morpeth William Huskisson
Preceded by Charles Hope	Member of Parliament for Dysart Burghs 1796–1801	Succeeded by Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Parliament of Great Britain	Member of Parliament for Dysart Burghs 1801–1805	Succeeded by Robert Dallas
Political offices
Preceded by The Lord Ellenborough	Lord Privy Seal 1829–1830	Succeeded by The Lord Durham
Preceded by The Marquess of Lansdowne	Lord President of the Council 1834–1835	Succeeded by The Marquess of Lansdowne
Honorary titles
Preceded by The Earl of Kellie	Lord Lieutenant of Fife 1828–1837	Succeeded by Robert Ferguson
Masonic offices
Preceded by William Maule	Acting Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Scotland 1810–1812	Succeeded by The Viscount Duncan of Camperdown
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Alexander Wedderburn	Earl of Rosslyn 1805–1837	Succeeded by James Alexander St Clair-Erskine
Baronetage of Nova Scotia
Preceded by Henry Erskine	Baronet (of Alva) 1765–1837	Succeeded by James Alexander St Clair-Erskine