David Erskine, 2nd Baron Erskine

David Montagu Erskine, 2nd Baron Erskine (12 August 1776 – 19 March 1855) was a British diplomat and politician.

Background and education

A member of Clan Erskine, Erskine was the eldest son of Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine, fourth son of Henry Erskine, 10th Earl of Buchan. His mother was Frances, daughter of Daniel Moore, MP.^[1] He was educated at Charterhouse,^{[citation needed]} Winchester and Trinity College, Cambridge.^[1][2] After matriculating in 1796, he was called to the Bar, Lincoln's Inn, in 1802.^[1]

Political and diplomatic career

Erskine did not practise law, however, instead he was elected as Member of Parliament for Portsmouth in 1806,^[3] in place of his father, who was appointed Lord Chancellor. At the request of Erskine's father to Charles James Fox, then Foreign Secretary,^{[citation needed]} he was appointed Minister to the United States later that year.^[1]

In 1809, Erskine was recalled by the Foreign Secretary, George Canning, for having offered the withdrawal of the Orders in Council of 1807 against the Americans and his resolution of the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair. He thus remained out of favour and unemployed until 1824,^{[citation needed]} when he inherited his father's title and was appointed Minister to Stuttgart. He subsequently transferred to Munich in 1828. He retired in 1843.^[1]

Family

Lord Erskine's daughter, the Honourable Jane Erskine, circa 1838, in the Gallery of Beauties.

Lord Erskine had lived in the United States prior to his appointment as Minister to Washington. He married as his first wife Frances Cadwalader, daughter of John Cadwalader (a general during the American Revolutionary War), in 1799. They had twelve children:

• Hon. Thomas Americus, later 3rd Baron Erskine, diplomat.
• Hon. John Cadwallader, later 4th Baron Erskine, diplomat.
• Hon. David Erskine (1816-1903), soldier.
• Hon. Edward Morris (1817-1883), diplomat.
• Hon. James Stuart (1821-1904), created Graf Erskine by Ludwig II of Bavaria.
• Hon. Frances (d. 1876), married Gabriel Shawe.
• Hon. Sevilla (d. 1835), married Sir Henry Howard.
• Hon. Steuarta (d. 1863), married Yeats Brown.
• Hon. Elizabeth (c. 1812-1886), married Sir St Vincent Hawkins-Whitshed, 2nd Baronet.
• Hon. Harriett (d. 1855), married Charles Woomass.
• Hon. Jane Plumer (d. 1846), married James Callander of Craigforth and Ardkinglas.

Lady Erskine died in Genoa in March 1843. Erskine married as his second wife Anne, daughter of John Travis, in July 1843. After Anne's death in April 1851, he married as his third wife Anna, daughter of William Cunninghame Graham and widow of Thomas Calderwood Durham, in 1852. There were no children from his second and third marriage. Lord Erskine died at his home of Butler's Green in Sussex in March 1855, aged 78, and was buried at Cuckfield. He was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son, Thomas. Lady Erskine married the Venerable John Sandford, Archdeacon of Coventry, in 1856. She died in March 1886.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} thepeerage.com David Montagu Erskine, 2nd Baron Erskine of Restormel Castle
2. ^ Erskine, David Montagu in Venn, J. & J. A., Alumni Cantabrigienses, Cambridge University Press, 10 vols, 1922–1958.
3. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "P" (part 2)

• H. M. Stephens, 'Erskine, David Montagu, second Baron Erskine (1776–1855)', rev. H. C. G. Matthew, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 15 Nov 2007

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Hon. Thomas Erskine John Markham	Member of Parliament for Portsmouth 1806 With: John Markham	Succeeded by John Markham Sir Thomas Miller, Bt
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Anthony Merry	British Minister to the United States 1807–1809	Succeeded by Francis James Jackson
Preceded by Henry Watkin Williams-Wynn	British Minister to Württemberg 1824–1828	Succeeded by Edward Cromwell Disbrowe
Preceded by Brook Taylor	British Minister to Bavaria 1828–1843	Succeeded by John Milbanke
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Thomas Erskine	Baron Erskine 1823–1855	Succeeded by Thomas Erskine