- David Erskine, 2nd Baron Erskine
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David Montagu Erskine, 2nd Baron Erskine (12 August 1776 – 19 March 1855) was a British diplomat and politician.
Contents
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 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
- 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 MarkhamMember of Parliament for Portsmouth
1806
With: John MarkhamSucceeded by
John Markham
Sir Thomas Miller, BtDiplomatic posts Preceded by
Anthony MerryBritish Minister to the United States
1807–1809Succeeded by
Francis James JacksonPreceded by
Henry Watkin Williams-WynnBritish Minister to Württemberg
1824–1828Succeeded by
Edward Cromwell DisbrowePreceded by
Brook TaylorBritish Minister to Bavaria
1828–1843Succeeded by
John MilbankePeerage of the United Kingdom Preceded by
Thomas ErskineBaron Erskine
1823–1855Succeeded by
Thomas ErskineCategories:- 1776 births
- 1855 deaths
- Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
- Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
- British diplomats
- Diplomatic peers
- Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies
- UK MPs 1802–1806
- Old Carthusians
- Old Wykehamists
- Clan Erskine
- Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the United States
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