John (Erskine) Erskine Second Earl of Mar KG PC (1558 - 1634)

Born 1558 in Stirling Castle, Stirling, Stirlingshire, Scotland

Ancestors

Husband of Anne (Drummond) Erskine — married 30 Oct 1580 in Kincardine, Scotland

Husband of Mary (Stewart) Stewart Countess of Mar — married 7 Dec 1592 in Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Descendants

Died 14 Dec 1634 at about age 76 in Stirling Castle, Stirling, Stirlingshire, Scotland

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Michelle Erskine [send private message] and Joyce Kimmel [send private message]

Biography

John (Erskine) Erskine Second Earl of Mar KG PC is a member of Clan Erskine.

Sir John Erskine was a member of the aristocracy in British Isles.

John was the only son of John Erskine and Annabella Murray.

His father had become regent for the five-year-old James VI in 1571, so John grew up and was educated with King James Stirling Castle by George Buchanan, his mother and uncle Sir Alexander Erskine of Gogar.

King James called his classmate "Jocky o'Sclaittes" or “slates” because as the boys were playing a game John "slaited" or outwitted the future king.

John was only fourteen years old when he succeeded as 2nd Earl of Mar and 7th Lord Erskine upon the death of his father.

He married firstly Anne Drummond, second daughter of David Drummond and Lilias Ruthven.

Children by Anne Drummond:

1. Hon John Erskine, later 19th and de jure 3rd Earl of Mar (c.1585-1654)

Widower John married secondly Lady Mary Stuart, second daughter of Esmé Stuart, 1st Duke of Lennox and Katherine de Balsac. As John was twice her age and already had a son and heir, she at first refused to take him. The King, however, took his part and in his own homely way said: "I say Jock, ye sanna die for ony lass in a' the land." He is said to have prevailed on the lady to marry him by promising to make a peer of her eldest son.

Children by Lady Mary Stuart:

1. Hon James Erskine, jure uxoris Earl of Buchan (d. Jan 1639/40), mar. (1) Lady Mary Douglas, suo jure Countess of Buchan, and (2) Dorothy Knyvett (bur. 4 Feb 1639/40), dau. of Sir Philip Knyvett, 1st Bt., of Buckenham, co. Norfolk, by his wife Katherine Ford, dau. and hrss. of Charles Ford, of Butley Abbey, co. Suffolk, and had issue by his first wife
2. Hon Henry Erskine, styled Master of Cardross (dvp. 1628), mar. after 14 Dec 1625 Margaret Bellenden, sister of William [Bellenden], 1st Lord Bellenden of Broughton, and dau. of Sir James Bellenden of Broughton by his wife Elizabeth Ker, sister of Robert [Ker], 1st Earl of Roxburghe, and 2nd dau. of Sir William Ker of Cessford, and had issue
3. Col Hon Alexander Erskine (d. 30 Aug 1640)
4. Hon Sir Arthur Erskine (d. 3 Sep 1651), mar. 25 Jun 1628 Margaret Buchanan, 1st dau. of Sir John Buchanan of Scotscraig, and had issue
5. Hon Sir John Erskine (d. bef. 1668), mar. c. 1640 Margaret Inglis, 1st dau. and cohrss. of William Inglis of Otterstoun, and had issue
6. Hon Sir Charles Erskine of Alva (d. 8 Jul 1663), mar. (1) after 10 Jan 1639 Mary Hope, 3rd dau. of Sir Thomas Hope of Craighall, and (2) Helen Bruce (widow of Sir Robert Bruce of Broomhall; mar. (3) 1666 Sir James Dundas of Arniston), dau. of Sir James Skene of Curriehill, and had issue
7. Hon William Erskine, Cupbearer to King Charles I and Mater of the Charterhouse
8. Lady Mary Erskine (d. after 25 Jan 1666/7), mar. (1) 12 Oct 1609 William [Keith], 5th Earl Marischal, and (2) 15 Jul 1639 as his third wife Patrick [Maule], 1st Earl of Panmure, and had issue by her first husband
9. Lady Anna Erskine (d. 2 May 1640), mar. after 28 Dec 1614 John [Leslie], 6th Earl of Rothes, and had issue
10. Lady Margaret Erskine (dsps. 7 Nov 1640), mar. 19 Jun 1618 as his first wife John [Lyon], 2nd Earl of Kinghorne
11. Lady Annabella Erskine (d. young)
12. Lady Catherine Erskine (d. 5 Feb 1634/5), mar. after 27 Feb 1621/2 as his first wife Thomas [Hamilton], 2nd Earl of Haddington, and had issue

In 1577 he was appointed Privy Counsellor (PC)

In Apr 1578 James Douglas 4th Earl of Morton prevailed upon him to remove his uncle Sir Alexander Erskine of Gogar from Stirling Castle and to take the keeping of the castle and of the King's person into his own hand. Morton then obtained admission to the castle with his friends and followers and after that the young Earl dared not do anything except what he was commanded to do. Nominally John, guardian of the young king, who was about seven years his junior, was probably in reality a puppet in the hands of the Earl of Morton.

When John’s influence over the young king was challenged by Esmé Stuart 1st Duke of Lennox, and James Stewart, Earl of Arran, Mar and several other lords seized James at Perth and took him to Ruthven Castle, Inverness. Ten months later, in June 1583, the king escaped. Arran then became ascendant; and in 1584 Mar, after a brief seizure of Stirling Castle in the hope of prompting English intervention, was forced to flee to England, where he received the backing of Queen Elizabeth I. In Nov 1585 Mar returned to Scotland, banished Arran, and was reconciled with James, becoming one of the leading royal ministers. James made him guardian for his son, Prince Henry (1594–1612), in 1594.

In Aug 1582 John was one of the people involved in the Raid of Ruthven to get rid of the favorites Lennox and Arran. The next year he was committed to the custody of the Earl of Argyle and was ordered to deliver Stirling Castle to the King and council on penalty of treason. The King gave the keeping of Stirling Castle to Arran and appointed him provost of Stirling. In the meantime John and the others took refuge in Ireland.

On 17 Apr 1584 they returned to Scotland and surprised Stirling Castle but were forced away and again on the 27th but were repelled by the King with a large force and were driven into England. In Nov 1585 he and the other banished lords re-entered Scotland and raising a force of 8,000 men took possession of Stirling Castle and the King with the unprincipled Arran, stripped of all his titles and estates dropped into obscurity.

In Dec Parliament ratified the pardons and their honors and estates were restored. On the arrival of the King and Queen Anne from Denmark 1 May 1590 the Duke of Lennox and the Earls of Mar and Bothwell were among the first to receive them.

In 1592 he was appointed governor of the castle at Edinburgh. At this time he held the office of Great Master of the household and was charged with the care of Prince Henry with special instructions from King James.

In Mar 1594 he was one of the noblemen who signed the bond at Aberdeen for the security of the protestant religion against the Catholic Earls Huntly, Angus, Errol and others. After the baptism of Prince Henry in Aug. 1594 the King made the royal infant a knight when he was "touched with the spur by the Earl of Mar." At the banquet which followed "the King and Queen with the ambassadors sat at table in the great hall at eight hours at even; the office men to the King, the Earl of Mar, Great Master Household, the Lord Fleming, Great Usher, the Earl of Montrose, Carver, the Earl of Glencairn, Cupper, the Earl of Orkney, Sewer, to the Queen, the Lord Seton, Carver, the Lord Hume, Cupper, the Lord Sempill, Sewer. The table was so served that every one might see another."

In the spring of 1595 the Queen insisted that the Prince should be moved from Stirling to Edinburgh Castle, but Sir John who had charge of the infant would not allow her to come near him by herself since she might carry him off. In July the King formally intrusted the keeping and education of the Prince to Sir John by a warrant in his own hand.

On 10 Dec 1598 at a meeting held at Holyrood House, Sir John was sworn one of the council appointed to meet twice per week to assist the King with their advice.

In Aug 1600 Sir John was with the king on the occasion of the Gowrie Conspiracy when James rode from Falkland Palace to the house of the Ruthven brothers in Perth, where he was supposedly to be kidnapped or assassinated.^[1]

In 1601 Sir John was sent to England as ambassador and was instrumental in making the accesion of King James to the English throne smooth. While in London Sir John met with Robert Bruce, the famous preacher who was in banishment for his disbelief of the guilt of the Gowrie brothers and through John's influence with the King he obtained a license to return to Scotland. Queen Elizabeth received the Earl and presented him with "a very fine bason and laver of mother of pearle with severall rubies and pearles set thairin.

In 1603 Sir John accompanied the King on his departure for London to take possession of the throne of England. Before reaching York he had to return as the Queen had taken advantage of his absence to go to Stirling with a large group of noblemen and others and demanded that Prince Henry be given to her. The Countess of Mar refused to hand him over without an order in Sir John's own hand. The Duke of Lennox was sent from court to straighten out the affair.

On 19 May 1603 he arrived at Stirling Castle with the King's approval of the proceedings of Sir John and his mother and was told to bring the queen and prince to England. Sir John then returned to London and on 9 July he was made a Knight of the Garter (KG) and was sworn a member of the English privy council.

On 27 Mar 1604 King James VI granted Sir John the lands of the Priory of Inchmahome and Abbeys of Dryburgh and Cambuskenneth together with the Lordship of Cardross, with the power of assigning the barony and title to any of his male heirs. The reason for this unusual privilege as stated in the grant was that he "might be in a better condition to provide for his younger sons, by Lady Mary Stewart, daughter of the Duke of Lennox and a relation of his majesty."

In 1605 Henry IV of France wrote to the Earl wishing to maintain the frienship with King James and sent John a jewel valued at 15,000 levies.

In the beginning of 1606 John returned to Scotland to assist at the trial of Mr. John Welch and five other ministers at Linlithgow on a charge of treason for having gone against the jurisdiction in an ecclesiastical matter.

In 1609 King James asked his help in the matter of the Marquess of Huntly and the Earl of Errol who were suspected of papist leanings. He was a member of the court of High Commission established in 1610 for the trial of church offences.

On 10 June 1610 he was created 1st Lord Cardross

In 1613 he held the office of Constable and Justiciar of Brechin

In Dec 1616 he was appointed Lord High Treasurer of Scotland which he held until 1630.

In 1619 he was Collector of General Taxaton

At the opening of Parliament at Edinburgh 25 Jul 1621 he carried the scepter as he had often done before.

In 1623 he was made a member of a commission to sit at Edinburgh for the redress of grievances, but which never took effect. He was at the proclamation of Charles I as King at the Cross of Edinburgh 31 Mar 1625.

John passed away on 14 Dec 1634 at his home in Stirling Castle and was buried at Dryburgh Abbey, Melrose, Scotland?

John Erskine, Earl of Mar K.G. Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, Governor of Henry Prince of Wales and Prince Charles afterwords King of England, to whom King James VI gave Dryburgh Abbey and its dependencies for his meritorious services during a long life, died 14 Dec 1634 in the 82nd year of his age at Stirling Castle of which he was also Governor.

Dictionary of National Biography, Volumes 1-22 states that he was buried in Alloa, Clackmannanshire on 6 Apr 1635.^[2][3]

In his will he appointed his wife Mary, tutor to their son William, and appointed his grandson John Erskine his executor. He gave his wife in addition to her rightful third the "jewell of diamonds" which he received from the French King. He also tells his oldest son to care for his step mother and brother and sisters, especially the "lytell ons wha can nocht do for thamselffis." His estate was valued at £75,971/17/6.(6)

Research Notes

Earls of Mar, first creation (1404) as decided by Act of Parliament in 1885
The creation dating from 1404, recognizes Alexander Stewart as 12th Earl.
Some sources discount Stewart from this creation, lowering subsequent numbers by one.

Other titles: 12th Lord Garioch

Sources

1. ↑ The Gowrie Conspiracy & Its Official Narrative by Cowan, Samuel, 1835-1914 [1]
2. ↑ Dictionary of National Biography, Volumes 1-20, 22 Ancestry.com [online database] Original data: Stephen, Sir Leslie, ed. Dictionary of National Biography, 1921–1922. Volumes 1–22. London, England: Oxford University Press, 1921–1922. Dictionary of National Biography, 1921–1922, Oxford University Press, London, England.
3. ↑ Flag textsThe Scottish antiquary, or, Northern notes & queries Vol 9 [2]

• Mar Minutes-
• Mar Peerage Evidence
• Mar & Kellie Papers
• Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage by Charles Mosley p. 565
• The Scots Peerage by Sir James Balfour Vol. 5, pp.615-622[3]
• Find A Grave[4] (Note that Magdalen Erskine, wife of Alexander Jaffray is incorrecly assigned as a daughter of John Erskine 2nd Earl of Mar)
• Billion Graves[5]
• Wikipedia [6]
• Stirling Castle[7]