Alexander Melville (also Alexander Leslie), 5th Earl of Leven (28 May 1695 – 2 September 1754) was a Scottish aristocrat.

Early life

He was the son of

David Melville, 3rd Earl of Leven David Melville, later Leslie, 3rd Earl of Leven and ''de jure'' 2nd Earl of Melville (5 May 16606 June 1728) was a Scottish aristocrat, politician, and soldier. The third son of George Melville, 1st Earl of Melville and his second wife Catherine ...

(1660–1728) and Lady Anne Wemyss (1675–1702). His mother was the eldest daughter of James Wemyss, Lord Burntisland and Lady Margaret Wemyss, ''

suo jure ''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...

'' Countess of Wemyss (the only daughter of

David Wemyss, 2nd Earl of Wemyss David Wemyss, 2nd Earl of Wemyss (6 September 1610July 1679) was an army officer. He was the only son of John Wemyss, 1st Earl of Wemyss and Jean Gray (d. 1640), daughter of Lord Gray. As Lord Elcho, a title he held between 1633 and 1649, he com ...

Career

Following the death of his nephew in 1729 (his elder brother predeceased their father in 1721), he inherited the earldoms of Leven and Melville. Lord Leven served as a Lord of Session from 1734 to 1754; Grand Master of Scottish Freemasons 1741 to 1742; High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

from 1741 to 1753; a

Representative Peer In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords. Until 1999, all members of the Peerage of England held the right to ...

for Scotland from 1747 to 1754; and a Lord of Police 1754.

Personal life

On 23 February 1721, he married Mary Erskine, a daughter of Col. Hon. John Erskine of Carnock (third son of

David Erskine, 2nd Lord Cardross David Erskine, 2nd Lord Cardross (baptised 1627 – 1671) was a Scottish Royalist. Life Erskine was the only son of Henry Erskine, second son of the second marriage of John Erskine, Earl of Mar, and heir to the Barony of Cardross, by his wife M ...

) and Anna Dundas (daughter and co-heiress of William Dundas of Kincavel). Before her death in 1723, they had one child: * David Melville, 6th Earl of Leven (1722–1802), who married Wilhelmina Nisbet, daughter of William Nisbet. After the death of his first wife in 1723, he married Elizabeth Monypenny, a daughter of Alexander Moneypenny of

Pitmilly Pitmilly is the site of a former estate located five miles south-east of St Andrews, Scotland. Its historical significance is threefold. It has been inhabited from ancient times; artifacts continue to be recovered from the Neolithic, Bronze and I ...

, on 13 March 1726. They had four children: * Lady Mary Leslie (1736–1821), a novelist who married Dr. James Walker in 1762. After his death, she married George Robinson Hamilton. *

Alexander Leslie Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven (15804 April 1661) was a Scottish soldier in Swedish and Scottish service. Born illegitimate and raised as a foster child, he subsequently advanced to the rank of a Swedish Field Marshal, and in Scotland b ...

(1731–1794), a

Major-general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

who married Mary Tullidelph, a daughter of Dr. Walter Tullidelph of Tullidelph, in 1760. * Lady Anne Melville (1730–1779), who married

George Carnegie, 6th Earl of Northesk Admiral George Carnegie, 6th Earl of Northesk (2 August 1716 – 22 January 1792) was born the son of David Carnegie, 4th Earl of Northesk and Lady Margaret Wemyss on 2 August 1716. A career naval officer, he fought in the War of the Austrian Suc ...

. * Lady Elizabeth Melville (1737–1788), who married

John Hope, 2nd Earl of Hopetoun John Hope, 2nd Earl of Hopetoun (7 September 1704 – 12 February 1781) was the son of Charles Hope, 1st Earl of Hopetoun and Lady Henrietta Johnstone. He married on 14 September 1733 to Anne Ogilvy, daughter of James Ogilvy, 5th Earl of Findlater ...

Lord Leven and Melville died on 2 September 1754 and was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son,

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

References

1754 deaths Lords High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Scottish representative peers Earls of Leven 1695 births {{Scotland-earl-stub