Ann(e) Agnes Erskine (1739 – 5 October 1804) was a friend and trustee of

Selina, Countess of Huntingdon Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon (24 August 1707 – 17 June 1791) was an English religious leader who played a prominent part in the religious revival of the 18th century and the Methodist movement in England and Wales. She founded an e ...

. She became an important figure in the

Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion The Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion is a small society of evangelical churches, founded in 1783 by Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon, as a result of the Evangelical Revival. For many years it was strongly associated with the Calvinist M ...

which was a group of churches which still survives.

Life

Erskine was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

in 1739. the eldest child of Agnes and

Henry David Erskine Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, tenth earl of Buchan (1710–1767). Her mother was the daughter of Sir Ann and James Steuart, first baronet (1681–1727), of Goodtrees. Her brothers were David Steuart Erskine, eleventh earl of Buchan who founded the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland; Henry Erskine, lawyer and

Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine, (10 January 175017 November 1823) was a British lawyer and politician. He served as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain between 1806 and 1807 in the Ministry of All the Talents. Background and childhood E ...

, lord chancellor from 1806 to 1807. Her maternal grandfather was Sir Hew Dalrymple and his brother was Sir James Steuart was the Jacobite political economist. 1783 dog and duck and spa fields chapel

She and her brothers were home schooled by their mother in religious household. When she was an adult she became a carer for her father who was living in Walcot. Her paternal grandfather has a friend of Selina the Countess of Huntingdon and George Whitefield who were evangelical methodists. Lady Huntingdon's chapel was used for her fathers funeral when he died at the end of 1767. The service was conducted by George Whitefield. She became Lady Huntingdon's secretary living with her at

Spa Fields Spa Fields is a park and its surrounding area in the London Borough of Islington, bordering Finsbury and Clerkenwell. Historically it is known for the Spa Fields riots of 1816 and an Owenite community which existed there between 1821 and 1824. The ...

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

. Lady Huntingdon had bought a huge chapel in 1779 which attracted congregations of 2,000, but she called "her private chapel". The building had been built as a Pantheon or theatre-in-the-round and it had a huge dome. Erskine and Huntingdon lived nest door in what had been the Dog and Duck and which had been rebuilt in 1756. In June 1791 Selina identified four people who would look after her wealth and chapels after she died. Erskine was one of these and Erskine continued to live in their spacious home but she did not have the funds that the Countess had at her disposal to support her work. However the chapels continued and Erskine took over the recruitment of new ministers who were required despite some congregations moving away. Erskine was reliant on grants supplied by the Spa Fields Chapel committee. She died in 1804 in London and she was buried at

Bunhill Fields Bunhill Fields is a former burial ground in central London, in the London Borough of Islington, just north of the City of London. What remains is about in extent and the bulk of the site is a public garden maintained by the City of London Cor ...

. Her place as a Connexion truste was taken by the Reverend John Ford after her death but it converted to a trust shortly afterwards. A biography of her was published in 1833, but the Countess did not have one for many more years as she had requested that one should not be written.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erskine, Anne Agnes 1739 births 1804 deaths People from Edinburgh Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion English Methodists Burials at Bunhill Fields 18th-century English people 18th-century English women 19th-century English women 19th-century English people