Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa KT, FRS (February 1770 – 8 September 1846), styled Lord Kennedy between 1792 and 1794 and known as the Earl of Cassilis between 1794 and 1831, was a Scottish peer.

Early life

Kennedy was the eldest son of Archibald Kennedy, 11th Earl of Cassilis, by Anne, daughter of John Watts and descendant of the

Schuyler family The Schuyler family ( /ˈskaɪlər/; Dutch pronunciation: xœylər was a prominent Dutch family in New York and New Jersey in the 18th and 19th centuries, whose descendants played a critical role in the formation of the United States (especiall ...

, the Van Cortlandt family (including

Stephanus Van Cortlandt Stephanus van Cortlandt (May 7, 1643 – November 25, 1700) was the first native-born mayor of New York City, a position which he held from 1677 to 1678 and from 1686 to 1688. He was the patroon of Van Cortlandt Manor and was on the governor' ...

), and the Delancey family of

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English overseas possessions, English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland (island), Newfound ...

. He became known by the

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some co ...

Lord Kennedy when his father succeeded to the earldom of Cassilis in 1792.thepeerage.com Sir Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa
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Career

Kennedy succeeded to the earldom on the death of his father 30 December 1794. He sat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

as a

Scottish Representative Peer This is a list of representative peers elected from the Peerage of Scotland to sit in the House of Lords after the Acts of Union 1707 abolished the Parliament of Scotland, where, as a unicameral legislature, all Scottish P ...

between 1796 and 1806. In the latter year he was created Baron Ailsa, of Ailsa in the

County of Ayr Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of R ...

, in the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five Peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the ...

, which entitled him to an automatic seat in the House of Lords. He was admitted a Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

on 18 February 1819. In 1831 he was created Marquess of Ailsa, of the Isle of Ailsa in the County of Ayr. He voted for the

Reform Bill In the United Kingdom, Reform Act is most commonly used for legislation passed in the 19th century and early 20th century to enfranchise new groups of voters and to redistribute seats in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...

in 1832. In 1820, King George IV made Archibald. a knight of the Order of the Thistle. This was an achievement that Sir Archibald had coveted for some time. He had a taste for gambling. He owned racehorses and raced many that won cups in 1801 and 1802. He owned ''Clementina, Scaramouche, Pegasus, Chancellor'', and ''Trimmer''. He and 13 others established the Ayr Gold Cup held annually with only Scottish-trained horses that raced over a 2-mile run.

Personal life

Lord Ailsa married

Margaret Erskine Lady Margaret Erskine (8 October 1515 – 5 May 1572) was a mistress of King James V of Scotland and mother of Regent Moray. She was a daughter of John Erskine, 5th Lord Erskine and Lady Margaret Campbell. Royal mistress and mother James V had ...

, the second daughter of Mary ( Baird) Erskine and John Erskine of

Dun A dun is an ancient or medieval fort. In Ireland and Britain it is mainly a kind of hillfort and also a kind of Atlantic roundhouse. Etymology The term comes from Irish language, Irish ''dún'' or Scottish Gaelic ''dùn'' (meaning "fort"), ...

, Forfarshire, on 1 June 1793. They had six children: *

Archibald Kennedy, Earl of Cassilis Archibald Kennedy IV, Earl of Cassilis, (4 June 1794 – 12 August 1832) was the eldest son of Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa. He was styled Lord Kennedy until 1831, and Earl of Cassilis thereafter until his death. He studied at the Un ...

(1794–1832), who married Eleanor Allardyce and had issue. * Lady Anne Kennedy (1798–1877), who married Sir David Baird of Newbyth, 2nd Baronet and had issue. * Lady Margaret Kennedy (1800–1889), who married Thomas Radclyffe-Livingstone-Eyre. * Lady Mary Kennedy (1800–1886), who married Richard Oswald, son of

Richard Alexander Oswald Richard Alexander Oswald (17 February 1771 – 19 June 1841) was a Scottish Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1832 to 1835. Life Oswald was the son of George Oswald, a merchant of Scotstoun, Rector of Glasgow Univers ...

, MP for Ayr of

Auchencruive Auchincruive is a former country house and estate in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located east of Ayr, on the north bank of the River Ayr. Auchincruive House was built in the 18th century on the site of an earlier mansion. In 1927, the estate ...

Estate. * The Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine (1802–1831), who married Lady Augusta FitzClarence, an illegitimate daughter of

King William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

and Dorothy Jordan and had issue (their granddaughter was the writer and poet

Violet Jacob Violet Jacob (1 September 1863 – 9 September 1946) was a Scottish writer known especially for her historical novel ''Flemington'' and for her poetry, mainly in Scots. She was described by a fellow Scottish poet Hugh MacDiarmid as "the most ...

). John Kennedy-Erskine assumed the additional name of Erskine on being named heir to the

House of Dun The House of Dun is a National Trust for Scotland property in the parish of Dun, lying close to the edge of Montrose Basin and situated approximately half way between the towns of Montrose and Brechin, in Angus, Scotland. The Dun Estate was h ...

. * Lady Alicia Jane Kennedy (1805–1887), who married

Jonathan Peel Jonathan Peel, PC (12 October 1799 – 13 February 1879) was a British soldier, Conservative politician and racehorse owner. Background and education Peel was the fifth son of Sir Robert Peel, 1st Baronet, and his first wife Ellen (née Yates ...

Secretary of State for War The Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The Secretary of State for War headed the War Office and ...

, and had issue. Lord Ailsa died in 1846 and was succeeded by his grandson, Archibald Kennedy.

Legacy

Lord Ailsa bought a house near

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

in London that had previously belonged to the playwright

Richard Brinsley Sheridan Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Irish satirist, a politician, a playwright, poet, and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He is known for his plays such as ''The Rivals'', ''The Sc ...

. He named it " St Margaret's" and the name of the house has now been applied to the whole adjacent area. Ailsa Road and Ailsa Avenue in the area are also named after him.

References

External links

*
Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa and 12th Earl of Cassilis
at

The British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It documen ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ailsa, Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess Of 1770 births 1846 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society Knights of the Thistle Scottish representative peers

Archibald Archibald is a masculine given name, composed of the Germanic elements '' erchan'' (with an original meaning of "genuine" or "precious") and ''bald'' meaning "bold". Medieval forms include Old High German and Anglo-Saxon . Erkanbald, bishop of ...

Scottish people of Dutch descent Schuyler family Van Cortlandt family 1 Peers of the United Kingdom created by William IV