James Erskine (born 1671) was a Scottish soldier and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

in 1715. Erskine was the eldest surviving son of David Erskine, of Dun, Forfar and his wife Margaret Lumsden, daughter of Sir James Lumsden of Innergellie, Fife. He joined the army and in 1694 was an ensign in the 1st Foot. His father, who died in 1698, disinherited him in favour of his younger brother

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 ...

. He was a lieutenant in 1701 and a captain in 1707 serving under the

Duke of Marlborough General (United Kingdom), General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an Engl ...

in the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

. Erskine was unsuccessful standing for parliament at

Aberdeen Burghs Aberdeen Burghs was a district of burghs constituency which was represented from 1708 to 1800 in the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain, and from 1801 to 1832 in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Cr ...

at the 1713 general election, but was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Aberdeen Burghs at the 1715 general election. However, he was unseated on petition on 22 July 1715. Erskine is believed to have taken an active part in the 1745 rebellion when he would have been 74.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erskine, James 1671 births British MPs 1715–1722 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies Year of death unknown