Clan Elphinstone is a

Lowland Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of p ...

Scottish clan A Scottish clan (from Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared identity and descent to members, and in modern times have an official structure recognised ...

.Way, George and Squire, Romily. ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The

Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs (SCSC) is the organisation that represents the Chiefs of many prominent Scottish Clans and Families. It describes itself as "the definitive and authoritative body for information on the Scottish Clan System ...

). Published in 1994. Pages 130 - 131.

History

Origins of the clan

The 'de Erth' family took their name from the lands of

Airth Airth is a Royal Burgh, village, former trading port and civil parish in Falkirk, Scotland. It is north of Falkirk town and sits on the banks of the River Forth. Airth lies on the A905 road between Grangemouth and Stirling and is overlooked by A ...

which lie close to the barony of Plean in

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, gd, Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a historic county and registration countyRegisters of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling. It borders Perth ...

. This family probably erected the first Plean Castle. The de Erth family ended in an heiress and lands that were acquired by her husband near

Tranent Tranent is a town in East Lothian (formerly Haddingtonshire), in the south-east of Scotland. The town lies 6 miles from the boundary of Edinburgh, and 9.1 miles from the city centre. It lies beside the A1 road, the A1 runs through the paris ...

near East Lothian were probably named after the heiress's family. The name first appears in about 1235 in East Lothian in a deed by Alanus de Swinton in which a mention is made of the name 'de Elfinstun'. It is likely that de Swinton's son, John, who owned the lands, went on to become John de Elfinstun. There is a family tradition however, that claims that the family are descended from Flemish knights called Helphenstein. Another theory suggests that the name is derived from ''Alpin's tun'', which means the farmstead of Alpin.

14th, 15th and 16th centuries

Sir John de Elfinstun married Margaret of Seton who was a niece of

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventual ...

. One of John's descendants was William Elfinstun who became rector of Kirkmichael. William studied Civil and Canon Law in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and he eventually became Professor of Law at that university. He also became

Bishop of Aberdeen The Bishop of Aberdeen (originally Bishop of Mortlach, in Latin Murthlacum) was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Aberdeen, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics, whose first recorded bishop is an early 12th-century cleric named Nec ...

in 1484 and later Lord High Chancellor of Scotland. William later obtained a bull from Pope Alexander VI in 1494 for founding the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

. A cousin of bishop William was Sir Alexander Elphinstone who was created

Lord Elphinstone Lord Elphinstone is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created by King James IV in 1510. History The title of Lord Elphinstone was granted by King James IV in 1510 to Sir Alexander Elphinstone of Elphinstone, who was killed at the Battle of ...

by James IV of Scotland. Alexander and the king were together killed at the

Battle of Flodden The Battle of Flodden, Flodden Field, or occasionally Branxton, (Brainston Moor) was a battle fought on 9 September 1513 during the War of the League of Cambrai between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, resulting in an English ...

in 1513. Alexander's son, another Alexander Elphinstone, was killed at the

Battle of Pinkie The Battle of Pinkie, also known as the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh ( , ), took place on 10 September 1547 on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland. The last pitched battle between Scotland and England before the Union of the Crow ...

in 1547. In 1599 the fourth Lord Elphinstone was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Scotland.

18th century and Jacobite risings

A cadet branch of the Clan Elphinstone were the Lords Balmerino. They were staunch Jacobites and the sixth Lord Balmerino was captured after the Battle of Culloden and beheaded in August 1746. The eleventh Lord Elphinstone was lieutenant governor of Edinburgh Castle.

19th and 20th centuries

One of the eleventh Lord's younger brothers was

George Keith Elphinstone George Keith Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith (7 January 1746 – 10 March 1823), was a British naval officer active throughout the Napoleonic Wars. Career Early service George Elphinstone was the fourth son of Charles Elphinstone, 10th ...

who was a distinguished naval officer. He served on ships that protected the British shipping off the east coast of America. He was created Baron Keith which was promoted to the rank of Viscount in 1814. The Viscount's nephew was William George Elphinstone who was a colonel at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

in 1815. He was later promoted to commander-in-chief of the Bengal army in 1837 and led the disastrous Afghan campaign of 1841.

Clan Chief

The present Chief of Clan Elphinstone is Alexander Lord Elphinstone who succeeded his father in 1994 at the age of 14.

Clan Castles

* Elphinstone Tower, East Lothian *

Elphinstone Tower, Falkirk Elphinstone Tower, also known as Dunmore Tower or Airth Tower, is a ruined tower house on the Dunmore Estate in central Scotland. It is located north-west of Airth and east of Stirling in the Falkirk council area. The 16th-century ruin is prote ...

* Plean Castle

References

External links

https://web.archive.org/web/20070314000845/http://www.myclan.com/clans/Elphinstone_33/default.php
{{Scottish clans Boars in heraldry Elphinstone Scottish Lowlands