David Erskine, 11th Earl Of Buchan
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David Stuart Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan, (1 June 1742 – 19 April 1829), styled Lord Cardross between 1747 and 1767, was a Scottish antiquarian, founder of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, and patron of the arts and sciences.


Background and education

Erskine was the second but eldest surviving son of Henry Erskine, 10th Earl of Buchan, by Agnes, daughter of Sir James Stewart, 1st Baronet. He was the brother of Hon. Henry Erskine and Lord Erskine. His elder sister was Lady Anne Erskine who was involved with the evangelical methodists of Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion. He studied at St. Andrews University (1755–59)
Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...
(1760–62) and Glasgow University (1762–63). He studied under
Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptised 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the field of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as the "father of economics"——— or ...
, and Joseph Black. He married, on 15 October 1771 at Aberdeen, his cousin Margaret Fraser (–1819), the granddaughter of the 12th Lord Saltoun. They had no children. His main residence was Kirkhill House in Broxburn, Linlithgowshire (West Lothian). He inherited the property, dating from 1590 and had it extensively remodelled in 1770–1.


Career

His active criticism helped to effect a change in the method of electing
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 unicameral Parliament of Scotland, where all Scottish Peers had been entit ...
s to the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
. He was offered the post of Secretary at the British Embassy in Madrid in 1766–67 but declined it due to the illness of his father who died in 1767. He was also the Grand Master of Scottish Freemasons from 1782 to 1784. He was friends with
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...
, originating probably from Franklin's visit to Scotland in 1759 and met him several times in London in 1764. A supporter of the American cause, he corresponded with
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
and sent him a box made from the oak that hid William Wallace after the
Battle of Falkirk The Battle of Falkirk (; ), on 22 July 1298, was one of the major battles in the First War of Scottish Independence. Led by Edward I of England, King Edward I of England, the English army defeated the Scottish people, Scots, led by William Wal ...
. The box was designed by the Goldsmith Company of Edinburgh, and the earl requested that Washington, upon his death, pass it on to the man in his country who he believed should merit it best, and upon the same conditions that induced the earl to send it to Washington. In his will Washington thanked the earl for presenting the box to him along with sentiments which accompanied it; feeling incapable of making the choice asked of him he bequeathed the box back to the earl. In 1780 he founded the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. As he outlined in a letter of November 1780 he wished to create a body to promote antiquarian researches in that part of Great Britain. It drew on traditions that involved Sir John Scot of Scotstarvit, (who preserved the cartographic work of Timothy Pont and others) Sir Robert Sibbald, and Sir John Clerk of Penicuik. The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland was formally constituted on 18 December 1780. He later disagreed with some policies of the Society and withdrew in 1790. However, after withdrawing from the management of the Society of Antiquaries he remained active in the area, contributing papers and became involved with the Literary and Antiquarian Society of Perth in 1785. In 1794, he was elected to the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
. Erskine was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1816.AAS Members Directory
/ref> He was also elected to honorary membership of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters in 1785 and of its Icelandic counterpart in 1791. Spending much of his later time at Dryburgh House he embellished the grounds with monuments including commemorations of his ancestors and of
Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...
and William Wallace. He also commissioned a
cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which wire rope, cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or wikt:stay#Etymology 3, stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, norm ...
over the
River Tweed The River Tweed, or Tweed Water, is a river long that flows east across the Border region in Scotland and northern England. Tweed cloth derives its name from its association with the River Tweed. The Tweed is one of the great salmon rivers ...
at Dryburgh. He opened this bridge on 1 August 1817 but it collapsed within months. A replacement was built after a redesign, but this too collapsed in 1838. A more permanent bridge did not arrive until 1872, when the suspension system was used instead. In later years he became increasingly eccentric a trait which tended to obscure his talents, as was noted by
Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...
. After the earl's death "when he was put into the family burial-ground, at Dryburgh, his head was laid the wrong way, owhich Sir Walter Scott said was little matter, as it had never been quite right in his lifetime." His correspondents included
Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (; 24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English Whig politician, writer, historian and antiquarian. He had Strawberry Hill House built in Twickenham, southwest London ...
, and he produced an ''Essay on the Lives of Fletcher of Saltoun and the Poet Thomson'' (1792) and several other writings. There is an interesting story concerning the Earl in which the writer George Dyer brought him to meet
Charles Lamb Charles Lamb (10 February 1775 – 27 December 1834) was an English essayist, poet, and antiquarian, best known for his '' Essays of Elia'' and for the children's book '' Tales from Shakespeare'', co-authored with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764†...
at his flat in Mitre Court Buildings. Charles Lamb was not home and his sister Mary Lamb was deeply flustered at having to greet an Earl unannounced in her household.


Death

He died at his residence at Dryburgh (near Dryburgh Abbey, in the
Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...
) in April 1829, leaving no legitimate children, and the earldom passed to his nephew Henry though all his non-entailed properties including Dryburgh were passed to his illegitimate son, Sir David Erskine.


References


Notes


Citations


Sources

* * (Erskine writing under his formal title.) * * * * ** ** ** ** * * * * * * * *


External links

*
Significant Scots: David Stewart Erskine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buchan, David Erskine, 11th Earl of 1742 births 1829 deaths Scottish antiquarians 11th Earl of Buchan People educated at James Mundell's School Alumni of the University of St Andrews Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society
David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...
People of the Scottish Enlightenment Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland International members of the American Philosophical Society