Henry Erskine, third Lord Cardross (1650 – 1693), was a Scottish peer and covenanter.

Background

Erskine was the eldest son of

David Erskine, 2nd Lord Cardross David Erskine, 2nd Lord Cardross (baptised 1627 – 1671) was a Scottish Royalist. Life Erskine was the only son of Henry Erskine, 1st Lord Cardross, Henry Erskine, second son of the second marriage of John Erskine, Earl of Mar (1558–1634), Joh ...

, by his first wife, Anne, who was fifth daughter of Sir Thomas Hope,

king's advocate The King's Advocate (or Queen's Advocate when the monarch was female) was one of the Law Officers of the Crown. He represented the Crown in the ecclesiastical courts of the Church of England, where cases were argued not by barristers but by advo ...

. The title of Lord Cardross was originally conferred on the first Earl of Mar, and, in accordance with the right with which he was invested of conferring it on any of his heirs male, it was granted by him to his second son Henry, along with the barony of Cardross. By his father young Erskine had been educated in the principles of the

covenanter Covenanters were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son C ...

s, and at an early period distinguished himself by his opposition to the administration of

Lauderdale Lauderdale is the valley of the Leader Water (a tributary of the River Tweed, Tweed) in the Scottish Borders. It contains the town of Lauder, as well as Earlston. The valley is traversed from end to end by the A68 road, A68 trunk road, which run ...

. In this he was strongly supported by his wife, Catherine, youngest of the two daughters and coheiresses of Sir William Stewart of Kirkhill. On account of his wife's determination to have a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

chaplain to perform worship in her own house he was fined 4,000''l''. of which he paid 1,000''l''., and after an attempt to obtain a remission for the balance he was, 5 August 1675, committed to the prison of Edinburgh, where he remained for four years. In May of the same year, when, during his absence in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, conventicles were being held near Cardross, a party of guards in search of a covenanter named John King entered his house at midnight, broke into his chests, and after acting with great rudeness towards his wife placed a guard on it.

Complaints to the King

Their complaints that the conventicles then being held had his encouragement were the chief causes why his fine was not relaxed. On 7 Aug. 1677, while still in prison, he was fined in one half of his rent for permitting his two children to be christened by unlicensed ministers. In 1679 the king's forces in their march westwards went two miles out of their way to quarter on his estates of Kirkhill and Uphall,

West Lothian West Lothian (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, bordering (in a clockwise direction) the City of Edinburgh council area, Scottish Borders, South Lanarkshire, North Lanarkshire and Falkirk (council area), Falkirk. The modern counci ...

. He obtained his release from prison, 30 July of that year, on giving bond for the amount of his fine, and early next year went to London, where he laid before the king a narrative of the sufferings to which he had been exposed. This proceeding gave great offense to the

Scottish privy council The Privy Council of Scotland ( — 1 May 1708) was a body that advised the Scottish monarch. During its existence, the Privy Council of Scotland was essentially considered as the government of the Kingdom of Scotland, and was seen as the most ...

, who sent a letter to the king accusing Cardross of misrepresentation, the result being that all redress was denied him. Thereupon he emigrated to North America, where he established a plantation at Charlestown Neck,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. On 28 October 1685 his estate in Scotland was exposed to sale by public roup, and was bought by the

Earl of Mar There are currently two earldoms of Mar in the Peerage of Scotland, and the title has been created seven times. The first creation of the earldom is currently held by Margaret of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar, who is also clan chief of Clan Mar. Th ...

at seventeen years' purchase. Cardross, having been driven from the settlement in Carolina by the Spaniards, went to Holland, and in 1688 he accompanied the

Prince of Orange Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by the stadtholders of, and then the heirs apparent of ...

to England. In the following year he raised a regiment of

dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat wi ...

s and served under General Mackay against

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

. An act was passed restoring him to his estates, and he was also sworn a privy councilor and constituted general of the mint. In July 1689 the

Duke of Hamilton Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in April 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that peerage (except for the Duke of Rothesay, Dukedom of Rothesay held by the sovereign's eldest son), and as such its holder is the pr ...

, the king's commissioner, at a meeting of the council, fell 'with great violence' on Lord Cardross, asserting that it was by his dragoons that the episcopal minister of Logie had been prevented from entering his church; but Cardross denied all knowledge of anything asserted to have happened.

Service of the King

Cardross was engaged in the

Battle of Killiecrankie The Battle of Killiecrankie, also known as the Battle of Rinrory, took place on 27 July 1689 during the Jacobite rising of 1689, 1689 Scottish Jacobite rising. An outnumbered Jacobitism, Jacobite force under Ewan Cameron of Lochiel, Sir Ewen Ca ...

, of which he sent an account to Lord Melville in a letter of 30 July. When the Duke of Hamilton proposed a new oath to the council, Cardross objected to it as contrary to the instrument of government, and also 'because the maner of swering by the Bible is nether the Scottish nor the Presbiterian forme, and seems to raise the Bible as more than God'. In the instructions sent by King William on 18 Dec. 1689 to 'model three troops of dragoons,’ Cardross was proposed as lieutenant-colonel and captain of the first troop. In 1690 he was appointed one of a commission to examine into the condition of the universities. In October 1691 he went to London along with the

Earl of Crawford Earl of Crawford is one of the most ancient extant titles in Great Britain, having been created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1398 for David Lindsay, 1st Earl of Crawford, Sir David Lindsay. It is the premier earldom recorded on the Union Roll. ...

to support the proceedings of the Scotch council against the episcopalians. He died at Edinburgh on 21 May 1693. He had four sons and three daughters. His eldest son, David Erskine, 4th Lord Cardross, succeeded to the

earldom of Buchan The Mormaer () or Earl of Buchan () was originally the provincial ruler of the medieval province of Buchan. Buchan was the first Mormaerdom in the High Medieval Kingdom of the Scots to pass into the hands of a non-Scottish family in the male l ...

in 1695.

Family

His granddaughter Katherine Erskine, married Gilbert Laurie of

Polmont Polmont () is a village in the Falkirk council area of Central Scotland. It lies towards the east of the town of Falkirk, north of the Union Canal (Scotland), Union Canal, which runs adjacent to the village. Due to its situation in Central Sco ...

(1729–1809), twice

Lord Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is elected by and is the convener of the City of Edinburgh Council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city, ex officio the Lord-Lieutenant of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cardross, Henry Erskine, 3rd Lord 1650 births 1693 deaths Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1689

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...