James Hay, 15th Earl of Erroll (20 April 1726 – 3 July 1778) styled Lord Boyd from 1728 to 1746, was a Scottish nobleman and the son of

William Boyd, 4th Earl of Kilmarnock William Boyd, 4th Earl of Kilmarnock (12 May 170518 August 1746), was a Scottish peer who joined the 1745 Jacobite Rising, was captured at Culloden and subsequently executed for treason on Tower Hill. His family were supporters of the governmen ...

Early life

He was born James Boyd at

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

on 20 April 1726. James was the eldest son of

and Lady Anne Livingston, and from 1728 to 1746, he was known by the courtesy title of ''Lord Boyd'' while his father was

Earl of Kilmarnock Earl of Kilmarnock was a title created twice in the Peerage of Scotland for the Boyd family. It was first created in 1454 for Robert Boyd, Great Chamberlain of Scotland. It was created a second time in 1661 for William Boyd, 10th Lord Boyd. ...

. His mother was only daughter of

James Livingston, 5th Earl of Linlithgow James Livingston, 5th Earl of Linlithgow, 4th Earl of Callendar (died 25 April 1723) was a Scottish nobleman who was convicted of high treason and forced to forfeit his estates and all his titles to the Crown. Early life Livingston was the only ...

, a Jacobite attainted for his role in the 1715 Rising, and Lady Margaret Hay (the second daughter of

John Hay, 12th Earl of Erroll John Hay, 12th Earl of Erroll (died 30 December 1704) was a Scottish nobleman and Lord High Constable of Scotland. Among his titles was Lord of Slains, but he had previously been known as John Hay of Kellour. Marriage and issue Hay was a son of S ...

Career

During the

1745 Jacobite Rebellion The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Franci ...

his father sided with the

Young Pretender Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (20 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, grandson of James II and VII, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland and ...

, despite both James and his brother William then holding commissions under

George II George II or 2 may refer to: People * George II of Antioch (seventh century AD) * George II of Armenia (late ninth century) * George II of Abkhazia (916–960) * Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051) * George II of Georgia (1072–1089) * ...

; James in the army, William in the navy. Remaining loyal to the

Hanoverians The House of Hanover (german: Haus Hannover), whose members are known as Hanoverians, is a European royal house of German origin that ruled Hanover, Great Britain, and Ireland at various times during the 17th to 20th centuries. The house orig ...

, James then served at the

Battle of Culloden The Battle of Culloden (; gd, Blàr Chùil Lodair) was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force under Prince Wi ...

, fighting on the opposite side to his father. During the rout following the Jacobite defeat, the Earl was captured and taken into the government camp, dishevelled and bareheaded, where he was reportedly recognised by James, who placed his own hat upon his father's head. This was the last time they were to meet, as the Earl was then transported to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

where he was tried for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

and executed four months later; forfeiting all his lands and titles and thus depriving James of his inheritance. In 1751, however, although the

Earldom Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

was abolished, James was permitted to inherit the Kilmarnock estates. These included

Dean Castle Dean Castle is situated in the Dean Castle Country Park in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, Scotland. It was the stronghold for the Boyd Family, who were lords of Kilmarnock for over 400 years. The Castle takes its name from ‘The Dean’ or wooded ...

, the former family seat which had been gutted by a fire in 1735. Trying to recoup some of his father's debts (which he had also inherited), James sold the ruined castle to the 13th Earl of Glencairn. From 1751 to 1752, he served as

Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Scotland This is a list of Grand Master Masons of the Grand Lodge of Scotland: # 1736–1737: William St Clair of Roslin # 1737–1738: George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie # 1738–1739: John Keith, 3rd Earl of Kintore (G.M. of England; 1740) # 1739 ...

Later life

On 19 August 1758, he succeeded his maternal great-aunt,

Mary Hay, 14th Countess of Erroll Mary Hay, 14th Countess of Erroll (died 19 August 1758) was a Scottish noblewoman and ''suo jure'' Countess of Erroll. As 18th Hereditary Lord High Constable and Knight Marischal of Scotland, she was the Senior Great Officer among the Royal Offi ...

as the 15th Earl of Erroll, simultaneously changing his surname from Boyd to Hay, as he and his descendants were henceforth known. Along with the title

Earl of Erroll Earl of Erroll () is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1453 for Sir William Hay. The subsidiary titles held by the Earl of Erroll are ''Lord Hay'' (created 1449) and ''Lord Slains'' (1452), both in the Peerage of Scotland. ...

, he also held the ceremonial hereditary office of

Lord High Constable of Scotland The Lord High Constable is a hereditary, now ceremonial, office of Scotland. In the order of precedence of Scotland, the office traditionally ranks above all titles except those of the Royal Family.p60-61, Bruce, Alistair, Keepers of the King ...

. Between 1770 and 1774, he served as a

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

Representative Peer In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords. Until 1999, all members of the Peerage of England held the right to ...

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 ...

, and from 1770 to 1778, he was Lord of Police for Scotland.

Personal life

On 15 September 1749, he married Rebecca Lockhart, the daughter of

Alexander Lockhart, Lord Covington The Hon Alexander Lockhart, Lord Covington also styled as Alexander Lockhart of Craighouse (1700–17 November 1782) was an 18th-century Scottish lawyer who rose to be a Senator of the College of Justice. Life He was the son of Euphemia Montg ...

. Before her death in 1761, they were the parents of one daughter: * Lady Mary Hay (b. 1754), who married Gen. John Scott of Balcomie in 1770, divorced in 1771. In 1762, he married Isabella Carr (1747–1808), daughter of Sir William Carr of

Etal Etal ( )not is a small village in the far north of the county of Northumberland, England, in the civil parish of Ford. It lies on a bridging point of the River Till ten miles south west of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and includes the substantial ru ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

. Together, they were the parents of twelve children, including: * Lady Charlotte Hay (1763–1800), who married Rev. William Holwell, Vicar of Menheniot, in 1797. * Lady Isabella Anne Hay (1765–1793) * Lady Augusta Hay (1766–1822), who married

George Boyle, 4th Earl of Glasgow George Boyle, 4th Earl of Glasgow, Royal Guelphic Order, GCH Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (26 March 1766 – 6 July 1843), styled Lord Boyle until 1775, was a British Peerage, peer. He was the son of John Boyle, 3rd Earl of Glasgow, and his wi ...

. *

George Hay, 16th Earl of Erroll Colonel George Hay, 16th Earl of Erroll (13 May 1767 – 14 June 1798) was a Scottish peer and soldier. Early life Erroll was the eldest son of James Hay, 15th Earl of Erroll and his second wife, Isabella Carr, the eldest daughter and co-heire ...

(1767–1798), who married Elizabeth Jemima Blake, the sister of

Joseph Blake, 1st Baron Wallscourt Joseph Henry Blake, 1st Baron Wallscourt (5 October 1765 – 28 March 1803), was an Irish politician. Blake was the eldest son of Joseph Blake and Honoria Daly, daughter of Dermot Daly. He was returned to the Irish House of Commons for County ...

. * Lady Harriet Jane Hay (1768–1812) * Lady Margaret Hay (1769–1832), who married Charles Cameron in 1789. * Lady Maria Elizabeth Hay (1771–1804), who married Rev. George Moore, Rector of Wrotham, eldest son of Most. Rev. John Moore,

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

, in 1795. *

William Hay, 17th Earl of Erroll William Hay, 17th Earl of Erroll (12 March 1772 – 26 January 1819), known as Lord Hay until 1778, was a Scottish peer. Early life Erroll was the son of James Hay, 15th Earl of Erroll and his second wife, Isabella Carr, the eldest daughter and ...

(1772–1819), who married three times and had eleven children. * Lady Frances Hay (1773–1806) * Lady Flaminia Hay (1774–1821), who married Capt. George James in 1809. * Lady Jemima Hay (1776–1822) * Hon. James Hay (d. 1797) Lord Erroll died on 3 July 1778 at

Callendar House Callendar House is a mansion set within the grounds of Callendar Park in Falkirk, central Scotland. During the 19th century, it was redesigned and extended in the style of a French Renaissance château fused with elements of Scottish baronial ...

, aged fifty-two, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

. His widow died 3 November 1808.

Descendants

Lord Erroll's grandson,

William Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll William George Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll, KT, GCH, PC (21 February 1801 – 19 April 1846), styled Lord Hay between 1815 and 1819, was a Scottish peer and politician. Early life Erroll was the son of William Hay, 17th Earl of Erroll, and h ...

, was created Baron Kilmarnock 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 ...

in 1831.

Ancestry

External links

Footnotes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erroll, James Hay, 15th Earl of 15 Rectors of the University of Glasgow 1726 births 1778 deaths Scottish representative peers