Sir Gilbert Elliot, 2nd Baronet, (of Minto) (16 April 1766) was a Scottish lawyer, politician and judge from Minto 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 ...

. From 1763 until his death 3 years later, he was

Lord Justice Clerk The Lord Justice Clerk is the second most senior judge in Scotland, after the Lord President of the Court of Session. The current Lord Justice Clerk is Lord Beckett, who was appointed to the position on 4 February 2025, succeeding Lady Dorr ...

, the second most senior judge in Scotland.

Early life

He was the oldest son of the judge

Sir Gilbert Elliot, 1st Baronet, of Minto Sir Gilbert Elliot, 1st Baronet, of Minto ( – 1 May 1718) was a Scottish writer, lawyer, politician and judge from Minto in the Scottish Borders. He was the younger son of Gavin Elliot of Midlem Mill, Roxburghshire, and his wife, Margaret ...

(–1718). Elliot studied law at the

University of Utrecht Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of 39,769 students, a ...

and was admitted to the

Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates () is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a const ...

in 1715.

Career

He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh () is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the northwest, and Berwickshire to the north. T ...

from 1722 to 1726 He was an eager agriculturist, and was one of the members of an

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 ...

"committee of taste for the improvement of the town." He was a keen supporter of the

Hanoverian succession The Act of Settlement ( 12 & 13 Will. 3. c. 2) is an act of the Parliament of England that settled the succession to the English and Irish crowns to only Protestants, which passed in 1701. More specifically, anyone who became a Roman Catho ...

, in opposition to

Jacobitism Jacobitism was a political ideology advocating the restoration of the senior line of the House of Stuart to the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British throne. When James II of England chose exile after the November 1688 Glorious Revolution, ...

. In June 1726, he was made a judge of the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to Civil law (common law), civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with othe ...

, taking the judicial title Lord Minto. He became a Lord of Justiciary in 1733, and, in 1761,

Keeper of the Signet The office of Lord Clerk Register (Scottish Gaelic: ''Clàr Morair Clèireach'') is the oldest remaining Great Officer of State in Scotland, with origins in the 13th century. It historically had important functions in relation to the maintenanc ...

. In 1763, he was promoted to

Personal life

In 1718, Elliot was married to Helen Stewart, the daughter of Sir Robert Steuart, 1st Baronet, who had been a member of the pre-union

Parliament of Scotland In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. Together they were the parents of : * Eleanor Elliot (1719–1797), who married

John Rutherfurd John Rutherfurd (September 20, 1760February 23, 1840) was an American politician and land surveyor. He represented New Jersey in the United States Senate from 1791 to 1798. Early life and education Rutherfurd was born on September 20, 1760, in ...

in 1737. * Sir Gilbert Elliot, 3rd Baronet (1722–1777), who married Agnes Dalrymple-Murray-Kynynmound, a daughter of

Hugh Dalrymple-Murray-Kynynmound Hugh Dalrymple-Murray-Kynnynmond ( Hugh Dalrymple) (1695 – 23 December 1741), was a Scottish landowner, lawyer and journalist. Early life He was a younger son of Sir David Dalrymple, 1st Baronet and Janet ( Rochead) Murray Dalrymple. At the tim ...

. *

Jean Elliot Jean Elliot (April 1727 – 29 March 1805), also known as Jane Elliot, was a Scottish poet. She wrote one of the most famous versions of ''The Flowers of the Forest'', a song lamenting the Scottish army's defeat in the Battle of Flodden. Pu ...

(1727–1805), a poet who never married. *

Andrew Elliot Andrew Elliot (November 1728 – 25 May 1797) was a British merchant and official who served as the Acting and last British Governor of New York in 1783. Early life Elliot was born November 1728 in Edinburgh, the son of Sir Gilbert Elliot, 2 ...

(1728–1797), a trader in British North America who served as acting colonial governor of the

Province of New York The Province of New York was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to ...

in 1783; he married twice: Eleanor McCall in 1754; and after her death in 1756, to Elisabeth Plumsted, daughter of William Plumsted, in 1760. * John Elliot (1732–1808), an admiral in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

who never married. Sir Gilbert died on 16 April 1766 and was survived by nine children.

Descendants

Through his eldest daughter Eleanor, he was a grandfather to

, MP for

(who married Mary Ann Leslie, the only child of Maj.-Gen.

Alexander Leslie Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven (4 April 1661) was a Scottish army officer. Born illegitimate and raised as a foster child, he subsequently advanced to the rank of field marshal in Swedish Army, and in Scotland became Lord General in comma ...

), Elizabeth Rutherfurd (who married Andrew St Clair of Herdmanston, ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...

'' 12th Lord Sinclair, parents of Charles St Clair, 13th Lord Sinclair) and Jane Rutherfurd (who married William Oliver of Dinlabyre). Through his son Andrew, he was a grandfather of Eleanor Elliot (–1830), who married James Jauncey Jr. and Admiral Robert Digby, Agnes Murray Elliot (1763–1860), who married Sir David Carnegie, 4th Baronet, and Elizabeth Elliot (–1847), who married William Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliot, Gilbert 1690s births 1766 deaths Nobility from the Scottish Borders Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies British MPs 1722–1727 Utrecht University alumni Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia Lords Justice Clerk Minto 2 Members of the Faculty of Advocates