William Gordon, 2nd Earl of Aberdeen (1679 – 30 March 1745), known between c. 1691 and 1720 as Lord Haddo, was a Scottish landowner and

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

politician who sat in the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

briefly from 1708 to 1709 when he was declared ineligible, being the eldest son of a Scottish peer. He showed some Jacobite sympathies, but took no part in the rebellions.

Early life

Gordon was baptized on 22 December 1679, the fourth but eldest surviving son of the

George Gordon, 1st Earl of Aberdeen George Gordon, 1st Earl of Aberdeen (3 October 163720 April 1720), was a List of Lord Chancellors of Scotland, Lord Chancellor of Scotland. Early life Gordon, born on 3 October 1637, the second son of Sir John Gordon, 1st Baronet, of Haddo, Abe ...

, and his wife Anne Lockhart, daughter of George Lockhart of Torbreck, Sutherland. After the death of his elder brother in 1691, he acquired the courtesy title of Lord Haddo. By about 1705, he had married Lady Mary Melville, the only daughter of the 5th Earl of Leven.

Career

Lord Haddo became a member of the Scottish Privy Council in 1704. After the

Acts of Union 1707 The Acts of Union refer to two acts of Parliament, one by the Parliament of Scotland in March 1707, followed shortly thereafter by an equivalent act of the Parliament of England. They put into effect the international Treaty of Union agree ...

, the position of Privy councillor was abolished, but he was returned as Member of Parliament for

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

at the

1708 British general election The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland. The election saw the Whigs gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November the Whi ...

. As the eldest son of a peer, however, he was declared ineligible and was replaced by Sir Alexander Cumming, 1st Baronet a year later. His wife Mary died in 1710 giving birth to their second child. After the change of administration in 1710, he applied for a place and was granted an unpaid role as a Scottish Commissioner of chamberlainry and trade in 1711. He lost the post on the Hanoverian succession in 1714. AT the 1715 Jacobite rebellion he retired to Edinburgh and took no part. In about 1716, Lord Haddo married, as his second wife, Lady Susan Murray, daughter of the 1st Duke of Atholl. In 1718 he was Commissioner for visitation at

St Andrews University The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, following the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, t ...

. He succeeded to his father's titles as

Earl of Aberdeen Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...

in 1720. In 1721, he was chosen as a

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 ...

for 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 ...

. His second wife also died giving birth to their last child and later he married Lady Anne Gordon, daughter of the 2nd Duke of Gordon. In addition to his political career, Lord Haddo was instrumental in the architectural development of his estates, notably completing

Haddo House Haddo House is a Scottish stately home located near Tarves, Aberdeenshire, Tarves in Aberdeenshire, approximately north of Aberdeen (). The former seat of the Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair, Earls and Marquesses of Aberdeen and Temair, Haddo Ho ...

, near Tarves in

in 1732, which was designed by William Adam and remains a significant example of early 18th-century Scottish architecture.

Death and legacy

Lord Aberdeen died at Edinburgh on 30 March 1745. He had acquired the estates of

Ballogie Ballogie is a rural community and an estate in the Lower Deeside area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Most of Ballogie lies within the parish of Birse, although the northern part extends into the parish of Aboyne and Glen Tanar. The ancient name of t ...

, Boddam,

Crichie Stuartfield is a small inland village in the Buchan area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, situated south of Old Deer. It was formerly known as New Crichie, and the name is still used by locals as illustrated by the village association website bein ...

, Fedderat,

Fyvie Fyvie is a village in the Formartine area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Geography Fyvie lies alongside the River Ythan and is on the A947 road. Architecture What in 1990, at least, was a Clydesdale Bank was built in 1866 by James Matthews (arch ...

, Ruthven and

Tarland Tarland (Gaelic: ''Turlann'') is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland northwest of Aboyne, and west of Aberdeen. The population was 720 in 2016. Tarland is home to the Culsh Earth House, an Iron Age below-ground dwelling otherwise known as ...

. He was succeeded by his eldest son, George. His family took no part in the

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

. By his first wife Mary, he had two daughters, * Lady Anne Gordon (1709–1755, married the 5th Earl of Dumfries), and * Lady Mary Gordon (born and died 1710). By his second wife Susan he had four children, *

George Gordon, 3rd Earl of Aberdeen George Gordon, 3rd Earl of Aberdeen (19 June 1722 – 13 August 1801), styled Lord Haddo until 1745, was a Scottish peer. He sat in the House of Lords as a Scottish representative peer from 1747 to 1761, and from 1774 to 1790. He was against Will ...

(1722–1801), *John Gordon (died 1727), *

Lady Catherine Gordon Lady Catherine Gordon (–October 1537) was a Scottish noblewoman and the wife of Yorkist pretender Perkin Warbeck, who claimed he was Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York. After her imprisonment by King Henry VII of England, she became a lady-in ...

(1718–10 December 1779), married her distant cousin, the 3rd Duke of Gordon, and then married

Staats Long Morris General Staats Long Morris (27 August 1728 – 28 January 1800) was a British Army officer and politician who represented Elgin Burghs in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1774 to 1784. He also served as governor of Quebec from 1797 ...

), and *Lady Susan Gordon (d. 1725). By his third wife Anne, he had six children, *Gen. William Gordon, (died 25 May 1816), Member of Parliament for Woodstock 1767 and for Heytesbury 1774, a Groom of the Bedchamber 1775, * Col. Cosmo Gordon (d. after 1783) * Alexander Gordon, Lord Rockville (1739–1792) * Capt. Charles Gordon (d. 13 December 1771) * Lady Henrietta Gordon, married as his second wife Robert Gordon, 3rd of Esslemont and 14th of Hallhead on 2 March 1760, and had issue * Lady Elizabeth Gordon (born 28 October 1734)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aberdeen, William Gordon, 2nd Earl of 1679 births 1746 deaths People from Tarves Nobility from Aberdeenshire British MPs 1708–1710 02

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

Haddo, William Gordon, Lord Scottish representative peers Scottish Tory MPs (pre-1912) Scottish Jacobites Members of the Privy Council of Scotland Younger sons of earls