William Kerr, 3rd Marquess of Lothian, ( – 28 July 1767) was a Scottish nobleman, styled Master of Jedburgh from 1692 to 1703 and Lord Jedburgh from 1703 to 1722.

Early life

He was the son of William Kerr, 2nd Marquess of Lothian and Lady Jean Campbell.

Career

Although his title of Lord Jedburgh is generally regarded as a courtesy title, he voted at the election of

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 under that name in 1712. He succeeded to the Marquessate of Lothian in 1722 and was elected a representative peer in 1731, sitting in 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 ...

until 1761. From 1732 to 1738, Lothian was Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and he was appointed a Knight of the Thistle in 1734. From 1739 until his resignation in 1756, he was Lord Clerk Register. 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 ...

, around 1750, the Marquess constructed a town house off the lower Canongate, close to

Holyrood Palace The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly known as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood has s ...

, which was named Lothian Hutt. This provided a more convenient lodging when requiring to attand the Scottish Parliament or other social events in the capital.

Personal life

On 7 December 1711, he married Margaret Nicolson, daughter of Sir Thomas Nicolson, 1st Baronet, of Glenbervie, and his wife, Margaret (née Nicolson) Hamilton Nicolson. His wife's mother was previously married to James Hamilton of Ballincrieff, with whom she had Alexander Hamilton of Ballincrieff. They had three children: * William Henry Kerr, 4th Marquess of Lothian (1710–1775) * Lord Robert Kerr (d. 1746), who was killed at the Battle of Culloden.The Letters of Horace Walpole, Earl of Orford, Vol. II 1744–1753 (1840 pub. Richard Bentley), page 136 & footnote, Letter to Sir Horace Mann, 1 August 1746: ''..the Marquis of Lothian in weepers for his son who fell at Culloden...'' Footnote: ''William Ker, third Marquis of Lothian. Lord Robert Ker, who was killed at Culloden, was his second son. – D.'' * Lady Jane Kerr, who died young. Lady Margaret died on 30 September 1759 at Newbattle Abbey and was buried there. William Kerr subsequently married his cousin, Jean Janet Kerr, daughter of Lord Charles Kerr of Cramond and Janet Murray, on 1 October 1760, by whom he had no issue.

Death

Lothian died at Lothian House, Canongate,

in 1767, and was buried at Newbattle Abbey. His second wife died at Lothian House twenty years later, on 26 December 1787.

References

1690s births 1767 deaths Nobility from Midlothian Knights of the Thistle Scottish representative peers Lords High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland 3

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 ...

Freemasons of the Premier Grand Lodge of England {{Scotland-marquess-stub