William Kerr, 6th Marquess of Lothian, (4 October 1763 – 27 April 1824), was a British soldier, landowner and politician. He was the son of William Kerr, 5th Marquess of Lothian. He served as a representative peer from 1817 to 1824.

Life

Kerr was born on 4 October 1763, the son of the then Lord Newbattle and Elizabeth Fortescue. When he was five he was the subject of several pictures with his sister, executed by Valentine Green as

mezzotint Mezzotint is a monochrome printmaking process of the intaglio (printmaking), intaglio family. It was the first printing process that yielded half-tones without using line- or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple. Mezzo ...

s for publication. He was educated at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. In 1786 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

; his proposers were Dugald Stewart,

James Hutton James Hutton (; 3 June Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. 1726 – 26 March 1797) was a Scottish geologist, Agricultural science, agriculturalist, chemist, chemical manufacturer, Natural history, naturalist and physician. Often referred to a ...

and John Robison. He was

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ov ...

of Roxburghshire from 1812 and of

Midlothian Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh council ar ...

from 1819. He served as

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of the Edinburgh Militia from 25 March 1811 until his death. He was created a Knight of the Thistle in 1820 and Baron of Kersheugh in 1821. He lived in the family home of Monteviot House near

Jedburgh Jedburgh ( ; ; or ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Roxburghshire. History Jedburgh began as ''Jedworð'', the "worth" or enclosed settlem ...

. Kerr died in Richmond, Surrey, on 27 April 1824.

Family

He married, firstly, Lady Harriet Hobart, a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire (and the divorced wife of Armar Lowry-Corry, 1st Earl Belmore), on 14 April 1793. They had four children: * John Kerr, 7th Marquess of Lothian (1794–1841) *Lord Schomberg Robert (1795–1825), soldier, died unmarried. *Lady Isabella Emily Caroline (1797–1858), died unmarried. *Lord Henry Francis Charles (1800–1882), religious minister, married Louisa Hope, a daughter of Sir Alexander Hope. His first wife died in 1805 and on 1 December 1806, at Dalkeith House, he married Lady Harriet Scott, a daughter of Henry Scott, 3rd Duke of Buccleuch. They had eight children: *Lady Elizabeth Georgiana Kerr (1807–1871), married Charles Trefusis, 19th Baron Clinton. *Lady Harriet Louise Anne (1808–1884), married Sir John Stuart Hepburn Forbes, 8th Baronet. *Lady Frances (1810–1863), married George Wade. *Lady Anne Katherine (1812–1829), died unmarried. *Lord Charles Lennox (1814–1898), soldier, married Charlotte Hanmer, a daughter of Sir Thomas Hanmer, 2nd Baronet. *Lord Mark Ralph George (1817–1900), soldier, died unmarried. *Lord Frederick Herbert (1818–1896), admiral, married Emily Maitland, a daughter of Sir Peregrine Maitland. *Lady Georgiana Augusta (1821–1859), married Rev. Granville Forbes.

References

1763 births 1824 deaths Nobility from the Scottish Borders Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Knights of the Thistle Lord-lieutenants of Midlothian Lord-lieutenants of Roxburghshire Edinburgh Militia officers Scottish representative peers

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 ...

6 Peers of the United Kingdom created by George IV {{Scotland-marquess-stub