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 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 ...

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 mem ...

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 Lord Chancellor of Scotland. Early life Gordon, born on 3 October 1637, the second son of Sir John Gordon, 1st Baronet, of Haddo, Aberdeenshire, (executed in 1644); and h ...

, and hs 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 ( gd, Achd an Aonaidh) were two Acts of Parliament: the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act 1707 passed by the Parliament of Scotland. They put into effect the te ...

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

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

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 finally gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November ...

. As the eldest son of a peer, however, he was declared ineligible and was replaced by

Sir Alexander Cumming, 1st Baronet Sir Alexander Cumming, 1st Baronet (c.1670–1725) of Culter, Aberdeen, was a Scottish landowner and Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1709 to 1722. Cumming was the eldest son of Alexander Cumming of Culter and his wife Hele ...

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 (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. He succeeded to his father's titles as

Earl of Aberdeen 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 ...

in 1720. In 1721, he was chosen as a

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 ...

for 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 ...

. 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 1732 he completed

Haddo House Haddo House is a Scottish stately home located near Tarves in Aberdeenshire, approximately north of Aberdeen (). It has been owned by the National Trust for Scotland since 1979. The Gordons, who later became the Earls of Aberdeen and Marques ...

, near

Tarves Tarves (; gd, Tarbhais), Aberdeenshire, is a small village, situated in the Formartine area of North East Scotland and lies between Oldmeldrum and Methlick. History Much of the village was planned and laid out by the Marquess of Aberdeen in ...

which was designed by William Adam.

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 Aboyne ( sco, Abyne, gd, Abèidh ...

, Boddam,

Crichie Stuartfield is a small inland village in the Buchan area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, situated south of Old Deer Old Deer ( sco, Auld Deer, gd, Dèir) is a parish and village in the district of Buchan, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The popul ...

, 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. The ...

, Ruthven and

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

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

Jacobite rising , war = , image = Prince James Francis Edward Stuart by Louis Gabriel Blanchet.jpg , image_size = 150px , caption = James Francis Edward Stuart, Jacobite claimant between 1701 and 1766 , active ...

. 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 Willi ...

(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 favoure ...

(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 sat in the House of Commons representing the constituency of Elgin Burghs from 1774 to 1784. He also served as governor of Quebec f ...

), 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 Alexander Gordon, Lord Rockville (1739 – 13 March 1792) was a Scottish judge. Life Rockville was the youngest son of William Gordon, 2nd Earl of Aberdeen, by his third wife Lady Anne, daughter of Alexander Gordon, 2nd Duke of Gordon. He bec ...

(1739–1792) * Capt. Charles Gordon (d. 13 December 1771) * Lady Harriet Gordon, married as his second wife Robert Gordon, 15th 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 British MPs 1708–1710 02 Haddo, William Gordon, Lord Scottish representative peers Scottish Tory MPs (pre-1912) Scottish Jacobites Members of the Privy Council of Scotland