James St Clair-Erskine, 3rd Earl of Rosslyn

General James Alexander St Clair-Erskine, 3rd Earl of Rosslyn PC, DL (15 February 1802 – 16 June 1866), styled Lord Loughborough from 1805 to 1837, was a Scottish soldier and Tory politician. A General in the British Army, he also held political office as Master of the Buckhounds between 1841 and 1846 and again in 1852 and as Under-Secretary of State for War in 1859.

The Right Honourable The Earl of Rosslyn PC, DL
Master of the Buckhounds
In office 10 September 1841 – 29 June 1846
Monarch	Victoria
Prime Minister	Sir Robert Peel, Bt
Preceded by	The Lord Kinnaird
Succeeded by	The Earl Granville
In office 28 February 1852 – 17 December 1852
Monarch	Victoria
Prime Minister	The Earl of Derby
Preceded by	The Earl of Bessborough
Succeeded by	The Earl of Bessborough
Personal details
Born	15 February 1802
Died	16 June 1866 (1866-06-17) (aged 64)
Nationality	British
Political party	Tory
Spouse(s)	Frances Wemyss ​ ( m. 1826; died 1858)
Parents	James St Clair-Erskine, 2nd Earl of Rosslyn Harriet Elizabeth Bouverie

Early life

Rosslyn was the son of James St Clair-Erskine, 2nd Earl of Rosslyn, by his wife Harriet Elizabeth Bouverie, daughter of the Hon. Edward Bouverie (the second son of Jacob Bouverie, 1st Viscount Folkestone).[1]

Career

Rosslyn entered the British Army in 1819. He purchased a captaincy in the 9th Light Dragoons in 1823[2] and a lieutenant-colonelcy in 1828.[3] He was promoted to Major-General in 1854,[4] to Lieutenant-General in 1859[5] and to full General on 20 April 1866.[6]

In 1864 he was appointed Regimental Colonel of the 7th Queen's Own Hussars after the death of General Sir William Tuyll.[7] Lord Rosslyn also commanded the Auxiliary Cavalry Regiment, The Fife Mounted Rifle Volunteers from 1860 until his death in 1866.

Political career

Rosslyn was returned to Parliament for Dysart Burghs, in Fife, in 1830,[8] a seat he held until 1831, and then represented Grimsby from 1831 to 1832.[9] He succeeded his father in the earldom in 1837. In 1841 he was sworn of the Privy Council[10] and appointed Master of the Buckhounds under Sir Robert Peel,[11] which he remained until the government fell in 1846.[12] He held the same office from February[13] to December 1852[14] under Lord Derby, and was briefly Under-Secretary of State for War under Derby from March to June 1859.

Lord Rosslyn was also a Deputy Lieutenant for Fife.[15]

Personal life

In 1826, James married Frances Wemyss (1794–1858), daughter of Lt.-Gen. William Wemyss, of Wemyss Castle, Fife. Together, they were the parents of two sons and a daughter, including:[1]

• Hon. James Alexander George St Clair-Erskine (1830–1851), styled Lord Loughborough, a Lieut. who died unmarried.[1]
• Francis Robert St Clair-Erskine, 4th Earl of Rosslyn, who married Blanche Adeliza FitzRoy, great-granddaughter of Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton and widow of Col. Hon. Charles Henry Maynard.[1]
• Lady Harriet Elizabeth St Clair-Erskine (d. 1867), who married Prince Georg Münster, Hereditary Marshal of Hanover and Hanoverian Ambassador to London (d. 1902) in 1865.[1]

Lady Rosslyn died on 30 September 1858 and Lord Rosslyn died, several years later, in June 1866, aged 64. He was succeeded in the earldom by his only surviving son, Robert.[1]

References

1. "Rosslyn, Earl of (UK, 1801)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
2. "No. 17911". The London Gazette. 5 April 1823. p. 541.
3. "No. 18428". The London Gazette. 1 January 1828. p. 3.
4. "No. 21564". The London Gazette. 22 June 1854. p. 1932.
5. "No. 22344". The London Gazette. 10 January 1860. p. 79.
6. "No. 23113". The London Gazette. 8 May 1866. p. 2814.
7. "No. 22929". The London Gazette. 13 January 1865. p. 167.
8. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "D" (part 4)
9. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "G" (part 2)
10. "No. 20019". The London Gazette. 17 September 1841. p. 2315.
11. "No. 20017". The London Gazette. 10 September 1841. p. 2273.
12. "No. 20626". The London Gazette. 28 July 1846. p. 2754.
13. "No. 21298". The London Gazette. 5 March 1852. p. 698.
14. "No. 21398". The London Gazette. 4 January 1852. p. 1.
15. "No. 18469". The London Gazette. 13 May 1828. p. 918.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Rosslyn

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Sir Ronald Crauford Ferguson	Member of Parliament for Dysart Burghs 1830–1831	Succeeded by Robert Ferguson
Preceded by George Harris John Shelley	Member of Parliament for Grimsby 1831–1832 With: Henry Fitzroy	Succeeded by William Maxfield
Political offices
Preceded by The Lord Kinnaird	Master of the Buckhounds 1841–1846	Succeeded by The Earl Granville
Preceded by The Earl of Bessborough	Master of the Buckhounds February–December 1852	Succeeded by The Earl of Bessborough
Preceded by The Viscount Hardinge	Under-Secretary of State for War March–June 1859	Succeeded by The Earl de Grey and Ripon
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by James St Clair-Erskine	Earl of Rosslyn 1837–1866	Succeeded by Robert St Clair-Erskine