Lords Elphinstone (1509-1510)

 

1st Lord Elphinstone, Alexander Elphinstone, b.?, a.1510, d.1513

 

The name comes from the lands of Elphinstone in the parish of Tranent in Midlothian and was assumed as a surname by the sitting family during the reigns of Alexander II and Alexander III. John de Elphinstone married Margaret Seton, who may have been Robert the Bruce’s grand-daughter. A descendant, Henry Elphinstone of Pittendreich in Stirlingshire, inherited the principal family estates from his brother and the combined holding was afterwards erected into a territorial barony. His great-grandson Alexander Elphinstone obtained additional lands, including those of Kildrummy, and the combined estates were erected into the lordship of Elphinstone. Alexander died at Flodden as did so many others.

 

2nd Lord Elphinstone, Alexander Elphinstone, b.1510, a.1513, d.1547

 

Son of the 1st Lord and Elizabeth Barlow (b.?, d.1518), an Englishwoman who served in the household of Queen Margaret, wife of King James IV (and who later married John Forbes, 6th Lord Forbes). He died at the Battle of Pinkie.

 

3rd Lord Elphinstone, Robert Elphinstone, b.1530, a.1547, d.1602

 

Son of the 2nd Lord and Katherine Erskine, daughter of Alexander Erskine, 3rd Lord Erskine (for whom see the earls of Mar).

 

4th Lord Elphinstone, Alexander Elphinstone, b.1552, a.1602, d.1638

 

Son of the 3rd Lord and Margaret Drummond, a grand-daughter of King James IV. He was Lord High Treasurer from 1599 to 1601 and was an Extraordinary Lord of Session from 1599 to 1610. He lost the lands of Kildrummy to the earl of Mar following a court case, when it was decided that King James IV did not have the right to grant these to the 1st Lord in the first place. His younger brother was created 1st Lord Balmerinoch.

 

5th Lord Elphinstone, Alexander Elphinstone, b.1577, a.1638, d.1649

 

Son of the 4th Lord and Jean Livingston, daughter of William Livingston, 6th Lord Livingston (for whom see the earls of Linlithgow). He married Elizabeth Drummond (b.1581, d.1637), daughter of Patrick Drummond, 3rd Lord Drummond (for whom see the earls of Perth). His only child was a daughter, Lilias Elphinstone, who could not succeed him. However, she married her cousin, who was heir-male, and so the line continued through her.

 

6th Lord Elphinstone, Alexander Elphinstone, b.?, a.1649, d.1654

 

Nephew of the 5th Lord, being son of that man’s younger brother James Elphinstone (b.1580, d.1628) and Helen (or Margaret?) Forbes. He married the 5th Lord’s daughter as indicated above. He was a Royalist and was fined during the Act of Grace.

 

7th Lord Elphinstone, Alexander Elphinstone, b.c.1647, a.1654, d.1669

 

Son of the 6th Lord and Lilias Elphinstone. His plea of poverty obtained a reduction of his father’s fine by two-thirds.

 

8th Lord Elphinstone, John Elphinstone, b.c.1649, a.1669, d.1717-1718

 

Younger brother of the 7th Lord.

 

9th Lord Elphinstone, Charles Elphinstone, b.1682, a.1717-1718, d.1757

 

Son of the 8th Lord and Isabel Maitland (b.?, d.1706), daughter of Charles Maitland, 3rd Earl of Lauderdale.

 

10th Lord Elphinstone, Charles Elphinstone, b.1711, a.1757, d.1781

 

Son of the 9th Lord and Elizabeth Primrose (b.1680, d.1738), daughter of Sir William Primrose, 2nd Baronet Primrose of Carrington (for whom see the earls of Rosebery). A younger son, George Keith Elphinstone (b.1745-1746, d.1823) attained the rank of Admiral and was created 1st Viscount Keith in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1814.

 

11th Lord Elphinstone, John Elphinstone, b.1737, a.1781, d.1794

 

Son of the 10th Lord and Lady Clementina Fleming (b.1719, d.1799), daughter of John Fleming, 6th Earl of Wigton. He was a Representative Peer from 1784 to 1794 and was Lieutenant-Governor of Edinburgh Castle.

 

12th Lord Elphinstone, John Elphinstone, b.1764, a.1794, d.1813

 

Son of the 11th Lord and Anne Ruthven (b.1737, d.1801), daughter of James Ruthven, 5th Lord Ruthven of Freeland (for whom see the earls of Gowrie). He reached the rank of Colonel of the 26th Foot Regiment and was a Representative Peer from 1803 to 1807. He was also Lord-Lieutenant of Dunbartonshire.

 

13th Lord Elphinstone, John Elphinstone, b.1807, a.1813, d.1860

 

Son of the 12th Lord and Janet Hyndford Elliot (b.?, d.1825). He reached the rank of Captain in the Royal Horse Guards and was a Representative Peer from 1832 to 1834 and from 1847 to 1859. He was made a Privy Counsellor in 1836 and was Governor of Madras during the Indian Mutiny in 1847. He was invested as a Knight Grand Cross of the Hanoverian Order in 1836 and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in 1859. In that year he was created 1st Baron Elphinstone of Elphinstone in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, this becoming extinct at his death as he was unmarried and had no children.

 

14th Lord Elphinstone, John Elphinstone-Fleming, b.1819, a.1860, d.1861

 

Grandson of the 11th Lord and son of Admiral Charles Elphinstone-Fleming (b.1774, d.1840) and Donna Catalina Paulina Alessandro. His father appended the Fleming name on inheriting the estates of the earls of Wigton after the death of the 7th Earl. He reached the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the British Army. He also died unmarried and the succession transferred to a more distant relative.

 

15th Lord Elphinstone, William Buller-Fullerton-Elphinstone, b.1828, a.1861, d.1893

 

Great-grandson of the 10th Lord, grandson of William Fullerton-Elphinstone (b.1740, d.1834) and Elizabeth Fullerton (b.?, d.1834) and son of Lieutenant-Colonel James Drummond Buller-Fullerton-Elphinstone (b.1788, d.1857) and Anna Maria Buller (b.?, d.1845), daughter of Admiral Sir Edward Buller, 1st Baronet. He was a Captain in the Royal Navy and a Representative Peer from 1867 to 1885, when he was created 1st Baron Elphinstone of Elphinstone in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. He was also a Lord-in-Waiting (government whip in the House of Lords) from 1874 to 1880 under Disraeli and from 1886 to 1892 under Lord Salisbury.

 

16th Lord Elphinstone, Sidney Herbert Elphinstone, b.1869, a.1893, d.1955

 

Son of the 15th Lord and Lady Constance Euphemia Woronzow Murray (b.?, d.1922), daughter of Alexander Edward Murray, 6th Earl of Dunmore. He was Governor of the Bank of Scotland from 1924 to 1955. He was Captain General of the Royal Company of Archers from 1935 to 1953 and Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland from 1923 to 1924. He was invested as a Knight of the Thistle in 1927 and became Chancellor of the Order of the Thistle in 1949. He also held the posts of Lord Clerk Register and Keeper of the Signet from 1944 until his death.

 

17th Lord Elphinstone, John Alexander Elphinstone, b.1914, a.1955, d.1975

 

Son of the 16th Lord and Lady Mary Frances Bowes-Lyon (b.1883, d.1961), daughter of Claude George Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore. Educated at Eton and Christ Church College Oxford, he reached the rank of Captain in the Black Watch and was a Prisoner of War during the Second World War. He was a Lieutenant in the Royal Company of Archers and held various directorships, including the Bank of Scotland. He died unmarried.

 

18th Lord Elphinstone, James Alexander Elphinstone, b.1953, a.1975, d.1994

 

Nephew of the 17th Lord, being son of that man’s younger brother, the Reverend Honourable Andrew Charles Victor Elphinstone (b.1918, d.1975) and Jean Frances Hambro (b.1923). Educated at Eton and the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, he was a Chartered Surveyor.

 

19th Lord Elphinstone, Alexander Mountstuart Elphinstone, b.1980, a.1994

 

Son of the 18th Lord and Willa Mary Gabrielle Chetwode (b.1954). He was educated at Eton and at Newcastle University. As well as being 19th Lord he is also 5th Baron Elphinstone of Elphinstone and he is Chief of the Name and Arms of Elphinstone.

 

 

The courtesy title for the heir is Master of Elphinstone.

 

(Last updated: 19/03/2010)