Earls of Selkirk (1646)
1st Earl of Selkirk, William Douglas, b.1634, a.1646, d.1694
Son of William Douglas, 1st Marquess of Douglas (for whom see
the earls of Angus) and his second wife Mary Gordon
(b.c.1600, d.1674), daughter of George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly. In 1646 he was created 1st Earl of
Selkirk and 1st Lord Daer & Shortcleuch. He was fined by the Act
of Grace in 1651. He married Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton, in 1656, changed his surname to
Douglas-Hamilton and as a result of her petitions was created Duke of Hamilton
for life at the Restoration in 1660. He was a Privy Counsellor from 1660 to
1676, when he was removed for his opposition to John Maitland, 2nd
Earl of Lauderdale and had to wait until that
man’s death in 1682 before recovering his influence and was created a Knight of
the Garter. In 1685, he was accepted again into the Privy Council, and was an
Extraordinary Lord of Session from 1686 to 1689 and from 1693 to 1694. He
supported the Revolution and was president of the convention held in Edinburgh
in 1689 that declared the throne of Scotland vacant and invited William of
Orange to make claim. He was William’s first High Commissioner to Scotland from
1689 to 1690 and from 1693 to 1694, and High Admiral of Scotland from 1692 to
1693. In 1688 the titles that he held before his marriage were conferred on his
younger son, subject to the condition that if any future Duke of Hamilton were
to hold these, that on his death the Hamilton and Selkirk titles should be
separated between the eldest and second eldest sons. As well as the Hamilton
and Selkirk titles, two other sons were created earls, with John Hamilton
becoming 1st Earl of Ruglen and George
Hamilton becoming 1st Earl of Orkney.
2nd Earl of Selkirk, Charles Douglas,
b.1663, a.1688, d.1739
Younger son of the 1st Earl, inheriting as per the dictates
of the conditions of inheritance. He also changed his name back from Hamilton
to Douglas on becoming earl. He reached the rank of Colonel in the 1st
Horse Regiment in 1688, and was Lord of the Bedchamber from 1689 to 1702. He
was Lord Clerk Register of Scotland from 1696 to 1702 and from 1733 to 1739,
and was Lord of the Treasury in Scotland from 1704 to 1705. He became a Privy
Counsellor in 1733 and was Governor of Edinburgh Castle from 1737 to 1738.
3rd Earl of Selkirk, John Hamilton, b.1664,
a.1739, d.1744
Younger brother of the 2nd Earl. He had previously been
created 1st Earl of Ruglen. He having no
sons, the Selkirk titles transferred to a descendant of his younger brother.
4th Earl of Selkirk, Dunbar Douglas,
b.1722, a.1744, d.1799
Grandson of another brother of the 2nd Earl, the Honourable
Basil Hamilton (b.1671, d.1701), and Mary Dunbar, and son of another Basil
Hamilton (b.1696, d.1742) and Isabella Mackenzie (b.?, d.1725), a
grand-daughter of Sir Kenneth Mackenzie, 4th Earl of Seaforth. He changed his name from Dunbar Hamilton on
succeeding to the title. He became Rector of the University of Glasgow from
1766 to 1768, was a Representative Peer from 1787 to 1799 and was Lord-Lieutenant
of Stewartry. He was succeeded by his seventh son, the other six having died
without issue prior to their father.
5th Earl of Selkirk, Thomas Douglas,
b.1771, a.1799, d.1820
Son of the 4th Earl and Helen Hamilton (b.c.1738, d.1802), a
grand-daughter of Thomas Hamilton, 6th Earl of Haddington. Not expecting to inherit anything, he
studied law at the University of Edinburgh, and used his knowledge to come to
the help of poor Scottish crofters who were being displaced by wealthy
landowners greedy for land. When he became earl, he used his position and
financial muscle to purchase land in Prince Edward Island in Canada for farmers
to settle, and took a controlling interest in the Hudson Bay Company. However,
his attempts to colonise the region with Scottish farmers was not well received
by the locals, who were backed by the rival North West Company, and the
situation eventually led to armed conflict, resulting in Selkirk being accused
of being responsible for the deaths of several men he had held in custody. He
eventually returned to England with his health and reputation in ruins. From
1806 to 1818 he was a Representative Peer, and from 1807 to 1820 he was
Lord-Lieutenant of Stewartry, and he was invested as a Fellow of the Royal
Society in 1808.
6th Earl of Selkirk, Dunbar James Douglas,
b.1809, a.1820, d.1885
Son of the 5th Earl and Joan Wedderburn-Colville (b.b.1792,
d.1871). Educated at Eton and Christ Church Oxford, he was made a Fellow of the
Royal Society in 1831. He was a Representative Peer from 1830 to 1885 and
Lord-Lieutenant of Stewartry for the same period. He held the post of Keeper of
the Great Seal of Scotland in 1852 and again from 1858 to 1859. When he died,
the lordship became dormant temporarily.
7th Earl of Selkirk, Charles George
Douglas-Hamilton, b.1847, a.1885, d.1886
The terms of succession now caused the earldom to revert to the line of
the Dukes of Hamilton in the person of the 12th
Duke’s younger brother, who also died childless soon after taking the title.
With no other younger brothers available, the title reverted to the 12th
Duke.
8th Earl of Selkirk, William
Douglas-Hamilton, b.1845, a.1886, d.1895
He was already 12th Duke of Hamilton when he inherited the
earldom of Selkirk.
9th Earl of Selkirk, Alfred Douglas
Douglas-Hamilton, b.1862, a.1895, d.1940
As is explained in more detail in the Hamilton
page, all of the Hamilton titles, including that of the earldom of Selkirk,
passed to a distant cousin of the 12th Duke.
10th Earl of Selkirk, George Nigel
Douglas-Hamilton, b.1906, a.1940, d.1994
According to the rules of succession, the earldom was at this point able
to split again from the dukedom, and was inherited by the 14th
Duke’s younger brother. George Douglas-Hamilton was educated at Eton, and
attended Balliol College Oxford and the University of Edinburgh, graduating
from both, before joining the Faculty of Advocates. He also joined Edinburgh
Town Council, and was Commander of 603 Bomber Squadron (City of Edinburgh) in
the Royal Auxiliary Air Force from 1934 to 1938. When the Second World War
started he joined the Royal Air Force, serving as Fight Command’s chief
intelligence officer. He was twice mentioned in despatches, and received the
OBE in 1941. When the war ended attended the House of Lords as a Representative
Peer from 1945 to 1963, and was a Conservative Lord-in-Waiting from 1951 to
1953 and Paymaster-General from 1953 to 1955, when he was invested as a Privy
Counsellor. He was Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 1955 to 1957 and
First Lord of the Admiralty from 1957 to 1959, after which he was UK High
Commissioner to Singapore until 1963. In 1959 he became a Queen’s Counsel, and
was invested as a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
(GCMG). In 1963 he became a Knight Grand Cross of the British Empire (GBE), and
in 1976 was made a Knight of the Thistle. He married but had no children.
11th Earl of Selkirk, James Douglas-Hamilton,
b.1942, a.1994
A younger brother of the 15th Duke of Hamilton.
Educated at Eton, the University of Edinburgh and Balliol College Oxford, he
was a councillor in Edinburgh before becoming an MP for Edinburgh West, a post he
held from 1974 to 1997, and held various ministries, most notably in the
Scottish Office. In 1971 his book about Rudolf Hess’s flight to Britain was
published, and he wrote other books about his father’s exploits as a pilot. In
1994, he succeeded his cousin as Earl of Selkirk according to the rules of
succession, which meant that he could no longer vote in the House of Commons.
Since the Conservative majority at the time was slender, he therefore
disclaimed the earldom, a step enshrined in law by the Peerage Act of 1963,
which allowed a peer to surrender his position for life, losing all rights and
privileges, but not affecting the succession. In 1997 he was made a life peer
as Baron Selkirk of Douglas, of Cramond in the City of Edinburgh, and from 1999
to 2007 was a member of the Scottish Parliament. Although there is no current
Earl of Selkirk, there is an heir to the title in the form of his eldest son.
The courtesy title for the heir is Lord Daer.
(Last updated: 17/06/2011)