Lords Elibank (1643)
1st Lord Elibank, Patrick Murray, b.?, a.1643, d.1649
From a branch of the great de Moravia family, Patrick Murray was the
descendant of Sir John Murray of Blackbarony, who died at Flodden. Sir John was
succeeded by Sir Andrew Murray (b.?, d.1572), who married Grizel Bethune (or
Beaton) (b.c.1521, d.1579). Several of his sons were awarded baronetcies. His
second son, Sir Gideon Murray (b.?, d.1621), married Margaret Pentland, and
though he did not receive a baronetcy, his son Patrick was created 1st
Baronet Murray of Ettrick Forest, Selkirk, in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia in
1628. He had studied at Oxford University and was very much a King’s man,
supporting the King in the General Assembly. He was raised to the peerage in
1643 as 1st Lord Elibank and was one of only six peers who voted
against Charles being over to the English Parliament in 1647.
2nd Lord Elibank, Patrick Murray, b.?, a.1649, d.1661
Son of the 1st Lord and Elizabeth Dundas (b.?, d.1627), daughter
of Sir James Dundas of Arniston. He fought under Montrose and was heavily fined
as a result of Cromwell’s Act of Grace.
3rd Lord Elibank, Patrick Murray, b.?,
a.1661, d.1687
Son of the 2nd Lord and Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of John
Stewart, 1st Earl of Traquair.
4th Lord Elibank, Alexander Murray, b.1677,
a.1687, d.1736
Son of the 3rd Lord and Anne Burnet, daughter of Alexander
Burnet, who was Archbishop of St Andrews between 1679 and 1684. He is
remembered as a founder of the Society of Improvers in the knowledge of
Agriculture in Scotland that did much to develop farming in Scotland, which for
long had been inferior to the English.
5th Lord Elibank, Patrick Murray, b.1703, a.1736, d.1778
Son of the 4th Lord and Elizabeth Stirling, (b.?, d.1756).
After qualifying as an Advocate, he joined the Army, reaching the rank of
Lieutenant-Colonel in Wynyard’s Marines, before leaving to take up a new career
as a writer and economist. He would later be considered on a par with Lord
Kames and David Hume as one of the prime movers of the Scottish Enlightenment.
At his house in Edinburgh he welcomed the cream of literary society and was
spoken of well by Samuel Johnston. He did not involve himself in politics but
was known to have Jacobite sympathies, his younger brother Alexander Murray
(b.1712, d.1778) having been involved in a plot to attack the Tower of London
and kidnap the Royal Family. He had no legitimate children.
6th Lord Elibank, George Murray, b.1706, a.1778, d.1785
Younger brother of the 5th Lord. He joined the Navy while
still young, and accompanied Lord Anson in his round the world voyage. He
retired from the Navy having reached the rank of Rear-Admiral. He had two
daughters but no male heirs.
7th Lord Elibank, Alexander Murray, b.1747, a.1785, d.1820
Nephew of the 5th and 6th Lords, being son of
their younger brother, the Reverend Gideon Murray (b.?, d.1776), and Elizabeth
Montolieu (b.?, d.1796), daughter of General David Montolieu, Baron de St
Hypolite. He was MP for Peeblesshire from 1783 to 1784 and Lord-Lieutenant of
Peeblesshire from 1794 to 1820, and he was President of the Royal Company of
Archers from 1816 to 1820.
8th Lord Elibank, Alexander Murray, b.1780, a.1820, d.1871
Son of the 7th Lord and Mary Clara Montolieu (b.?, d.1802),
daughter of Lewis Charles Montolieu, Baron de St Hypolite. He served in the
Coldstream Guards.
9th Lord Elibank, Alexander Oliphant Murray, b.1804, a.1871,
d.1871
Son of the 8th Lord and Janet Oliphant (b.?, d.1836).
10th Lord Elibank, Montolieu Fox Oliphant Murray, b.1840,
a.1871, d.1927
Son of the 9th
Lord and Emily Maria Montgomery (b.?, d.1879), a grand-daughter of Sir James
Montgomery, 1st Baronet Montgomery of Stanhope in Peeblesshire. He
served in the Royal Navy and reached the rank of Commander. He was also
Lord-Lieutenant of Peeblesshire from 1896 to 1908. In 1911 he was created 1st
Viscount Elibank of Elibank in Selkirkshire in the Peerage of the United
Kingdom.
Viscounts Elibank
(1911)
1st Viscount Elibank, Montolieu Fox Oliphant Murray, b.1840, a.1911, d.1927
The 1st Viscount’s oldest son, Alexander William Charles
Oliphant Murray (b.1870, d.1920) was MP for Midlothian from 1900 to 1904 and
from 1910 to 1912 and MP for Peebles & Selkirk from 1906 to 1910. He was
made a Privy Counsellor in 1911 and created 1st Baron Murray of
Elibank in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, this title becoming extinct at
his death in 1920. The succession passed to the next surviving son.
2nd Viscount Elibank, Charles Gideon Murray, b.1877, a.1927,
d.1951
Son of the 1st Viscount and
Blanche Alice Scott (b.?, d.1936). He fought in the Boer War and was later to
take several positions in the Foreign and Colonial Office. He also represented Glasgow
St Rollox as the Unionist MP from 1918 to 1922 and was Lord-Lieutenant of
Peeblesshire from 1934 to 1935. He was admitted into the Royal Company of
Archers and was Honorary Colonel of the 8th Battalion, Royal Scots,
from 1939 to 1945. He married but had no children.
3rd Viscount Elibank, Arthur
Cecil Murray, b.1879, a.1951, d.1962
Younger brother of the 2nd
Viscount. He reached the rank of Captain in the King’s Own Scottish Borderers
and fought in the Boxer Rising of 1900. At that time he became Aide-de-Camp to
the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal. He became Lieutenant-Governor himself in
1902 and fought in the Chitral Campaign from 1903 to 1907 with the 5th
Gurkha Rifles. He was then Liberal MP for Kincardineshire from 1908 to 1923 and
served in the Foreign Office. During the First World War he served as
Lieutenant-Colonel of the 2nd King Edward’s Horse before
transferring to the 1st Canadian Infantry Division. He received the
Distinguished Service Order in 1916 and was invested as a Companion of the Order
of St Michael and St George in 1918 and admitted into the Royal Company of
Archers. He was a director of LNER from 1923 to 1948 and wrote several books of
fiction and non-fiction. He was married but had no children and the viscountcy
became extinct.
Lords Elibank
(1643, continued)
13th Lord Elibank, James
Alastair Frederick Campbell Erskine-Murray, b.1902, a.1962, d.1973
The 8th Lord Elibank’s
younger brother, the Honourable James Murray (b.1810, d.1844) married Isabella Erskine
(b.?, d.1875). Their son Alexander Erskine Erskine-Murray (b.1832, d.1907)
married Helen Pringle (b.?, d.1916). Their son James Robert Erskine-Murray
(b.1868, d.1927) married Alleine Frederica Florinda Gildea (b.?, d.1941), and
their son became 13th Lord Elibank according to the rules of
succession of that title. He was educated at Harrow, Sandhurst and the
University of Glasgow, and served in the Highland Light Infantry during the
Second World War. He was created a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of
Scotland and a Fellow of the Zoological Society of Scotland. He died unmarried.
14th Lord Elibank, Alan
d’Ardis Erskine-Murray, b.1923, a.1973
Cousin of the 13th Lord,
being the son of that man’s father’s brother Robert Alan Erskine-Murray (b.1874,
d.1939) and Eileen Mary MacManus (b.?, d.1970) of Ireland. He was in the Royal
Engineers from 1942 to 1947 and then became a practising barrister. He then
graduated from Peterhouse College Cambridge before working with Shell
International Petroleum from 1955 to 1980 and then as a consultant to Deminex
UK Oil and Gas until 1986. He is also 14th Baronet Murray of Ettrick
Forest.
The courtesy title for the heir is
Master of Elibank.
(Last updated: 11/06/2010)