Having never married, he was succeeded by his next brother,. PETER Wedderburn, born anno 1660, who was served heir to him by a special retour, dated the 11th of October, 1688;' during the lifetime of his brother, he went into the army, and was appointed second Lieutenant of Captain Ogilvie's company in the royal regiment of foot, commanded by George, Earl of Dumbarton, by commission, dated the 26th of March, 1696. He was afterwards advanced to the rank of Captain of grenadiers in the same regiment, by commission, dated the 20th of September, 1688; and, being a person of great probity and judgment, he was member of the Parliaments of Scotland, from the Revolution till the Union. He was created a Baronet of Scotland, by patent under the great seal, dated the 30th of December, 1697," with remainder," hæredibus masculis de ejus corpore." He married Dame Janet Halket, heiress of Pitferrane, the eldest daughter of Sir Charles Halket, of Pitferrane, Baronet, and his Lady, Janet, only daughter of Sir Patrick Murray, of Pildennis, Knight, second son of Sir William Murray, of Clermont, Baronet; and, agreeable to the entail of the barony of Pitferrane, assumed the name of Halket.

By the heiress of Pitferran, Sir Peter had five sons and four daughters; viz.

1. Sir Peter Wedderburn, Bart. his heir, who afterwards took the name of Halket of Pitferran, who rose to the rank of Colonel in the army, and was killed in the service of his country, in that fatal action under General Braddock, in North America, the oth of July, 1755, leaving issue by his wife, Lady Emilia Steuart, daughter of Francis, Earl of Murray; three sons; 1. Peter, 2. Francis. 3. James; all dead without issue.

2. Charles, of whom afterwards.

3. James, who died unmarried. 4. Alexander, who acquired the estase of St. Germain's, in the county of Haddington, and married his cousin, Elizabeth, daughter of David Haliburton, of Pitcur, Esq. but died without issue. 5. Robert, who married Rachel, daughter of John Thompson, of Charlton, Esq. and had issue.

Sir Peter's daughters were; 1. Janet, married to Robert Colvill, of Ochiltree, Esq. the heir of line of the said Lord Colvill, of Ochiltree, and proprietor of the estates of that family, in

s Ibid.

Charter Chest of the family.
"The original patent in the said Charter Chest,

t Ibid.

the counties of Fife and Kinross, by whom she had issue 2. Agnes, who died unmarried. 3. Christian, married to James Carstairs, of Kilconquhar, who afterwards took the name of James Bruce, of Kinross, Esq. by whom she had a numerous issue.

Sir Peter died at the advanced age of eighty-six, in the year 1746, and was succeeded in his estate of Gosford by his second

son,

CHARLES Wedderburn, of Gosford, Esq. a gentleman of the strictest honour, who married Mary, daughter of Sir Henry Wardlaw, of Pitreavie, Baronet, by Elizabeth, second daughter of Sir Charles Halket, of Pitferran, Baronet, by whom he had five sons and three daughters.

1. John, his heir. 2. Henry, who was a Captain in the East Indies, and afterwards rose to considerable preferment there. He married, and had issue one daughter, Mary, married to Colonel Sir John Cumming. Henry married, secondly, a daughter of John Belches, of Innerm.ay, Esq. but by her he had no issue. 3. James, an officer in the army, who died unmarried 4. Peter, an officer in the service of the States of Holland, died unmarried. 5 Charles, an officer in the service of the East India Company, died with many others in the prison called the Blackhole at Calcutta.

The daughters were, 1. Elizabeth, died unmarried. 2. Janet, married to John Erskine, of Balgownie. 3. Mary, married to Major Charles Steuart, by whom she had five sons, and one daughter.

Charles died in the year 1755, and was succeeded by his eldest

son,

JOHN Wedderburn, of Gosford, Esq. who, upon failure of issue of his uncle, Sir Peter Halket, of Pitferran, succeeded to that estate, agreeable to the entail above-mentioned; also to the dignity of Baronet, and afterwards resigned the estate of Gosford in favour of his immediate younger brother, Captain Henry Wedderburn. He was then designed Sir John Halket, of Pitferrane, Baronet. Sir John entered into the military profession, and was a Captain in the army. He married, first, Elizabeth, daughter of Andrew Fletcher, of Salton, Esq. one of the Senators of the College of Justice, Lord Justice Clerk, and keeper of his Majesty's Signet in Scotland, by whom he had one daughter, Elizabeth. He married, secondly, Mary, daughter of the Honourable John Hamilton, uncle of the late Earl of Haddington, by whom he had six sons and seven daughters:

1. Charles, his heir, formerly Lieutenant in the 21st regiment of dragoons. 2. Peter, an officer in the royal navy. 3. John. 4. Henry. 5. Alexander. 6. Thomas. The daughters were, 1. Margaret. 2. Mary. 3. Janet. 4. Amelia. 5. Catherine. 6. Shalto-Charlotte. 7. Helen.

We now return to

ALEXANDER Wedderburn, Esq. third son of the abovementioned Sir Peter, Lord Gosford, who got a very considerable patrimony from his father. He was bred to the study of the law, and was admitted an advocate. Being a man of extensive knowledge and abilities, he was appointed one of the Commissioners of his Majesty's revenues and excise for Scotland; which office he enjoyed as long as he lived. By Mary his wife, daughter of James Daes, of Coldingknows, Esq. in the county of Berwick, and Advocate, by Margaret, relict of Alexander Haliburton, of Newmains, Esq. and sister of Sir Thomas Kerr, of Cavers, he had one son and two daughters. He was succeeded by his only son,

PETER Wedderburn, of Chester hall, Esq. who studied the law, and entered Advocate. To him, with great justice, may be applied, the amiable character given to his grandfather, Sir Peter Wedderburn, of Gosford, by Sir George Mackenzie, as before noticed. After several years practice at the bar, he was, by a royal commission, appointed a Senator of the College of Justice, and was admitted to a seat on that bench, under the title of Lord Chesterhall, the 24th of July, 1755. He married Janet, daughter of Colonel Ogilvie, descended from the family of the Earl of Airly, by whom he had two sons and one daughter.

1. Alexander, late Earl of Rosslyn.

2. David, a Colonel in the army, was killed in the service of his country, at the retaking of Barrock, in India, in the year 1773, unmarried.

His daughter, Janet, was married to Sir Henry Erskine of Alva, Baronet; and was mother of the present Earl.

ALEXANDER, FIRST EARL OF ROSSLYN, born February 13th, 1733, being bred to the law, became so eminent for his great knowledge therein, that he was called to the degree of Serjeant at law, with rank of one of his Majesty's Counsel; in January 1771, was promoted to the office of Solicitor-General, which he held till July 1778, when he was advanced to that of AttorneyGeneral; and in 1780, was appointed LORD CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS.

In the 12th Parliament of Great Britain, he represented the boroughs of Rothesay, Inverary, &c. in North Britain; at the general election in 1774, was chosen representative for Castle Rising, in Norfolk, as also for the borough of Oakhampton, in Devonshire, but made his election for the latter; in 1778, he was elected for the borough of Bishop's Castle, in Shropshire, and was advanced to the dignity of a Peer of Great Britain, by the name, style, and title of LORD LOUGHBOROUGH, Baron of Loughborough, in the county of Leicester, and to the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten, by letters patent, bearing date, June 14th, 1780.

In 1783, his Lordship was appointed First Commissioner for keeping the Great Seal; and on January 27th, 1793, he was appointed LORD HIGH CHANCELLOR of England, which he held till April 15th, 1801, when he was succeeded by the present Lord Eldon.

On October 31st, 1795, his Lordship obtained a new patent of a barony, by the title of LORD LOUGHBOROUGH, of Loughborough, in the county of Surrey, with remainders severally and successively to his nephews, Sir James Sinclair Erskine, Bart. and John Erskine, Esq. and by patent April 21st, 1801, was created EARL OF ROSSLYN, in the county of Mid Lothian, with the same remainders.

His Lordship was first married on December 31st, 1767, to Betty-Ann, daughter and heir of John Dawson, of Morley, in the county of York, Esq. but her Ladyship dying, February 15th, 1781, without issue, his Lordship married, July 1782, Charlotte, daughter of William the first, and sister to the late William, Viscount Courtenay, but had no issue by her.

His Lordship died January 3d, 1805.

It is difficult to speak of public men, so lately deceased, free from the prejudices created by individual feelings. Lord Rosslyn appeared to be a man of subtle and plausible rather than of solid talents. His ambition was great, and his desire of office unlimited. He could argue with great ingenuity on either side; so that it was difficult to anticipate his future, by his past, opinions. These qualities made a valuable partizan; and a useful and effi cient member of any administration. Early in his public career he incurred the powerful satire of Churchill in a couplet, which adhered to him for the remainder of his life. He had been destined for the Scotch bar; a fortunate resolve brought him to the wealthier harvest of English jurisprudence. His success was re

gular and constant; and in the character of Solicitor-General, he was long a powerful support to the parliamentary conduct of Lord North's Ministry. When the alarm of the French revolution, which separated the heterogeneous opposition formed by the Whigs under Fox, and the Tories under Lord North, obtaine him a seat on the Woolsack, he filled that important station during the eight years he occupied it, not perhaps, in a manner perfectly satisfactory to the suitors of his court, nor always with the highest degree of dignity as Speaker of the Upper House; but always with that pliancy, readiness, ingenuity, and knowledge, of which political leaders must have felt the convenience, and the public duly appreciated the talent. Yet his slender and flexible eloquence, his minuter person, and the comparative feebleness of his bodily organs, were by no means a match for the direct, sonorous, and energetic oratory, the powerful voice, dignified figure, and bold manner of Thurlow; of whom he always seemed to stand in awe, and to whose superior judgment he often bowed against his will.

His Lordship was succeeded by his nephew, Sir JAMES SINCLAIR ERSKINE, Bart. who thus became SECOND EARL OF ROSSLYN.

His Lordship is son and heir of the late Sir Henry Erskine, of Alva, Bart. by Janet Wedderburn, sister to the late Earl. Sir, Henry was descended from a younger son of the Earls of Marr, in Scotland.

John Erskine, seventh Earl of Marr, who died 1634, married to his second wife, Lady Mary Stewart, daughter of Esme, Duke of Lennox, by whom he had,

1. James, Earl of Buchan. 2. Henry, Lord Cardross.

3. Sir Alexander Erskine.

4. Sir Charles Erskine, of Alva, who was created a Baronet in 1666, and was succeeded by his son,

Sir Charles Erskine, of Alva, who was born July 4th, 1643, and married Christian daughter of Sir James Dundas, of Arniston. By her he had four sons.

1. Sir James Erskine, of Alva, killed at the battle of Landen, July 23d, 1693, unmarried.

2. Sir John Erskine of Alva, hereafter mentioned.

3. Charles, born in 1680.

4. Dr. Robert Erskine, Physician to the Czar of Russia.