Name Thomas 1st | Died June 12, 1639 | |
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Spouse Elizabeth Pierrepont (m. 1604) People also search for Henry Pierrepont, Dorothy Smith | ||
Thomas Erskine, 1st Earl of Kellie KG (1566 – 12 June 1639) was a Scottish peer.
Contents
Biography
Thomas Erskine was the eldest surviving son of Sir Alexander Erskine of Gogar and Margaret Home, a daughter of George Home, 4th Lord Home and Mariotta Haliburton.
Thomas was a school classmate and lifelong personal friend of James VI of Scotland (later James I of England) and in 1585 was made one of the Gentlemen of His Majesty's Bedchamber. He was with the king on the occasion of the Gowrie Conspiracy in 1600, when James was supposedly kidnapped by the Ruthven brothers at their house in Perth. He was afterwards awarded a third of the confiscated land of the Ruthvens and given the title Lord Erskine of Dirletoun in 1604. He was made a Privy Councilor in 1601 and accompanied the Duke of Lennox on a diplomatic visit to France.
Thomas travelled with James to England when James ascended the English throne in 1603 and was made Captain of the Guard (1603–1617) and Groom of the Stool in 1604 and created Viscount Fenton (or Fentoun)in 1606. He acquired Kellie Castle from the 5th Lord Oliphant in 1613 and was given the barony of Kellie. In 1615 he was made a Knight of the Garter and Earl of Kellie in March 1619.
When King James died in March 1625 the Privy Council drafted a proclamation. Kellie reminded them that James had preferred the title "King of Great Britain", and he assured the council that using "King of England and Scotland" would not please the people of Scotland.
He died intestate in London in 1639 and was buried at Pittenweem, Fife. Thomas's son Alexander predeceased his father in 1633. He was succeeded by his grandson, Thomas Erskine, 2nd Earl of Kellie
Family
The Earl of Kellie Married three times. His first marriage, on 30 November 1587 was to Ann Ogilvie, daughter of Sir Gilbert Ogilvie, of Powrie. A younger brother, James Erskine, married Marie, a daughter of Adam Erskine, Commendator of Cambuskenneth on 17 May 1594.
He married secondly in 1604 to Elizabeth Pierpoint, daughter of Sir Henry Pierpoint, and thirdly the thrice widowed Dorothy, daughter Ambrose Smith of Cheapside.
He married 2nd, Elizabeth Norreys daughter of Sir John Norreys of Heywood, Bray, Berkshire. They then forged her fathers will. http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C5571072