David Montagu Erskine, 2nd Baron Erskine (12 August 1776 – 19 March 1855) was a British diplomat and politician.
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A member of Clan Erskine, Erskine was the eldest son of Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine, fourth son of Henry Erskine, 10th Earl of Buchan. His mother was Frances, daughter of Daniel Moore, MP.[1] He was educated at Charterhouse, Winchester and Trinity College, Cambridge.[1][2] After matriculating in 1796, he was called to the Bar, Lincoln's Inn, in 1802.[1]
Erskine did not practise law, however, instead he was elected as Member of Parliament for Portsmouth in 1806,[3] in place of his father, who was appointed Lord Chancellor. At the request of Erskine's father to Charles James Fox, then Foreign Secretary, he was appointed Minister to the United States later that year.[1]
In 1809, Erskine was recalled by the Foreign Secretary, George Canning, for having offered the withdrawal of the Orders in Council of 1807 against the Americans and his resolution of the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair. He thus remained out of favour and unemployed until 1824, when he inherited his father's title and was appointed Minister to Stuttgart. He subsequently transferred to Munich in 1828. He retired in 1843.[1]
Lord Erskine had lived in the United States prior to his appointment as Minister to Washington. In 1799, he married as his first wife Frances Cadwalader, daughter of John Cadwalader,a general during the American Revolutionary War. She was the great granddaughter of Judge William Moore, of Moore's Hall, Pennsylvania, whose niece married Lord Erskine's father, and hence Lord Erskine and his wife were cousins. The portrait of Lady Erskine by Gilbert Stuart was considered one of his masterpieces.[4] They had twelve children:
Thomas Americus was named after Thomas Cadwalader, Lady Erskine's brother, who became an officer during the war of 1812. John Cadwallader was named after her father.[4] Lady Erskine died in Genoa in March 1843.
Erskine married as his second wife Anne, daughter of John Travis, in July 1843. After Anne's death in April 1851, he married as his third wife Anna, daughter of William Cunninghame Graham and widow of Thomas Calderwood Durham, in 1852. There were no children from his second and third marriage. Lord Erskine died at his home of Butler's Green in Sussex in March 1855, aged 78, and was buried at Cuckfield. He was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son, Thomas. Lady Erskine married the Venerable John Sandford, Archdeacon of Coventry, in 1856. She died in March 1886.[1]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Hon. Thomas Erskine John Markham |
Member of Parliament for Portsmouth 1806 With: John Markham |
Succeeded by John Markham Sir Thomas Miller, Bt |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by Anthony Merry |
British Minister to the United States 1807–1809 |
Succeeded by Francis James Jackson |
| Preceded by Henry Watkin Williams-Wynn |
British Minister to Württemberg 1824–1828 |
Succeeded by Edward Cromwell Disbrowe |
| Preceded by Brook Taylor |
British Minister to Bavaria 1828–1843 |
Succeeded by John Milbanke |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by Thomas Erskine |
Baron Erskine 1823–1855 |
Succeeded by Thomas Erskine |