| The Right Honourable The Earl of Rosslyn PC, DL |
|
|---|---|
| Master of the Buckhounds | |
| In office 10 September 1841 – 29 June 1846 |
|
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | Sir Robert Peel, Bt |
| Preceded by | The Lord Kinnaird |
| Succeeded by | The Earl Granville |
| In office 28 February 1852 – 17 December 1852 |
|
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | The Earl of Derby |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Bessborough |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Bessborough |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 15 February 1802 |
| Died | 16 June 1866 |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Tory |
| Spouse(s) | Frances Wemyss (1794–1858) |
General James Alexander St Clair-Erskine, 3rd Earl of Rosslyn PC, DL (15 February 1802 – 16 June 1866), styled Lord Loughborough from 1805 to 1837, was a Scottish soldier and Tory politician. A General in the British Army, he also held political office as Master of the Buckhounds between 1841 and 1846 and again in 1852 and as Under-Secretary of State for War in 1859.
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Rosslyn was the son of James St Clair-Erskine, 2nd Earl of Rosslyn, by his wife Harriet Elizabeth Bouverie, daughter of the Honourable Edward Bouverie.
Rosslyn entered the British Army in 1819. He purchased a captaincy in the 9th Light Dragoons in 1823[1] and a lieutenant-colonelcy in 1828.[2] He was promoted to Major-General in 1854,[3] to Lieutenant-General in 1859[4] and to General in May 1866.[5] In 1864 he was appointed a Colonel of the 7th Regiment of Hussars.[6] Lord Rosslyn also commanded the Auxiliary Cavalry Regiment, The Fife Mounted Rifle Volunteers from 1860 until his death in 1866.
Rosslyn was returned to Parliament for Dysart Burghs, in Fife, in 1830,[7] a seat he held until 1831, and then represented Grimsby from 1831 to 1832.[8] He succeeded his father in the earldom in 1837. In 1841 he was sworn of the Privy Council[9] and appointed Master of the Buckhounds under Sir Robert Peel,[10] which he remained until the government fell in 1846.[11] He held the same office from February[12] to December 1852[13] under Lord Derby, and was briefly Under-Secretary of State for War under Derby from March to June 1859.
Lord Rosslyn was also a Deputy Lieutenant for Fife.[14]
Lord Rosslyn married Frances Wemyss (16 September 1794–30 September 1858), daughter of Lieutenant-General William Wemyss, of Wemyss Castle, Fife, in 1826. They had two sons and one daughter. Lord Rosslyn died in June 1866, aged 64, and was succeeded in the earldom by his only surviving son, Robert.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Ronald Crauford Ferguson |
Member of Parliament for Dysart Burghs 1830 – 1831 |
Succeeded by Robert Ferguson |
| Preceded by George Harris John Shelley |
Member of Parliament for Grimsby 1831 – 1832 With: Henry Fitzroy |
Succeeded by William Maxfield |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by The Lord Kinnaird |
Master of the Buckhounds 1841 – 1846 |
Succeeded by The Earl Granville |
| Preceded by The Earl of Bessborough |
Master of the Buckhounds February–December 1852 |
Succeeded by The Earl of Bessborough |
| Preceded by The Viscount Hardinge |
Under-Secretary of State for War March–June 1859 |
Succeeded by The Earl de Grey and Ripon |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by James St Clair-Erskine |
Earl of Rosslyn 1837 – 1866 |
Succeeded by Francis Robert St Clair-Erskine |