Margaret Erskine of Dun
The Marchioness of Ailsa | |
|---|---|
_Kennedy_17th_Laird_Margaret_(Erskine)_Kennedy_17th_Laird_(1772_-_1848).jpg) Margaret Kennedy, Marchioness of Ailsa | |
| Born | Margaret Erskine 1772 |
| Died | 5 January 1848 (aged 75–76) |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Issue | 6, including Archibald, Margaret, John |
| Parents | John Erskine of Dun Mary Baird |
Margaret Kennedy, Marchioness of Ailsa (1772 – 5 January 1848) was a Scottish noblewoman.
Early life
Margaret was born in 1772. She was the second daughter of Mary (née Baird) Erskine and John Erskine of Dun, Forfarshire. He had two siblings, Capt. William John Erskine of the 9th Light Dragoons (who was killed in the Irish Rebellion at the Battle of Kilcullen), and Alicia Erskine of Dun (who died unmarried in 1824).[1]
Her paternal grandparents were John Erskine of Dun (only son of David Erskine, Lord Dun),[2] and Margaret Inglis (a daughter of Sir John Inglis, 2nd Baronet).[3] Her mother was the eldest daughter of William Baird, Esq. of Newbyth House, Haddingtonshire. Her maternal uncle was Sir David Baird, 1st Baronet.[1]
Personal life
On 1 June 1793, she married Archibald Kennedy, Lord Kennedy, who the following year succeeded as 12th Earl of Cassilis. Margaret inherited the House of Dun, a Georgian house, in 1824, and achieved the rank of Marchioness when her husband was created Marquess of Ailsa in 1831. Together, they had six children:[4][5]
- Archibald Kennedy, Earl of Cassilis (1794–1832), who married Eleanor Allardyce, daughter and heiress of Alexander Allardyce of Dunnottar, Kincardine,[6] and predeceased both of his parents.[7]
- Lady Anne Kennedy (1797–1877), who married Sir David Baird, 2nd Baronet.[8]
- Lady Mary Kennedy (1799–1886), who married Richard Oswald, son of Richard Alexander Oswald, MP for Ayr of Auchincruive Estate.
- Lady Margaret Kennedy (1800–1889), who married Thomas Radclyffe-Livingstone-Eyre.[9]
- Hon. John Kennedy-Erskine (1802–1831), who assumed the additional name of Erskine after inheriting the Dun estate from his aunt Alicia Erskine in 1824; he married Lady Augusta FitzClarence, an illegitimate daughter of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan in 1827.[10]
- Lady Alicia Jane Kennedy (1805–1887), who married Jonathan Peel, Secretary of State for War.[11]
Lord Ailsa died in 1846 and was succeeded in his titles by their grandson, Archibald. Lady Ailsa died on 5 January 1848.
Descendants
Through her eldest son Archibald, she was a grandmother of nine, including Archibald Kennedy, 2nd Marquess of Ailsa.[12]
Through her second son John, she was a grandmother of three, Capt. William Henry Kennedy-Erskine of the 17th Lancers;[12] Wilhelmina "Mina" Kennedy-Erskine (who married his first cousin, William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster);[12] and Augusta Anne "Millicent" Mary Kennedy-Erskine (who married James Hay Erskine-Wemyss, son of Rear-Admiral James Erskine Wemyss).[12]
Painting
Margaret Erskine of Dun is the title given to the painting by William Owen which can be found on the first floor of Culzean Castle.
References
- ^ a b Burke, Bernard; Burke, Ashworth Peter (1891). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Colonial Gentry . London: Harrison. pp. 268–269. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
- ^ "John Erskine (1712–1787), 14th of Dun". artuk.org. Art UK. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
- ^ "Margaret Inglis (1720–1747), Wife of John Erskine, Daughter of Sir John Inglis of Cramond". artuk.org. Art UK. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
- ^ Debrett's Peerage and Titles of Courtesy. Dean & Son. 1879. pp. 20–22. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ Lodge, Edmund (1892). The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing. Hurst and Blackett, Limited. p. 12. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
- ^ G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume I, page 67.
- ^ Lodge, Edmund (1892). The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing. Hurst and Blackett, Limited. p. 12. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
- ^ "Death of Sir David Baird". The Glasgow Herald. Friday, 9 January 1852. p. 5.
- ^ "Eyre, Margaret Radclyffe-Livingstone- [née Lady Margaret Kennedy], styled countess of Newburgh (1800–1889), philanthropist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/45582. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. Retrieved 13 December 2020. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ Peter, David MacGregor (1856). The Baronage of Angus and Mearns: Comprising the Genealogy of Three Hundred and Sixty Families-- Being a Guide to the Tourist and Heraldic Artist. Oliver & Boyd. p. 87. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
- ^ Debrett, John (1838). Debrett's Complete Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Ireland ... J. G. & F. Rivington. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ a b c d Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 3, page 4125.