The Erskine of Mar and Erskine of Dun Connections

The Erskines have proved a via dolorosa, and still without end in sight – I'm now reliably advised that like the Academy's portals through which no-one ignorant of geometry should enter, the Erskines (of Mar in particular), as integral with and peculiar to the Scottish way of doing things, require (on my part at least) a preliminary familiarity with the classic texts on Scottish heraldry, genealogy and inheritance.

This to me is rather like turning to Newton's Principia or Maxwell's Treatise to gain understanding of mechanics or electromagnetism – yes, they are indeed the ultimate authorities, but difficult to appreciate without a modern commentary. Nevertheless, click here to gain access to the texts in question.

The escutcheon (shield) is only a part (though the most important) of the various features on a coat of arms – such as supporters, mantling, crest and motto. Two more elaborate realisations (reproduced from the best efforts by custom heraldry websites) are shown below, together with an interestingly-conceived, though indifferently-executed, version from a pleasantly quirky Erskine-dedicated website that is very well worth visiting.

The blazon (precise heraldic prescription) presented below describes the arms of the Earldom of Mar as they were agreed upon in 1885 – nominally, at least, as granted by letters patent in 1114 – after almost half a century of legal dispute, the origins of which will be analysed later. Compromises had to be reached, and some of the traditional Erskine imagery going back before the first millennium evidently had to be quietly discarded. Nevertheless, the superb visual realisation of that blazon as also reproduced below, could hardly be bettered.

The blazon next presented describes the arms of the Earldom of Mar and Kellie as they were agreed upon at about the same the same time as those above – nominally, at least, as granted by letters patent in 1565. This is a composite title, comprising the Earldom of Kellie and the 1565 Earldom of Mar, the latter running in parallel with the 1114 Earldom of Mar held by the Earls of Mar pure and simple. The latter situation is rather reminiscent of the twin Papacies of Rome and Avignon in mediaeval times.

But it's interesting to note that certain features of this blazon – the pales and the areskine crest – go way back to pre-Norman times, and could with equal justice have persisted in the 1114 version. However, the greater complexity of this coat of arms means that its visual realisation as also reproduced below is even more magnificent!

On the verge of threescore years and ten, one starts to feel like the unfortunate Galois, frantically scribbling his algebraic testament on the eve of that disastrous duel, save that the opponent in this instance is the even more implacable Father Time.

There is such a wealth of collateral material to explore, never mind recount, in this (to me) most fascinating of all the Connections, that I cannot afford to diverge too far from the basic mission of recording the lineage in question as clearly and accurately as possible, with names, dates, spouses, offspring and immediate personal contexts. And yet I invariably do – no fool like an old fool.

In the Erskine and Wardlaw Connection, I followed the lineage of the present-day Waddells (such as myself) back via Helen Halcro Wardlaw to the seventeenth century Erskines so justly celebrated in the religious history of Scotland.

The original mission statement of this Connection was to pursue the lineage of those Erskine divines Henry, Ebenezer and Ralph, up the nights and up the days, up the arches of the years, as one might say, to their uttermost origins.

That's actually relatively easy, as we will see below. But as going downstairs rather than upstairs is far harder in childhood (and, as I'm discovering, in old age too), to present a lineage in descent 'down the labyrinthine ways' – essential if we are to get a realistic view of the actual historical perspective – is much harder than in ascent: it's a divergent process, with new lineages kicking-off in each generation and spreading outwards in time and location.

I really ought to consider several historical processes, progressing in parallel or in sequence (and I wish I'd realised that before I started):

1. The origins of the Earldom of Mar
2. The emergence of the early Erskine family and the Lords of Erskine
3. The emergence of the Erskines of Mar and simultaneous divergence of the Erskines of Dun
4. The confluence of Mar and Dun as antecedents of the Secessionary Trio of Henry, Ebenezer and Ralph, direct ancestors of the Waddells today
5. The divergence of the Earls from our ancestry at just that same point in time – they took the high road and we took the low road, but I'm more than happy with that.

It is far easier to chronicle our ancestors' names, dates and accomplishments, than the often ambiguous, and not infrequently contested, often retrospectively, titles with which they may have been bestowed, sometimes of several distinct orders of precedence and territorial reference. Furthermore, any particular title could be attainted, extinguished or recreated several times over, and several different ordinal numbers could apply simultaneously to the same holder of the same title, depending on where you started the head-count.

We shall encounter numerous instances of such difficulties in almost all the narratives that follow. They have caused me more perplexities than almost everything else put together.

Note also that the first column of the Generation Tables in this Connection will be used for ordinals rather than generation offsets, as there are so many familial discontinuities, except for tabulations of those Erskines who are my own direct forebears.

The Mormaers of Mar

Let's start with a reasonably authoritative quotation.

This gives the impression that the rank of Mormaer was peculiar to the region of Mar. In fact, this usage was common in a number of regions, though the actual title varied. Mormaer itself seems to have translated as Great Steward, but there were others such as toisech (chief), thanus (thane), and comes (count), or ruirí / rí (kinglet = little king, so that that Ruaidrí, the first Earl of Mar tabulated below, would probably have started as a Mormaer with ruaid = red hair)

Also, a powerful local chieftain might have been a de facto Mormaer without being recognised as such de jure. So where did one start counting? Indeed, at what point did the Mormaers become recognisably Earls? These aren't idle questions, as the knock-on effect of such uncertainties extends right up to the present day.

Of course, the position of Mormaer in the early days was no more secure, let alone hereditary, than that of a political leader or sports champion today. And we might know their names but not always their chronological order.

However, I have encountered several websites that state more or less explicitly that there were four Mormaers of repute before the Earldom proper was instituted. And they were probably in the following order (substantiated by 'mac' meaning 'son of' in Gaelic, as any fule kno).

#	Individual	Spouse / Partner	Family
1	Domnall (d 1014, Battle of Clontarf, at which King Brian Boru was killed) son of Eimen son of Cainnech
2	Muirchertach / Martachus (b 995)		Gartnait
3	Gartnait / Gratnach mac Martachus (b 1020)		Morgundus
4	Morgundus mac Gratnach (b 1040)

The Early Earls of Mar (Part One)

The authorities with whom I'd like to conform are

• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_of_Mar
• www.earldomofmar.co.uk/content/Holders.html
• www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk/online/content/mar1114.htm

But the statuses of the elusive Gille Cedrig (Gillocheri) and the appalling Alexander Stewart as legitimate Earls of Mar (or not) multiply the ordinal possibilities – and the second and third of these authorities differ both from each other, and from my own first draft based on Wikipedia. I have provisionally decided to stick with my original choice of ordinals, at least until the other content has bedded-down satisfactorily.

#	Individual	Spouse / Partner	Family
1	Ruadri (Rothri) First known Earl of Mar fl 1130
2	Gille Cedrig (Gillocheri) 2nd Earl of Mar Name uncertain
3	Morggánn (Morg(r)und) 3rd Earl of Mar (1115 – 30 Mar 1182)	Ada	Alesta (1136 – 22 Sep 1182) Donnachaidh (1165 – 7 Feb 1244)
		Agnes	Máel Coluim (Malcolm) (b 1149) James (1151 – 1232) David (b 1159) Donald, John
4	Gille Críst (Gilchrist) 4th Earl of Mar (not Morggánn's son) ruled 1183 - 1203		Máel Coluim Eoin also a daughter
5	Donnachaidh (Duncan) 5th Earl of Mar (Morgánn's son) (1165 – 7 Feb 1244) ruled 1203 – 1244	Arabella (aka Orabillis) of Nessius	Uilleam
6	Uilleam mac Dhonnchaidh (William son of Duncan) 6th Earl of Mar ruled 1244 – 1276 built Kildrummy Castle	Lady Elisabeth Comyn daughter of William Comyn Earl of Buchan	Domhnall 1 Donnchadh
		Isabel (d 1267)
		Muriel / Maud daughter of Malise, 6th Earl of Strathearn
7	Domhnall mac Uilleim (Donald 1) 7th Earl of Mar ruled 1276 – 1301	Helen ferch Llywelyn daughter of Daffyd ap Llywelyn, Prince of North Wales widow of Malcolm, 7th Earl of Fife	Gartnait Duncan Alexander (imprisoned in the Tower of London with Edward Baliol by King Edward I, 1297) Isabella was the first wife of Robert I of Scotland (while Gartnait married Robert's sister!) Marjory, married twice: (1) John 9th Earl of Atholl, (2) Kenneth 4th Earl of Sutherland
8	Gartnait mac Domhnaill (Gratney) 8th Earl of Mar ruled 1301 – 1305	Christina Bruce, sister of King Robert I who created her Lady of Garioch	Helen (Ellen) of Mar (d >1342) Donald
9	Domhnall (Donald 2) 9th Earl of Mar Regent of Scotland ruled 1305 – 1332 (killed at Battle of Dupplin)	Isabel(la) Stewart daughter of Sir Alexander Stewart of Bonkill	Thomas Margaret (became 2nd Countess of Mar following Thomas' death sp)
10	Thomas 10th Earl of Mar 1st Lord Garioch ruled 1332 – 1377	Margaret Graham of Menteith	sp
		Margaret Stewart Countess of Angus	sp (tho she bore a natural son George – later Earl of Angus – and a natural daughter Margaret – later the 1st Laird of Bonjedward – both fathered by her sister-in-law's 1st husband William 1st Earl of Douglas)

Thomas died childless in 1377, bringing his line and the ancient Gaelic earldom of Mar through the male line to an end, He was succeeded by his sister Margaret, who was married to William Douglas, 1^st Earl of Douglas, and thereby the earldom passed into a rather strange transitional era.

The Early Earls of Mar (Part Two)

Note that William Earl of Douglas, rather than his wife Margaret, is sometimes reckoned as inheriting the Earldom of Mar from Thomas. And that his son James then inherited it (briefly) from him. I think that this is an assumption based on traditional English practice, ignoring the enlightened attitude of Scottish society that accepted women as possible heirs to a title in their own right rather than as somebody's wife.

And in the generation following, although the dreadful Alexander Stewart assumed control by force, as we shall see, he still had to get his wife Isabel to cede the title officially by signing a charter.

#	Individual	Spouse / Partner	Family
11	Margaret Countess of Mar, 2nd Lady Garioch ruled 1377 – 1393	William 1st Earl of Douglas (~1327 – May 1384) (m 1357)	James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas (1358 – Aug 1388) (killed at Battle of Otterburn) Isabel Douglas, Countess of Mar (1360–1408)
		Sir John Swinton
12	Isabel Countess of Mar (in 1404 xferred title and rent to Stewart but not to his heirs) (she also xferred the estate of Bonjedward to her 'dear halfsister' Margaret Douglas) (1360 – 1408) ruled 1393 – 1404	Sir Malcolm Drummond brother-in-law of King Robert III imprisoned & murdered by Alexander Stewart	sp
		Alexander Stewart (d 1435)	sp
13	Alexander Stewart 12th Earl of Mar ruled 1404 – 1426 Second Creation (1426 – 1435) ruled 1426 – 1435	Isabel Douglas Countess of Mar (d 1408)
		Marie van Hoorn (m 1410) daughter of Willem Lord of Duffel

The town hall of Duffel, in the Belgian province of Antwerp, a town nowadays famous for the heavy woollen cloth used to make duffle coats and duffle bags

Thus ended this brief period of tenure. As Alexander's kin had no right of succession to the Earldom, the stage was set for the Erskine family, with whom we shall get up to speed in due course.

Before that, though, we must examine the misdoings of Alexander Stewart. It's clear from the following narrative that he forcibly imposed his ambitions – and his marital intentions – upon Isabel. Over two decades later, long after she had died, he persuaded the King to regularise the situation. The King agreement was conditional on the repossession of the Earldom by the Crown at Alexander's death. The validity of this condition (called a remainder) was naturally disputed by the Erskines, and the issue wasn't finally resolved in the Erskines' favour until 1626.

See this too:

The ruined remains of Kildrummy Castle

Quite a rag tag and bobtail had a crack at the Earldom of Mar in the interim

#	Individual	Spouse / Partner	Family
	John Stewart (son of James II) Earl of Mar & Garioch Third Creation (1457 – 1479) ruled Jul 1457 – 1479
	Alexander Stewart (son of James II) Earl of Mar Fourth Creation (1479 – 1483) ruled 1479 – 1485 (though forfeited antehumously 1483)
	John Stewart (son of James III) Earl of Mar Fifth Creation (1486 – 1483) ruled 2 Mar 1486 – 1503
	James Stuart (natural son of James V, half-brother of Mary Queen of Scots) Earl of Mar and Moray Sixth Creation (1562 – 1565) ruled 1562 – 1565

Meanwhile, the Erskines simply got on with the job of being de facto Earls of Mar. But let's first review their origins.

Origins of the Erskine family and the Lords of Erskine

For example, the lordship of Erskine referred to their territory (subsequently sold and later held by Lord Blantyre – note that the Erskine family arrived in Alloa near Stirling in 1363 and built their principal residence Alloa Tower not long after) in the county of Renfrewshire, the west central lowlands of Scotland, south of the River Clyde nowadays spanned by the splendid Erskine Bridge ...

... and (despite incorrect references one sometimes sees to the "Earl(s) of Erskine") the lordship is quite distinct from the earldom of Mar, which relates to the ancient province of Mar in the northeast of Scotland, and which later became (almost) inseparable from the family name (until recent times at least).

I'm going to conform to the numbering system as per Wikipedia

Here and there we come across the curious phrase "of That Ilk" – which could be rather derisively misinterpreted – but actually has (or did have) a technical Scottish legal meaning of "of that same name", that is, the person concerned has an estate of the same name as himself. The example almost invariably quoted is Sir Iain Moncreiffe of that Ilk, 11^th Baronet Moncreiffe; as noted on Wikipedia "Like other Scottish landowners, and other baronets, he distinguished himself from other Moncreiffes by referring to his estate: of that Ilk is Scots for "of the same [place]", since his estate was Moncreiffe Island.

In the following narrative I've inserted Generation Numbers of the individuals concerned, as per the Generation Table that duly follows. I've also amended the Lordship ordinals to conform with the box above.

Have a look, too, at the entertaining and informative webpage

• www.candle-web.co.uk/ersking/erskinedashukdotnet.htm

The information in this next Generation Table is reproduced from the website www.wikitree.com/genealogy/ERSKINE, and more specifically from the entry (the pivotal significance of which will become apparent in due course) that is designated as follows:

Margaret (Halcro) Erskine

1647 Parish of Elvie, Isle of Wyre, Orkney, Scotland

Daniel Thompson

8 Feb 2014

Please note that I've adopted their useful notation whereby, for example, a daughter Elizabeth (Erskine) Lindsay was born Elizabeth Erskine, but became Elizabeth Lindsay by marriage – this helpfully indicates that she did marry, and the surname of her husband, even though no details are to be found further down the table (which is of course just patrilineal).

#	Individual	Spouse / Partner	Family
‑22 (sic)	Henry Erskine (1190 – 1226) born in Erskine, Renfrewshire	Unknown
‑20	John Erskine (1217 – 1271) born in Mar, Aberdeenshire	Jane Hatcher	John Erskine
‑19	Sir John Erskine of Mar (1249 – 1296)	Margaret Macgilronan (m 1279)	William Erskine Janet Erskine Margaret Agnes (Erskine) Livingston
‑18	Sir William Erskine (1274 – 1331)	Beatrix Stewart	Robert Erskine Christian Erskine Alan Erskine Andrew Erskine
‑17	Sir Robert Erskine of That Ilk (1310 – 1385) Constable of Stirling Castle. High Chamberlain of Scotland. Scottish Ambassador to England. Purchased the Barony and house of Dun	Beatrix (de Lindsay) Douglas (m <1340) daughter of Sir Alexander de Lindsay	Thomas Erskine Nicholas Erskine Marion (Erskine) Drummond of Kincraid
		Christian Menteith of Arran (m ca 1352) daughter of Sir John Menteith, Lord of Arran, and Helen of Mar	Christina (Erskine) Crichton William Erskine
‑16	Sir Thomas Erskine of that Ilk (1354 – 28 May 1404)	Mary Douglas (d 30 Jun 1367) daughter of Sir William Douglas	sp
		Janet (de Keith) Barclay (1342 – 1413) (m 13 Apr 1370) daughter of Christian Menteith's first marriage to Edward de Keith	Christian Erskine? Robert Erskine John Erskine (ca 1380 – 1410) The House of Dun Elizabeth Erskine?
‑15	Sir Robert Erskine 13th Earl of Mar 6th Lord Garioch 1st Lord Erskine (b 13 Apr 1370) (d <6 Nov 1452) great-great-grandson of 7th Earl	Elizabeth Lindsay (1391 – 1452) (m >1388)!	Janet Erskine Christian (Erskine) Graham Agnes Erskine John Erskine Thomas Erskine Alexander Erskine John Erskine Elizabeth (Erskine) Lindsay
		Margaret Stewart (m >20 Dec 1400)
‑14	Sir Thomas Erskine 14th Earl of Mar 7th Lord Garioch 2nd Lord Erskine (b 1425) (d < 1493) Sheriff of Stirling	Janet Douglas (ca 1421 – ca 1490)	Mariot Erskine Mary Erskine Margaret (Erskine) Rutherford Isobel Erskine Alexander Erskine Helen (Erskine) Colquhoun
‑13	Sir Alexander Erskine 15th Earl of Mar 8th Lord Garioch 3rd Lord Erskine (b >1446) (d 1508)	Christian Crichton (1439 – 1478) (m <9 Oct 1466)	Robert Erskine Christian (Erskine) Stewart
		Jean Hay (m 15 Jul 1480)
‑12	Sir Robert Erskine 16th Earl of Mar 9th Lord Garioch 4th Lord Erskine (b ca 1458) (d 9 Sep 1513, Battle of Flodden)	Isabella Campbell (1474 – 1519) (m 1485)	John Erskine (ca 1487 – 11 Jul 1555) Robert Erskine (ca 1490) Margaret (Erskine of Mar) Haldane (1496 – 15 May 1572) Janet Erskine of Mar (twin?) (1496 – Mar 1533) James Erskine of Little Sauchie and Balgownie (1500 – 1596, attestably long-lived) = Christian Stirling Alexander Erskine of Shielfield (~1504 – 20 Jan 1580) The Erskine & Wardlaw Connection Christian (Erskine) Colquhoun (1517 – 1564)
‑11	Sir John Erskine 17th Earl of Mar 10th Lord Garioch 5th Lord Erskine (b ca 1487 (d 11 Jul 1555)	Lady Margaret Campbell (1485 – 5 Nov 1555) daughter of Archibald Campbell 2nd Earl of Argyll	Katherine (Erskine) Elphinstone (b 1506) Janet (Erskine) Murray (b ca 1512) Margaret (Erskine) Douglas (13 Aug 1513 – 5 May 1572) John Erskine (1522 – 28 Oct 1572) 18th Earl of Mar The Erskine of Mar Connection (contd.) Robert Erskine (twin?) (b 1522) = Margaret Graham Arthur Erskine (ca 1540 – ca Jan 1571) = Magdalen Livingston Thomas Erskine (1544 – 7 Oct 1551) = Margaret (Fleming) Graham Alexander Erskine of Gogar (~1549 – 1592) The Kellie & Cambo Connection

The Earls of Mar (umpteenth creation)

In fact, this earldom has been created or recreated no fewer than seven different times!

In this next Generation Table, we pick up the lineage of the Earls of Mar at the point of divergence from the Early Erskines table, and continue through to the present day. Not because it has any bearing on my junior branch of the family, but simply because it was a challenge to reconcile the conflicting narratives available from the internet, and it's much more interesting than reconciling bank-statements or fixing broken fence-panels in the back-garden.

The information below is mainly reproduced from the following sources

• www.wikitree.com/genealogy/ERSKINE
• www.earldomofmar.co.uk/content/Holders.html
• www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk/
• www.thepeerage.com
• www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/

#	Individual	Spouse / Partner	Family
18	John Erskine 18th Earl of Mar 1st new Earl of Mar 11th Lord Garioch 6th Lord Erskine (1522 – 28 Oct 1572) Portrait	Annabella Murray (m 29 Jan 1557) daughter of Sir William Murray of Tullibardine	John Douglas Erskine 19th/2nd Earl of Mar (1556 – 14 Dec 1634)
19	Sir John Douglas Erskine 19th Earl of Mar 2nd new Earl of Mar 12th Lord Garioch 7th Lord Erskine (1556 – 14 Dec 1634) Lord Treasurer of Scotland Portrait	Anne (aka Agnes) Drummond (1555 – 1592) daughter of David 2nd Lord Drummond	John Erskine 20th/3rd Earl of Mar (ca 1585 – 1653/4)
		Mary Stewart (m 7 Dec 1592) daughter of Esme Stewart 1st Earl of Lennox	Mary (Erskine) Keith (b 1597) Portrait James Erskine 6th Earl of Buchan (1600 – Jan 1639/40) Portrait Anne (Erskine) Leslie (d 1640) Margaret M (Erskine) Lyon Annabell Erskine Catherine (Erskine) Hamilton (d 5 Feb 1635) Alexander Erskine Arthur Erskine Henry Erskine (d 1628) Sir Charles Erskine (d 8 Jul 1663) The Erskine of Alva & Rosslyn Connection William Erskine
20	Sir John Erskine 20th Earl of Mar 3rd new Earl of Mar 13th Lord Garioch 8th Lord Erskine (~1585 – 1653) Governor of Edinburgh Castle	Lady Jean Hay (m 6 Feb 1609/10) daughter of Francis Hay 9th Earl of Erroll	John Erskine 21st/4th Earl of Mar (d Sep 1668) Lady Elizabeth (Erskine) Napier
21	John Erskine 21st Earl of Mar 4th new Earl of Mar 14th Lord Garioch 9th Lord Erskine (d Sep 1688)	Lady Elizabeth Scott (6 Nov 1621 – 1647) (m 1641) daughter of Walter Scott 1st Earl of Buccleuch	sp
		Jean Mackenzie (m 8 Oct 1647) daughter of George Mackenzie 2nd Earl of Seaforth	Lady Barbara (Erskine) Douglas (d Aug 1690) Lady Sophia (Erskine) Forbes Lady Jean (Erskine) Cunninghame (b 22 Sep 1649) Charles Erskine 22nd/5th Earl of Mar (19 Oct 1650 – 23 May 1689) Lady Marie Erskine (b 2 Feb 1657)
22	Charles Erskine 22nd Earl of Mar 5th new Earl of Mar 15th Lord Garioch 10th Lord Erskine (19 Oct 1650 – 23 May 1689) Portrait	Lady Mary Maule (b 1655) (m 2 Apr 1674) daughter of George Maule 2nd Earl of Panmure	Col Henry Erskine (d 14 Apr 1707) Lady Jean (Erskine) Paterson (d 16 Nov 1763) John Erskine 23rd/6th Earl of Mar (1675 – May 1732) James Erskine Lord Grange (1679 – 20 or 24 Jan 1754)
23	Sir John Erskine 23rd Earl of Mar 6th new Earl of Mar 16th Lord Garioch 11th Lord Erskine (attainted 1716) (1675 – May 1732) Portraits "Bobbin John"	Margaret Hay (d 25 Apr 1707) (m 6 Apr 1703) daughter of Thomas Hay 7th Earl of Kinnoull	Thomas Erskine 12th Lord Erskine (1705 – 16 March 1766) Portrait
		Frances Pierrepo(i)nt (Jun 1690 – 4 Mar 1761, d allegedly insane) Portraits daughter of Evelyn Pierrepoint1,  2 5th Earl / 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull & Lady Mary Fielding Portrait and sister of Mary Pierrepoint, later Mary Wortley Montagu Portraits	Lady Frances Erskine (1716 – 20 Jun 1776) Portrait She married her uncle James Lord Grange's son James. Their son John Francis Erskine eventually became 24th Earl of Mar after the title was restored.
23	Lord Grange (1679 – 20 or 24 Jan 1754) Portrait	Rachel Chiesley (1679 – May 1745) (m 1707) Portrait	Charles Erskine (Aug 1709 – 1 Dec 1776) John Erskine (Mar 1711, d @ 2 months) James Erskine (Mar 1713 - 27 Feb 1785) He married his uncle "Bobbing" John's daughter Frances. Their son John Francis Erskine eventually became 24th Earl of Mar after the title was restored. Lord Grange and David Erskine, Lord Dun, had in 1724 purchased the forfeited Earldom from the government. Mary (Erskine) Keith (Jul 1714 – 19 May 1772) Meggie Erskine (d May 1717) Fannie Erskine (b Dec 1716) Jeannie Erskine (b Dec 1717) Rachel Erskine John Erskine
♀	Lady Frances Erskine (1716 – 20 Jun 1776)	James Erskine (Mar 1713 – 27 Feb 1785 (m 1740)	Col James Erskine (d 5 Apr 1806) John Francis Erskine 24th/7th Earl of Mar (1741 – 20 Aug 1825)
24	John Francis Erskine 24th Earl of Mar 17th Lord Garioch 12th Lord Erskine (1741 – 2 or 20 Aug 1825) grandson of 23rd Earl Portraits Doom of Mar	Frances Floyer (d 20 Dec 1798) (m 17 Mar 1770) daughter of Charles Floyer, Governor of Madras	Charlotte Frances Erskine (b ~1771) John Thomas Erskine (18 Jun 1772 – 20 Sep 1828) Portrait Capt James Floyer Erskine (14 Aug 1773 – 15 May 1798 sp) Portrait Mary Anne Erskine (b ~1774) Henry David Erskine (10 May 1776 – 31 Dec 1846) Charlotte 2 Erskine (b ~1780) Jane Erskine (b ~1781) Rev Thomas Erskine (10 Jul 1785 – 1 Jan 1859)
25	John Thomas Erskine 25th Earl of Mar 18th Lord Garioch 13th Lord Erskine (18 Jun 1772 – 20 Sep 1828) "The Mad Earl", died of drug addiction, painted out of the family portrait (replaced by a hat)	Janet Miller (d 25 Aug 1825) (m 17 Mar 1795) daughter of Patrick Miller of Dalswinton	Lady Frances Jemima Erskine (d 20 Jun 1842) Lady Jane Janetta Erskine (d 16 May 1861) John Francis Miller Erskine (28 Dec 1795 – 19 Jun 1866
25	Henry David Erskine (10 May 1776 – 31 Dec 1846)	Mary Anne Cooksey (10 May 1778 – 4 Mar 1860) (m 22 Oct 1805)	2 sons (b 1810) Walter Coningsby Erskine (triplet?) (12 Jul 1810 – 15 Jan 1872) The Erskine of Kellie & Cambo Connection Hon James Augustus Erskine (27 Mar 1812 – 24 Jul 1885) Henry David Erskine (15 Jun 1814 – 7 Dec 1852) Lady Anne Caroline Erskine (~1823 – 4 Dec 1891)
26	Lady Frances Jemima Erskine (d 20 Jun 1842)	Dr William James Goodeve (22 Dec 1861) (m 12 Oct 1830)	Lady Madeline Erskine Goodeve (d 31 Jan 1919) Lady Frances Jemima Goodeve (1831 – 11 Aug 1887) Charlotte Erskine Goodeve (1833 – 9 Sep 1859) Lady Eliza Philadelphia Erskine Goodeve (1834 – 15 Mar 1917) John Francis Erskine Goodeve (legally revised to Goodeve-Erskine on 19 Jun 1866) (29 Mar 1836 – 17 Jun 1930)
26	John Francis Miller Erskine 26th Earl of Mar 19th Lord Garioch 14th Lord Erskine (28 Dec 1795 – 19 Jun 1866) 11th Earl of Kellie Portrait, Portrait  ?	Philadelphia Stuart Stuart-Menteith (m 24 Apr 1827) (d 15 Feb 1853) daughter of Sir Charles Granville Stuart-Menteith 1st Baronet of Closeburn	sp Succeeded in Earldom of Mar by nephew John Francis Erskine Goodeve-Erskine and in Kellie Earldom and Erskine Lordship by cousin Walter Coningsby Erskine
27	Lady Frances Jemima Goodeve (1831 – 11 Aug 1887)	Lt Gen James Nowell Young (~1824 – 13 Jan 1917) (m 29 Mar 1854) Judge-Advocate-General, Bengal	Alice Young (26 Mar 1858 – 25 Apr 1951) Isabel Young (31 Aug 1860 – 14 May 1943) Maj Charles Walter Young (25 Nov 1862 – 1898)
27	John Francis Erskine Goodeve-Erskine 27th Earl of Mar 20th Lord Garioch (29 Mar 1836 – 17 Jun 1930) nephew of 26th Earl	Alice Mary Sinclair Hamilton (m 12 Sep 1866) (d 6 Jun 1924) daughter of John Hamilton of Hilston Park, Monmouthshire	John Francis Hamilton Sinclair Cunliffe Brookes Forbes Goodeve-Erskine (27 Feb 1868 – 29 Sep 1932)
28	Alice Young (26 Mar 1858 – 25 Apr 1951)	James Horsburgh Lane (11 Dec 1915) (m 2 Mar 1878)	Mildred Lane (8 Jan 1879 – 3 Oct 1969) Charles Macdonald Lane (26 Jan 1882 – 30 Apr 1956) Frank Nowell Lane (4 Jan 1888 – 11 Aug 1918)
28	Maj Charles Walter Young (25 Nov 1862 – 1898	Constance Barnes Johnson (m 1885) daughter of Rev John Lovick Johnson	Lionel Walter Young (legally revised to Erskine-Young in 1932) (13 Jun 1891 – 27 Nov 1965
28	John Francis Hamilton Sinclair Cunliffe Brookes Forbes Goodeve-Erskine 28th Earl of Mar 21st Lord Garioch (27 Feb 1868 – 29 Sep 1932) son of 27th Earl	Sybil May Dominica Heathcote (11 Jun 1878 – 20 Jul 1958 (m 15 Sep 1903) daughter of Robert Heathcote and Edith Mary Manners-Sutton	sp
29	Charles Macdonald Lane (26 Jan 1882 – 30 Apr 1956)	Jessie Helen Grant (d 15 Dec 1968) (m 14 Jan 1914)	James Clifton Lane (legally revised to James Clifton of Mar in 1959) (22 Nov 1914 – 21 Apr 1975) Margaret Isabel Lane (28 Mar 1921 – 1989) Frank Horsburgh Lane (3 Jan 1923 – 18 Oct 1944)
29	Lionel Walter Erskine-Young 29th Earl of Mar 22nd Lord Garioch (13 Jun 1891 – 27 Nov 1965) 1st cousin once removed of 28th Earl	unmarried
30	James Clifton of Mar 30th Earl of Mar 23rd Lord Garioch (22 Nov 1914 – 21 Apr 1975) 1st cousin once removed of 29th Earl	Millicent Mary Salton (d 1993) (m 1959)	Lady Margaret Alison of Mar (b 19 Sep 1940) David Charles of Mar (10 Aug 1944 – 8 Jan 1967 sp) Lady Janet Helen of Mar (b 31 Jan 1946)
		Marjorie Grice née Miller (m 1960) (d. 25 Nov 1975)	sp
31	Margaret Alison Countess of Mar1,  2 31st of the Earldom 24th Lady Garioch (b 19 Sep 1940) Portrait	Edwin Noel Artiss (28 Dec 1926 – Dec 2000) (m 1 May 1959)	Lady Susan of Mar (b 1963)
		John Salton (m 30 Apr 1976)
		John Henry Jenkin (m 31 Mar 1982)

The following article discusses the 'new' Earldom created by Mary Queen of Scots on 23 June 1565.

The Clan Mar

Before reading on, you might first like to click here for some background to the Scottish clan system.

And there is indeed a Clan Mar, unusual perhaps in being named for the territory rather than the family name of the Chief of the clan, currently of course Margaret of Mar, pictured below. But as we've already seen, her father had (possibly as a courtesy rather than necessity) dropped his original surname and taken the qualification "of Mar" prior to inheriting the earldom, and so in a sense Mar has become the family surname.

There is also a Clan Erskine^1,  2, of which James Erskine, Earl of Kellie & Mar, is the current Chief.

The Clan Mar wikipage gives no guidance as to their emblem, so I've uploaded these two from the internet, and await further advice as to which, if either, is the more authentic. The foldings of the belt are different, and the details of the duck-tailed hat also differ (though the Old French motto Pans Plus^# is the same in both).

Neither does it reveal their preferred tartan – and here the internet again offers an embarrassment of riches – hunting, dancing, wooing, etc. – and so I'm going to have to choose one at random, until advised otherwise:

though Wikipedia suggests the following alternative for Erskines generally, as propounded by the (entirely bogus but nevertheless widely accepted faute de mieux) Vestiarium Scoticum:

#:

An imperative literally translating as "Think more" or "Think again", but what does it really mean? I think it suggests "Come on, if you think you're hard enough", an aggressive variant on "Nemo me impune lacessit". Some mottoes have it as a statement Je Pense Plus, translating as "I think more", rather an odd thing to say IMHO.

Well, that's it, really, as far as the Erskines are concerned, except for a couple of puns I've been saving up:

Appendix A (for checking purposes)

Appendix B (for checking purposes)