William Kerr, 4th Marquess of Lothian
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General William Henry Kerr, 4th Marquess of Lothian KT
(1710 – 12 April 1775) was a Scottish nobleman, soldier and politician, the eldest son of William Kerr, 3rd Marquess of Lothian
. He was styled Master of Jedburgh until 1722, Lord Jedburgh from 1722 to 1735, and Earl of Ancram from 1735 to 1767. As the Earl of Ancram, he distinguished himself during the War of the Austrian Succession
.
, and thereafter assumed the style of Earl of Ancram rather than Lord Jedburgh. They had three children:
in 1735, was a captain
in the 31st Regiment of Foot in 1739, and in the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards from 1741. He fought with the Guards at the Battle of Fontenoy (1745) while serving as an aide-de-camp
to the Duke of Cumberland
, and was wounded during the battle. He was subsequently made an ADC to the King and a colonel. In the same year, he was appointed lieutenant-colonel of Lord Mark Kerr's Regiment of Dragoons
, and commanded the cavalry
on the left wing at the Battle of Culloden
in 1746. (His younger brother, Lord Robert Kerr
, was with the infantry and was the highest-ranking Government casualty of the battle.) After the battle, he commanded the forces at Aberdeen
until August, and then returned to the Continent with Cumberland in December. At some point during the year, he was appointed a Groom of the Bedchamber to Cumberland.
Ancram was sent home with the standards captured at the Battle of Lauffeld
. On December 1, 1747, he succeeded Daniel Houghton as colonel of the 24th Regiment of Foot. On 11 December 1747, through the interest of his brother-in-law Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness
, he was returned as Member of Parliament
(MP) for Richmond
at a by-election in place of Sir Conyers Darcy
, who had also been returned for Yorkshire
and preferred that seat.
In 1752, Ancram was appointed colonel of the 11th Regiment of Dragoons, in succession to his grand-uncle Lord Mark Kerr. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General
in 1758 and held a command under the Duke of Marlborough
during the Raid on St Malo
.
and his opposition to the negotiations for the Treaty of Paris
. While Ancram's political position was undermined in 1762 when his brother-in-law, Lord Holderness, sold off his interest in the borough of Richmond, Fox
and Lord Shelburne
were still at pains to persuade him to leave the House of Commons before the vote on the peace preliminaries without the interference of Cumberland. Ancram voted against the preliminaries on 9 December, having missed a message from Cumberland directing him not to do so; ultimately, he took the Chiltern Hundreds
in 1763, having accepted, according to the Duke of Newcastle, £4,000 to do so.
and appointed a Knight of the Thistle in 1768. He was promoted to general
in 1770 and died in 1775 at Bath.
Order of the Thistle
The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the Order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland who asserted that he was reviving an earlier Order...
(1710 – 12 April 1775) was a Scottish nobleman, soldier and politician, the eldest son of William Kerr, 3rd Marquess of Lothian
William Kerr, 3rd Marquess of Lothian
William Kerr, 3rd Marquess of Lothian KT was a Scottish nobleman, styled Master of Jedburgh from 1692 to 1703 and Lord Jedburgh from 1703 to 1722...
. He was styled Master of Jedburgh until 1722, Lord Jedburgh from 1722 to 1735, and Earl of Ancram from 1735 to 1767. As the Earl of Ancram, he distinguished himself during the War of the Austrian Succession
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
.
Family
On 6 November 1735, he married Lady Caroline Darcy (d. 1778), daughter of Robert Darcy, 3rd Earl of HoldernessRobert Darcy, 3rd Earl of Holderness
Robert Darcy, 3rd Earl of Holderness, PC was a British peer and politician.Darcy was the second son of John Darcy, Lord Conyers, himself the eldest son of Conyers Darcy, 2nd Earl of Holderness. He was styled Lord Conyers when his father died in 1688 and later inherited his grandfather's earldom...
, and thereafter assumed the style of Earl of Ancram rather than Lord Jedburgh. They had three children:
- William John Kerr, 5th Marquess of Lothian (1737–1815)
- Lady Louisa Kerr, married Lord George Henry Lennox on 25 December 1759, at DumfriesDumfriesDumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...
, and had issue - Lady Wilhelmina Emilia Kerr, married Col. John McLeod, RARoyal ArtilleryThe Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
on 2 January 1783 in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and had issue
Military service
Ancram was commissioned a cornetCornet (military rank)
Cornet was originally the third and lowest grade of commissioned officer in a British cavalry troop, after captain and lieutenant. A cornet is a new and junior officer.- Traditional duties :The cornet carried the troop standard, also known as a "cornet"....
in 1735, was a captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
in the 31st Regiment of Foot in 1739, and in the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards from 1741. He fought with the Guards at the Battle of Fontenoy (1745) while serving as an aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to the Duke of Cumberland
Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland
Prince William , was a younger son of George II of Great Britain and Caroline of Ansbach, and Duke of Cumberland from 1726. He is generally best remembered for his role in putting down the Jacobite Rising at the Battle of Culloden in 1746, and as such is also known as "Butcher" Cumberland...
, and was wounded during the battle. He was subsequently made an ADC to the King and a colonel. In the same year, he was appointed lieutenant-colonel of Lord Mark Kerr's Regiment of Dragoons
11th Hussars
The 11th Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army.-History:The regiment was founded in 1715 as Colonel Philip Honeywood's Regiment of Dragoons and was known by the name of its Colonel until 1751 when it became the 11th Regiment of Dragoons...
, and commanded the cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
on the left wing at the Battle of Culloden
Battle of Culloden
The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Taking place on 16 April 1746, the battle pitted the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart against an army commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, loyal to the British government...
in 1746. (His younger brother, Lord Robert Kerr
Lord Robert Kerr
Lord Robert Kerr was a Scottish nobleman of the Clan Kerr and a son of William Kerr, 3rd Marquess of Lothian.He is thought to have gone on a grand tour of Europe between 1732 and 1739, on which he acquired the only surviving score of the Il Gran Mogul concerto by Vivaldi - he played the flute...
, was with the infantry and was the highest-ranking Government casualty of the battle.) After the battle, he commanded the forces at Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
until August, and then returned to the Continent with Cumberland in December. At some point during the year, he was appointed a Groom of the Bedchamber to Cumberland.
Ancram was sent home with the standards captured at the Battle of Lauffeld
Battle of Lauffeld
The Battle of Lauffeld, also known as the Battle of Lafelt or Battle of Maastricht, also Battle of Val, took place on 2 July 1747, during the French invasion of the Netherlands. It was part of the War of the Austrian Succession...
. On December 1, 1747, he succeeded Daniel Houghton as colonel of the 24th Regiment of Foot. On 11 December 1747, through the interest of his brother-in-law Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness
Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness
Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness PC , known before 1721 as Lord Darcy and Conyers, was a British diplomat and politician. From 1744 to 1746 he was ambassador at Venice and from 1749 to 1751 he represented his country at The Hague...
, he was returned as Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Richmond
Richmond (Yorks) (UK Parliament constituency)
Richmond is a constituency located in North Yorkshire, which elects one Member of Parliament at least once every five years using the First-past-the-post system of voting....
at a by-election in place of Sir Conyers Darcy
Conyers Darcy
Sir Conyers Darcy or Darcey, KB was a British politician and courtier of the 18th century. He was a younger brother of Robert Darcy, 3rd Earl of Holderness....
, who had also been returned for Yorkshire
Yorkshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Yorkshire was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England from 1290, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832...
and preferred that seat.
In 1752, Ancram was appointed colonel of the 11th Regiment of Dragoons, in succession to his grand-uncle Lord Mark Kerr. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
in 1758 and held a command under the Duke of Marlborough
Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough
Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough KG, PC , known as The Earl of Sunderland between 1729 and 1733, was a British soldier and politician. He briefly served as Lord Privy Seal in 1755...
during the Raid on St Malo
Raid on St Malo
The Raid on St Malo took place in June 1758 when an amphibious British naval expedition landed close to the French port of St Malo in Brittany. While the town itself was not attacked, as had been initially planned, the British destroyed large amounts of shipping before re-embarking a week later...
.
Resignation from the Commons
Ancram had followed his old commander Cumberland in politics, and with him supported PittWilliam Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham PC was a British Whig statesman who led Britain during the Seven Years' War...
and his opposition to the negotiations for the Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris (1763)
The Treaty of Paris, often called the Peace of Paris, or the Treaty of 1763, was signed on 10 February 1763, by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement. It ended the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War...
. While Ancram's political position was undermined in 1762 when his brother-in-law, Lord Holderness, sold off his interest in the borough of Richmond, Fox
Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland
Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland, of Foxley, MP, PC was a leading British politician of the 18th century. He identified primarily with the Whig faction...
and Lord Shelburne
William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne
William Petty-FitzMaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, KG, PC , known as The Earl of Shelburne between 1761 and 1784, by which title he is generally known to history, was an Irish-born British Whig statesman who was the first Home Secretary in 1782 and then Prime Minister 1782–1783 during the final...
were still at pains to persuade him to leave the House of Commons before the vote on the peace preliminaries without the interference of Cumberland. Ancram voted against the preliminaries on 9 December, having missed a message from Cumberland directing him not to do so; ultimately, he took the Chiltern Hundreds
Chiltern Hundreds
Appointment to the office of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the three Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, Desborough and Burnham is a sinecure appointment which is used as a device allowing a Member of the United Kingdom Parliament to resign his or her seat...
in 1763, having accepted, according to the Duke of Newcastle, £4,000 to do so.
Later life
In 1767, he succeeded to the Marquessate of Lothian. He was elected a Scots representative peerRepresentative peer
In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords...
and appointed a Knight of the Thistle in 1768. He was promoted to general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
in 1770 and died in 1775 at Bath.